Ingo’s Tasty Food is a casual American restaurant with two locations (Arcadia & DTPhoenix….) and a third location that is soon to open in Scottsdale Arizona. The Arcadia location in Phoenix is the original location and is a unique round building with dining inside.
And outside on the patio.
They also have a walk up take out window.
At the Arcadia location you can get things like deviled eggs made with German mustard, goat cheese, pickled beet.
shattered chips
Shattered Chips with lebni, salt, pepper, lactose fermented hot sauce
Three kinds of salads.
chopped chef salad split in half – romaine, local dates, manchego cheese, avocado, white beans, marcana almondsOrange and fennel salad – spinach, arugula, goat cheese, Marcona almonds, gastrique onions, avocado with added grilled white fish
You also have the option to add crispy or grilled chicken, whitefish, or grass fed patty to a salad. You also can add a wrap to a salad.
They also offer fish and chips, a brown rice bowl, sandwiches such as egg, fish, vegetable, crispy chicken, and 3 kinds of burgers and one bean burger. The burgers are very good. I was told that the domestic grass fed beef is ground at a sister restaurant and the just right size buns are also baked at the sister across the street.
Headquarters Grill Bar Sushi Restaurant is located in the P83 area of North Peoria that is near to the Peoria Sports Complex. This area is also known as the UpperWestSide in Metro Phoenix Arizona. Everything that Headquarters Grill Bar Sushi restaurant serves is never from frozen. They also offer a full bar, thirty two taps and lots of big screen TVS for watching sports. As for food they offer lots of starters, wings, burgers, pizzas, salads, sandwiches, big plates, sushi, sushi rolls and some fun sushi fusion like the FORKING TASTY Sushi Burger. FORKING Tasty just means FORKING Tasty. It’s unusually good tasting. Recently I had a high quality fish sandwich from somewhere and it didn’t taste nearly as tasty as this Sushi Burger from Headquarters.
The FORKING TASTY Sushi Burger
The FORKING Tasty Sushi Burger is made of really (FORKING) tasty fried rice patties, spicy tuna, shredded krab (faux crab…usually does not contain crab and is usually made from lower costing pollock fish), soft greens, cucumber, avocado, eel sauce (sweetened soy based sauce), and spicy mayo. Somehow this combination is unusually FORKING TASTY. A little dab of of that thick neon green wasabi paste and it’s even a little MORE FORKING Tasty.
The Sushi Burger from Headquarters Grill Bar Sushi Restaurant in Peoria AZ is FORKING Tasty!
Carniceria Ponderosa Panaderia (bakery & cafe) have two locations in North Phoenix Arizona that are relatively close to each other (around 15 minutes apart). I went to the 2nd location that is close to the upper west side part of Phoenix on Bell Rd. Inside you will find a Mexican grocery store with some produce, dry goods, cold beverages, baked goods, meat cases, fish and cheese cases. They have signs out saying that they will cook certain meat purchases for free. They also have a Charcoal Grill Kitchen that offers street tacos, burros, quesadillas, tortas, and MORE!
The sign is hard to see as it blends in with the wall but below is the Charcoal Grill and Kitchen.
It’s casual. The employee didn’t speak English and the cashier (maybe manager) ran over and told the employee what we wanted in Spanish. If you order tacos they get topped up for you Chipotle style. You either take out and you can sit at the counter by the cashier. We picked up our order packed up a beverage at the beverage section and paid and sat at the counter.
I got three double shelled tacos that came fully stuffed so much so that they were very hard to pick up. Pico, guacamole, and green salsa were added to my tacos. I tried carne asada, pollo asada, and beef barbacoa All the meats I tried were very flavorful. My favorites were the chicken and beef barbacoa. The carne asada was very flavorful but lacked that bbq taste that I look for and also was slightly chewy.
My husband tried a birria queso taco.
He also had-
carne asada, beef barbacoa, and carnitas topped with red salsa and shredded cheese.
Our mutual favorites were the beef barbacoa and the pollo asada.
These tacos were very inexpensive. The birria queso taco was $3.99 but the over stuffed street tacos were only around $2. each.
Noticed the hard to find chiltepin peppers for sale at the counter…..cheap and fresh looking.
Namaste is a full service Indian Restaurant located in North Scottsdale Arizona. They offer variety of Indian dishes. They offer the popular North and South Indian Dishes. They also offer some Hyderabad and Pakistani dishes. You can get soft beverages and some alcohol here, You can also find beef dishes here too!
They offer traditional tables and some booths for seating. You might notice a buffet in the right side of the lower picture. (at this time June 2022) the buffet is not in use.
There are hand paintings around the restaurant that tell the story of the Taj Mahal.
When you decide what you want. They ask you your heat preference. You can pick mild, medium, hot, or chef hot (chef hot is molten hot!) We think hot is really perfect here…It does make our noses run but the food is delicious. It’s the most flavorful Indian foods that we have tried so far. Our first meals here were from the buffet. Everything we tried was very flavorful and delicious but to please most people they didn’t put out anything spicy on the buffet. At this time they discontinued buffet service because of the recent sharp increases in food cost.
Anyways.
We came back to try other things.
We tried possibly three delicious appetizers so far.
onion bhaji (if you like crispy onions then you will love this)
Aloo tikki choley (choley are spicy chickpeas)
samosa choley (this was full of all kinds of flavors) (we ordered samosa choley…..But they do look like the aloo tikka choley above??????? whatever these are they are incredibly delicious)
We also tried several of the naan that are offered. They are always delicious and fresh made to order. Here’s the garlic chile naan.
Some of the entrees we tried were –
take out – beef vindaloo
achari fish masala, kadai chicken masala, cumin rice
fish curry (spicy highly seasoned tomato gravy…..This was the best fish curry that I’ve ever had), cumin rice, chile chicken (like an Indian chicken cacciatore…..we previously tried this dish in chef hot and that was too hot for us….
Every single dish that we’ve tried at Namaste was delicious and full of flavor. The chicken meals were also masterfully moist. I’m so happy they they don’t dull the food here. Service has also been consistently good.
I have to say Namaste Restaurant in Scottsdale is Worth a Fork!
Guy Fieri’s Downtown Phoenix Kitchen and Bar recently opened at Caesars Sports book –
Caesar’s Sports Book
at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix Arizona. Guy Fieri already has several ghost kitchens called Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen in metro Phoenix (6 locations are listed on Yelp) but this is the first sit down restaurant that the celebrity chef is part of in Phoenix. Guy Fieri’s DTPHX Kitchen & Bar offers multiple floors of sports betting, full service bars, some bar food, VIP lounge, large TVs everywhere and more.
They have an enormous amount of outdoor seating with TVS everywhere.
Here’s the first floor of the inside. We came at an off time early long before the game tonight to miss all the crowds.
The first thing that you notice when you sit down are the linen napkins. The napkins are unique with the diamond embellished skull and crossed silverware. I was surprised that you can’t get unsweetened iced tea here. Only sweetened tea is served and they come in plastic tumblers.
When you are dining on a day that they are having a game they serve an abbreviated menu called the It’s Game Day Menu……..(even if you are there 8 hours before the game). On the It’s Game Day Menu they offer Guy Fieri’s famous Trash Can Nachos pictured below. (I photoed this from across the room when I spotted it)
They also offer dragon’s breath chili cheese fries, queso corn dip, two kinds of wings, a bbq chopped chicken salad, a bacon mac-n-cheese burger (smash style burger with applewood bacon, 6 cheese mac-n-cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, house made pickles, crispy onions, donkey sauce, French fry medley pictured below).
They also offer a prime time Kobe beef cheeseburger, Morgan’s veggie burger (house made bean veggie burger, vegan donkey sauce, crispy onions, lettuce, tomatoes, house made pickles, whole wheat bun with a French fry medley) pictured below.
and a Motley Que pulled pork sandwich. If you happen to have room for dessert they offer a chocolate whiskey cake.
Both burgers were reasonably good. The meat burger was a little better because the veggie all bean burger was kind of mushy since it’s all beans without any grains but it really did have good flavors. The house made pickles really were very good and the zippy mayo called donkey sauce also added zing to the burgers. The fries were very good and were served hot, seasoned and had nice fluffy interiors.
Our server was very attentive and efficient. The only issue we had is that it took a very long time to cook the burgers at lunch time…….I think we waited around 40 minutes…I think that is terribly long at lunch time. Parking is easy because there is a parking garage is located across the street.
Guy Fieri’s DTPHX Kitchen & Bar has recently opened in Phoenix AZ June 2022
The Wren and Wolf Restaurant is located in Downtown Phoenix Arizona. It’s a very swanky spacious restaurant. They serve craft cocktails, wine beer and food.
It’s a mix of fancy and rich inside accented with taxidermy, paintings of wren and wolves with a kind of retro feel.
insideinsideinsideinside
Last time we indulged with Fredeickson cocktails (rye, vermouth, Alpine and French Liquors, saline, and citrus smoke) (very strong drinks but also very smooth)
On our last visit we started out with the full bread service (Brazilian cheese breads, truffle butter, sweet chile butter, bing bread, and grilled Noble bread. We also tried the stuffed peppadew peppers. (both Big Hits) ((The stuffed pepadews are not on tonights menu and the bread service is still on the menu but looked different from what we had))
full bread service and stuffed peppadew peppers
Dinner for me was the Tazmanian Salmon with arugula, curry fingerling potatoes, and serrano lime glaze.
My husband had the dry aged meatloaf with asparagus and macaroni and cheese.
That night the meatloaf ( a miss) was over cooked and we were treated to a dessert.
I picked the key lime pie and it was very good. (Big Hit)
Tonight we tried new things. Also the menu has changed a bit since February.
Tonight we started with the New Zealand Hiramasa Crudo. (Big Hit)
This was VERY GOOD….maybe FANTABULOUS. Buttermilk vinaigrette herb oil, really fresh seared tuna, apple serano jam, puffed black rice….The menu adds crispy leeks but I didn’t get a crispy leek…..But it really was delicious so who cares.
Next we tried the bone marrow. It came with Noble Toast and a scant smear of chimichurri.
The flavors were good but this was almost unpleasant to eat. The texture of the bone marrow was like vegetable shortening. It felt very greasy in the mouth. This should have been warmed up a bit more. (a miss)
For my main I had the Seared Hawaiian Tuna with soba noodles, pickled shiitakes, snap peas, carrot, cashew, chile, and citrus glaze. Now this had a lot going on with it! (Big Hit!)
It is cold and it is petite but it is light, full of flavors, a little heat, textures, and is really delicious! Maybe FANTABULOUS! (Big Hit!)
My husband tried the wild boar ragu with Sonoran Taglierini Pasta. It also included San Marzano tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and crispy basil.
He thought that the pasta was over cooked and he thought that this dish could use more flavor. (not a hit or a miss)
We splurged for dessert. Tonight only two desserts were offered. One was a butter cake and we both don’t care for butter cakes so we went with the chocolate tort with Amarena cherries and Chantilly cream.
It looks good and the cherries are good but the cake is substandard (very dry, very dense, and lacks a good chocolate taste)..(A BIG MISS)
On the current menu I would highly recommend the New Zealand Hiramasa crudo and the Seared Hawaiian Tuna.
Wren and Wolf June 2022 Visit – Some BIG Hits and some misses.
T&J Asian Cuisine is located in Peoria Arizona not too far from Westgate. They offer most of your usual American-Chinese favorites and some dishes that you don’t see everywhere like lemongrass scallops, Korean ribeye steak, and Vietnamese Beef. It’s casual and is full service. Soft beverages and bar drinks are offered.
You can sit at a table or at the small bar in front of the dining room.
We started with what they call Asian potstickers.
They are more like fried chicken dumplings. They are stuffed with mostly chicken, a few scallions and a little bit of onions. They are tasty but ever so slightly oily. They come with ginger soy sauce for dipping.
For my main I got the sizzling sea bass. It came out on a sizzling skillet or is it a clay pot? It looks exactly like the clay pot from another restaurant I went to.
It’s lightly coated chunks of mild white fish that is cooked so astonishingly perfect…..It’s amazing. Nobody in the whole world can do a better job. It’s almost like dining at a very expensive restaurant. The Szechwan sauce has some flavor but is without heat. The menu shows a picture of a hot chili for this dish but it lacked heat today………But I’m so glad that this dish is savory and not sweet. Not all but most of the American-Chinese restaurants on this side of Phoenix often sweeten the sauce up like marmalade and that is unpleasant to me. The sizzling sea bass was accented with a few vegetables, some zucchini, onion, celery, carrot, and mushrooms. For me this is a large portion and today I’m also getting two meals out of it.
My husband went with the sizzling pork.
This meal was very similar with the same vegetables but the sauce had a slight heat instead of zero heat. The pork wasn’t crispy but was tender.
Service was speedy and efficient. Plates were cleared quickly.
The amazing FnB Restaurant is located in the arts district of Scottsdale Arizona near to Old Town Scottsdale. The chef and co-owner is James Beard Award Wining chef Charleen Badman. She serves ever changing, seasonal, global, farm focused, sharing plates. The menu is mostly vegetable forward but always contains enough meat to please meat eaters. Arizona wines are always on the menu.
Inside are two main dining rooms. There is a third room with a bar that often is used for parties and a small patio that in good weather expands out quite a bit.
There is always so many interesting dishes on the menu. It is always hard to choose what to get. We ALWAYS order more than we need and take some home.
After you order they always start you off with high quality delicious bread and high quality olive oil.
Tonight we started by sharing the watermelon, peaches, goat feta, Mexican tarragon, cucumber and lime plate.
They were nice enough to split this plate in half. It looks sort of plain but the produce is fresh plucked and taste better than what you would find at any supermarket. The cucumbers are so crisp…I’ve never had cucumbers this crisp before.
We tried Puerto Rican corn and cheese fritters with lime aioli and cilantro.
They are small and tasty. They are like a mild fluffy soft corn bread. The aioli os very lime-ee.
We also tried the heirloom tomato, Jasmin rice, fish sauce, shaved celtuce, herbs, and new onion plate.
I thought this plate had the most flavor play…..The high quality fresh tomatoes and herbs make this dish. I was full at this point but managed a few bites of the California black grouper with rancho gordo beans, tomato, spring onion and chermoula.
The fish is perfect and everything is delicious.
My husband thought that we wouldn’t have enough food and also ordered another small (but not so small) plate.
This is the Creole style bbq shrimp with Worcestershire sauce on top of buttered baguette bread.
Not all but a few previous dishes we tried were-
broccoli with tangerine aioli and pistachios
trout rillete
Mexican grouper and in the corner is corona beans with grilled radicchio, salsa verde, provalone
salmon gefilte fish, pickled beets, pickled eggs, beet horseradish, and buttered matzo – also crunchy radish salad in the corner
snap peas, macadamia nuts, mint, tarragon
crispy chic peas, beet falafel plate, award winning leek dish
The Saguaro Grill is an American Restaurant and Bar located in Old Town Glendale. It’s in a historic very old building with lots of old fashioned details and old fashioned lighting. You can look at the front window and see Saguaro Ranch Park across the street.
Inside there is a small bar, some traditional tables and a some booths. There is a small patio but I’m not sure if it is used.
My husband started with a cup of chili. He said it was ok………..
I had the grilled salmon. I thought the side choices were interesting at the time and it seemed like a healthy choice.
It was a big portion but was also very average. Slightly over cooked. Slightly dry and slightly fishy. The salmon had nice grill marks and was dressed with salt and pepper. It was suppose to have beurre blanc sauce on it but it was forgotten by the cook……….Oh well…no beurre blanc for me……They were out of green beans today so broccoli was substituted. The broccoli was very average and did have some butter and salt and pepper on it but had a strong broccoli taste that I can’t stand……Same with the spaghetti squash….It was dressed the same as the broccoli but had a strong spaghetti squash taste that needs to be covered up……I thought that the slightly dry and slightly fishy tasting salmon was better tasting than the very average vegetables……… 🙁
My husband had the filet salad.
It’s mostly spinach and croutons with some beef cubes that were cooked properly but were served cooled off. It’s very scant with other greens (suppose to be mixed greens). It’s also too scant with the blue cheese, red onions, dressing and tomatoes. There’s not much to this salad. There’s not enough of anything to make it enjoyable. For me the beef is not tender enough but I am very picky about beef.
3.99% customer server charge for credit cards
My visit today was very average. Maybe they are better on other days?….Or maybe you might do better ordering something else?…………..but I do need to mention again that the food is served in a very cute historic building.
Service turned out to be average. Server didn’t do anything when I told her how the fish and vegetables were.
Mifan Claypot Kitchen is located in the Midtown area of Phoenix Arizona. Mifan translates in Chinese to cooked rice so you will find meals with cooked rice. You will also find mostly sizzling claypot cooked dishes. The menu isn’t entirely vegan but a large amount of the menu can be vegan.
Inside is modern and sleek with a small outside patio.
In the right upper corner above is the kitchen with the chef at work.
On tonights visit only soft beverages were offered. They do offer a few kinds of tea. I went with hot oolong tea.
Appetizers offered on tonight’s menu were truffle butter edamame, crispy pork gyoza, soup gyoza (hand made dumplings stuffed with Shanghai pork and soup in a ginger soy vinaigrette),
soup gyoza
vegan cauliflower lightly fried with Sichuan peppercorns lollipops (tasty they don’t even seem fried) with a house dipping sauce,
vegan cauliflower lollipops
and crispy tofu.
They offer three soup and fans (fan means rice)
Hot and sour, lemongrass noodle soup, and bo zai fan (with Chinese sausage).
The last section of the menu is called Clay 600C …(probably translates to 1112 Fahrenheit) These dishes are served with steamed broccoli and rice.
These dishes are called house dynamite, sweet basil (stir fry with mushrooms, onion chili, vegan sauce),-
sweet basil with chicken
mala spices (stir fry with celery, onion, ginger, baby corn, chili, scallions mala sauce),-
mala spices with chicken
hk typhoon style crispy garlic and Sichuan peppercorns) , and Cantonese black dragon (black bean sauce). They also offered a sizzling shrimp in a Vietnamese sauce.
The two dishes we tried (the sweet basil & mala spices) came out bubbling like a cauldron…..Honestly I thought the chicken would be over cooked BUT IT WASN’T….The chicken in both dishes was incredibly insanely MOIST and VERY TENDER….like melt in your mouth tender. Both sauces were tasty….I thought the sweet basil had a slight edge from the fresh basil but both were good. The sauces are both described as spicy on the menu. They do have a slight heat to them but are more flavorful than spicy hot.
My husband helped me to finish so I could try the dessert that they offer.
Asian style strawberry beignet.
They are very different than New Orleans beignets. Not the taste but almost the texture inside like a Philly pretzel. Not too sweet and a really good strawberry flavor.I also like the small size…even if you are full you can manage to indulge.
Mifan Claypot Kitchen is located in the Muse Building.
Street level right half. A few parking spots are next to the building and also a parking garage is there.
