There always is a lot of different foods to find at Asiana Market. The Asiana Market is an Asian and International Market with two locations in Metro Phoenix Arizona. I go to the location that is in the Deer Valley part of Glendale. You never know what you will come across when shopping there. Up above is canned cod liver…who knew!
I found what looks like ground garlic but they are marked fried dumplings?
Frozen Sardines
Frozen Indian Mackerel
Frozen Octopus
Wagyu Beef
Veal Bologna
Anchovy Powder…..Now that one I’ve never seen before!
Shiitake Mushroom Powder – That is a very good ingredient. I buy local mushroom powder and it adds a lot of good flavor to certain things.
They always have junk food that is different……
BBQ Marshmallows….what a great idea for when you are too lazy to bbq them yourself!
Lay’s Potato Chips in American Style Cream & Onion Flavor….????
Lay’s Potato Chips in Wafer Style ???????? salt and pepper flavor……different
Lay’s Potato Chips in India Magic Masala flavor….Yum!……maybe??????????
Medjool dates stuffed with pistachios and covered with fine Belgian chocolate….That one gets a YUM!
Those were a few of the things I noticed at Asiana Market.
This is a collection of the FORKING BEST BURGERS that I’ve tasted in Metro Phoenix Arizona. I do note that I haven’t been to every restaurant in Metro Phoenix but I have been to many restaurants so chances are that a few other great ones are out there…..The best burger meat is always fresh ground in house. So the one thing that all the burgers have in common is that they all are ground in house. The one below is ground in house at a sister-restaurant across the street so that still counts.
Ingo’s Tasty Food – (I go to the original Phoenix location) Grinds grass fed beef. They also bake their own just right rolls. My first beef burger here was a basic burger with lettuce, tomato, Russian dressing. They do offer a a few varieties of burgers. The menu also does change slightly at times.
Ingo’s Tasty Food – 4502 N 40TH St PHX AZ 602-795-2884
www.IngosTastyFood.com
Zinburger – Bruce Lee Burger
Zinburger fresh grinds TWICE a day certified Angus beef and serves them as six and a half ounce patties. The Bruce Lee Burger (Asian slaw, sriracha mayo, jalapeños, avocado and more) was a past winner of a burger battle held in Phoenix.
The ground in house Prime Beef burger from The Bourbon Cellar in Scottsdale
The Bourbon Cellar Sports Bar and Grill offers a variety of gourmet ground in house burgers. I can’t get past the ground in house PRIME Filet burger that is served on an eggy apple cider bun. It is usually topped with a wasabi deviled egg. (I think they forgot on my last visit?) But it really is an amazing burger.
The Bourbon Cellar – 23623 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale AZ 480-595-5868
www.TheBourbonCellar.com
A.G. Burger from Arrowhead Grill
The A.G. Burger from the Arrowhead Grill is an 8oz U.S.D.A. PRIME tenderloin tips ground in house patty topped with a slice of prime rib, crispy onions, creamy horseradish sauce and cheese. It’s the largest of all the burgers. It’s also FORKING AMAZING. I’m NOT a small eater but for me this was MORE than two meals.
The Kenji burger from Then Burger
The burgers from Then Burger are ground in house elevated style burgers. The beef burger patties are a blend of short rib, SIRLOIN, and chuck. This Kenji Burger was OFF THE CHARTS FORKING AMAZING. It was enhanced with teriyaki, OH SO Flavorful caramelized onions, arugula, yuzu aioli and red leicester cheese (on side to my request) It REALLY was so FORKING FANTABULOUS that I don’t know if I can ever go on to try their other burgers.*********UPDATE Then burgers are no longer a blend of short rib, sirloin, and chuck. They are all chuck and do cook up different and taste different. They also discontinued the Kenji Burger. I tried a marrow and mushroom burger.
The burger patty came out dry like a hockey puck. I had to send it back because it a $36. burger. Unfortunately the 2nd one also came out very dry and over cooked.
Then Burger – 9220 W Glendale Ave Glendale AZ – 623-328-9388
www.ThenBurger.com
This was a collection of the FORKING BEST Burgers that I’ve tried in Metro Phoenix Arizona.
Van Leeuwen makes some really FORKING amazing ice creams. They are super rich with egg yolks, and other fattening things. Some flavors are all natural with only basic minimal ingredients. Our local Sprouts Grocery sells the Leeuwen normal flavors that are very good. Our Walmarts sell the limited and special edition flavors of Van Leeuwen French Ice Cream. I picked up this container of Van Leeuwen Caramel Sticky Bun Ice Cream. Everyone likes sticky buns…..This flavor should be ok???????? I open it up.
It looks good. It’s the perfect eating temperature. It’s just getting all melted. I taste some melted around the ends…..Eh it’s a little cinnamon-ee…….but there is this strong (ick) toffy taste….that I don’t care for….
Well maybe the lumps in it taste good?….Maybe they will taste like sticky buns?
YUK! The lumps I’m not sure what they are?….They are like animal crackers that were thrown up……..YUK!
Some Van Leeuwen ice creams are better than others but this is the first one that taste awful to me.
To me this one taste like Toffy lace with a little bit of cinnamon with mushed up animal crackers. I won’t be getting fat from this one.
Those were my FORKING Thoughts on Limited Edition Van Leeuwen Caramel Sticky Bun French Ice Cream.
This is a collection of SOME of the better dishes that I have tried in Metro Phoenix Arizona from restaurants and food trucks in no particular order. I’m not mentioning stuff like a very good steak from Confluence or a perfectly prepared sea bass from Tarbell’s because that is predictable and expected. These are dishes that you might not know about. I haven’t been everywhere in Metro Phoenix and I haven’t tasted everything out there. This is a sampling of random better dishes. This also is mostly photos of the dish and name and address of restaurant. I tried to write as little as possible so you can fly threw the long list.
Up above is the bufalina pizza from Fabio On Fire. We have many great pizzas in Metro Phoenix but this bufalina stands out. There are several other dishes at Fabio’s that are also worth mentioning but we have a lot of food to get to here so I will cut it with Fabio’s Strawberry Gelato because it really is the best in all the land.
Fabio On Fire 8275 W Lake Pleasant PKWAY Peoria
Some of the other better dishes were-
Aloo Tikki Choley
Namaste Indian Restaurant 20851 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale
Nan Zhou – Hand Drawn Noodle House 111 S. Dobson Rd Mesa
The seared Hawiian Tuna Soba Salad
Wren & Wolf – 2 N Central Ave PHX
Chill King Chinese Food 4721 W Olive Ave Glendale
First & Last 1001 N 3RD Ave PHX
Pollo Asado (Chicken a little over and a little under….. but unusually great flavors)
Bacanora 1301 NW Grand Ave PHX
Confluence 36889 N Tom Darlington Dr Carefree (Confluence is a high quality restaurant that offers many superb detailed dishes and amazing desserts)
Mifan Claypot Kitchen 1616 N Central Ave PHX
Tortas CM 13971 N 59TH AVE Glendalr
Mrs Whites Golden Rule 808 E Jefferson St PHX
Collins Bros Chophouse 8220 N Hayden RD Scottsdale (This might be available at most if not all of the Collins Restaurants)
Honest to God this Pain Au Chocolat was maybe not as pretty but was much better tasting than the Pain Au Chocolat I tried from Dominique Ansel (Some consider best pastry chef in USA)
JL Patisserie 7342 E Shea BLVD Scottsdale
With Traditional sauce
Chick-A-Dee 49 W Thomas Rd PHX
Chula Seafood Greyhawk 20581 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale (Available at all Chula locations)
The Gladly 2201 E Camelback Rd PHX
Biryani Pot PHX 4030 E Bell Rd PHX
Red Ginger Food Truck – Good luck finding them – I found them once at Food Truck Friday West in Glendale.
Bro Bro’s BBQ Food Truck – Serving Phoenix
The Louisiana Hot Chicken Sandwich – Screaming Hot Chicken Food Truck – Serving Phoenix (This is part of Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen Family)
The Chicken Potstickers
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery 2340 West Bell Rd PHX
Buffalo Chicken Plate (He told us that this wasn’t enough from a smaller chicken and told us to come back for the rest….He was very generous. That is why two photos)
Que Chevere Food Truck (They do have a brick and morter Restaurant in Mesa too)
Everything is very good from Alzohour Market. But the stuffed grape leaves (on right) and the baklava really are the best that I have tried anywhere.
Alzohour Market 7814 N 27TH AVE PHX
The A.G. Burger – 8oz USDA Prime ground in house tenderloin burger topped with a prime rib and more.
The Arrowhead Grill 8280 W Union Hills Dr Glendale
This next one is one of my husband’s two picks.
The Volcano Pork
The Craftsman 20469 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale
My husband’s other pick.
Braised Veal Osso Buco (weekend only)
The Italian Daughter 23655 N Scottsdale RD Scottsdale
This year was a great year for Tia Carmen. I tasted many better dishes there this year. It’s very hard to narrow down to only two dishes. I picked the lunch fish torta sandwich because it deserves to be a top sandwich of metro Phoenix….It’s a YUM-Dinger that is crazy flavorful and different. (pictured below)
Maybe the one dish of the year that I tasted that was the most amazing was the Tuna Crudo from Tia Carmen. It’s a dish that can make your heart skip a beat and is worth driving across town to try.
Tuna Crudu
Tia Carmen 5350 E Marriott Dr PHX
These were just SOME of the better dishes that I tried in Metro Phoenix 2022.
A long time ago in a land far away someone invented candy sticks to make noisy children shut the FORK up for when they are in church. It was also written that some German dude got the idea to put a little religion into the candy sticks by adding a Shepard’s hook.
Some time has passed and someone else got the idea to add hyssop flavor to the candy canes because hyssop was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Maybe nobody wanted child sacrifice on their hands so they stopped adding hyssop to the candy canes. But maybe they changed to peppermint flavor because peppermint was cheaper?
Then they added the White Stripes.
Or was it the red stripes? Symbolizing the blood of Christ?
Maybe you noticed that candy canes often anything that’s NOT peppermint flavored?
Brisket flavored candy canes
Butter flavored candy canes
Sour cream and onion flavored candy canes
Kale flavored candy canes
Pickle flavor candy canes
Mac & cheese flavored candy canes
Sardine flavored candy canes
www.mcphee.com
Hotdog flavored candy canes
It doesn’t really matter WTFORK flavor that the candy cane is……If it’s in the mouth the kid with SHUT THE FORK UP!
This was a little bit of what happened to the Christmas Candy Cane.
Eggplant Wrapped Baked ZitiSpicy Asian Inspired Eggplant Cheesy Corn Pasta Corn Pasta Pie Fig, Ricotta, Beet Relish, topped Caraway, Parmesan Potato Tuile Chipotle Lime Butter Green Beans with Black Beans and Pickled Reed Onions Okonomiyaki Style Baked Cabbage Cakes with Tofu Mustard and Black Garlic Sauce Morita Chili Salsa and Radish Pico de Gallo Tomatillo Salsa (suggested serve)5 Spice Turkey Meatball Stuffed Cabbage Mexican Flavored Meatballs with Guajillo Tomato Sauce Perilla Leaf Thai Style Treats with Tamarind SauceRoast BeefCalabrian Chile Brown Butter Pasta and Creamy Leeks Parsnips two ways with whipped Carrots Tomatillo Avocado Salsa Recipe FORKING Crispy Breaded EggplantSweet Potato Ravioli with Beet Puree Harissa Hasselback Zucchini with Dukkah & zucchini white bean dip Healthy Delicious Quick Kimchi Potato Salad Beets with Orange, Mint, Cheddar Cheese, and Salsa MachaRoasted Carrots in Honey Miso Butter with Roasted Spiced Carrot Peanut Crumbs Tomato and bean salad with home made Italian Chili CrispItalian Chili CrispFeta Stuffed Corn Cakes with Beet-Apple SaladBraised and Crispy Leeks with Tarator Sauce & Date Brown Butter beef osso buco Miso Sake Blistered Shishito Peppers with Ginger-Miso Sweet PeasGrilled Pickled Carrots with Charmoula and Almonds Lions Mane Mushroom faux Crab CakeJerk Chicken Thigh Braised Cabbage & Carrot Strawberry AguachileBeet Pudding with Yuzu Cream
Just Some of the Recipes from 2022 on The Forking Truth Part 1
When I see a new M&M’s I usually just have to give them a try. I found these White Chocolate M&M’s Snowballs at my local Safeway….I wasn’t sure if I was going to try them because one of the last white chocolate M&M’s that I tried I didn’t care for but I picked them up because very few new flavors of M&M’s came out this year.
I open the bag up.
The M&M’s are in slightly irregular shapes. They are in colors of bright blue, Robbins egg blue and white……
When I take a closer look I see some are marked “N” instead of “M”…?
These are really different. They have a perfect salty to sweet ratio. I taste the pretzel slightly more than the chocolate or candy. Actually they are pretty good with a really nice textures. The pretzel in them is very light but crunchy with pieces of salt on them. The white chocolate is not too sweet and it’s melty and not waxy. The shell gives it some sweetness and a nice crunch. They seem so light that they are easy to eat….Maybe too easy to eat? ……….These are too easy to keep eating.
My FORKING Thoughts are that the White Chocolate Pretzel Snowball M&M’s are pretty good!
I do note that YOUR FORKING Thoughts may indeed differ.
I noticed these Limited Edition Hershey Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Kisses at my local Safeway Supermarket. I hesitated …….should I….or shouldn’t I?……..As a Youngster I used to like Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars…..So I was hoping that these Hershey’s Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Kisses might taste similar…….????? Well lets see…..
Eeek! They are flesh colored with little red rashes.
I try it and it is gross. WTFork is this? Not sure if I can finish……..
It just taste very artificial ……Doesn’t taste comparable to anything.
As it’s melting I got a crunchy lump. The crunchy lump is ok….It’s sort of cookie like in taste……
But The kiss is still there and terrible. My tongue is burning from it….YUK!
Now I got a weird aftertaste…..It’s something like hops from beer…ICK…GROSS!
On the bright side I won’t be getting fat from them.
I can not recommend them…..Actually I am surprised that they can pass a taste test from Hershey’s…..
Those were my FORKING Thoughts on Limited Edition Hershey’s Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Kisses but I also must note that YOUR FORKING opinion may indeed differ.
So far 2022 has been a better year than most for Metro Phoenix Foods…..Not too many HORRIBLE FRIGHTFUL dishes….But there were a few. I very recently wrote about the next two dishes so if you read my blog then you know where these dishes came from. It’s not my intention to make trouble for any business………(even if they deserve it)…. I tell The Forking Truth….so I mention how my meal was once with the name of the business and once is enough……But these stories and most of the photos are Horrible and Frightful. Halloween time is just that perfect time to share these memories.
Overcooked macaroni and dried up cheese that never was good.
Burnt dried out fish with almost brunt oil filled eggplant.
After this are oldies but NOT goodies.
This was from a fine restaurant in the Biltmore area that is still in business. I do note that the chef that they had at the time left several years ago….By the looks of the polenta on the plate it seems like he might have been pissed off about something.
A certain restaurant on the west side served me a dessert with a hard glob of silicon in it that I had to spit out.
This next one might be the worst thing I ever got from a food truck. It made me scream and I had to spit it out.
It was suppose to be a corned beef egg roll from a food truck that specialized in corned beef. It was dry and awful inside but I still remember that the worst part was the egg roll because it tasted rancid.
Someone in metro Phoenix served me this sandwich.
They are still in business….
Sometimes you go to a restaurant that was very good for several visits………. Then when you eat the food you find out that the chef is no longer with them.
This restaurant closed shorty after I got this horrid dish. It was fishy salmon topped with raw tomato paste flanked by a splat of pureed corn and another splat of corn grits.
I went to a BBQ Restaurant in Phoenix that is still in Business. They served me grits that weren’t cooked.
They also served us meat that was under and still had hard fat on it.
I remember we said something about this but nobody said or did a thing.
A restaurant that is still in business in Peoria served my husband this sandwich.
At the time that restaurant recently changed ownership….It was not great but ok before this……………
It looks like a cinnamon bun but it’s not……….My husband was served a burnt roll somewhere.
This is the worst bulgogi I ever tried……It’s like they threw it in a blender and added cream cheese. It’s like throw up on a skillet.
This Thai Restaurant in Peoria thinks that it’s ok to call a dish fish and serve it without the meat.
I never went back.
This was from a Taco Restaurant that went out of business.
Dry flavorless chicken that might have been microwaved to hard and chewy with some pickled onions and a tortilla that fell apart before it arrived.
This place is still in business in Sun City.
The fish is fishy. The vegetables are obviously from frozen and boiled……I don’t know what happened to the mashed potato. I asked the server why it was green….She didn’t know and asked the chef. She said that he said, “Black pepper turns the potatoes green.”
Maybe my worst Metro Phoenix Restaurant foods came from an Asian Restaurant that I enjoyed on my first visit. I enjoyed the live seafood that was reasonably priced…..So I came back for a second visit….(unfortunately).
We started with some shiitake mushrooms with Asian Greens. They look good BUT….
Shiitake with Asian Greens
The sauce is HORRIFYING……Maybe it is suppose to be that way but I can’t stomach a sauce with the consistency of snot……I couldn’t eat this…..Sadly our main dish was worst.
On this visit I didn’t notice the live fish tanks???????? But ordered the rockfish anyway..This was like a fake fish that was impossible to eat….Like solid rubber and tough. I was going to say something to the owner….But my husband said that all was ok so the owner left.
The server didn’t even question on why we didn’t eat the fish and didn’t even ask if we wanted to bring it or the vegetables home……
Then the scary part is that we got a bill for over a hundred dollars for those two plates (We found out they charged $89. for that fish).
These were only a few of the HORRIBLE FRIGHTFUL Foods that was served to me in Metro Phoenix AZ.
I got lucky and tried some FORKING AMAZING food this week. FORKING AMAZING is not just very good…….It’s FORKING AMAZING! So here they are.
Alzohour Market is a HIDDEN GEM with SEVERAL FORKING amazing dishes. You can taste some of the very best Moroccan and Middle Eastern food in the Valley. This is not a fancy place and the service and the cooking is usually done by one woman so it is slow but it’s worth waiting for. The Moroccan tea is the best that you can taste anywhere. Tea doesn’t sound so special but here it is something different that you probably have never tried before…..GET IT…..It is really special!!!! ………Grape leaves usually aren’t anything special….But here at Alzohour Market they are by far the best that you’ve ever tasted anywhere. These stuffed grape leaves are like FIFTY TIMES BETTER than any other grape leaf that I’ve ever tried anywhere………..They are extra special. I didn’t have this today but I have had the b’stilla (house made sweet pastry with chicken) and it should be mentioned because it is extra special and is painstakingly made. The house made baklava is also the very best that I have ever tasted.
baklava
It’s not too sweet or too gooey. It’s delicious! When I have more room I usually get the house made spaghetti type cheese stuffed pastry…OMG it for certain is one of the best baked goods in Phoenix. Alzohour Market is worth driving across town for. I usually but not always get the fish tagine that is very good.
Alzohour Market 7814 N27TH AVE PHX AZ
602-433-5191
www.Alzohour-Market.Business.site
From Food Truck Friday West in Glendale I hit a few ok food trucks and we shared the FORKING AMAZING Brisket Sandwich from the Bro Bro’s BBQ Food Truck.
BBQ Brisket Sandwich with added corn and fire roasted poblano pepper from Bro Bro’s BBQ Food Truck
OMG it’s overflowing with goodness. You can’t pick it up and you have to eat it with a knife and fork. I wish you could smell it………..It smells like the most delicious BBQ that you can imagine…I wasn’t planning on eating here because I’m not a beef or pork person……but it smelled so amazing I had to make a stop here. This sandwich is on an extra flavorful tasty roll that is embellished with cheddar cheese and jalapeños. Inside is GOLD……..Really tender flavorful smoky brisket chunks and pulled….ad it’s a really perfect mix of lean and fatty….(but not TOO fatty). We added the corn option that is another tasty treat and another perfect accent is that fire roasted poblano pepper that adds another special layer of delicious! This sandwich was FORKING AMAZING!
Bro Bro’s BBQ Food Truck
www.BroBrosBBQ.com
Tia Carmen is a high quality contemporary (mostly South-West) type of restaurant. It’s located in North Phoenix in the JW Desert Ridge Marriott. The kitchen is led by Michelin Star Chef, Restauranteur, Bravo Top Chef, and Cookbook Author Angelo Sosa. I already written about Tia Carmen’s FANTABULOUS Dish (the Tuna Crudo) and I’ve also written about several of their stunning dishes. Tia Carmen has recently opened for lunch Monday-Friday. They offer several of the lighter dishes from their dinner menu and a few tortas and some additional desserts.
It’s hard to imagine a salad as a FORKING Amazing dish but this one truly stands out.
baby greens salad from Tia Carmen
The baby greens salad is a bit spicy and so full of so many flavors. Who knew a salad could be so complex? This salad contains fennel, Persian cucumber, epazote, pickled onions corn puree, serrano chile, and green olive dressing. It sure doesn’t compare to most salads out there and you can add chicken, crispy white fish, or grilled shrimp to turn it into a meal.
We also shared two of the tortas…….The fish torta stood out flavor wise as a FORKING AMAZING FANTABULOUS Dish. It EXPLODES like fireworks in your mouth. THIS IS SOOOOOO FORKING GREAT!!!!!
fish torta with hay fries from Tia Carmen
WOW! One of the great sandwiches in Metro Phoenix. This is a great surprise and also unexpected from this restaurant because it taste like the best Cha Cha La Vong (National Dish of Hanoi) that I’ve ever had. This sandwich is a crispy sea bass with sweet onion jam, spicy mayo, fresh dill, fresh cilantro, turmeric, and other FRESH HERBS that make it POP! It’s the combination and all the FRESH HERBS that make it taste so special. It also comes with fries that they call hay fries…..that are like a cross between fries and crispy potato sticks.
Tia Carmen at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Phoenix AZ
5350 E Marriott Dr PHX AZ
480-293-3636
www.JWDesertRidge.com
*****Honorable Mention****
I didn’t eat the Shish Kafta but my husband said that the shish kofta from Alzohour Market is the very best that he has ever tried anywhere because it was juicy and full of delicious flavors.
Mixed Grill Plate from Alzohour Market
The Mixed Grill Plate from Alzohour Market contains a chicken kabob, shish kafta, gyro, with rice and whatever she feels like putting on the plate. Even the green pepper salad is AMAZING!
Alzohour Market 7814 N 27TH Ave Phoenix AZ
602-433-5191
www.Alzohour-Market.Business.site
Got lucky this week and really tried some of the very best plates that Metro Phoenix offers. These were a collection of the FORKING AMAZING Foods that I tried this week. I also got to eat out more than I normally do.
