Category Archives: Forking Thoughts

Random Forking Items of Interest

A Few of the Novelty Restaurants of Metro Phoenix AZ

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Slick’s Garage Peoria AZ

Metro Phoenix AZ offers a WIDE variety of restaurants to try. Some of the restaurants out there are the Novelty Restaurants. They all offer a unique atmosphere or theme.

****UPDATE****SADLY SLICK’S GARAGE BAR AND EATS HAS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS***

In Peoria AZ is Slick’s Garage Bar and Eats. They offer a casual menu that includes Burgers, Sandwiches and New Mexican Cuisine spiked with New Mexican Chili Peppers. ……Oh so yummy! …………Besides filling up on the food it is like dining in a museum of model trucks, vintage gas memorabilia and other things. The surroundings will keep your motor roaring and the vegetables they use don’t give you unwanted gas.

www.SlicksGaragePeoria.com

*****UPDATE****SADLY CAMP SOCIAL HAS CLOSED FOR BUSINESS*******

Camp Social is located in Phoenix. Camping can be fun..it’s a also a family friendly thing. You don’t need to bring a tent or bug spray to dine here…..the hostess steps out of a camper and then you get seated.  There is one camper on the floor to be seated in. There are also tire swings at the bar….Maybe you can be a swinger at the bar here while camping out?

The menu has changed since my visit but it’s still all casual and they offer Burgers, Sandwiches, Pizzas and MORE! I have to wonder if they added a bush to the restroom…because everyone pees behind a bush when you go camping.

www.CampSocial.com

The Fictional Mel’s Diner from The Alice TV Show is alive and hopefully still doing well in Phoenix.

You are not going to see Alice, Flo or Mel and you don’t have to kiss anyone’s grits. The people working there offer breakfast and lunch items at very reasonable prices. ………..(gosh the burger was only like $5.99 at the time I was there.)

As a child growing up I used to enjoy the TV Show but I never thought I’d actually dine at Mel’s Diner.

Look Mel’s Diner Phoenix AZ on Facebook, watch the re-runs! Or just stop right in.

Corleone’s is a Philadelphia Cheesesteak Themed Novelty Restaurant with more than one location in Metro Phoenix.

You can have a taste of Philadelphia without the traffic. You can a try a Cheesesteak on a genuine Amoroso Roll with hot and or sweet cherry peppers. Lots of Philadelphia Memorabilia to make you feel you are there and you don’t have to ride down the Schuylkill Expressway to get there.

www.Coreleones.net

Out here in Phoenix we really are a part of the Wild West and in Chandler AZ you can dine at Rawhide Western Town at Wild Horse Pass.

My few pictures here don’t do justice….This is a really neat place to visit. It’s really a small theme park with some entertainment, a train ride, panning for gold, activities, some cute shops and a restaurant. I don’t recall what I ate here (the few times I’ve been here) but at the time they served steak and my niece and nephew were very excited to eat the rattlesnake. My husband also entertained co-workers here and they seemed just as thrilled with Rawhide as my niece and nephew. It’s a place that you want to re-visit.

www.Rawhide.com

Maybe the most UNIQUE NOVELTY RESTAURANT THAT IS LIKE NO OTHER might be Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa AZ.

Check it out! Look! Some guy is at the BIGGEST WURLITZER ORGAN IN THE WORLD and Belts out all kinds of music. Themes from Star Wars, Star Trek, Lots of Disney…..Classics….lots of Americana…….It’s all Amazing!

Organ Stop Pizza

The pizza isn’t the type you’d drive across town for but the experience is like no other anywhere!

www.OrganStopPizza.com

These are just a few of the Novelty Restaurants in Metro Phoenix AZ.

Every Forking Thing is Subject to Change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

WTFork is MATBUCHA? and my Forking Recipe

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Matbucha

One of the best things I tasted in the past year was the Matbucha from Zabari Mediterranean Grill in Phoenix (Sadly now closed for business). I never heard of or knew of the dish called Matbucha until I tried it at Zabari. Matbucha is so delicious……I can’t believe this appetizer isn’t on the menu at most of the Mediterranean Restaurants in Metro Phoenix. Matbucha is also so delicious it should also be sold on supermarket shelves. You can think of Matbucha as a Middle Eastern/North African kind of Salsa. Matbucha in Arabic translates to Cooked Tomato Salad. The ingredients of Matbucha are Tomatoes that have the skin and seeds removed (so they taste extra sweet and yummy), roasted bell peppers (either red or green or both), garlic and chili pepper (s). Some variations do include some spices and some herbs. I’m lucky that I got in a recent last visit to Zabari Mediterranean Grill. I was only there days before they suddenly closed.  I had the most AMAZING Chicken Shawarma Pita with Matbucha and a few other fillings. The pita was incredible too and I have no clue how they stuffed it with so much food.

April – 22 – 2018

We couldn’t believe how great the food was…..Me and my husband are very saddened they closed because to date this was the tastiest Mediterranean Restaurant we’ve found in Metro Phoenix. If I knew they were closing I would have purchased a bunch of food to go. At least they left me with a happy food memory and I can thank them for introducing me to the delicious Cooked Tomato Salad called Matbucha. Since I tried the Matbucha from my first visit I kept thinking about it. I was hoping I’d come across a really great recipe for Matbucha but most of them didn’t sound as special as I thought this salad really taste. I read maybe every recipe I could find on the internet for Matbucha. I picked the ingredients I wanted to use and winged it.  This dish takes two hours to cook. It’s just like making home made tomato sauce. After you season it will taste different by the end of cooking time so the seasonings will need adjustments about a hour and a half into cooking time.

Ingredients for about 10 servings

1 Tablespoon course sea salt

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves – shredded….(really 5…I added one more near the end for adjustment)

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 Tablespoons Aleppo ground red pepper (it’s a fruity pepper with mild heat) ((similar fruity with mild heat peppers but different tasting   are Nora Pepper and Piment d’ Espelette))

4 Tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika

1/2 teaspoon  Hungarian sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

5 lbs tomatoes (big round ripe) seeds and skins removed – rough chopped

1 large onion – diced

1 lb roasted red bell pepper – skin, stem, seeds removed and rough chopped

1 bay leaf

optional * up to 2 Tablespoons sugar – you may or may not need any sugar…depends on your taste and how sweet tomatoes are.

2 serrano chili peppers (fried or roasted) and fine chopped – (you might want more…two chilies gives a very mild heat)

Optional 1 garlic clove shredded – I thought it needed one more garlic at the end

Optional just a pinch of parsley and cilantro at the end after salad is chilled

Optional fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

In a pot get the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the onions and salt. Mix. When the onions look about half cooked add the garlic on top of the onions on one half and on the other half of pot cook up the tomato paste at the same time.

Keep the 4 tablespoons of water on the side.

When the onions are cooked add the Aleppo pepper and the paprikas, cumin and coriander and stir around the best you can. During this time use as little of the water as possible. The mixture will get very thick and you will need to use the water but use as little as possible.

Add the tomatoes. They must have the skins removed and also be deseeded.

An easy way to remove the skins is by removing the core and making an x on the botton of tomatoes like this.

You drop the tomatoes in boiling water. They only need 30 seconds – to a minute usually….depends on how hard the boil and the amount of tomatoes cooling down the pot.

The skins peel off very easily. Actually they just slip off.

Then you remove the seeds. It’s easier than you think. Just cut the tomato in half. Pretend it’s a lemon and squeeze. The seeds just disappear.

All the tomatoes and CLEANED UP roasted peppers got in the pot rough chopped.

Add a bay leaf and one hot chili pepper (finely chopped)

Turn down to simmer and let it go 90 minutes and stir occasionally.

Test and adjust seasonings.

I thought mine needed sugar so I added two Tablespoons but if my tomatoes were better I don’t think I’d need it. I also added one more shredded garlic and some black pepper.

Let it simmer another 30 minutes.

I don’t think seasoning will need any more adjustment but you should test and adjust anyway.

Mixture is hot and needs to sit out at least an hour to cool some before you can refrigerate.

Matbucha SHOULD be chilled to serve.

Optional a light amount of fresh parsley and cilantro. (I recommend  just a small amount)

…It’s basically easy and is just like making really good marinara sauce. You just make it once you know what type of ingredients go in it.

Matbucha

Matbucha is a cooked tomato salad that is served cold like an appetizer. Here I have it pictured with a soft healthy style Lavosh Bread. Please don’t tell anyone because Matbucha is suppose to be served cold…..But I love Matbucha served hot over meats too. My husband freaked out in a good way when I served it with brisket. It was prize winning good…I’m not kidding either.

The Forking Truth

Sometimes Your Taste Will Differ From The Chef’s Taste

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I recently went to a nice restaurant that I have enjoyed before somewhere in Metro Phoenix. They were offering three course specials for Restaurant Week so we decided to give them a try. I started with the Smoked Tomato Gazpacho. My first taste and I’m thinking to myself…….. Wow it’s powerfully smoky. To me it taste like a half a spice jar’s contents of smoked paprika is in there plus something else that is smoky too. For me this is painful to eat. In the middle of the Gazpacho is a mound of creamy Buratta Cheese…it seems odd to me that it’s in there but it does bring some relief to all the strong smoke. Maybe it’s just that my taste does differ from the Chef’s Taste…..I know I do have some sensitivities to certain flavors of smoke and I do prefer foods to be gently smoked and not strong with smoke. Perhaps it was MY BAD that I ordered this dish?……

For my main course I had the Seared Red Snapper.

The fish was a large portion that was slightly over cooked but seasoned well. It rested over the toughest gnocchi I ever tried to eat in my life. WOW the Chef here is talented for sure and does other things quite well but needs to try some really good gnocchi so he knows what gnocchi should be like. No matter what variety of gnocchi this is the gnocchi are suppose to be light pillows that melt in the mouth. Not tough, chewy and crispy. This was not my taste….These Gnocchi were really bad to me. Gosh now let’s tell The Forking Truth……These Gnocchi were Forking Awful.

I made a mistake and tried a small bite of my husband’s Relleno.

All I taste is smoke………… 🙁 …………..My husband wasn’t found of this either but really more because he didn’t like the chicken inside……It was very smoky but I think he didn’t like the fine shredded texture even more……..It was like they put the chicken in a blender…..My husband’s taste did differ too from the Chef’s. This plate wasn’t his cup of tea.

For Dessert We shared the Lemon Poppy Bread Pudding and the Flourless Brownie.

I liked the lemon cream that came with the Bread Pudding but the Bread Pudding might have been over cooked because the end was burnt tasting and the pudding was dense and dry. No complaints about the flourless brownie as it was quite good.

Sometimes Your Taste will indeed Differ from the Chef’s Taste.

The Forking Truth

 

Forking Random Thoughts on Thai Cuisine

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Chicken Fortune Bags from Thai Time in Santa Rosa CA

Thai Cuisine is usually aromatic, usually is made with lots of vegetables and often is spicy. What’s not to like?

Spicy Lemon Salad – Sala Thai Peoria AZ

One of my favorite Thai Dishes is the Spicy Basil dish also called Pad Gra Pow usually known as Sweet Basil on menus. Not all but the majority of (Spicy) Sweet Basil Dishes offered at most North Phoenix Thai Restaurants really lack with the basil and sometimes the heat so I’m always looking for someone that makes this dish delicious like the way the dish should be made.

Pad Gra Pow is a simple dish. It translates to Stir Fried Holy Basil. Basically it’s meat (chicken, beef or wild boar) that is usually hand chopped and stir fried with garlic, something like 10 Thai chilies, soy sauce, fish sauce and at least a handful of holy basil. It should be topped with a fried crispy egg if you desire to eat it Thai Style.

Here’s Holy Basil Chicken from Thai Time in Santa Rosa California. (I don’t recall if egg was an option…I usually don’t add the egg. The egg if offered is usually an add on option)

Holy Basil Chicken from Thai Time in Santa Rosa CA

In California I lucked out and some of the restaurants I visited do say they use Holy Basil…….It does taste different. Holy basil is more fragile with less shelf life so nearly every Thai Restaurant in Phoenix uses Thai Basil instead of Holy Basil. Holy Basil is more peppery and is filled with more nutrients….Thus…”Holy Basil.” Holy Basil is believed to aid many health ailments. Thai Basil is Sweet Basil with a slight hint of an anise taste. A few times I came across Holy Basil at the Scottsdale Farmer’s Market.

The FIRST best Pad Gra Pow dishes I came across was from the LONG CLOSED Lao Thai that used to be in Scottsdale.

From Lao Thai of Scottsdale AZ (LONG Closed for Business)

Wow it was sooooooocrazy good! I enjoyed this dish with pumpkin so what I had was Spicy Sweet Basil with Pumpkin. I think this is my number one favorite Thai Dish. I get the best of both worlds. Creamy sweet pumpkin and spicy basil chicken. IT JUST POPS!

We had bunches Pad gra pow (or similar dishes) from many restaurants in Metro Phoenix.

Pad Gra Pow with Beef – Thai Plates Mesa

Phad Kaprow  – Krachai Thai Kitchen Phx

Pumpkin Basil with Chicken – Sala Thai Peoria

Holy Basil Chicken – Little Tigar Scottsdale

Wild Boar Grapao – Little Tigar Scottsdale

Basil with Ground Chicken – Thai Spices Mesa

Kappa Thai Style – Cha da Thai Scottsdale

Sweet Basil Chicken – Chanpen Thai Phx

Pad Gra Pow – Siam Kitchen Glendale

Pad Gra Pow – Siamese Kitchen Glendale

Pad Gra Pow – Kura Thai Phoenix

It’s very easy to see that some were much better than others.

It’s also a big win to find Northern Thai Dishes. Two Sisters Thai Restaurant used to be located in the Moon Valley part of Phoenix. (since closed for business) They specialized in serving North Thai Food. One of the dishes I really enjoyed there was the North Eastern Thai Dish called Esan Gang Gai also called White Curry.

Esan Gang Gai (White Curry) made with fresh dill and Lao Basil (Lao Basil is also known as lemon basil) from Two Sisters (since closed for business)

This dish was the most different of all the Thai Dishes I tried anywhere. It was flavored with fresh dill and Lao Basil (lemon basil) it was so different. It also had an Asian Vegetable in it that was something like a Chinese Broccoli in a very Chicken-ee broth. I still remember the waitress at Two Sisters telling me that White Curry is a “REAL THAI DISH.” She said that Thai People in Thailand really do eat this dish. That was very telling to me. I can now only imagine that most Thai Food on menus might not actually be Thai Food that Thai People eat?  I watched many of the Anthony Bourdain’s (Food/Travel) TV Show called Parts Unknown. Every-time he went to Thailand he didn’t eat anything that resembles food we eat in Thai restaurants……I remember in one show I watched Anthony Bourdain said, “You ain’t going to find your Pad Thai here.” Then he ate something cooked in Pig’s blood that was spicy…..and I don’t remember the rest of the dishes but that was maybe the first one.

Recently I came across another difficult to find Northern Thai Dish called Kang Pa Curry in North Phoenix. I read that Kang Pa Curry is also known as Jungle Curry and Forest Curry.

I don’t really know if this dish is Authentic Thai Cuisine or not because …….. this dish was HOTTER THAN FORKING HELL! (Kura Thai Phx)    MY GOD………and I only ordered hot……..this dish was also offered extra hot and Thai Hot as hotter choices……….It was so hot my lips felt like they were soaked in acid……..I don’t believe the heat actually came from chili peppers. It felt like some sort of chemical powders were used…….the texture of the sauce was very granular.  I’ve recently read at www.LonelyPlanet.com that it is very hard to actually find authentic Thai Cuisine even in North Thailand. Generally Northern Thailand Dishes do not contain coconut milk, they do a lot of frying, often feature pork and generally don’t serve spicy food…???????? Well that’s according to www.LonelyPlanet.com   ? I reckon it’s a possible that Kang Pa Curry makes up for all the spicy dishes they don’t serve….and it does…my God it does.

I have tried many curry dishes too….at many Metro Phoenix Restaurants….but I don’t order curry as often as the other dishes but here are just a few of the curry dishes I tried.

Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery- Scottsdale, Chanpen Thai -Phx, ……………..& Thai Spices -Mesa

Some were better than others.

But The Forking Truth is that the majority were delicious!

Those were some of my Random Forking Thoughts on Thai Cuisine.

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

I’ve Forking Tried Dragon Breath Dessert at Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale AZ

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Dragon Breath is a frozen dessert made from cereal dipped in liquid nitrogen. The ingredients listed on the bag are corn flour, baking powder, sugar and a bunch of coloring.

Made in Korea

Behind the counter we see a girl whipping up something that looks frozen. The bottom half of the mixer is covered in ice.

The cereal comes to you in a cup. You skewer the balls to eat them.

You can dip the ball in a sweet sauce that taste like 10x sugar mixed with water.

Vapor comes out your mouth when you eat the cereal.

The cereal is very cold. If nothing hurts you don’t have any cavities. This Dragon Breath sure doesn’t taste like much. The cereal is similar to Trix Cereal but unflavored …but  also larger like on steroids.. maybe sort of  generic…..(pardon bad pun)……like Cheap Trix.

Trix Cereal…… $1.49 is some Cheap Trix

I did find a few random pieces of cereal that did differ some in taste and shape….They were bigger and held even more coldness to them…They scared me a little I thought I could burn my mouth or lip on the bigger pieces.

I just wish this dessert tasted better….I’m thinking by adding a strawberry sauce it can be tastier………or maybe bumping up the refreshment and making it mint flavored would also be fun…so I could feel “REAL” cold refreshment like a York Peppermint Patty.

Even though this dessert didn’t taste awesome it was still fun to try. I could see people trying this at Disney Parks, Festivals, Amusement Parks, Parties. Every kid and every old kid might want to try this at least once.

That was my Forking Thoughts on Dragon Breath Dessert. Your Forking Opinion may or may not differ.

Dragon Breath is located at Arrowhead Towne Center on the lower level not too far from The Apple Store.

I note that The Forking Truth is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on Philadelphia and Temp Tee Cream Cheese – they Taste Different

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As a child growing up I always preferred Temp Tee Whipped Cream Cheese over Philadelphia Brand Whipped Cream Cheese……(Was I a foodie as a child?)…… Latter when I left home as a young adult I didn’t eat much cream cheese……but these days I do eat cream more. In Arizona Temp Tee brand cream cheese isn’t sold at any major grocery store. Every once in a while East Coast Foods show up at the 99 cent store. Breakstone’s and Hellman’s products show up every now and then along with Temp Tee Brand Cream Cheese. Today I happened to pick up some Temp Tee Brand Cream Cheese. I happened to have a tub of Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese at home so I wanted to see the taste difference for myself and how accurate my childhood memory of Temp Tee was.

I turn both tubs around and look at the ingredients. To my surprise both cream cheeses are owned by Kraft?????

 

Philadelphia Brand has more ingredients.  Pasteurized milk and cream, Skim milk, Whey protein concentrate, Whey, Modified Food Starch, Salt Carob bean gum, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Lactic acid, Natamycin ( a natural mold inhibitor), Vitamin A Palmitate, Cheese Culture.

 

Temp Tee has less ingredients but more fat. Pasteurized Milk & Cream, Salt, Carob Bean Gum, Cheese Culture.

I go to smell them.

I think they smell similar but slightly different.

I taste Temp Tee first.

 

It’s very creamy and also buttery and bright. It is very smooth in my mouth. It has a very rich mouth feel. Temp Tee taste like heavy cream and whipped sweet butter with a little tang. It taste natural and very good.

Now the Philadelphia Brand Whipped Cream Cheese.

Do I have an off batch?….. It’s almost like those Jello deserts that people used to make like Jello and Whipped Cream mixed together.  This cream cheese is very flat tasting after the Temp Tee and has some flavors I can’t identify. It lacks that natural cream and butter kind of taste with sour instead of tang. After the Temp Tee it doesn’t taste or feel natural. It’s very disappointing after the Temp Tee. Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese seems slightly gross to me after the Temp Tee. I do note that Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese usually does taste good to me but it’s only after tasting Temp Tee that I really notice the difference.

I hate to admit this but This Philly Girl (I was from the Philadelphia Area) Proclaims that New York Temp Tee Brand Cream Cheese is Forking Better than Philadelphia Cream Cheese by a long shot.

I do note your opinion may differ.

Those were my Forking Thoughts on Philadelphia and Temp Tee Brand Cream Cheeses – They do indeed Taste Different!

The Forking Truth

 

Four Different Flavors of Italian on The Upper West Side of Phoenix AZ

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www.cliparts.co

There are four different flavors of Italian Restaurants in the Upper West Side of Metro Phoenix.  Here’s a little stroll to the four different Italian Restaurants that are in the Upper West Side of Metro Phoenix in no particular order.

The one restaurant that has been around longer than any other I know of in the area is Cucina Tagliani who’s been a neighborhood favorite for over 25 years now. They serve up your favorite American Italian Dishes and offer some unusual HEALTHY SPINS you don’t find anywhere else. Spaghetti squash can be substituted for pasta. Chicken Parmesan can be grilled and not breaded or fried. They offer more than SIX kinds of vegetables and healthy style pastas and a Spaghetti Squash Lasagna to boot. But if you’re into the gut-busting Italian Combos they offer that too! The Mama’s and Papa’s Combo plates are a great value and can feed a small family or one big eater for a few meals. They also offer a certified dog friendly covered  patio. We’ve enjoyed the patio and have been bringing our dogs here for years.

 

www.CucinaTagliani.com

We also have The Twisted Italian in Peoria. Under the second ownership the Twisted Italian improved and REALLY went Twisted. The second owners are from Chicago and changed things up. They serve up most Italian-American Favorites, pizzas, pastas…..Pierogis……yes a few Pierogis…..Nobody else else anywhere has an Italian Relleno on the menu with house made sausage…do they? The Twisted Italian also ships in beef from Chicago for Italian Chicago Beef sandwiches and also buy baguette bread made in New Jersey for the sandwiches. At the moment this is the only restaurant that I know of on this side of town that serves bronzino. Recently I found them listed on www.BringFido.com so my dogs got to eat here too.

www.EatTwisted.com

One of the restaurant’s with the nicest atmosphere in this area is Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante. They offer a nice modern dining room, an indoor/outdoor and patio. They serve Neapolitan Pizzas, and mostly house made pastas. They also offer black board specials, wine dinners, bunch and have a dog friendly patio.

www.BottegaPizzeria.com

Another Italian Restaurant we have is Fabio on Fire in Peoria AZ. Fabio is already well known for his pizzas, breads and pastries that he serves at festivals, Farmer’s Markets and from catering. This is a small Italian Restaurant. Here you’ll find Italian Style Neapolitan Pizzas, fresh baked breads, hand made pastas, baked in house Italian pastries, gelato that’s to die for too! They offer a small patio that is not dog friendly so you won’t see my dogs here but you will see me here every now and then.

www.FabioOnFire.com

Now that was four different flavors of Italian that you can get in the Upper West Side of Metro Phoenix.

The Forking Truth is that Everything EVERYWHERE is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

 

 

Foodstock Food Truck Event at P83 Peoria AZ Sports Complex 2018

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Saturday April 28th from 12:00 – 9pm was the 2018 FOODstock Food Truck event at P83 Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria. 87 food trucks participated in this event this year. Admission was $5.00 a person, kids 12 and under were free and the proceeds went to charity.

I wasn’t going to attend after the food I tried last year….

Close up of Corned Beef Wild Buckeye Roll

I did some homework this time. I researched some of the participating food trucks and made a small list of the food trucks that are well known for serving good food. (instead of picking trucks on a whim like I did last year)…….

One of the food trucks I wanted to hit was The Main Lobster Lady.

I don’t eat lobster…..I know they are a delicacy but lobsters sort of gross me out……I see them as something like really BIG cockroaches…….and I don’t have an appetite for big insects….. I figure with the rave reviews everything must be good so we split a Haddock Sandwich.

We receive a very generously sized sandwich. it’s on a soft buttery roll. The fish is REALLY SUPER FRESH tasting and fried to PER-FEC-TION! This sure ain’t no fish from Safeway…..WOW it’s really good fish. You rarely will find fish this good around Phoenix. I gave my half a little squeeze of fresh lemon….I used a small amount of the tarter sauce…The tarter sauce is extra thick…..it’s mostly mayonnaise. This sandwich…as great as it is …..is super difficult to eat standing up…(at food stock there are only a few tables…you mostly walk and stand here)………..This fish is so delicate and the fish is so flaky. You really need three hands to handle this sandwich….everything is bursting out and I  look like a mess…..Good thing you can’t see me. As messy as it was this was a much better start than last year.

The next Food Truck down happened to be on my list. It was the Puffy Taco Truck.

We shared a chicken taco plate with added green chilies. I think we waited about 15minutes in the high heat for this plate. It was about 90 degrees F but in the hot strong sun it felt like a little over 100 degrees.

The best part of this plate are the Puffy Taco Shells…..They do have a nice fresh really good corn taste……The Taco shells are very good. The chicken was fresh moist and tender pulled rags of plain breast meat. topped with lots of iceberg lettuce, a little cheese, our added chilies and  chopped tomato. I use the salsa…..the salsa is very plain and lacks herbs, tang, seasoning and flavor.  The chilies are mild. The chicken and salsa are delicate and were barely touched with flavor so you can taste the taco shell more……….

We walk around the whole place and I have three more stops on my list – Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen, Jamburrito’s Cajun Grill and Mighty Moo.

Mingo’s and Jamburritos are not here.

Bummer ……….. 🙁     🙁    🙁

I just read this morning on www.phoenix.carpediem.cd that they were suppose to be here.

Decide it’s best to end this thing here on a sweet note.

Very good small batch hand crafted Ice Cream from Mighty Moo. For me it was a small cup of Chocolate covered cherry and my husband had salted butterscotch.

With a small amount of research with food trucks I did much better than last year. It’s too bad the Food Truck List is subject to change. If I go next year I now know to create a longer food truck list to do better.

That was my visit to the 2018 FOODstock.

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on Jelly Belly Krispy Kreme Doughnut Flavored Jelly Beans

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Jelly Belly is known for making some sopistacated flavors of Jelly Beans. Most people I know either LOVE or HATE Jelly Belly Jelly Beans because of some of the realistic flavors. These are not the type of jelly beans where you can eat handfuls of…..Jelly Belly Jelly beans you need to savor either one or a couple at a time. Some flavors are surprisingly realistic like the pear flavor, peach flavor and the cantaloupe flavor. Another very realistic flavor is the popcorn flavor. It taste just like popcorn but it is very strange to taste salty buttery popcorn in a sweet jelly bean….Many people can’t get over the strangeness of the popcorn flavor and some people I know just can’t enjoy jelly beans one or two at a time. So you either love or hate Jelly Belly Jelly Beans….

I came across these Krispy Kreme Doughnut Flavored Jelly Belly Jelly Beans so I thought I’d give them a try,

The whole bag is only 100 calories!

Five flavors are packed in the bag – Cinnamon Apple Filled, Strawberry Iced, Glazed Blueberry Cake, Original Glazed Doughnut and Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles.

I open up the package. The package does smell like a box of doughnuts!

I got around 26 jelly beans. I received many Cinnamon Apple Filled and only two with Chocolate Iced Sprinkles.

I start by tasting them one at a time.

My least favorite is the Glazed Blueberry Cake. It’s not horrible or anything like that. It doesn’t really taste like Blueberry to me and has a slight tartness to it.

The Cinnamon Apple Filled is leans heavy on the cinnamon side. This Jelly Bean had better flavor and when I ate two at a time the apple flavor squeezed out some.

One of the better flavors was the Original Glazed. It taste just like fried Glazed Doughnuts but with the Jelly Bean Texture. I don’t thing I’d eat handfuls of this flavor but in a small dose it’s interesting.

Chocolate Iced was Pretty Good! I got Chocolate Iced Doughnut Taste but the flavor leaned towards Chocolate Sprinkles.

I like the Strawberry Iced the best. It taste just like a realistic strawberry iced doughnut.

Those were My Forking Thoughts on Jelly Belly Krispy Kreme Flavored Jelly Beans.

Your Forking Thoughts may or may NOT Differ……

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on NEW Crunchy Mint & Raspberry M&M’s Candy

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M&M’s have put out for a limited time three new flavors of M&M’s Candy – Crunchy Raspberry, Crunchy Mint and Crunchy Espresso. I’m only trying the Raspberry and Mint flavored M&M’s. On the back of the package they suggest that you text them your favorite of the three flavors. They also note that no prize will be awarded and there is little other information.

I start by opening the Raspberry Bag.

I take a whiff.

It smells just like those dark chocolate raspberry jelly rings that my sister loves.

Next I pour some out.

Odd colors for raspberry – white, red and brown….I was expecting purple like the bag…..and smaller irregular shapes and different sizes.

I go to taste one and let it melt in my mouth.

Hard shell that sort of taste like Raspberry Bubble Yum. Followed by a burst of a dark chocolate taste that is slightly bitter mixed with that candy jelly ring like raspberry taste…then I’m left with a crunchy center that taste like Rice Chex cereal.

I get more flavor when I eat about three of them normal……..I really like the texture…..this is what the crispy M&M’s should be like……..very crisp and light……but…I get…Ick!…a chemical after taste…ick!

Now I bravely go for the Crunchy Mint.

I open the bag and take a whiff.

It smells appetizing…..very chocolate and very mint…….reminds me of an Andie’s Candy.

I pour some out.

These M&M’s are also of different sizes and shapes but are larger than the Crunchy Raspberry M&M’s. They are a light green a medium green and brown.

I let one dissolve in my mouth.

Normal candy shell.

Taste like deep chocolate with lots of mint…….lots of mint…..clears my head….I like the very strong mint. Almost gives me a brain freeze. There is a cereal center…..when all the chocolate is gone the cereal taste like a Rice Chex.

I go to eat some normal.

Ummm I think these are pretty good.

A nice light crunchy texture with very strong mint and deep chocolate. Sort of like an Andie’s Chocolate Mint but with lots of textures.

I think these would also be really yummy with ice cream.

Opps!………… I ate a few handfuls….. they were yummy…..Now I get an artificial tic tac breath mint kind of mint build up and aftertaste…..wow it’s like sex that ends with a fart.

I guess the new Crunchy Mint is only good if you only eat a few.

I’m not big on the Crunchy Raspberry but it does have a nice texture. The Crunchy Mint also has a great texture and is great until you get that Tic Tac breath mint kind of build up.

Those were my Forking Thoughts on Crunchy Raspberry and Mint M&M’s…I note that YOUR FORKING OPINION may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth