Monthly Archives: October 2019

The Halloween Special Edition – A Collection of the Most Frightful Horrific Foods served to me in Metro Phoenix AZ

Here is a collection of the most frightful and horrific foods served to me in Metro Phoenix Arizona. Some but NOT ALL of these restaurants are normally good but things do happen …..and many will have a bad day…..It is very unfortunate for me because I won’t go back when I have a poor experience somewhere. It’s not my intention to damage a restaurants’ reputation. I will mention the name of the restaurant if they are no longer in business. After all I already mentioned who they were at the time I dined there. And That’s The Forking Truth!

The worst taco in the whole world came from Taco Haus in Scottsdale. Dry flavorless chicken in a tortilla that decomposed on the way to the table. Rest in peace Taco Haus.

The 2nd worst taco in the whole world was served to me at the 2019 AZ Taco Festival. This one wasn’t just salty or over salted. It FORKING taste like it was HALF SALT. Some poor boob at the festival must have accidentally dropped a whole container of salt into the taco. mix and just mixed it in not giving a dam. Shame.

Fondant from Indi Fusion

Once upon a time there was a restaurant called Indi Fusion. It was an Indian Fusion restaurant. They sure did make some tasty food and they had so much potential. But dessert was another story there. I ordered a fondant ( basically a French lava cake) instead of a fondant I received a Fon-DON’T…….I recieved not a molten cake….not even a cake…but a disk of frosting. I have to say that the chef had some confusion issues.

Soggy falling apart dumplings from a particular Asian Restaurant in Phoenix.

Bad food usually does come from chains…….

I’ve never been to a Long John Silvers before and never will go again. I enjoy fish and many decades back Arthur Treachers used to serve really delicious quality Icelandic Cod. Incase you don’t know the chain has been sold a long time back and lowered the quality of the food so it might suck now. . Anyways I was hoping that Long John Silver would serve something similar to what Arthur Treachers used to serve. WOW was this sickly BAD!!!!!! It was so greasy and muddy tasting with that OLD USED OIL TASTE. I couldn’t eat it….Now I feel bad because I offered this fish to my dear departed dog Louie and Louie took it and he FORKING SPIT IT OUT! It was so bad LOUIE SPIT IT OUT! But then my younger dog gobbled up what poor old Louie spit out.

Now I really feel bad for these people that opened a meatball theme restaurant called Meatballz in Scottsdale. They didn’t have basic cooking skills to prepare meatballs or a basic tomato sauce. I have no idea on why they went into this business. I highly doubt that anyone ever said to them your food is so good that you should open a restaurant.

Crunchy Carrots in Vegan Balls and Sauces

Mushy vegan meatballs with crunchy carrots in a raw acidic slightly bitter sauce sandwich. The sauce was so bitter and also had crunchy uncooked carrots in it. My husband tried a meat meatball and it was also awful.

This one was from a restaurant in Phoenix.

Dinner that looks like it threw up on it’s self ……….from a well known restaurant on Camelback Road.

All the food was really bad from this Mediterranean restaurant in Glendale but most things photographed well.

The pickled they gave me could own a senior citizens card……before it passed away. Their falafels were served with hard uncooked chick peas that was hard like rocks and could break teeth……The gyro was like fried baloney….but the rice, onion and tomato was good.

I went to what one of the “official” top ten Italian Restaurants of Metro Phoenix. The Forking Truth is that I did enjoy a few lunches there but then went back for dinner.

For $34.00 I got over cooked Bronzino and vegetables that appear to be reheated too many times and maybe were a couple of weeks old. They don’t don’t check on you here…this might be why.

Now Little Cleo’s in Phoenix was a good seafood restaurant……But

I was horrified at this tiny dinner plate……Don’t you think it was tiny too? I guess I accidentally ordered “the I already ate plate.”

Here’s another “I already ate plate.”

This one was also from a very nice restaurant that had an ultra talented chef…..but.

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

Wouldn’t you be horrified if you received this tiny lunch for $16.00? This isn’t even enough for a midget on weight watchers….and WTFork did they do with that other half of egg anyway?

……Is my dinner excited to see me?…….Or is the chef just pissed off?

I got this polenta tower from a well known restaurant in Phoenix. I do note the chef has changed at least twice at this restaurant since I had this dinner. You won’t get this anymore there……(but he may be working someplace else now?)

We ate a nice meal at a Filipino restaurant. The FOOD really was good there but the desserts were hard like rocks. I couldn’t break them open but my husband used all his might and busted them open.

We did confront the owner and he said that nothing was wrong with the desserts and they just needed to be heated up. (excuse me…….. I didn’t know that I was suppose to bring my own Forking heat source with me to try these desserts) Well The Forking Truth is that these desserts were served to us HARD AS ROCKS….(he also said he’d take them off the bill…..but nobody took them off the bill..we just paid and left)

Some people don’t enjoy dessert….Now I know why.

I was served this dessert somewhere WAY out in the far west valley. the dessert wasn’t so good……in taste and in texture. When I pulled this thing out of my mouth from the dessert I thought it was a piece of silicone glue.

But the waiter here told me it just was a piece of the dessert…???????? I thought it was GLUE…The waiter said it was part of the dessert!

This is my finished plate of food from a certain Mediterranean Restaurant somewhere in Phoenix. This restaurant at the time had a FIVE STAR Average on a certain review site so I thought the food would be good. The food might look good but my chicken was so dry and hard that it was impossible to remove it from the wooden sticks. That little bite on the one piece of chicken was all I could break off. The pitas were also hard and seemed like processed food. Even the rice was horrible and was some kind of pre-cooked rice.

Nobody enjoys a falafel that lacks herbs and is crumbly dry.

I have read many reviews that this small Mediterranean Restaurant serves the best falafels in the valley……I don’t know what they had but these falafels I tried sucked. They are dry as the Sahara Desert and lacked fresh herbs. This is not a good falafel.

Even nice resorts serve mediocre food.

This salmon salad was from a fine resort in Scottsdale. This salad made me very unhappy. The salmon seemed like it was salvaged from a buffet past. It was pre-made, almost cold and also over cooked. There was albumin formation on the fish…it’s like egg whites being cooked out of the flesh.

The salad was also missing some ingredients that I was looking forward to enjoying like fiddlehead ferns, sunflower seeds and flavor.

The Forking Truth is that once in a while the finest restaurants might screw up.

Over Cooked and Over Salted Phoenix AZ

This fish tells a different tail. Over cooked and over salted fish from one of the finest restaurants in Phoenix………All the other plates here were excellent…..They just screwed up on the fish. I told the waiter and he claimed he’d tell the chef………….who knows?

Here is a sad fish story of a small business located in Glendale. I think what happened here was a combination of poor cooking skills and restaurant equipment failing.

My fish was crispy in a weird way. I never was served freezer burnt fish before…..The sweet potatoes seemed to have been aged and the Mac’n’ Cheese was mushy watered down velvetta sort of concoction. The tarter sauce wasn’t even edible here and had the consistency of creamer. My husband’s plate was even worst. His fish was even more freezer burnt and he warned me not to even think about trying his sides….Red/beans and rice were spoiled and he couldn’t describe what was wrong with the hushpuppies…..after a brief tasting we tossed out all the food and ate someplace else.

I waited 45 minutes for this.

Tried a deep dish pizza in Peoria. The crust was very hard and tasted burnt and all this cheese made me feel sick. Crust is mostly black.

Bad food can come from a food truck.

Close up of Corned Beef Wild Buckeye Roll

This was from a food truck. It was a greasy mess and tasted like the grease it was fried with decomposing possums, dead donkeys and other critters or whatever.

This next one might not be the restaurants fault?………….you can purchase unusually super tough chicken. (it’s usually that ultra cheap chicken)

The slaw was really good. The fresh made bread was tasty but the chicken was inedible. It was like it was full of steal belted silver skin…….You couldn’t eat it. This was from a Bosnian Restaurant somewhere in Phoenix.

“READY OR NOT HERE IT COMES! …………. sucker”

Some restaurants put out food ready or not!

Raw grits from a bbq restaurant in Phoenix. Here we brought this to someones attention and instead of saying I’ll take that off your bill or I’ll get you a new one she just walked away. Also from the same BBQ……

For what it’s worth….The brisket might have been outstanding if it was cooked several hours more but they served it before it’s time with hard fat and tough beef. We had other problems but these were the major issues.

This restaurant thinks that the customer will eat anything.

$13.99 Salad from a Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix AZ

The most uninspired salad in metro Phoenix……with horrible salsa too!

Sometimes there is a reason why some restaurants go out of business.

Sonata’s Restaurant used to be located in Scottsdale. My first few visits were so delicious….I was flabbergasted at what they served me on my last visit not so long before they closed. Old fishy tasting salmon that was topped with sour uncooked tomato paste surrounded by horrid splats of floury corn two horrible ways. Down before are gooey gross pierogis. I latter heard that they were between chefs.

Sometimes restaurants don’t hire qualified help and then they go down the tubes. I did tell them how it was when I dined there and the waiter said he’d tell the management. They did nothing. I also wrote about my experience here and on a review site. The management told me that my first two experiences were great so I should just be happy with that.

Tough steak with a side of pond slime for some place in Carefree. (this really grossed me out…I couldn’t even bring the meat home for my dogs…and couldn’t eat beef again for a few months)

I went to this particular restaurant in Peoria and a while back it was OK….I heard that the ownership changed and I was hoped that it got better……sadly it got worst. This food was far worst that what you’d get from the lowest end fast food place! It was like MICROWAVED BY A MORON!

This is my salad. It was made with what tasted like pre-made frozen chicken fingers that had the strangest texture. They were hard, hollow and cold. It seemed like they blew them up in a microwave oven and then chilled them.

My husband also had an awful sandwich here.

His sandwich was made with similar chicken fingers that were covered in cheese that was hard but also melted at the same time.

This one isn’t the worst and almost didn’t make this list….but it isn’t great either.

There is this sandwich shop in Glendale and the fillings for their sandwiches aren’t bad but they use the FORKING WORST ROLLS IN THE WHOLE WORLD. I have no idea why someone would open a sandwich shop and use the lousiest bread they could buy.

Sometimes some restaurants serve you half good and half bad food.

I went to an Asian Chicken restaurant in Mesa. The chicken on the left side of the plate was moist and edible. The chicken on the right side was similar to jerky but very dry and stringy.

I had delicious fish at this restaurant in Glendale before so I thought I would get delicious fish again….I was wrong.

I have no idea what went wrong here…..The fish came out like it was made of rubber. You couldn’t eat it. We didn’t complain because we were just so upset that we just wanted to leave. Then they charged me $89.10 for this fish. This has to be one of the worst experiences I ever had anywhere.

Disappointing food can come from a pizza shop.

Who wants a pizza without toppings? I got an individual pizza from a certain place in Peoria. They were very scant with the toppings and one slice was pretty much topping free.

Some people are not fit to be in the restaurant business.

It’s impossible to forget this plate I got somewhere in Sun City. (notice the funeral service card by the lower right side of the plate….strategically placed……) It’s made of boiled frozen vegetables, old green potatoes and old trout. here’s a closer look at the vegetables.

Sun City AZ

and the potatoes. Try some…I dare you!

Sun City AZ

Honest to GOD I asked why the potatoes were green….The waitress said I have to ask the chef……The answer I got was that black pepper always makes potatoes turn green. I was so offended by what I served I seriously thought about calling the police because I thought this was a crime.

Well that was the Halloween Special Edition – A Collection of the most Frightful Horrific Foods served to me in Metro Phoenix AZ.

And that is THE FORKING TRUTH!

The Forking Truth

White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Cauliflower Recipe

I didn’t have any potatoes at home so I used a very small head of Cauliflower to make White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Cauliflower. I also happen to get these horseradish granules that I wanted to try out and wow they taste great. I find that horseradish can be tricky to work with at times because it doesn’t keep at all. It doesn’t heat well. It doesn’t freeze well either. It doesn’t matter…. fresh or jarred it just loses it’s flavor or turns sweet. Anyways- it came out tasting right. You can use whatever kind of horseradish you have…but at the moment I’m liking the horseradish granules. This recipe makes around three servings.

Ingredients for around three servings

1 small head cauliflower (mine weighed only a pound) – Trimmed and cut into small florets

2 Tablespoons cream cheese ( preferably a quality brand like Arla that doesn’t contain stabilizes and preservatives)

4 oz white cheddar – shredded (I like the Costal Brand from Costco)

2 teaspoons horseradish granules (I bought from The Great American Spice Company) or use any kind of horseradish to taste

good pinch ground white pepper (I don’t think any salt is needed because Costal cheese is salty)

Directions

Get a pot of water on to boil and top it with a mesh strainer or steam basket. Add the cauliflower then cover loosely with foil. Steam until the cauliflower is fork tender. Empty the pot and add the cauliflower and cream cheese. Use a stick blender and blend till smooth. Add the cheese, horseradish and pepper and blend again till mixed well. Serve right away. It’s not necessary but a few fresh chives or a little bit of fresh dill will go well here.

White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Cauliflower

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Flint By Baltaire in Phoenix AZ – Lunch – nice but for smaller appetites

Flint by Baltaire is an upscale wood fired contemporary mediterranean accented restaurant with great atmosphere, a big exhibition kitchen and an all weather indoor patio.

The indoor patio

The lunch menu is broken down into humus, dips and spreads, salads and vegetables, laffa flatbreads, pizzas, large plates and sides.

We started with a wood grilled artichoke ($14.00).

The artichoke was grilled nicely and salted perfect. It came with a delicious grilled lemon half and a little ramekin of tarragon aioli for dipping.

Our server suggested that we shared plates so we split a Flint laffa flatbread ($13) and a big plate of ora king salmon ($28).

You know the song dude looks like a lady? …well…..This flatbread looks more like a wrap.

It’s served with delicious harissa (a middle eastern condiment made of a roasted pepper base, warm spices, a little hot pepper and something like caraway and also a ramekin of tahini sauce. The laffa bread is nicely charred. My half (the bottom has some cabbage, a slice of egg, a red onion slice, some tahini and a shred of pulled chicken. Fresh greens adorn the plate.

The harissa is delicious on this but this really only appetizer sized. This was only two bites with a small shred of chicken. I think my husband’s half might have had more food in it but not much more. Honestly even if I was here by myself and ate the whole thing this still wouldn’t be much food.

Then we share the BIG PLATE of ora king salmon ($28)

We shared nicely cooked salmon with seasoned crisp skin, a grilled half lemon, a dab of almond-olive relish and maybe the best tasting broccolini I ever had. It was cooked to perfection and had a delicious wood cooked taste to it.

The big plate is not so big.

The food was good, service was good, the atmosphere is stunning but lunch seems to be for people with very small appetites.

Lunch was around $55.00 before tax and tip and we left hungry.

www.FlintByBalltaire.com

Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Visit to Meat The Ball at the Promenade Scottsdale AZ – Worth a Fork!*****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****

*****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****Meat The Ball is a casual full service meatball themed restaurant with one location in Scottsdale Arizona at the Promenade and another soon to re-open at The Biltmore Fashion Square. They serve a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, platters, some platters with house made pasta, Seven kinds of meatballs or meat-free balls, pinsa (ancient Roman focaccia) and more.

It’s bright, cheerful, colorful and modern when you walk in.

You can sit at the bar or at traditional tables or outside on the patio.

The menu offers many tasting sounding things to try. We want to try most of the menu but can’t so we try a few things.

We decided on a flight of meatballs and a pinsa. They come out in reasonable time and here they are.

Starting on left is the Short Rib ($7.00) – grass fed beef with gravy sauce. Middle Rustica ($5.00) – grass fed ground beef with parmesan sauce. Right – Cauliflower ($4.00) – spices, potato, chick pea flour, cashews in curry sauce. (Price was reduced $3.00 for getting a flight of meatballs)
Marinara – marinara sauce, mozzarella, oregano, basil ($13.00)

I really appreciate that the meatballs are all served in special separate plates. I shared two of the three meatballs. All the meatballs were good, very good or outstanding but our mutual favorite was the Cauliflower (bottom ball). WOW! the texture is very good, it’s very flavorful…but it’s also spicy……It’s simply delicious and the sauce is one of the most delicious curry sauces I’ve ever tasted….This is really Forking Awesome! I hope the recipe stays the same so I can enjoy this again.

My husband ate the Rustica (middle). He said it’s a very good meatball with a nice texture and good flavors. We liked the parmesan sauce but it needs to be noted that the chunks of red pepper ran spicy today. He also said it’s much better than most meatballs that he eats in restaurants. My husband grew up eating meatballs. Meatballs are part of his heritage.

I tried some of the Short Rib Meatball. It taste like a very good beef stew…………..It taste just like beef stew but in the shape of a ball………It’s almost odd to me because I wasn’t expecting it to taste like beef stew. I was thinking like BBQ Short Rib kind of taste. I personally don’t eat beef stew but if you are a fan of beef stew then this ball is very good.

Now to the pinsa.

Some people consider the pinsa to be a healthier alternative to pizza with less calories and less carbohydrates. Pinsa is suppose to be made of a combination of different flours with high hydration and long proofing to make the dough….I didn’t ask what the ingredients were but others pinsa makers use soy and rice flour mixed with basically a sour dough. Other people tell me that you should enjoy pinsa just because it’s the most popular pizza in Italy right now!

I take a bite. It’s tender, light and delicious. The crust feels like fine sand paper against my lips but it’s easy to bite into. It’s almost like a tender but lighter English muffin. The sauce taste like traditional vine ripe sweet tomatoes and it’s topped with melty mozzarella cheese laced with oozing basil. It tasty and light so your stomach has room to try meatballs.

My husband helps really well with the pinsa so we share something else.

Instead of dessert my husband picks the eggplant meat(less)ball ($4.00)

The Eggplant has a core of melty mozzarella….. and is dressed in meatless tomato sauce and topped with a little mozzarella and a little basil leaf. It taste just like eggplant parmesan. The texture and flavor is much better than the same meatball I tried at the Phoenix Location. But I do note that they told me that they were still perfecting the eggplant recipe at that time.

Service was very attentive, efficient and welcoming.

We enjoyed our visit to Meat the Ball in Scottsdale.

I’d say it was Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****

I hope the recipes stay consistent. I do note that I have been to the Phoenix location and did come across inconsistency with the seasoning and spice. The discontinued quinoa meat(less) ball on fist visit was spicy and amazing but on a second visit was mild and less flavorful.

www.MeatTheBall.com

EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Forking AMAZING Baked Asian Seasoned Cauliflower and Broccoli Bites Recipe

This recipe is inspired by the Bang Bang Broccoli that I enjoyed from The Larry Restaurant in Phoenix AZ. It was Forking Scrumptious….by far my favorite thing I ate there. I got the flavor and the texture nearly identical to what they served me. My broccoli even came out crisper. The Larry’s bang bang broccoli really didn’t seem fried to me and what I liked was the flavor and the really light almost coating…..that was like more of a dusting to hold flavors. I thought the “dusting” didn’t seem like panko or even regular flour. So I took a guess and used potato starch. I used a few things and added a small amount of ginger and garlic to the potato starch and the seasonings were bonito flakes and Asian rice seasoning. An Asian Rice seasoning called shiso meshi was used. The Larry served their bang bang broccoli with a sweet chili sauce but from what I read about other bang bang dishes it usually is a creamy chili sauce. I made a slightly creamy gochujang sauce with a slight amount of ketchup. Since I don’t really know what real…(if there is real?)…I didn’t call my dish bang bang. I also didn’t measure ingredients when I made this dish but my measurements are pretty close. This recipe might make four servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 small cauliflower – broken down into florets (needs to be wet from being washed)

2 broccoli stalks – florets removed (needs to be wet from being washed)

1/2 cup potato starch (possible that you might need slightly more)

1 teaspoons sesame oil

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon granulated ginger

canola non stick spray

Real oil spray Just a few squirts

heavy sprinkle of bonito flakes

heavy sprinkle of shiso meshi (Asian Rice Seasoning….but there are many different Asian Rice seasonings)

heavy sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F and spray a baking sheet lightly with non stick canola oil.

Get a gallon zip lock bag and put all the broccoli and cauliflower florets in there. Add the oils and soy sauce and shake it up well till it looks like every thing is distributed evenly. Next dump in the potato starch, granulated garlic and ginger. Shake it well till it looks coated as much as possible.

You can pick the pieces out and spread on baking sheet(s)

The cauliflower and broccoli do need a few squirts of a LIGHT spray of oil so the potato starch can brown…

Now they go in your pre heated 400 degree F oven till sort of brown….(timing will differ) In my oven on the middle rack this took 45 minutes.

When you pull out immediately sprinkle with bonito flakes, shiso meshi (or Asian rice seasoning)

and toasted sesame seeds if your rice seasoning doesn’t already have them added. You need to taste to see if you need salt or pepper…It all depends on your rice seasoning.

Forking Amazing Baked Asian Seasoned Broccoli and Cauliflower Bites

It would be easy to serve this with sriracha mayo. But it’s so delicious you don’t really need a dipping sauce.

The Forking Truth

NEW DiFFERENT WeiRD Limited and Special Edition Foods out there October 2019

There is always something NEW Different Weird 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 and here is just some of what I’ve seen recently.

Up above is Black Bean Chipotle Hummus……(or so they say)….Might be good? don’t know? – Different…Maybe Weird too….Isn’t hummus made from chick peas?

I think I have to draw the line at Brownie Batter Hummus………HOW the FORK is that going to taste in a pita sandwich? This one is FORKING WEIRD!

Here we got H.J. Heinz Vintage 1896 Smoky and Spicy Ketchup…….I picked them up will let you know……Different

NEW – Romano’s Macaroni Grill makes frozen foods. Here’s cajun style chicken Alfredo, chicken parmesano and supreme pizza in tubs that are ice cream shaped.

NEW – Korean Style Fried Chicken, Vegetable Ramen Noodle Bowl and Chicken Shoyu Ramen.

Interesting! Bibigo Bibimbap in Go-Chu-Jang Chicken, soy garlic beef and soy garlic chicken. Some these sound really great but frozen food from the grocer’s usually isn’t the best.

Benihana Japanese Steakhouse Foods in Yakisoba Steak, Rocky’s Choice? and Hibachi Chicken Rice. ????? All frozen so you miss the chef chopping on the grill throwing shrimp and eggs in the air.

(more restaurant food at the grocer)…….Here’s POPEYES Buttermilk Baking Mix with natural and artificial flavor…..?

Duck Fat has waddled into the grocery store! Here’s Fatworks Jarred Duckfat and Cornhusker brand gourmet Duck Fat Cooking Spray……..(quack!)

DIFFERENT – HTY Seaweed Crisp stuffed with purple rice and almonds…..(yes I did and they are pretty darn tasty and light like air….whole bag is 100 calories Woo HOO!)

NEW – General Mills Fiber One Cereal with Strawberries & Vanilla Clusters

NEW – General Mills BLUEBERRY Cherrios………?

Artificially Flavored Cap’N’Crunch’s Cotton Candy Crunch……this one just doesn’t sound promising……

Kellogg’s Wild Berry Fruit Loops……..sounds tasty but don’t know?

DIFFERENT and maybe WEIRD – Earth Balance Trail Mix Blend Crab Seed Crunch Peanut Butter? It might be delicious?

Here are Chips Ahoy thin and crispy THINS that are cinnamon sugar flavored…….It looks like they forgot to put chips in the cookies…Oy Vey…….no chips in Chips Ahoy?

Well at least Nabisco didn’t forget to put chips in these brownie stuffed chewy chips ahoy cookies.

Different – Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Pizza Crust

Different – Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Even Forking CHEESE has to be flavored now! Here’s Taco Bell Brand Zesty Ranch Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese….How Forking hard is it to open a Forking bottle of ranch dressing and do it the Fork yourself?

These are different! Here are Coconut Flour Tortilla Chips cooked in coconut oil…..by Daniella Hunter. I bet they’d taste good with limey pineapple salsa!

Here is Pepperlicious by Fresh Bellies……Freeze dried red peppers….?….Might be yum!

Here’s Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey……..Who knew?

A New Melon called the Lemondrop ……..?

Trader Joe’s Baby Cauliflower

Here is Spinach & Kale Whole Grain Chips by The Better Chip. They sound healthy……

Below are a few Bags of Lay’s Potato Chips from China.

Different – Lay’s Cucumber Flavor…Oddly these are actually very good….taste just like cucumber.

Different Lay’s Pure Tomato Flavor Chips…

Different Lay’s Italian Red Meat Flavor Potato Chips…??????

Really Different Lay’s Grilled Squid Flavor Potato Chips

Did you ever imagine finding Butternut Squash Pretzels from The ground up? I know I never guessed I’d Forking come across Butternut Squash Pretzels.

NEW – Hippie Snacks Avocado Crisps in Guacamole flavored…sounds tasty!…(but darn expensive….Look $4.99 for only 2.5 oz….WTFork)

NEW – Enlightened Brand – Bada Bean Bada Boom Crunchy Broad Beans in Sweet Sriracha, Garlic and Onion, Mesquite BBQ and Spicy Wasabi….Who Knew?

DIFFERENT – from The Good Bean Balsamic Herbs Crispy Favas and Peas…..? Might be good or could be a gas?

Really FORKING DIFFERENT – Crab Roe Flavor Broad Beans….who knew?

DIFFERENT – Crab Roe Flavor Sunflower Seeds……never thought I’d see that!

Bubba’s Fine Foods makes Kettle Cooked ‘Nana Chips in the Not-Cho Nacho variety…..?

NEW – Here’s thin and crispy Banana Chips in Hickory BBQ and Habanero Garlic….Oh My!

They even make forking banana chips for dogs!

Here are Banana BITES for dogs…..(warning that this might not be the treat you’re dog is hoping for)

Different – Milky Way Salted Caramel Bars

Different – Milky Way Fudge Bars

And of course OH FUDGE!…….there is a Forking NEW Oreo.

NEW – Fudge Covered OREO Mint Creme Cookies.

Can you believe it?

We also got a new LIMITED EDITION OREO COOKIE!

LIMITED EDITION – Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies with flavor creme artificially flavored Mint & Chocolate Cremes with Chocolate Chips Sandwich Cookies.

Well that was the NEW, WEIRD, DIFFERENT, Limited and Special Edition Foods out there for October 2019. I don’t know WTFork I’ll come across next month!

The Forking Truth

Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix AZ October 2019

Dining out with DOGS is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. it all sort of started when my dog LOUIE came down with aggressive cancer. He enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out as often as I could. Instead off his 3-6 month prognosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today my current dogs enjoy going out to eat.

There are many things to know before you dine out with dogs. Not all restaurants with patios are dog friendly. You should dine at certified dog friendly patios. They have official signs and certificates. If you don’t see a sign or a certificate you need to call the restaurant and ask if it’s ok to dine with your dog(s) on the patio the day of your visit. I also suggest to dine at off times. The restaurant needs your money more on off times and it’s ALWAYS BEST to avoid other diners and their dogs. Not everyone shares your love of dogs and some people are allergic to dogs. It’s also best to avoid other dogs because dogs often like to bark at each other and you might be asked to leave.

There are more rules. Dogs are NOT to sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates. Dogs must be by your side at all times. Other things to know are that most food and drink that you consume is potentially harmful and even TOXIC to your dog. You MUST get a list of dog safe and dog avoid foods from your veterinarian. Usually a small amount of lean sauce free meat is a safe bet for your dog. You should be responsible and also bring a water dish for your dog. You also need to be aware that your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. Just like people all dogs do have a different tolerance for heat. For most young healthy dogs can only tolerate up to 90 degrees but ONLY IN SHADE. Ninety degrees and up is too hot for dogs. Hopefully you can judge the temperature for your dog. When there is any doubt it’s better to leave your dog home.

Here is where I let my blog go to the dogs and they can tell you about their dining experiences themselves.

“We are on our way to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix.” ” It’s a PHO-FREE Vietnamese Eatery that specializes in serving Banh mi baguette sandwiches.” ” They also offer many of your Vietnamese favorites but they don’t serve PHO.”

“Our female human companion had the curry chicken with rice today.”

“She laps the sauce off for us and we get to help her eat lots of chicken.”

“Our male human companion had the pork rice plate.”

“The pork is always tender and delicious here but our male human companion isn’t as generous with handing out the meat.”

“We always Forking enjoy ourselves at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.”

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

“We are on our way to Culver’s in Phoenix.” Culver’s is a national group of quick casual restaurants.” “They are famous for their signature never-from-frozen -butter burgers, hand battered Icelandic Cod and daily made frozen custard.”

“Our folks had a sheet of coupons with them and we got our own double cheese butter burger!”

“We also got to try some of the hand battered Icelandic Cod.”

“We did alright at Culver’s!”

www.Culvers.com

“WOO Hoo!” “We are on our way to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale.” “They serve Italian Foods and Pizza and have a nice covered patio.”

“Today we tried some of their delicious house made bread with a little soft butter to start out with.”

“Then we mostly got to eat white meat chicken that we enjoy!”

“We got to sample a tiny amount of fine Italian lunch meat and some fine Italian Cheese too!”

“We love going to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante!”

www.BottegaRistorante.com

“WHOO HOO!” “We are on our way to CHZBURGR in north Glendale

“CHZBURGR is a casual limited menu burger restaurant located in north Glendale.”

“Our folks got us our own plain, no onion, chzburgr.”

“Our folks had a hot dog that had potato salad, Calabrian chili, pickle chips, mustard and crispy onions on it.” “Someone also had a double chzburgr today but he had all the normal stuff it comes with.”

“Our other human companion had the breaded chicken thigh sandwich that is mayo, pickles, honey mustard, leaf lettuce with added Calabrian Chili on a nicely toasted eggy bun.” “She also had sweet potato waffle fries that they call gaufrette here.”

“Here’s OUR CHZBURGR!”

“MAN OH MAN did we FORKING ENJOY ourselves at CHZBURGR!”

“no website but they are on Facebook”

“Well that was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for October 2019.” “We hope that you enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.” (“Big Woman needs a nap after eating”…”Please excuse her”)

The Forking Truth
In Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017

2019 Dish It Out Food Festival on High Street in Phoenix AZ

The 2019 Dish It Out Food Festival on High Street in Phoenix benefitted the Boys and Girls Clubs of Phoenix. General Admission tickets ran around $70.00 and VIP Tickets ran around $200.00. Twenty nine general admission restaurants participated and another seven VIP restaurants participated. There were twenty two beer vendors. There also were twenty four general admission wine and spirit spots and another ten VIP wine and spirit stops.

Below are some of the Highlights from Dish It Out.

First taste was chicken gyro with hot sauce from The Halal Guys.

Paul Martin’s American Grill served Short Ribs over Mashed Potatoes and a Chocolate Mousse Brownie Dessert.

Got a fancy beef plate from Orange Sky.

From Orange Sky

Meritage Urban Tavern put out a spectacular pork dish and eye popping chocolate truffles.

These were AMAZBALLS!

The Filet from Flemings was like butter in the mouth. They served it with Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese.

Chinobandito was there serving chicken in little crispy pork skin bowls with spicy sauce.

Chinobandito

They offered a few different salads from the Chop Shop.

Like I always say that every THING is subject to change and it usually does. Famous 48 sure improved the recipe for their Nashville Hot Chicken. It’s a whole lot milder now but the chicken is completely different from what they served me in their original restaurant. This chicken was plump and moist with a nice texture. This was delicious!

New Dish from the Tryst Cafe made with Jackfruit.

Someone served very cold Cheese Burgers…….

Benihana served Fried Rice

Tried some wine from Orin Swift. Liked The Pinot.

Tried a Chicken Skewer from Toro Latin Grill.

The Salmon from Ocean Prime was AMAZING!

Wanted to finish things up with Cabernet from Trefethen but they ran out around 6pm so I settled for Trefethen Chardonay.

That was my night at Dish It Out.

www.DishItOutAZ.org

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

The Forking Truth

My Trip To Pizzicata in Carefree AZ – Pinsa Romano (Healthier Alternative to Pizza)

Pizzicata is an Italian Restaurant located in Carefree Arizona located in the Spanish Village. They serve appetizers, salads, soups, house made pastas and Pinsa Romano (a healthier alternative to pizza). The Pinsa compared to pizza is 48% less sugar and 85% less fat according to Pizzicata’s website. It’s made from wheat, soy, rice and sourdough with high hydration and long proofing.

I’ve come here twice and on my first visit they had to suddenly close because they ran out of food so a couple weeks latter I thought I’d try them again. On my second visit they were open but the menu differed slightly than what I read on their website.

Website menu
Actual Saturday Lunch Menu

It was a really nice day so we sat on the patio.

But inside it looks like this.

We decided to share a Caesar salad ($12.00) and a Margherita Pinsa Romano ($14.00). They arrived at the same time.

We start with some caesar.

The romaine is fresh and crisp and the croutons are seasoned nicely. The dressing is thick and rich and laced with anchovy and grated cheese. It’s a bit light on the salt and pepper but you can adjust to your liking.

Here’s a closer look at the pinsa.

It’s topped with a nice melty mozzarella. The sauce is slightly seasoned and has a little pucker to it. The crust is very different. It has the texture of fine sandpaper from a sprinkling of something like semolina. The crust is crispy and chewy. It kind of reminds me of a toasted English muffin bottom. I ate three or four pieces and it didn’t seem heavy at all in my stomach.

We had room to try a pistachio gelato so we did ($10.00).

The flavor is good but the texture is a bit icy. I asked if they make it and the waiter told me no but it’s made locally.

That was my trip to Pizzicata in Carefree AZ.

www.PizzicataUSA.com

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

The Forking Truth

Rick Bayless Huitlacoche Taco Filling (sort of) in Masa Crepes Recipe

I was doing a lot of research on Huitlacoche recipes so I would understand the ingredient better. One recipe that was well received by Eater.com was the Rick Bayless Huitlacoche Taco Recipe. Not only did I read the recipe I also watched the video and learned more. Chef Bayless made an approachable version of the Mexican Huitlacoche taco. Flavors like Huitlacoche are strong and epazote is pungent. For your first time tasting these ingredients you might find them more enjoyable on the mellow side. Rick Bayless made these flavors more mellow by adding mushrooms to calm down the Huitlacoche flavor and also giving you a slide on the amount of epazote to use. He also made a point of pointing out that in Mexico the mushrooms wouldn’t be added and the epazote would go in on the heavy end. I followed the Chef Bayless recipe but I doubled the amount of Huitlacoche and used the top amount for epazote so it would be closer to the real thing. I was out of taco shells so I thought a masa crepe would be a nice light alternative and I think it is. This recipe make about 5 servings.

Ingredients for about 5 servings

1 poblano pepper – roasted – seeds, skin, stem removed – chopped

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium white onion – diced

1 clove garlic – fine chopped

1/2 medium tomato – diced

1/2 cup oyster mushrooms – cut off core and broken down a bit

6 oz Huitlacoche (I used frozen, chef Bayless recipe calls for canned…in video he gets fresh when in season but likes the bottled version)

2 Tablespoons fresh epazote – chopped

non stick canola spray

2 eggs – slightly beaten

1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon water

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter – melted

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup maseca (instant masa)

1/4 teaspoon course sea salt

4 oz mozzerella/cheddar cheese – shredded

Directions

Get a fry with the oil on medium high heat and then add the onion, tomato, mushrooms and garlic. Cook till onions are slightly brown and then turn down the heat to medium and add the poblano and Huitlacoche. Cook a few minutes and shut off heat and then add the epazote. Salt to taste.

Make crepe batter. In a small mixing bowl add the eggs, water, butter, flour, maseca and salt and mix well.

I use a regular fry pan so I also use non stick spray. Spray a regular fry pan with non stick on medium high heat. Pur about three tablespoons of batter in the pan. It cooks up pretty fast like in a minute. Flip it and set to the side. Keep going till you are out of batter.

Fill each crepe with Huitlacoche filling and distribute the shredded cheese into each crepe. Eat now or reheat in pan or oven.

Rick Bayless Huitlacoche Oyster Mushroom Taco Filling in Masa Crepes

Yummy! A Special THANKS to Chef Rick Bayless for sharing his recipe and knowledge about Huitlacoche Tacos.

The Forking Truth