Monthly Archives: October 2018

The Halloween Special Edition – A Collection of Frightful Horrific Foods Served to Me in Metro Phoenix

Here is a special Halloween Edition of The Forking Truth that is a collection of some of the most Frightful, Horrifying and also Terrible Foods that was served to me in Metro Phoenix Arizona. It’s not in my interest to bring negative attention to a restaurant that is still in Business. I will only mention the name of the restaurant if they have since closed……

Taco Haus Scottsdale AZ (wow that was really bad)

The worst chicken taco imaginable came from Taco Haus that used to be in business in Scottsdale. Imagine a taco restaurant that makes dry flavorless tacos. Even the tortilla sort of expired before it made it to the table. I don’t recall this restaurant being in business for very long. You can see why……..

There are many different reasons for horrible or frightening……Imagine that you are hungry….You go out to a very nice restaurant and only get this much food at lunch time for $16.00. Dang I could have used that other half of the egg….What do you think they did with it?

Seared Tuna Nicoise ($16.) from The Local, PHX AZ

The Local that used to be in Phoenix had a very talented Chef. I enjoyed his food from years ago at Atlas Bistro. This Seared Tuna Nicoise didn’t give me enough food to even meet 1/2 of a weight watchers standard…..NOBODY only eats just this much food for a $16.00 lunch entree. For God’s Sake even a Gerbil eats more!

Note..Hamster got more forking food…..

What am I suppose to do purchase TWO or Three lunches? Getting a portion of food like this is Horrifying for $16.00. Perhaps that is the reason this place didn’t make it….No matter how delicious the food might be you have to have some common sense on what you serve someone for lunch for $16.00….and this was a few years back.

Glendale AZ

Old tasting sushi is one of the worst things that can happen to you. This sushi Asian restaurant is still in business today and has a 4 1/2 star average on Yelp……WOO Hoo 4 1/2 stars lets get some disappointing sushi!

Both these desserts were AWFUL…..I couldn’t eat either and I love desserts. .This is a well known restaurant from somewhere in Phoenix that should be great but had an off night. The main courses were just as bad. Below was my main course from this restaurant…Looks like someone already ate it and Forking threw it up to me……..Would you eat it?

Here was my main course

Scottsdale AZ Salmon Alla Francesca

The fish from this restaurant in Scottsdale was so strong  tasting it could do push ups.

The meatballs from this restaurant were so dry they should have given us a rain check.

The food was good at this particular restaurant somewhere in Phoenix but the desserts were inedible. They were hard as rocks….neither of our forks could penetrate them…..My husband was determined to bust them up with his hands. We should have brought a jack hammer with us. It was very odd when we brought this to the attention of the owner or manager. He said nothing was wrong with the desserts….and they just needed to be heated up….Dang I should have brought my portable furnace with me to warm up rock hard desserts that are served to me…..Dang!

Fondant from Indi Fusion

Indi Fusion was a very nice mixed culture restaurant that used to be located in Scottsdale. Most of the food I tried was reasonably tasty….But I will never forget the Fondant they served me…..In case you are not familiar with the French Dessert Fondant….It’s basically a Molten Lava Cake…..The Chef at Indi Fusion misunderstood what a Fondant was and served me a big lump of frosting.

Nobody likes finding things in their food…..I don’t know what it was but this thing seemed just like lump of silicone in the dessert. The waiter just laughed and said it was part of the dessert….(yeah right…that’s a good one)……My stomach turned from most of the food I tried at this place.

I prefer my Bon Choy Washed…..instead of that earthy style……

The 2nd worst falafel I ever tried….It was number one until recently. This one lacked herbs and was very dry. This restaurant is on several Best of Metro Phoenix List……..I’m telling you that this is not a good falafel…..A good falafel might have a crisp exterior, should be fluffy and has a moist but not mushy or dense center and is embedded with fresh herbs…..It is possible that this restaurant’s recipe for falafels have changed since my visit but I wouldn’t know……Why would I go back when all the food sucked?…….

My fish was a little over cooked but the worst part of my plate were the vegetables…..The vegetables appear that they were re-heated for several days…..maybe two weeks old… The vegetables are in a state of decomposing…….It’s terrible that this was a $34.00 dinner …By the way this restaurant is also featured on a Best of Phoenix List. I note that I did also have very good food from this restaurant too…… but this dinner sucked the big one! Nobody wants to pay $34.00 for OLD reheated food.

This was a newly opened restaurant. Multiple problems with all these plates. Sorry now I didn’t take a better photo of the tuna tartare because it was really hacked in a bad way.  It was like one piece of fish that was scored by a chimpanzee. The fish also didn’t taste fresh. But the major problems were the sauces and the slaw (and management). The slaw was suppose to be a corn jicama slaw and didn’t contain corn or jicama.  When I told the management about the slaw they told me that green cabbage looks the same as crisp white jicama……they said nothing about missing corn (at this time).   The sauce on the falafel Sandwich was suppose to be a green curry coconut sauce but it just tasted like loose white liquid. The sauce on the tuna tartare was also loose white liquid. The management of this restaurant reacted very negatively to me when I pointed out some of the problems with their food (and service). They said they were new so I should expect them to run out of stuff…….OK dudes….New restaurants run out of stuff, push out the food any old way and are not obligated to inform you…THANKS I get it now!

Over Cooked and Over Salted Phoenix AZ

You don’t expect a small lump of dry over salted fish when you go out and spend $300.00 for dinner. I note that this is a very nice restaurant and all the other food we had was very good…..but they did screw this fish up.

This dry fish was even worst…..this one came from a nice resort in Scottsdale. This fish seemed like it was saved from a buffet (or the trash) and then was slightly re-heated for me……….How Forking Nice was that?

This beef was so bad I couldn’t eat beef again for the rest of the year. I’ll be honest and admit I blocked out what the green sauce that looks like pond slime tasted like but I do remember it was horrible. I remember the beef was very chewy, didn’t have a good flavor and me and my husband decided it wasn’t good enough to bring home to my dogs. (and the dogs I have now aren’t as fussy as my last dog Louie….incase you didn’t know Louie had a palate better than most people)

This came from a food truck. The fryer grease must have been very old and ripe ……the food tasted like a they were cooking up old sour road kill every week for a year before they cooked these meat stuffed rolls for us….(oh what fun……)…The rolls didn’t even get crisp……..We were suppose to receive a roll filled with corned beef and the other was suppose to be beef…..The roll with corned beef was mostly empty because the corn beef fled to find a better resting place.

The other roll was a mystery roll filled with mystery meat…….??????? Could have been a varmint like chipmunk but it was probably pork……or was at one time.

After this I thought I might not ever eat from a food truck again.

This Fish Platter was awful from some place in Peoria….that is on a Best Food in Peoria List. Even the couscous was awful…Shame because the last time I was here the food was delicious….below is what I had last time.

sometime pre-2017

I contacted the restaurant because I wanted to know if they changed the chef. They told me that they had the SAME chef……….I guess he lost his touch or came down with a memory disorder and forgot on how to cook…….

Every FORKING THING is subject to change…….You and ME have to remember those truthful words.

The food we tried at this particular restaurant in Phoenix was good but their apple pie is one of the worst in the whole world. It was filled with unseasoned hard apples and the dough is RAW. Even the ice cream taste like NO FRILLS ice cream. It’s a YUK!

A restaurant should be tested by a crew of critics before it gets a license to open.

We were served breaded freezer burnt fish here. The red beans and rice were sour. The tarter sauce was watery and old tasting. Macaroni and cheese was very artificial but also watered down tasting with gooey noodles.  Sadly the sweet potatoes have seen better days. After tasting we threw out the food and ate someplace else.  I don’t know but I think this was the result of poor cooking skills combined with possibly failing restaurant equipment…………..But I think the Owner/Cook missed her calling…….she should prepare food for the county jail.

$13.99 Salad from a Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix AZ

Wow! I’ve been to one of the worst Sonoran Style Mexican Restaurants in Phoenix.  The Chips were not as good as packaged chips (they were flavorless and salt free). The salsas were not as good as bottled salsas and lacked salt and seasoning. For some odd reason the hot sauce  tasted like they added strawberry sauce to it (WTFork). This salad was the most uninspired salad I ever had anywhere. I would NEVER come back for anything I tried here. I would also never recommend this restaurant to even my enemies. I am clueless as to why this is one of the most popular restaurants in town. Anytime you drive by this place the parking lot is full……

www.pinterest

The fresh baked bread and the slaw were delicious but the chicken in this sandwich was very similar to a steel belted tire.

I’ve been to this restaurant a few times and it was great. I go back and find out the chef left and got lousy food. Everything pictured here was AWFUL. I remember I sent my plate of the left with 80% of the food back to the kitchen to trash it. The waiter said that he was sorry. The fish was old tasting and was topped with with a thick spread of raw sour tomato paste. One of the corn splats tasted like wet RAW flour and the other corn splat was just awful.  On the right was not good tasting soggiest gooiest pierogi I ever tried in my life. It was all horrible!

Oddly the management contacted me and said something along the lines that since my first two visits were great….That I should be happy and the first two visits made up for my last visit….

It’s always wonderful to get uncooked food!

This was a newly opened restaurant at the time but there is no excuse for serving grits that are uncooked. A normal person would say our grits aren’t ready yet. A person that serves paying customers uncooked food isn’t cut out for the restaurant business. (What kind of person does this?…..) We did tell someone that worked there about the grits and they didn’t do a thing. Nobody said they were sorry. Nobody said we will take that off your bill. Nobody got us a new one. The person just ran away.

This particular restaurant also served the brisket before it was ready so the meat was like rubber with hard fat to pull off.

What do you think that tall yellow tower is?

This particular restaurant had a different chef at the time………(doing their damage someplace else)…… But WOW I will never forget the Polenta Tower on my plate. It was a very stiff polenta. The artichoke sauce on the plate was awful too.

I got this beauty from a Steak Sandwich Shop that opened up somewhere in Metro Phoenix this year. The filling they made isn’t bad but they use the WORST BREAD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD HERE that just disintegrates……Why WHY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY would someone open a sandwich shop and use the worst bread in the whole wide world?

Unfortunately I went to a Mediterranean Restaurant that was mostly HORRIBLE (the rice and bread was good…not great but good). The Falafels were the worst I ever tried….They had hard garbanzo beans that turned kind of burnt and never got soft…actually the whole ball just sort of was burnt like with little hard rocks. It was gritty like mortar and burnt tasting rocks. You couldn’t really eat it because you could break your teeth trying to eat the falafels but you also didn’t want to eat them because of the burnt taste. The Eggplant dip was so smokey I screamed when I tried it……… Beef Sharma was so dry I couldn’t eat it because it was like trying to eat a braid of hair. I thought a very large bottle of smoke flavoring was added to the eggplant dip but the owner contacted me and said he doesn’t use smoke flavoring so I have no idea on how he got so much smoke in there.It was eating a pack of used cigarettes. Also I received a decomposing pickle ……that’s not the end but I’ll stop here.

This doesn’t look bad but it was mostly horrible. The meatballs were incredibly mushy and contained hard carrots. The sauce was bitter and also contained hard carrots. This was awful….who opens a restaurant that can’t cook? This is tragic. I also thought this restaurant shouldn’t have a license to sell food….After all you need a license to drive…..you pass a test and get your drivers license…..I think restaurants should also pass a test to sell food. Some restaurants really do need to pass a test first.

This bread pudding might have been the worst I ever tried in my life. It was so heavy and dense that it was painful to eat. It was also hard to stomach the rubbing alcohol flavor it had. I tried this bread pudding at a very nice well known restaurant. For GODS Sake The Forking Truth is that even ten year old children make better bread puddings in their home economics classes than this one I tried……

Here comes another one

Doesn’t this plate look scrumptious?

Don’t the potatoes and vegetables look delicious!

Oh Goody Goody Joy Joy….I got me some mediocre fish, once frozen then water logged vegetables and potatoes that look like they are infected with gangrene……how FORKING Tasty is that?

Here’s an even better look at the yummy potatoes…..

I know you’re jealous!

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..Eating at these places was as painful as getting clubbed in the knees

This was the Halloween Special Edition of FRIGHTFUL HORRIFYING Food served to me in Metro Phoenix AZ.

www.shutterstock.com

and they were-

NOT WORTH A FORK!

The FORKING TRUTH is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT Forking differ.

I hope you enjoyed The Special Halloween Edition of the most Horrific Frightening and Lousy Food served to me in Metro Phoenix.

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dining Out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix October 2018

 

WOO HOO We are going out to eat!

Dining out with dogs is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It sort of started with my dog Louie who was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. I wanted to take him out to eat as often as I could because he enjoyed it. Instead of his three-six month prognosis he made it another 17 months maybe from going out to eat……..Now my current dogs enjoy going out to eat.

It’s important to know that not all patio dining is Dog Friendly. You need to see a dog friendly sign or certification posted.

Or call the restaurant you want to dine at and ask if it’s ok to bring your furry friend. It’s ALWAYS BEST to call the restaurant first. The patio could be booked for a party….you never know!

It’s ALWAYS BEST!!!!! to dine at off times to avoid all conflict you might endure. Other diners might not share your love for dogs and do complain. Some people are allergic. Other people with dogs might start barking and you all will be asked to leave. AVOID other diners and dine at off times.

There are rules for Dining Out With Dogs.

Dogs are not allowed to sit on restaurant furniture.

Dogs must be by your side at all times.

Dogs are not to eat off restaurant plates.

It’s also important to know that MOST FOOD YOU EAT AND DRINK IS NOT SAFE FOR YOUR DOG! Please consult your veterinarian for the safe and non safe list of foods for dogs.

In general a small amount of lean meat without sauce is usually your best bet. You also might want to bring a collapsible water bowl for your friend.

It’s also important to know that your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. 90 degrees and over is too hot for your dog to dine out.   My dogs can do (at this time it might change at some point) up to 90 degrees F BUT IN SHADE ****NOT WITH SUN *****FULL SHADE as shade makes a difference.

Cool weather finally hit Phoenix and we made a quick stop to our favorite gourmet fast food place…..Salad and Go. ( a local group of restaurants)  Salad and Go doesn’t have a dining room and is drive threw or just walk up to the window. They do offer a dog friendly patio and sometimes hand out dog biscuits the doggy customers. For people they offer breakfast, about ten varieties of natural organic salads, wraps and smoothies.

Today I got the Seasonal Harvest Salad with Chicken.

The Dogs enjoyed some Chicken and some Sweet Potatoes from my salad.

They also enjoyed some Shrimp from my husband’s salad.

“We enjoyed eating at Salad and Go!”

www.SaladandGo.com

“Today we are on our way to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix”.

BMBVE is a Pho Free Vietnamese Restaurant that specializes in the Banh Mi Sandwiches. They offer close to a dozen different sandwiches so there is one for everyone’s taste. They also offer various noodle bowls, rice plates, desserts and lots of tasty appetizers….several desserts too!

Today I went with the Chef’s Special Chicken Curry.

Today I got it with rice but I have gotten it with the Vietnamese Baguette before.

My husband got the BBQ Pork Banh Mi Today.

We all enjoyed ourselves at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix.

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

“We are on our way to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale AZ”

Bottega is an Italian Restaurant in North Glendale AZ. They specialize in Neapolitan Pizzas, hand made pastas and other Italian foods.

Today I went with one of the seasonal specials…The Chicken and Strawberry Salad.

It was a generously sized salad with lots of fresh greens and lots of chicken to share.

“WOO-HOO!” “I’m getting me lots of chicken!”

“Move the FORK over Runt” “Ladies first” “I’m getting the Forking Chicken before YOU!”

My husband got the Pompei Panini. It’s made on house baked bread and is filled with Cotto Ham, Salami Parma, Provola Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato and Onion and comes with a mixed greens salad…..

It’s a really big and also a nice meal for only $11.95 (***price subject to change)

“One Sandwich for YOU and one sandwich for ME!”

We decide to share a dessert (but not with dogs because chocolate is harmful to dogs).

Our server called it a Semifreddo but I don’t it was…because the last time I had a semifreddo at Bottega it looked like this and was more like ice cream mousse……

but whatever it was it was delicious and more like ice cream embedded with Italian cookies and got covered with this rich chocolatey sauce where some of stayed saucy and some of it magically hardened.

Whatever it was the dessert was delicious and everyone enjoyed themselves.

www.BoteggaRistorante.com

“We hope you enjoyed Dining Out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix October 2018.”

“We hope to see you next month!”

The Forking Truth

In Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017

 

 

 

 

 

First Taste at Parma Italian Roots in Scottsdale AZ – Worth a Fork!

 

Parma Italian Roots is a West Coast Style Italian Restaurant located in North Scottsdale Arizona. They use quality ingredients and the kitchen is equipped with a wood burning oven. The chef is highly decorated and worked in impressive restaurants such as the French Laundry and also worked in a Michelin Starred Restaurant, a Resort and also under well known chef Brian Malarky…..It’s hard to believe he crammed in so much of an impressive work history since he has yet to turn thirty years old.

The restaurant has a rich look to it inside and out…….

Also a collection of pillows across the bench…….

The tables are set with fancy cut glass water glasses and very heavy rich modern silverware. For seating there is a mix of modern blue velvet chairs, metal chairs, benches, booths, bar and outdoor patio seating that I was told was dog friendly.

Our server was friendly and welcoming. We ordered and our meals were served in a timely manner.

I got the 1/2 Salmon Sandwich with the Truffled Panzanella Salad. The salad was a treat because it was made with these really ripe sweet heirloom tomatoes, basil, mizzuna, buffalo mozzarella, zucchini and toasted bread. Who wouldn’t enjoy a salad like this……everything in it was delicious. It was like a bowl full of prizes. The sandwich was just the right size I think for most people……Not too big and not too small. It was quality charred bread that might have been hollowed out…It wasn’t as thick as it looks. It was filled with quality buttery Ora King Salmon, vegetables and this tasty Salsa Verde. I think this platter was a bargain at $13.00 (***of course price is subject to change)

My husband had the Half Veal Meatball Sandwich with the HALF house made PASTA OPTION….YES I said half pasta option……How different and interesting!!!!!

WOW! Here was House Made Campanelle with Truffled Pesto, Toasted Pistachios and House Made Ricotta that was very good and that alone I think was worth the $13.00 it cost but he also got the Veal Meatball Sandwich Too. (****I wouldn’t be surprised if the pricing for the 1/2 sandwich platter goes up) The Veal Meatball Sandwich was prepared on quality charred bread. Meatballs seemed like they were simmered in Pomodoro Sauce and came with a blanket of Provolone and Parmesan Cheese. The meatballs were very tender and were flavored well.

We decided to share a Limoncello Dessert.

It was frosty…It seemed light and kind of refreshing. It was like gelato…..but with this kick of Limoncello sauce. This one isn’t for kids……..

We enjoyed our first taste at Parma Italian Roots in North Scottsdale.

I’d say it was Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.ParmaItalianAZ.com

The Forking Truth is that EVERY THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

My Visit to the 2018 Enchanted Pumpkin Garden in Carefree Arizona

 

The Enchanted Pumpkin Garden takes place in Carefree Arizona at the Carefree Desert Gardens every year at the end of October. 2018 was the fourth year for this event that took place October 19th-28 2018.  This was a free event. Pumpkin Artist Ray Villafane is the artist that is responsible for these Whimsical Creations. No need to worry about parking or fighting your way threw the crowds……Just sit back and enjoy the photos!

Some Quality Food Trucks were there!

That was the 2018 Enchanted Pumpkin Garden in Carefree Arizona.

www.CarefreePumpkinGarden.com

The Forking Truth

Forking Tasty Sardine Empanadas Recipe – different but based on Patis Jinich Recipe

 

Sardine Empanadas

I was watching the PBS  James Beard Nominated TV Show Patis Mexican Table. I saw Patis Jinich make Sardine Empanadas. She talked about how she grew up eating sardines and loves sardines and I thought I do too. I thought what a great idea….I want to make sardine empanadas too.   I wrote down all the ingredients that I remembered she used on TV. She said the secret of the sardine tasting good here were the mushrooms…..(who knew?)…….The biggest difference Patis’s Recipe and what I did is that I didn’t use puff pastry and made a quick oil crust. Other than that I did some things different and I added scallions, cilantro and 1/2 a roasted lime……But I would not have come up with this recipe if I didn’t watch Patis on TV.  So I have to Thank Patis of Patis Mexican Table for sharing with us such a great recipe that is delicious! This recipe makes around ten empanadas but you will have extra filling leftover that you can use for one lunch.

Ingredients for about 5 servings

2 cans boneless skinless sardines (about 3.75 oz a can) (don’t drain oil yet because you will use oil to sauté vegetables)

1/2 cup olives stuffed with pimentos (I used Spanish Queen Olives) – chopped well

1/2 white onion – mine was 3.5 oz – chopped well

1 cup tomato – I used slow roasted but fresh or canned are fine – chopped (***My tomatoes were extremely sweet from being skinless and slow roasted***you might need adjustment to flavor with a small amount of sugar if your tomatoes aren’t sweet)

1/4 cup  pickled jalapeños – preferably my recipe on this site or purchased from a farmers market….you want good ones

4 oz mushrooms – sliced thin

1/4 cup scallions sliced thin

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro – chopped

1/4 teaspoon course salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

1/2 lime (this gets roasted till sweet) ((Skip lime if you don’t want to roast it))

2 cups flour (plus a little extra for rolling)

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon course sea salt (the dough is so delicious with course sea salt..it turns almost sweet and you get these pops of tasty salt)

1/3 cup water

2 eggs – separated (whites are for sealing and the yolks are for glazing the empanadas)

Instructions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the cut part of the 1/2 lime with oil from the sardine can and put on a baking sheet in the oven for 45 minutes.

Line two sheet pans with quilon coated baking sheets and put them to the side.

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup oil, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon course sea salt, 1/3 cup water. Mix well and knead……roll into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and put to the side.

Put a fry pan on medium high heat with about a Tablespoon of oil from a sardine can. Cook the onions till translucent. Add them to a large bowl. Add a little more oil to the fry pan and sauce the mushrooms. Try to get them a little browned when they are cooked and a little brown add them to the bowl. Now sautée the tomatoes till they are falling apart. Now add back in the onions and mushrooms……if it’s liquid  continues coming out you have to cook it more to dry it up some. Add the olives, jalapeño, salt and pepper. Take off heat and add the scallions, cilantro, sardines (slightly broken up) and a squeeze of the roasted 1/2 lime. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Put to the side.

The two eggs get separated and beaten. You should have one small bowl of whites to glue the empanadas together and one small bowl of beaten yolks to gloss up the empanadas.

Get ready to roll out the dough.

Sprinkle surface and rolling pin with a small amount of flour.

Roll out dough. I used a cap from a container of nuts to cut out empanada circle shaped dough but you can use a bowl. The cap measured a little under five inches.

Now you take your fingers and wet them with the beaten egg whites and run that around the circle of dough.

Then fill the dough with about a heaping tablespoon of filling but pick off the top where it’s less juicy.

Fold over

Now crimp ends with a fork and place on lined sheet.

They get brushed with the beaten egg yolks.

Repeat till you are done. The last two empanada shells might need to be made with the ends of dough that you re-roll.

They go in a 350 degree oven till done or for about 20 minutes.

You are going to be pleasantly surprised !

These Sardine Empanadas are FORKING TASTY!

WOW my husband isn’t a fan of sardines but loves these Sardine Empanadas….All the flavors together are terrific…..They came out so Forking Tasty that he said now you should make all kinds of empanadas.

Sardine Empanadas

A Special Thanks to Patis Jinich of Patis Mexican Kitchen for sharing and coming up with such a tasty dish!

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

NEW weiRD Different Limited and Special Edition Foods out There October 2018

 

There is always something New Weird Different Limited or Special Edition out there in the wonderful world of food. I never know WTFork I’ll come across when I go to a store. Here are some of what I’ve come across recently. Up top are Lemon Cheesecake Coated Pretzels…..WOW did you ever expect to see them…I know I didn’t.

Raspberry Truffle Pretzels seem almost normal after Lemon Cheesecake Pretzels.

Now they are making rice cakes unhealthy with candy coatings. On the left side it starts with Strawberry Coated Rice Cakes. In the middle are Milk Chocolate Coated Rice Cakes and on the rice are Vanilla Orange coated Rice Cakes.

Pumpkin can be all Christmas-ee with Limited Edition Pumpkin Eggnog.

A few new flavors of pop-tarts are out. First box is Chocolatey Caramel. Then there’s Strawberry Milk Shake and Vanilla Milk Shake. On the end are limited edition 2 flavored Drizzled Sugar Cookie/Brownie Batter and Frosted Strawberry/ Drizzled Cheesecake.

Robert Irvine’s Fit Crunch bars must be selling because now they’re available in at least three more flavors – Chocolate Peanut Butter, Caramel Peanut…and……Birthday Cake…….Birthday Cake really……..

Chipotle Peanuts………..might be good?

Here are Hatch Chili Honey Peanuts…..I have to admit these sound very tempting to try.

?……..Bloody Mary Cashews…???????? I love spicy Bloody Marys and hot roasted cashews but I’m not sure if Bloody Mary would taste good on a cashew………????

NEW Hot n’ Spicy Planter’s Peanut Crunchers coated peanuts….These ARE WOO-HOO SPICY!!!!! but they also are tasty! I can only eat like three peanuts…..and have to stop because of how hot they are.

Beat Salsa…Um I mean Beet Salsa…..Might be very tasty and not BEAT!

Two different flavors of Ice Cream. On the left is Indian Cardamon Pistachio Ice cream and to the right is Caramel Apple Chai Ice cream……..ummmm both sound yummy…don’t know if they are.

I came across these Spirited Vodka Jalapeños and Rum Jalapeños. I looked at the ingredients and neither of them list Vodka or Rum as an ingredient……so I didn’t buy either because I expected boozy Jalapeños.

Limited Edition Gochujang Mustard………Ah Why the FORK not?

Would gochujang mustard go on these Hoffy Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs?

I’m seeing more and more Food Network prepared foods all the time. Here is jarred Jerk Sauce and Gochujang.

Pressed Vegetable Chips made with Ancient Grains………In Cheesy and Regular flavored…….?????

NEW Triscuit Romano Cheese and Honey thin crisp………?

Ummmmm Mango Fire Cheddar Cheese…????? Sweet…Spicy and Cheesy…might be yummy???

Dang Brand Sticky Rice Chips in regular and sriracha  flavored……..sound tasty…DANG I should have purchased them!

New Different Weird and Special Edition Foods have also gone to the dogs!

Here is Tiny Feast Dog Food  in Organic Chicken, Quinoa and Carrot Stew for small Dogs! That’s different!

There is just so much Pumpkin Spice Flavoring around that they have to Forking add it to Dog Treats.

Here are some sort of Chipotle Flavored DOG TREATS! Who know dogs liked Chipotle?

This next one is New and WEIRD!!!

Roasted Vanilla Marshmallows for Dogs! Who knew that dogs would like Marshmallows!

OK now back to people food….but you have to admit Chipotle flavored Dog Snacks and Marshmallows for dogs was pretty good!

Here’s some strange fruits that nature didn’t intend for us.

I think all three of them are all some sort of man made fruit that is a combination of apricots and plums.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Lay’s wavy potato chips……..?

Did you ever imagine coming across Bacon Flavored Seaweed?…..I know I Forking didn’t!

Plain bread middles? I don’t know what the Fork this stuff is.

WTFORK is this?…….French Toast Bagel Middles? The Forking middle of a bagel is empty…..WTFork is this?….Could it be a box of nothing????????????

Here’s what you’ve been waiting for………..

The 2018 Halloween OREO Cookies!

That was the NEW, WeiRD,  DIFFERENT, Limited and Special Edition Foods out there for October 2018. I don’t know WTFork I’ll see next month!

The Forking Truth

NO ADDED FAT Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes Recipe

 

No Added Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

I was thinking about making some sort of snack cake without butter…..do you know that in most snack cake recipes often TWO sometimes THREE sticks of butter are used! And that is NOT counting frosting……Two sticks of butter run around 1620 calories……that’s a lot of fat we don’t need. Instead of using something like the normal two sticks of butter I used two very ripe bananas as if they were butter…Two bananas are around 210 calories and are a natural food. This cake isn’t totally fat free after all eggs have a small amount of fat and the chocolate chips do contain some fat just so you know but that fat has been reduced……I guessed my way threw this recipe not knowing if it would come out moist and delicious BUT IT DID!!!! I wanted the snack cakes to taste good and since I saved all the butter calories ( at least 1620 useless fat calories) I felt I could splurge on one cup of chocolate chips. To up the banana flavor and to insure a moist cake I also added two additional sliced bananas into the batter. The cake is moist and delicious. It’s not too sweet either. You can finish it with a light dusting of either 10x sugar, 10x cinnamon sugar or a mix of 10x and cocoa if desired. I think any kind of frosting would be too heavy here. This is a very easy one bowl recipe. No need to bring out the mixer…just stir it up in a big bowl.

Ingredients for about 12 servings

2 bananas (very ripe) – mashed

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs – beaten

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pure natural vanilla extract

2 bananas – sliced

1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chips

non stick spray (neutral flavor like canola)

Directions

Set Oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray rectangular baking pan with non stick spray. (I used a half pan that is around 8 inches by 10 1/2 inches)

Ina big bowl mash two bananas well with a potato masher. Mash in the brown sugar and then the white sugar. Stir in the beaten eggs. Dump in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the sliced bananas and chocolate chips. Pour batter in pan.

Let it bake till done about 30 minutes…(mine took 28)

No Added Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

No Added Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

Even people that normally don’t like sweets (like my husband) will like this snack cake because it’s not too heavy and isn’t too sweet. It’s flavored just right…..Make sure you use very ripe bananas for the best results.

The Forking Truth

WOO HOO! Filet Mignon & Fries for $10.00 at Steak 44 in Phoenix AZ (bar 4-6pm)

Steak 44 is an upscale American Steakhouse I went too in the Arcadia section of Phoenix Arizona. From the very start of things the help was so nice to us. Someone quickly ran to the door to open it for us. The atmosphere is rich and dark. If you strain your eyes and look in the center of the next photo you might be able to see a large cleaver collection and countless bottles of wine that fills the walls.

Bar area

Bar area with window of kitchen

Cocktail tables behind bar

I heard about the 4-6pm Early Menu Bar Specials so I wanted to check out Steak 44 and give it a try.  We started with large pours of Happy Hour Priced Cabernet ($8.00@). For Appetizers we split the BLT Wedge Salad and the smaller order of Panko Crusted Deviled Eggs. Within minutes someone runs over a HOT Skillet of SIX fresh baked STEAMING HOT Parmesan Herbed Dinner Rolls. (wow! I didn’t know that this was coming!)

Gee that’s a lot of bread for only two people. It’s hot and tasty…you have to eat at least one…

Then the appetizers get ran to us…..They take our silverware and make sure we have chilled silverware for the salad. Now that is upscale service!!!!

1/2 of the BLT Salad ($12.00) and Panko Crusted Deviled Eggs are in corner.

The salad was chilled till the leaves were crisp. It is actually nicer to eat with chilled silverware. It feels special….and it taste great with all that delicious blue cheese and blue cheese dressing.

After the salad I go for a Panko Crusted Devilled Egg.

These are smaller sized eggs but they are filled with lots of rich creamy filling. They taste very traditional. Sriracha Aioli is there on the side for dipping. To me it seems strange to dip a creamy egg in creamy aioli but I gave it a try anyway……You know it does taste good! It adds a nice kick and more flavors.

Between the salad, deviled eggs and hot roll I could stop eating now.

They cleared our plates and gave us new silverware again and then our $10.00 Filet Mignons arrive.

It’s a perfect size portion for me…..It looks like 4oz of meat…who knows maybe it’s 5. I have enough for me and some for my dogs. (I always bring them some food back from dining out) The meat is cooked less than the medium I asked for but I accept it anyway. The meat is flavorful and juicy. It’s tender like butter. I usually HATE crinkle cut fries but the Steak 44 Crinkle Cut Fries are very good. They have fluffy moist centers and a thin crispy exterior and arrived piping hot. They are seasoned well and taste delicious.

Service was very professional. Atmosphere was very good. Food was very good and a GREAT VALUE!!!!!!

WOO HOO! Filet Mignon and Fries for only $10.00 at Steak 44 in Phoenix AZ!

4-6pm Early Bar Menu at Steak 44 in Phoenix AZ – Was Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.Steak44.com

Every Forking Thing is subject to change and YOUR experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

 

Ocotillo Restaurant in Phoenix AZ – One of My Favorites! – Worth a Fork!

 

Ocotillo is a (what seems like) one mile square compound in down town Phoenix that is a modern farm to table global style restaurant with a wonderfully enormous menu of astonishing variety. Ocotillo offers a modern atmosphere, multiple patios, an outdoor coffee bar and an outdoor cocktail bar.

 

As you enter from parking lot.

Park like setting.

Outdoor seating.

Patio by the front of restaurant.

Coffee Bar.

More outdoor seating.

Patio and Cocktail bar.

Dining Areas

It’s fun to share plates here since they offer so many interesting detailed plates.

Thirty -one detailed plates on the menu today with great variety. How could you not be happy with a menu like this?

We started with one of the Small Plates.

It’s not so small.

But it was Delicious!

Here was the House Smoked Salmon with Capers, Tea Egg, Pickled Shallot (it looks like a rose) Pickled Shallot, Dill Creme Fraiche Salad and Seeded Bread. The Salmon was carefully smoked and was buttery. The flavors of everything went really well together. This small plate is very large and can feed three people pretty well or a small bite for four people.

Then we wanted to share one of the vegetable plates and went with the Charred Sweet Potato with Avocado, Lime, Pickled Shallots, Pasilla Pumpkin Salsa.

OMG this is one of the most delicious things I tasted this year! The Char adds something delicious here against the potato and they sprinkled the sweet potato with what I think was Aleppo Pepper. There was a fresh herb salad with mint and cilantro too. When you ate everything on this plate together it became magical……Incredibly delicious……I wasn’t expecting this vegetable plate to be so large so I got to bring home a second take out box…..

Lastly we shared a House Made Pastrami Sandwich with Oil-Vinegar Coleslaw, Grain Mustard and Seeded Bread. The Sandwich came with lemon broccolini salad.

The Sandwich was just delicious! The Pastrami was tender and on the lean side. It had a nice smoke to it but not too much. It wasn’t crusted but had lots of flavors in it that included cloves. Slaw was good and crisp, grain mustard not to strong. This is really good. The Broccolini salad is better than I expected. I was expecting the broccolini to be a little chewy but it was unusually light and easy to eat.

Wow! that was really great! And I get to enjoy most of it again at home! That’s a win!

Here are not all but some of the previous dishes I enjoyed from Ocotillo. The menu changes regularly. Everything was wonderful and delicious. Portions so far have always ran very large.

I have to say Ocotillo is one of my favorites in Phoenix and is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.OcotilloPhx.com

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

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Cooper’s Hawk’s Winery and Restaurant in Orlando Florida

 

Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant has multiple locations in the Eastern Half of the continental United States.  Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant is part Wine Bar, part gift shop, part candy shop and also a restaurant.

A benefit of dining here is that they took all the guessing out of wine pairing. Everyone who dines here can be a sommelier. Each item on the menu has the suggested wine bin number so you can pair wine like a pro. Many varieties of wine are offered and many wines are award wining. Carafes of wine come in a decanter and bottles are decanted very elaborately with a contraption I’ve never seen before.

The dining room is sort of traditional in style with dark wood traditional tables and chairs.

The menu is mostly American but is laced with global inspirations. For the mains they offer a variety of proteins. They offer several steak dishes, some fish dishes, pasta dishes and more.

We started with Brussel Sprouts with Cashews, Mint, Sweet Chili, Sesame and Sriracha.

This dish had good flavors going on.  I liked the play of spicy sweet and bright mint. But this dish was on the oily side and the Brussel Sprout were raw inside.

For my main I had the Soy Ginger Salmon with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes and Slaw.

My fish was slightly over done and the soy ginger sauce was cloyingly sweet. The potatoes hardly had any wasabi taste that I was looking forward too.

On the Bright Side!

My husband enjoyed his Shrimp and Grits!

My sister’s fiancé enjoyed the Rib Eye Special!

I did indeed enjoy the wine I tried! I thought it was a great value for restaurant priced wine.

That was my trip to Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant in Orlando Florida.

wwwCHwinery.com

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

The Forking Truth