Crust - Scottsdale

M2 and I stopped for lunch at Crust last week, and the pizza was pretty good, but I never got around to posting. But we all went out tonight to celebrate the first day of summer camp, and it was definitely a post-worthy experience. So M2 got a slice of pepperoni, which has super thick crust and yummy sauce. I had the mac and cheese, hearty but heavy; I couldn't eat but a third of it. Husband had some weird flat triangle pizza which was pretty much an oddly shaped thin crust pizza, but good. M1 had his heart set on meatball sliders. When the extremely nice waitress told us they were out of meatballs, an exhausted and worn out M1 couldn't hide his disappointment. Our hearts collectively broke when a tear rolled down his cheek. Seriously, it was horrifying. Normally I'm the one who's all, "suck it up and eat" but it was just so. freaking. sad. We asked for more time to decide.
Super nice waitress came back a few minutes later and said they could produce some meatballs if we wouldn't mind waiting 20 minutes. We readily agreed, and ordered the tomato tartar with cannellini beans, which was a very cute pesto bruschetta to share while we waited. A plum-tea-ni helped with the wait, though it was kind of sweet and viscous, in a cough-syrupy way. They key lime martini was better. So anyway, the food was good, so far my favorite thing is just a good old slice of cheese pizza. Also, broken record here, but they give to Upromise, and that will always get me in the door.

South Beach - Scottsdale

So we always drive by South Beach, and I never get excited about going there because I think of the South Beach diet and I'm not really sure what's on that diet, but it's probably not nachos and martinis and mashed potatoes, so- eww. But they seem to have a cool patio, and they give to Upromise, which is always cool, so we gave it a try tonight.
No diet food here, that's for sure. We got some special-ordered vegetarian sushi to start. Somehow, when we ask for vegetarian sushi, we are often offered stuff with imitaion crab, which is, of course, made out of other dead animals, just cheaper ones. I don't have a problem which cheap dead animals, but obviously it won't meet Vege-Husbandtarian's needs, so he was explicit about what we wanted, and we got a very yummy avocado asparagus carrot pickle yummy roll. Kid wanted to try pickled ginger dipped in soy sauce. He won't be trying it again. Anyway, it was all very good, if a little big to fit in my mouth without making a mess.
We sampled the Black and Blue mojito, very fruity, but not too sweet, pleasant. Husband had something with passion fruit in it, which was good but cloying. Kid ordered spaghetti and meatballs, with a side of mashed potatoes, and he was pleased. The kid portion was really big, too big for most kids. Husband and I split the La Villa pizza. I actually ordered the Bella pizza, but the waiter heard wrong, and just got so excited about the La Villa pizza that I didn't have the heart to correct him. It was better than a pizza with eggplant on top should be.
We finished off the night with a vanilla-pineapple mojito, which was like drinking a bridal shower. I ordered a "pomegranate grove" which was pomegranate grody to the max.
Overall, we'd be back again, order the special sushi again, and the pizza, but probably different drinks, and skip the kid's meal and just share everything.