We have a bunch of choices of restaurants to dine out to in Metro Phoenix. For me it helps to decide on a restaurant by just reading the menu. I want to see if something stands out to me. I want to see something that says YUM I want to eat that. Not often but a few times I came across menu items that made me laugh. It’s a possibility that you might find some of the unusual food amusing as I did.
Abacus Inn Chinese Restaurant in Glendale has Szechuan Chicken on the menu. It’s described as Chicken Breast that is “deep DRIED” to crispness and simmered in garlic and Szechuan hot chili. Let’s get some “Deep Dried” Chicken!
www.CartoonStock.com
Deep Dried Chicken Breast…….
Let’s do Global Italian!
An Italian Restaurant called DeNora’s Ristorante recently opened in Phoenix. On the menu listed under Pasta is- Nona’s House red sauce, pulled BURRITO and torn basil. (Update****Sadly Nona’s has since closed)
www.Clipart-Library.com……Pulled Burrito
Pulled Burrito.
There’s Asian out there too!
On the menu at D & Y Chinese Restaurant in Glendale AZ
Sorry but Jellyfish Head with Sweet Peas sounds very unusual to not all but most people………Do you only eat the head from Jellyfish? ……….I don’t know…..but it does look like a Jelly Fish is all Head with legs attached……so maybe you do! (update….D&Y is still open but the Jelly Fish Head w/sweet peas may have been removed from the menu)
www.DreamTime.com
There’s “Begtables” out there!
From Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen in Phoenix
Roasted Begtable w/Goat Cheese…Ummm WTFork is a Begtable?
www.Pinterest.com
A new Asian is out there and it’s called “Chinaese.”
Here’s an Authentic Chinaese Menu from Szechuan Cuisine in Glendale.
You say “Pomento?”
The pickled fried green tomatoes from Starlite BBQ are topped with POMENTO Cheese…..
www.PinsDaddy.com
I was researching on how to prepare Lebanese Style Lentil Salad.
On epicurious the ingredients are kjh (whatever that is?) and the preparation is lkhj; lkhj; klj WTFork does that mean?
www.PinsDaddy.com
From Szechwan Palace in Phoenix AZ
Sautéed A dog? SAUTED A DOG! A DOG! WTFORK does this mean?
Apparently there is a season for Falafels.
This gem comes from the European Bakery and Cafe in Glendale. They have Falafel listed as vegetarian burgers, lettuce, tomato, pickles, special sauce. CURRENTLY OUT OF SEASON.
We are all excited about Nashville Hot Chicken anything here so these Nashville Style HOT CHICKEN Potato chips sound mighty intriguing. I look at the bag and the ingredients. I believe these chips to be vegetarian. They are marked kosher and I don’t see any ingredient that seems like meat.
I open the bag and smell the chips.
They do have an unusual odor. Maybe something like a fryer filled with old grease and paprika.
Take a closer look at the chips.
Smaller sized chips. some are folded. Dusty on the surface. Very crisp and shattering hard.
I taste one…..Taste like spicy BBQ……with lots of paprika….with a little sweet but not too much.
These chips lack chicken flavor and have too much paprika…..I should taste mostly LOTS of cayenne, chicken and dill pickle.
Not a bad chip at all but doesn’t taste like Nashville Style Hot Chicken.
This is subjective and I note that your taste or opinion may differ.
The Chef of the Century Joel Robuchon has passed away. My favorite restaurant in Las Vegas was L’ATELIER by Joel Robuchon. It’s a casual exhibition restaurant that serves the most high end tapas plates you can ever imagine. Everything was so masterfully crafted. You have to expect the unexpected….everything is the most wonderful surprise….I don’t know if there is a future for his restaurants so I’m sharing my memories here today.
This is what it looks like inside. You sit at a bar with a view of the kitchen. Everything is black and red.
They always start you off with an Amuse Bouche.
They also give you the most amazing bread basket with French Butter.
Here are not all but many of the plates we had here.
Le Canard L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon MGM Las Vegas NV
Le Bar L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon MGM Las Vegas NV
L’Oeuf – L’Atelier MGM Las Vegas NV
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas NV
The Famous Joel Robuchon Potatoes
L’Atelier MGM Las Vegas
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon MGM las Vegas Hotel Casino
All this was from the most Stared Chef in the World!
Nashville Hot Chicken is only authentic in and is a specialty of Nashville Tennessee. Here in Phoenix you can find Nashville Style Chicken….and other Hot Chicken…….we should just call it Hot Chicken. The Chicken should be marinated, floured and fried. It needs to be sauced either before or after flouring (or breading) with what they call a dry sauce or paste. If a wet sauce is applied then IT IS NOT NASHVILLE STYLE CHICKEN according to the Nashville Hot Chicken Coalition. Nashville Hot Chicken IS HOT because the paste is suppose to be 1/3 fat (often lard) OR it can be OIL and 2/3rds cayenne pepper that gets cooked and reduced till thick. A few other seasonings are sometimes added. Nashville Hot Chicken is not just about heat as it’s is also suppose to be about flavor. Authentic places serve the chicken with dill pickles over the chicken and one-two slices of white bread under the chicken to soak up juices and flavors.
Here’s the Hot Chicken Sandwich from 6 Degrees Urban Kitchen in Scottsdale.
This sandwich was stuffed with a plump juicy marinated notable crispy chicken breast that was topped with honey hot sauce. House made pickles were tucked inside and the sandwich was served on a grilled eggy bun. (*****UPDATE***Sadly 6 Degrees Urban Kitchen has CLOSED for business since)
The Hot Chicken Slider from PNPK in North Scottsdale.
This Hot Chicken Slider is seasoned fried chicken, topped with dill pickles, slaw and spicy aioli sauce. It’s tasty….not scorching hot but hot that might be mellowed by the slaw.
Hot Chicken from Starlite BBQ in Scottsdale.
Here was a plump juicy breast and leg quarter. Both were SCRUMPTIOUS flavored chicken in a crisp HOT but delicious crust. It was just delightful with house made pickles and this really tasty whole grain mustard.
From Famous 48 in Old Town Scottsdale.
By far the most stingingly HOT! I almost couldn’t eat this one. This one had some sort of Mayonnaise applied to the chicken. This one was topped with an insanely HOT but delicious Buffalo kind of sauce with a good TANG. It topped the crunchy chicken and they gave me extra hot sauce on the side. You had to open your mouth a mile deep to eat this one as the eggy bun was extra thick and was difficult to eat… (I do note that Famous 48 was recently opened when I tried them and it’s possible this sandwich has been toned down or tweaked since to please the masses…….Another note is that Famous 48 has closed for the summer 2018. (*****UPDATE****Famous 48 closed and happened to re-open in a different location in Scottsdale) I recently tried the Famous 48 Nashville Style Chicken at a festival and it’s a completely different sandwich. It will be pictured at the bottom after the fork.
I also tried the Hot Chicken Sandwich at Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen in Phoenix. It’s a LOUISIANA Style Hot Chicken Sandwich and Not a Nashville Style…..But it’s Hot Chicken so this sandwich is included here.
Mingo’s Chicken is flavorful and very moist. The chicken coated in a seasoned Corn meal and has a much better texture than than other corm meal coated foods I’ve tried. I know it’s the best cornmeal coating I’ve ever tried. The sandwich has a generous application of Tangy Hot Sauce with a great bite. There is some shredded lettuce, tomato, pickle chips and a slathering of remoulade that is a French style of Tarter Sauce that is more detailed and complex than any I remember trying before. Old Bay dusted Fries came with the sandwich as a side.
Tried the Hot Chicken Sandwich from The Larder + The Delta in Phoenix. This was one of the milder of the Hot Chickens but WOWEEE this chicken was just DIVINE….This was the BEST of the boneless chickens in flavor, texture and juiciness. It’s tough to say but this chicken really was among the best…It had a quality about it unlike the all the others…..It was a very large amazing thigh. The coating was different. It was thin but sort of shattering crisp and caramelized. I could taste cayenne, onion and other flavors in or on the coating. The chicken was topped with an apple slaw and B&B pickles that were thick and delicious and hot sauce aioli ……This one here was off the charts!
Maybe you are curious about GENUINE Nashville Hot Chicken.
There are only SIX Restaurants that are Certified in the Nashville Hot Chicken Coalition.
They are Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish, Pepper Fire Hot Chicken, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, 400 Degrees, and Deezie’s in Murfreesboro.
Here it is! Hattie B’s Famous Hot Chicken from Nashville Tennessee.
Somebody brought me back a piece of Hattie’s Hot Chicken to try. Here it is………..
I put in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 to heat up.
This one has a strong cayenne aroma. (the most aroma of all the hot chickens I tried)
I pick it up and it’s a bit greasy. It’s not crisp but I was told even fresh made it’s not particularly crisp but better than what I had.
I tried the one that sold as hot. First bite seems very HOT (stingingly)…..I taste mostly cayenne…..followed by onion. The Chicken is very moist and flavorful…..for some odd reason it doesn’t seem that HOT to me as the first bite did. It’s just flavorful moist chicken.
These were a few of the places for Hot Chicken in Metro Phoenix pre Mrs. Chicken (soon to come…Phoenix’s first Nashville Style Hot Chicken Restaurant) (****UPDATE***Mrs Chicken did indeed open since I wrote this)
******Slight update…since I wrote this back August 2018 Monroe’s Hot Chicken has opened in February 2019 in downtown Phoenix and became the First Hot Chicken Restaurant in Phoenix. I did happened to try a few items and wrote about them but I was there opening week and read somewhere that recipes were tweaked since so I can’t describe what you might taste there today. This week (last week of April Mrs Chicken did open. I expect to try it out sometime but didn’t yet)
EVERYTHING IS SUBJECT to change and your experience may or may not differ.
Some more updates are below the FORK.
The Forking Truth
www.Hot-Chicken.com
www.Wikipedia.com
Monroe’s Hot Chicken Sandwich
Another notable Hot Chicken Sandwich I tried since was the Carolina Style Hot Chicken Sandwiches from The Root and Soul in Phoenix.
The Root and Soul
I remember that this one was among the better Hot Sandwiches of what I tried. It was a mighty tasty delicious sandwich with very juicy flavorful chicken.
A new chicken restaurant opened up in Scottsdale called The Hot Chick. I enjoyed the HOT Chick sandwich very Forking Much!
This one had tons of spice flavor, a little sweet, very scrumptious and super crunchy and juicy. This new one is close to the best! I also liked that they offer Hot Chicken on the Bone….
Famous 48 Nashville Style Chicken that I tasted this time was plump, juicy and developed with flavors. It wasn’t as spicy as last time and was a different exterior texture.
Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale AZ offers Northern Italy Style Extremely THIN DOUGH Focaccia Di Recco pictured below.
and also Pizza Rimini, also a Northern Italy specialty in four or more varieties (one extra special flavor on my visit).
The Parmigiana Pizza Rimini is pictured below.
Today I decided to ask a few questions about the pizza and focaccia…..Are they the same?
NO……
One is a focaccia and the other is a pizza.
They start out the same with the same dough……….
Both get stretched out paper thin but the focaccia gets stretched out EVEN THINNER because it’s sandwiches cheese. It’s stuffed. There is a top layer and a bottom layer.
The Pizza goes in the certified Italian Wood Oven at over 900 degrees F for a very short time.
The Focaccia goes in a regular oven in the kitchen at a much lower temperature for a much longer time.
The TASTE……YES the crust come out tasting VERY DIFFERENT!
The Focaccia almost taste like it was fried……I’m thinking that some of the oil from the Stracchino Cheese flavors both sides of the crust and the cheese is still all melty inside. It’s just really delicious! It’s so flavorful with almost cheese sauce inside the two tissue thin crusts.
You might feel different than me………..
I do think the Pizza Rimini is good…..i’d eat it anytime.
What I like about it is that is is so light…..It’s like pizza made for angels. It’s like the best diet pizza ever. You have the taste of pizza without the heaviness. You can eat half a pizza and feel like you can eat more no problem….It must be low in calories………….. The only thing I didn’t like about the Pizza Rimini was the outer ring of crust. To me it taste like burnt matzoh….. but I note the parts with cheese and sauce are yummy and don’t taste burnt.
While I enjoyed the Pizza Rimini…….it just isn’t as tasty as the Focaccia Di Recco….( TO ME!!!!!!! maybe not you?) That thing is just off the charts! It was just CRAZY YUMMY! Way more flavors that were more enjoyable to me. OH and I forgot to mention that you can add on local honey to embellish the Focaccia even a little more. A small amount of warm honey applied just adds another level to the Focaccia.
Both were good but for me (and my husband) we both preferred the Focaccia Di Recco.
www.PomoPizzeria.com
You know The Forking Truth is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and your experience may indeed DIFFER! Just remember that!
Salt and Pepper Shakers are Food Related….after all they hold salt and pepper! Here’s a little history of some Notable and Historic to Phoenix Arizona Salt and Pepper Shakers.
Pictured above are Apple Shaped Salt and Pepper Shakers that have a Bill Johnson’s Big Apple Logo of a tuxedo Apple headed person about to serve a Plate of Barbecue to someone. There is also a 3757 Van Buren Phoenix Arizona Address under the Glaze on the Ceramic Salt and Pepper Shakers.
Bill Johnson was a celebrity who was known as an actor, stuntman and radio personality. He became a restauranteur in 1956 and hosted a radio show in his restaurant. Famous guest such as Wayne Newton, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings were guest on his show.
Bill Johnson’s Big Apple Restaurant had a Western theme Atmosphere. The menu offered breakfast skillets, pork wings, sliders, snake bite green chili, burgers, country fried steak, burgers, a chuck wagon combo of many things, steaks, deep dish apple pies and much more.
Bill Johnson’s Big Apple Restaurants were a small local Chain in the Phoenix Area with a few locations. The last one closed in May 2015.
References
www.PhoenixNewTimes.com
www.AZCentral.com
www.localYahoo.com
Mid Century Phoenix Home Builder Staggs-Bilt built homes in Metro Phoenix from 1949 – 1973. They built around 14,000 homes. The largest clusters of the homes they built are in Westown, Northtown, Papago Parkway and New Papago Parkway. At the time these homes were considered affordable options that were smaller in size and price. These homes were mostly one level homes with carports that were built on small lots.
Pictured above are anthropomorphic Ceramic Shakers. They look like Men in overalls that read “Happy Homer” and they hold hammers. They have house shaped Cartoon heads that are cheerful looking. They stand on small bases that read STAGGS-BILT HOMES Phoenix . Arizona.
Reference www.ArizonaReport.com by David Meek.
J.B. Bayless moved to Arizona with Food Market Experience in 1917. He started a local Food Store Chain of 18 locations. The chain was sold in 1929 and a provision of the purchased stated that J.B. Bayless would not open a competition chain for a certain number of years. After some time J.B. Bayless’s son A.J……. purchased Butcher’s stores and started his own chain of Food Markets. In the 1980’s Aj’s went bankrupted and in 1993 Aj’s was acquired by Bashas’ and then Aj’s became A.J.’s Fine Foods an Upscale grocery and Specialty Store that it is today (at the time of this writing July-2018).
The Shaker set pictured above is a two piece salt and pepper shaker set. Each shaker is rectangular in shape and sits together to form a picture of the front of a J.B. Bayless Grocery Store. It appears to be very old fashioned with an antique type car possibly with a rumble seat parked in front of J.B. Bayless. On the bottom of the fronts of the Salt and Pepper Shakers reads Country Store Phoenix, Arizona.
references
www.AFMAAZ.org
www.Wikipedia.com
Here was a little of the history of some Notable Historic Phoenix Arizona Salt and Pepper Shakers.
The Forking Truth is that a Sandwich can’t be good unless it’s prepared with decent bread. I went to this new sandwich shop located somewhere in Metro Phoenix. This is a very tiny sandwich shop with a very limited menu. They sell a few cheesteak sandwiches and a few hoagies ……….It’s a very casual little tiny place. You order at the counter and they hand you your order in a take out bag. You either take out or you can dine at one of the small tables inside.
Since this restaurant newly just opened and may or may not be working the hiccups out I don’t feel the need to mention the name of this restaurant.
Both of us were excited to try this new place because they say on their website they offer authentic Philly Cheesteaks………. Well I know an authentic Philly Cheesteak can only be purchased around Philadelphia PA but I can hope for a Philadelphia Style Steak Sandwich. I also have to wonder why they call the cold sandwiches on long rolls subs?…..In Philadelphia we call those sandwiches hoagies….
Any who-
We asked about what kind of peppers we could get with the sandwiches…The owner says all they could get were pepadews and jalapeños…. my heart sort of sank when I heard that because an authentic Philadelphia Cheesesteak always has a cherry pepper option…hot, sweet or both.
Any Ways- about the peppers…..we… FOGETTABOUDIT.
We each try a Steak Sandwich. My husband tries the large Cheesesteak.
OMG This is an extremely large sandwich and it’s stuffed with a cow! Lots of tender, flavorful sliced ribeye. It’s not chopped up like a Pat’s Steak….it’s more like grilled rib eye slices more like a Geno’s Cheesesteak. It gets cooked on the grill and put face down in the sandwich and the cheese and meat melt into the roll…… I taste some of the beef and it is remarkably tender and flavorful…….But there was one problem with this almost amazing sandwich.
It’s hard to see on my husband’s sandwich but maybe a little easier to see on my sandwich.
Small Chicken Steak Sub
I just unwrapped my Chicken Steak Sub. The roll is already deteriorating. Actually the roll is dissolving. My sandwich is also overstuffed and falling apart. The squishy Arizona type bread is not able to cradle a Chicken Steak Sandwich. It’s like a BIG FAT Elephant was squeezed into a tiny dress made of wet paper towels. This is a Forking Mess. Everything is falling apart all over.
IT’S A SHAME…….because……..
Believe it or not that this would be a really great sandwich if it was just made with decent bread. The chicken was really so tender and so juicy…It was actually better than the thin sliced chicken you’d get in most chicken steak sandwiches. This chicken was juicy and flavorful.
Both sandwiches could have been very good sandwiches if only they were made with decent bread.
I know it’s difficult in the Phoenix Area to get decent bread….but it’s not impossible.
I can’t help but wonder if the owners tried a few of these sandwiches before opening up a restaurant and selling them?
I wish this new place the best of luck as they have tons of potential for being a great steak sandwich shop if they just find better bread.
As a slight update…..The owner is aware about the bread problem and is looking around for another source for the bread.
The Forking Truth is that a Sandwich can’t be good unless it’s made with Decent Bread.
Everything is subject to change (and here I hope it does) so your experience may or may not differ.
There has been some hype on the internet about the release of Private Label Wines being released under the Winemaker Name from Walmart. The majority of the wines cost around $11.00 or slightly more. But the kicker is that in most of the articles about this wine they say the wine buyer from Walmart claimed that these wines drink like a $30.00 – $40.00 bottle.
Like anyone else that enjoys wine I was really pumped to try this wine and see what I thought. I didn’t see the wine at one Walmart but the following week I found a bottle of Winemaker Red Blend at my local Walmart Grocery. It’s made in Italy with Italian Grapes.
Today a week latter I forgot what the aroma was like…….sorry.
I swirled it.
It had slight legs.
I sip some.
ummmmmmm
It taste mostly of burnt wood.
It taste like no frills orange juice with lots of burnt wood with added baby aspirin.
Zero body in the mouth. It feels like water.
It’s difficult to swallow.
I’ll give it a generous 1.5 star rating out of five for the $10.97 price point.
NOT WORTH A FORK!
I do note it is a possibility my local store mishandled the wine as I have in the past many times purchased spoiled or out of date grocery from my local Walmart Grocery Store and other stores.
Corn from my local Walmart Grocery Store
Apples from my local Walmart Grocery Store
I called up Knudsen and they told me the thing I see in the cottage cheese is fungus from being mishandled from my local Walmart Grocery Store
Your results can possibly differ but I doubt it.
Those were my Forking Thoughts on Walmart’s Winemakers Selection Red Blend Wine.
Sometimes you will have a bad day no matter what when you go out to eat. This day I was looking forward to a nice meal at Cafe Bink in Carefree Arizona. I get weekly emails from Binkley’s (was the Mothership of Cafe Bink…now former mothership) Sometimes they sent information about Cafe Bink in their emails so I wasn’t expecting Cafe Bink to be closed for business. I (used to) look at Cafe Bink’s Facebook Page every week too hoping for some kind of special to read about. However nothing new has been written there in a while. Today I thought was a good day to go to Cafe Bink. We drive into the parking lot and it’s oddly empty. We see a note on the door and read that Cafe Bink Closed June 21st 2018……..Wow…how sad….I enjoyed so many amazing things at that restaurant over the years.
Here are not all but a few of the dishes I enjoyed there.
You can see from my photos that Cafe Bink was a special place. Although it’s a painful good bye to Cafe Bink it is also soon to be a great big hello to a New Restaurant to be named Confluence. I expect that the new restaurant might be just as good since it is owned and run by a very experienced former Binkley’s Chef Brandon Gauthier.
Well it’s time to move on….I will go someplace else.
I’ll try The Bacan Restobar….It’s just up the street and is a Tapas Restaurant.
That sounds fun and different.
Oh my!
What’s this on the door.
They suddenly changed their hours and didn’t update their website.
Dang!
Now I have to find another place.
I end up here……somewhere in Metro Phoenix.
I don’t care to reveal the name of the restaurant. The people working there were really nice and friendly………but The Forking Truth is that……It was the food………Somethings we ordered were good…….. but some things sucked too. I hope I just hit them on an off day?
I got the Walleye Platter because I really like Walleye and it wasn’t fried here! YEAH!
I have to admit the Walleye was pretty good.I got a nice big filet that wasn’t butchered (like the last walleye I had somewhere) The skin was removed and the fish tasted good and was light and flaky. Nothing was wrong with the Walleye…..except that it shared a plate with this corn. The corn on my plate was very strange tasting with a strange texture. I have no idea on how such corn was prepared. Each kernel was like a little soft sac filled with strange tasting really soft loose sweet and sour mush that squished out of the little very soft kernel sacs…..The corn was not appetizing….. The potatoes were cooked nicely but didn’t taste like the rosemary potatoes I was expecting. The sweet tomatoes would have been good but they picked up some of that corn taste that was weird. My stomach is still turning when I think about the corn from this place. I just keep thinking about that corn. Did I mention that I didn’t like the corn?
My husband ordered a Brisket Sandwich WITHOUT THE MAYONNAISE.
The sandwich comes out WITH MAYONNAISE.
The sandwich goes back to the kitchen.
The sandwich gets remade and returns.
Let’s start with the good.
The house made Carolina Sauce that the sandwich came out with is very good!
Nothing is wrong with the bread.
House made chips are crisp.
I taste a piece of brisket. WOW it’s dry and tasteless……………
My husband also didn’t like the breaded bacon on the sandwich…He said the breading just made the sandwich even more dry and the breaded bacon didn’t add the bacon flavor to the sandwich.
My husband was really grumpy from this sandwich.
That’s how it went.
First stop was Cafe Bink…found out they just closed for business this week so I didn’t get to eat there.
Second stop was Bacan Restobar…..just changed their hours and didn’t update their website so I didn’t get to eat there either.
Third stop was someplace somewhere in metro Phoenix. The Walleye was good but we left remembering the weirdest unappetizing corn ever and a really dry tasteless brisket sandwich.
Sometimes you are just going to have a FORKING BAD DAY when you go out to eat.
EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
This is a collection of what I thought was most delicious that I tried in Metro Phoenix in 2018 so far. I note that the foods are in no particular order.
In the beginning of the year I made it to Christopher’s again before the Chef relocated to Geordie’s at Wriggly Mansion. All the food I ever tried at Christopher’s over the years has been superb. The Chef is well known for classic and contemporary French Cuisine.
But my last meal there was lunch and it was exquisite! Things start out with the unforgettable amazing shattering baguette like no other. What not to enjoy about expertly prepared house smoked salmon that blankets this thin crisp crepe like no other holding this magical lemony salad. It even came with an edible spoon filled with cream…..Dessert was so detailed and equally as STUNNING……Actually MOST of the very BEST DESSERTS I’ve ever had in Metro Phoenix might have come from Christopher’s over the years…….. This lunch was deserving of a standing ovation.
WOW!
The Bourbon Cellar (now closed but soon to relocate near by) specializes in Burgers by day and in the evening also serves steaks and fish. I tried the House Ground Prime Filet Burger with Bourbon Pickles on an Apple Cider roll topped with a Wasabi deviled egg and a Bourbon Cherry. WOWEEEEEEEeeeee it was so FORKING SCRUMPTIOUS it just might flip Vegetarians to eat beef……DAM it was that great! ******FIRST Burger I’ve ever had anywhere that didn’t even need a sauce…..I’ll be honest like I always am that this burger was all the packed with LOTS of mixed greens that were annoying. BUT who cares? The greens fell out and the actual burger was so incredibly flavorful and juicy….Dang it was Great!. I’m looking forward to the reopening of The Bourbon Cellar in the fall in North Scottsdale. I have hopes that they are more than a one hit wonder. But that one hit is sure worth trying again!
The Luna Flavor Gelato was also FORKING INCREDIBLE from Luna Gelateria in Scottsdale…..it was so smooth……so creamy……just the perfect amount of sweetness…….the most amazing flavor with great mouth feel………THIS WAS THE FORKING BEST GELATO I’VE EVER TASTED…WOW! It must be tasted to be believed!
The Hot Chicken from Starlite BBQ in Scottsdale was Mighty Forking TASTY……It was the most developed with delicious flavors of the hot chickens I tried so far….not just hot but also delicious….The house made pickles, and that really awesome house made mustard also helped to elevate things….
I do have to say the Thai Style Ice Cream Roll from Nomadic Ice Cream Rolls were the best Ice Cream Rolls I’ve Tried…..others I’ve tried were also good…..but Shhhhhh….these were Forking Better……..Nomadic were the most creamy with the best rich and most interesting flavors. This one was made with avocado, a Brazilian Candy, high quality chocolate and agave……sounds weird but it was crazy good.
From La Piazza al Forno in Glendale came the Bianca Pizza – It’s made with a house pulled mozzarella like no other, a high quality ricotta, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano and we added Calabrian Chili peppers…..This was insanely delicious. Nobody’s crust is as light, tender and chewy…..This is the one pizza that is lighter than all the others. It really melts in your mouth. The mozzarella here is the best I’ve tried anywhere. When La Piazza al Forno gets it right….there are angels singing…..
The Other BEST Pizza I had this year was the Bufalina from Fabio on Fire in Peoria. The Flavors were unexpected…..Everything was happening here….The Bufala cheese was unlike any Bufala Cheese I’ve ever had before and was very flavorful and not watery….This pizza had sweet from the balsamic and peppery from the arugula. The cheese and San Marzano Tomato sauce was scrumptious……It was just everything you want and MORE! in a pizza. I seriously think this gotta be one of the BEST pizzas in Metro Phoenix.
Cafe Monarch is a fine dining restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale. The two dishes I enjoyed most were the Squash Blossom Relleno and the Tuna on a rice cake with Calabrian Chili Oil and Capelin Caviar……. I could do a serious number of the Squash Blossom Rellenos……I could eat them all day till my gut explodes……….Cafe Monarch should open a side window just for those dam Squash Blossoms……….Yes they were that great!
Pizzeria Bianco is well known for possibly serving the best pizza in the country and sister restaurant Pane Bianco is well known for their original high quality sandwiches……But what lingers in my memory the most from these places was the Nutmeg Ice. It is something to FORKING reckon with…It should be on everyone’s bucket list……It’s a wonder. It’s among the best desserts you should get in Metro Phoenix. It’s so unique light but creamy with that unexpected refreshing surprising taste…..YES bucket list if you haven’t tried it yet.
The dinner I recently had at Prado in Scottsdale was all delicious and very enjoyable. The house baked Sour Dough baked with Brie and served with lemon curd can help to aid the world to make world peace. (providing they supply a steak knife to cut the crusty bread) Prado also makes one of the most delicious Chicken Dishes in Metro Phoenix……Be real…..Who doesn’t enjoy an insanely moist, juicy and flavorful chicken with a thin crisp well seasoned skin. This was Forking Delicious and the rest of the plate wasn’t too shabby either.
Notable Honorable Mentions.
The Pecan Smoked Chicken from The Rogue Tomato in Glendale AZ with Sweet Potato Hash was pretty darn good!
The Semifreddo from Botegga Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale AZ was delightful.
The Hot Pot from Shabu Fondue in Phoenix was FUN and Delicious. This makes dinner like a date night. You don’t just eat you dip, swish the meat in the hot bubbling broth and talk the night away.
You might not be aware that is very rare that you will find any restaurant that brines their own corned beef. Most restaurants either purchase already prepared or they just finish the cooking process of the already brined corned beef in house. 3on Smith Cafe in Phoenix impressed me with their in house brined corned beef, Although this corned beef sandwich is a very NON-TRADITIONAL tasting it still is very good and 3on Smith deserves a shout out!
We regularly enjoy the Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and more from Banh Mi Bistro in North Phoenix. I like these Banh Mi Sandwiches best.
Both plates we tried from La Mejor Comida Barbacoa Restaurant in Glendale were quite good. I enjoyed my Corn Smut Quesadilla. I might be slightly more impressed with the Bisteck Huarache. It starts with a hand made flat bread that might be made from corn and it was topped with a house made green sauce, Mexican Crumbling Cheese and the tastiest tender nicely caramelized steak…I’m impressed because I usually don’t enjoy steak…It has to taste really good and be very tender like butter for me to eat it and it really was.
April – 22 – 2018
My last meal from Zabari Mediterranean Grill was a pita sandwich but it truly was the best pita sandwich I’ve ever had. They made a tastier, juicier and more caramelized Chicken Shawarma than any other I ever had anywhere. The pita bread was amazing and they also made all these delicious interesting sauces and salads that none of the other Mediterranean Restaurants that I know of offer. I was particularly found of the Matbucha (cooked tomato salad) that was also in this pita. Sadly Zabari Mediterranean Grill has closed their brick and mortar restaurant. But who knows..maybe they aren’t done yet.
Saffron Jak Bakery and Cafe is located in North Phoenix and offers Modern Persian Food. They do make a great caramelized Chicken Thigh platter served with DELICIOUS charred vegetables. Most of the food they offer come with Persian Sangak Bread also known as Pebble Bread. It’s a flat bread that’s tasty and chewy…Saffron Jak also offers Persian Tacos and Pizzas made from Sangak Bread. This is a Great Value restaurant…delicious reasonably priced food and big portions.
The FORKING BEST FOODS of what I tried in Metro Phoenix AZ so far in 2018….
There’s so much more out there!
Don’t know what I’ll taste next!
Feel free to leave your favorite food finds in Metro Phoenix in the comment section……If you care too.
Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
