In these times of division, acrimony and, let’s say it, fear and hatred, it could be said that the American dream is over. For some of us, coming to America was a goal - something that we saved for or dreamed of. For the Buschtetz family, this meant selling a successful restaurant in France and moving across the Atlantic.
Wanting to come to America, wanting to be an American is yearning for the freedom to choose your destiny and make a life for yourself and your family. Like so many who have done so before, this was the dream for Fabrice and Mairead. After a trip to the area in 2012, they decided to make the jump and move with their three children to Arizona in the spring of 2013.
A love for the open road, wide open desert sky with breathtaking sunset, colors of rust, marigold, plum and indigo, wild horses running free along the Salt River is what brought us here. Building your dream and watching your children grow is what make us stay here.
Fabrice is a third-generation restauranteur, his parents and grandparents owned restaurants. While he may have been born into it, his skills were acquired over years of long hours scrubbing, preparing, measuring, watching, waiting for the right color, texture, the right smell, and the right taste. The first of his family to attend culinary school in Paris, he is now passing this knowledge on to Killian, Steven and Laura.
While Fabrice dreams of new recipes, Mairead is all business. With a background in hotel and business management, this soft-spoken Irish girl from County Cork is making sure that the staff shows up for their shift, bills are paid and that things run smoothly in all three of the family restaurants. Since the acquisition of the MWC Bistro in 2015, the family now owns and operates two additional locations.
The “Cuisine & Wine Bistro” in Chandler, overseen by Fabrice and Killian, maintains the French cuisine tradition. The “Copper & Logs” at the corner of Warner and Greenfield in Gilbert with its trendier cocktails and wood fired pizzas is managed by Laura. And the newly renovated “B Gastrobar”, located in “The Islands” neighborhood near McQueen and Warner is where Steven, the other chef in the family, is introducing a touch of French cuisine to the American classics.
At the “Gastrobar”, French fries, deviled eggs. hamburgers, and mac & cheese are on the menu along with Fabrice’s famous escargots. American comfort food that you would not normally associate with a French bistro.
The restaurant has undergone a major renovation since the days of the MWC. The Buschtetz took their time during the pandemic and re-created the menu. Listening to their customers, the decide to reach outside of their comfort zone and add a definitive French twist to the classics.
Their “Deviled Eggs” comes with blue cheese, the “Hand Cut Fries” with aioli. Even the venerable “Mac N. Cheese” has been upgraded with a creamy lobster bisque and a copious amount of lobster.
Part of being American may mean hamburger, cold beer and mac and cheese but part of being American is also mean adding a bit of who you are to the pot. bgastrobar.com 3-9 PM
Steven's Smoked Meatloaf
Start to finish: 2 hrs. and 30 minutes (15 minutes prep time)
Serving: 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds Black Angus ground beef
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup of sourdough bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 carrots (finely diced)
1 celery branch (finely diced)
1 large onion (finely diced)
1 jalapenos (seeded and diced)
¼ teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of white wine
½ cup barbeque sauce
½ cup of your favorite barbecue rub
Directions:
01 In a sauce pan, heat up olive oil and sauté onions until they start to soften. Add the carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and jalapeno. Sauté for 5 minutes until the mixture is soft and slightly brown. Deglaze with white wine, remove from heat, and let cool.
02 While the vegetables are cooling, mix the meat, crumbs, and egg. On a wire rack, shape vegetables and meat mixture into a loaf and add barbecue rub on the meatloaf for added flavor.
03 Fill smoker with Cherry, Pecan, Mesquite pellets or wood chip and smoke for two hours at 225°F. Once meatloaf has completed baking, remove from smoker and brush with barbecue sauce. Place back in smoker to finish for another 15 minutes.
04 Let cool, slice, and enjoy!