Hula’s Modern Tiki Restaurant is a Tiki Bar type restaurant with three locations. They have two locations in Phoenix and one location in Scottsdale. The North Phoenix location on High Street by Desert Ridge has an indoor outdoor bar and wrap around patio and is casual and airy inside.

Natural light come in the glass front during the day. You also get a view of the farmers market on Sundays.

They offer and all day menu and the weekend brunch menu. Both menus offer starters, sides, bowls, tacos, burgers, and sandwiches. The all day menu offers more starters like ceviche, poke, and wings. fresh fish, jerk plates, and Hawaiian kalbi ribs.

I tried the spicy Thai chicken bowl.

I received a generous amount of sliced chicken breast, fresh shredded cabbage, creamy fried plantains, beans, avocado, soy glaze and Thai Sauce. I was surprised that this wasn’t spicy. The sauce today doesn’t taste Thai to me but does have something soy or soy sauce like in it. This dish is not for me and I would not order this again but have heard that this dish has been a beloved favorite from this restaurant for over twelve years. I did enjoy the plantains….they had a nice creamy texture and a natural sweetness to them. They seemed less starchy than others I’ve had.

My husband enjoyed the hunkin Samoa burger. he did much better than me.

This burger came with jack cheese, fried Spam, linguisa sausage (he said it was very good), sunny side up egg, and Hula sauce (ketchup, mayo, ginger, other ingredients).

That was my trip to Hula’s Modern Tiki in North Phoenix.

www.HulasModernTiki.com

5450 E High St PHX AZ

480-597-5808

NoRa Asian Fresh is a fast growing chain of fast/casual restaurants that offer limited sushi, American Chinese and other bowls, ramen, Asian Entrees, soft beverages, and more. At the moment (subject to change soon) there are around a dozen locations of NoRa Asian Fresh in the valley and two locations in Texas.

It’s very casual here. You order at the counter and seat yourself.

A few minutes latter our order arrives.

We tried a nigiri combo (It’s tuna and salmon at this location)

The fish is clean and fresh tasting today! The rice under the fish holds together very well without falling apart. The wasabi paste is a bit on the dry side. You have to add the wasabi paste under the fish if you like it seasoned that way.

We also shared a tuna lover roll (spicy tuna topped with fresh tuna)

It’s mildly spicy. The rice holds together very well and doesn’t come apart. They don’t have chopsticks here so you have to pick up pieces with a fork. The tuna doesn’t look like hand cut tuna?????? I’ve never seen tuna cut so perfect before. Looks like it was cut on a slicer but I don’t know how they did it.

We also tried a chicken egg roll and chicken dumplings.

We both didn’t care for the egg roll or either of the dipping sauces. The chicken dumpling were fried nicely but were just ok.

While the sushi we tried is not high end sushi it was fresh and clean tasting. There is something to be said for that! Many of the sushi restaurants in this area didn’t serve me sushi as fresh tasting. So this seems to be a quick low priced option.

That is a little taste of NoRa Asian Fresh in North Phoenix.

www.NoraAsainFresh.com (locations differ slightly with prices and menu items)

www.Nora OnlineOrdering.com

4225 W Bell Rd PHX AZ

602-675-0301

Everything is subject to change.

Tarbell’s is a New American High Quality Restaurant owned by a very decorated chef Mark Tarbell. Chef Tarbell has been featured in numerous publications and TV shows including The Talk, and Food Network’s Iron Chef. On Iron Chef he chef Mark Tarbell won the cooking battle. Not only is chef Tarbell a famous chef he also is a wine expert, a serious skier, a pilot, a dancer, and a musician. He owns at least three businesses in the central Phoenix Corridor. His casual restaurant called, The Tavern. His wine store called, The Wine Store and of course his namesake restaurant called Tarbell’s.

Recently they added a nice patio inn front of the restaurant.

Inside there is a long bar and traditional tables and booths dressed with crisp linen, and set with heavy silverware.

There are some good deals on the wine list if you know your wine….

They started us off with complimentary hot from the oven bread and herbed oil.

We shared the cotija cheese crusted cauliflower.

You can’t tell by my photo but it seems that the cauliflower was steamed. I wasn’t expecting the cauliflower to be steamed…..It’s very soft and almost collapsing. This plate is also adorned with tomato braised lentils, red bell pepper, radish, beets. The description also reads butternut squash puree and creamed peas but the squash and peas are there to color the plate…you can’t scrap much off the plate to taste. This plate is mostly mildly seasoned and the cauliflower is extra soft. I don’t mean to complain but this cauliflower is so scant with the cotija cheese that it doesn’t seem cotija. crusted.

The dinners were both excellent.

I had the pan seared Argentine Sea bass.

The flaky, moist, mild, seared fish is topped with tasty tomatillo and pumpkin seed relish and sits over curry tomatoes, carrot, spinach, saffron rice, butternut squash puree, and coconut reduction. The flavors all go together well here.

My husband had the Tarbell’s Bolognese.

All I know about this plate is that it was made with a combination of beef and pork and takes four days to prepare…….My husband said that it was the best bolognese he’s ever eaten……..

During our dinner they sat a party next to us.

It might be hard to see in my photo but the party sort of overflowed into our space…..It was impossible for me to exit on my side and we had to be careful not to bump into the woman hanging off the end of her table. I’m surprised at a nice place like Tarbell’s that they would squish that table so close to ours when the table on the other side of the party wasn’t being used.

I was too full to try dessert so we were done.

Suggested tipping at Tarbell’s is 21-29%

They did hand us fresh baked cookies on our way out.

That was dinner from Tarbell’s. I’d recommend the sea bass and Tarbell’s bolognese.

www.Tarbells.com

3213 E Camelback Rd PHX AZ

602-955-8100

UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS********The Tasty Touch Flavors of India is located in Phoenix Arizona pretty close to Desert Ridge. This is a small casual Indian Restaurant that offers North Indian Dishes, Vegan Options, lunch specials and is Halal. Recently they were awarded the 2021 BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT by the Phoenix New Times.

It’s very casual. You order at the counter, pay, get a beverage, and seat yourself either in the dining room or on the patio.

We started by sharing an order of onion pakora.

This appetizer is very large and is enough for four people (maybe they made extra by accident?). It’s onions that are seasoned and fried with chick pea batter. They are tasty and seem free of oil. They also came with a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce.

We shared the korma chicken, tikka masala fish and garlic chili naan.

The chicken is masterfully moist and melts in your mouth. The curry in this dish is very mild. If you eat all the sauce and rice you can make two meals out of it but there is only a small amount of protein.

We both prefer the tikka masala fish. It’s made with a mild white fish that seems fresh and is very tender. The curry in this dish is also very mild but seems more complex with interesting exotic flavors.

Fresh hot from the oven garlic chili naan is delicious. Not too spicy and not too garlic-y…It taste just right.

That was a little taste of The Tasty Touch in Phoenix.

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

www.TheTastyTouch.com

4727 East Bell Rd Phoenix

480-499-2737

Everything is subject to change.