Biryani Bowl is a mostly North Indian and fusion casual restaurant that recently opened in North Peoria Arizona. Biryani Bowl isn’t a fancy place and is open for mostly take out but you can dine in and also dine on the small patio.
They offer a regular daily menu and MANY specials.
daily menuTaco Tuesday menuPulav (vegetable rice) Wednesday specialsThursday Roll Specials Dussehra Weekend North Indian Specials
We tried three of the Dussehra Weekend (Dussehra is a major fall festival) Specials and the pulusu fish (fish curry).
We started out by sharing the mirapakaya chicken Dussehra special.
It’s marinated stir fried chicken chunks in a slightly spicy onion/ginger/garlic kind of sauce with cashews.
Then we tried another Dussehra special the chule batura (spiced chick peas with fried bread called puri).
Much less spicy than what I expected but tasty.
For entrees we shared off the daily menu the pulusu fish (fish curry) and off the Dussehra menu the mughial chicken (brown onion gravy curry chicken)
It gets delivered to you like take out food with boxed fluffy rice. Both dishes have very small amounts of protein in them. The fish curry on the left is tasty but unlike any fish curry that I have had before. It is less sour and less spicy but is aromatic. The munhial chicken on the right is MELT IN YOUR MOUTH tender as can be. This is an extremely fragrant dish….also not very spicy but does have some heat to it.
Side note……The leftover munhial chicken I took home to have latter grew with heat maybe two levels.
That was a little taste of Biryani Bowl in Peoria AZ – Newly opened!
Cook and Craft Restaurant is a full service modern American restaurant with vegan and vegetarian options located in Scottsdale Arizona. They are soon to open a second location in Phoenix at Desert Ridge on High Street. Cook and Craft helps to support other local businesses and offers some local coffee roasters, local breweries, and local distillers on their menu……. Food forward some of the starters they offer are starters such as sliders, wings of chicken and cauliflower, deviled eggs, house made mozzarella and chocolate bacon. They also offer salads, soups, and some of the entrees are craft burgers, short ribs, filet mignon, gnocchi stuffed acorn squash, wrapped meatballs, barramundi, grilled meatloaf and MORE!
They do offer some patio seating.
Or you seat yourself inside wherever you want.
bar area
During nice weather the garage door windows are open and lots of bright light and fresh air comes in.
They start you off with water, complimentary trail mix, and seasoned Chex Cereal.
We shared a starter of filet sliders.
The slider filets are very tender and well seasoned. They are topped with provolone cheese, tomato, crispy onions and are on brioche buns spread with a mustardy-like aioli. The plate also came with a generous serving of crispy fries.
Today I had the crafted salad with added salmon.
crafted salad with added salmon
This plate is packed with LOTS of stuff. There is arugula, roasted beets, goat cheese, pomegranate, marinated artichokes, these fancy dance-ee vegetable rolls of squash, carrots, asparagus and more stuff. balsamic dressing and the salmon….This is an extra generous portion of food. I doubt most people can finish.
My husband tried the crafted grilled cheese with added short rib.
It came with a. basil laced tomato soup. The grilled cheese was made on a quality toasted and buttered baguette bread. The sandwich is different and isn’t. your typical grilled cheese. This is a four cheese sandwich (provalone, cheddar, gruyere, parmesan). It’t not. all melty. The cheese on the top is hard and the sandwich is stuffed with the added short rib and some of the cheese.
We also tried a side order of macaroni and cheese.
side order macaroni and cheese
The side order of macaroni and cheese was made with nicely cooked pasta. I think the cheese sauce is good and tasty but maybe too thin or just not enough because you only get the cheese sauce at the bottom of the dish.
That was a little taste of Cook and Craft restaurant a locals eatery in Scottsdale AZ.
Bonita’s is a small casual Mexican Restaurant located in Glendale Arizona. They are open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They offer a varied menu of breakfast burros, combos that include rice and beans (priced $7.50-$11. subject to change), assorted appetizers like miniature chimis, soups, all kinds of different tacos (street sized priced at only $1.50 subject to change), burros, birria ramen, children’s menu, desserts, limited alcohol, and more!
Bonita’s is on the end of a strip mall.
There are two menus to order from. One is on the side wall.
They also have a menu on the wall behind the counter that you order from and pay at.
You get a beverage or order a margarita, pick a table to sit at and they run your food to you when it is ready.
$5. margaritas…..pretty strong…not bad for $5.00
Today we ordered street sized tacos of carne asada, pollo asada (chicken), carnitas (pork), adobada (pork) and a birria taco (beef).
Everything was at least good. Today we liked the carnitas, adobada, and the birria tacos best of the tacos we tried on this day.
Mexican style rice and refried beans.
The other stand out was the Birria Ramen. We actually liked this better than the birria taco because it seemed more flavorful than the taco….We think the cheese mellowed the flavors in the taco.
You should know that birria is a spicy Mexican stew that is painstakingly made and is considered to be a special dish. Often Birria is served at special occasions and holidays….This is really flavorful and delicious…The beef is infused with flavors and is falling apart tender…This is really good. The noodles are just ramen style…I do note that I don’t know if other Mexican Restaurants take the birria ramen further with the noodles or add a marinated egg but this is pretty cool for North Phoenix.
Gotta go back and try fish tacos, chili relleno and maybe fried ice cream next time.
Went back!
This time tried a fish taco.
The tortilla is warm and the fish is extra crispy and this does have good flavors with the chipotle cream sauce.
Tried a chili relleno.
The chili relleno is not a beauty here but was made with a fresh poblano pepper and is stuffed with melty mild white cheese. The relleno is very lightly battered and you do have the choice of red or green sauce.
My husband had a carnitas fajita burrito. He said the carnitas wasn’t as fatty today but was still good. The guacamole is nice fresh and chunky like it should be.
It sure didn’t cost much to have dinner here. Our two tacos, relleno, burrito and two margaritas were only around $35.
On both visits service was efficient and welcoming.
The dishes that we are most likely to come back for (so far) are –
birria ramen, carnitas, adobada, fish tacos, chili relleno, guacamole, and $5.00 margaritas
Bonita’s is worth a try if you find yourself in the area. It sure doesn’t cost much to dine here either.
Taberna De Arcadia opened this pass June (2021) in the Arcadia part of Phoenix Arizona. They offer seasonal menus where the menu seems like a mix of BBQ, Tex Mex, and New American.
The word taberna sounds a lot like tavern but actually is an ancient Rome term for shop.
When you walk in it is a mix of fancy and a little rustic.
Then you either get seated on the patio with traditional picnic benches that have padded seats.
The patio wraps around with traditional tables.
Or you can dine inside at a high top, the bar, or one of the booths.
It looks like all the tables inside except for the round top to the left are high tops. The booths are one step up and are good for most people but might be troublesome for the elderly or those who had recent operations.
The appetizer menu today had things on it like salmon aguchile, cauliflower ceviche, smoked pork taquitos,
smoked brisket jumbo flautas
smoked brisket jumbo flautas, and
t.h.c Taberna hot chicken with biscuits, honey butter and hot sauce (not pictured)
T.H.C Taberna Hot Chicken with biscuits, honey butter, and house hot sauce. (the chicken legs are smoked and then fried)
cauliflower ceviche
The cauliflower ceviche is fresh and light……unless you eat too many chips. It’s almost like eating salsa. It’s like cauliflower salsa.
They offered detailed sounding salads with add on options like smoked turkey, smoked chicken, and grilled salmon.
Arcadia citrus salad with added smoked turkey and a side order of pimento Mac ‘n’ cheese
The salad is full of fresh herbs like mint and basil that go well with the citrus. The turkey is gently smoked but could be more moist today.
They offer a variety of street sized tacos. I do note that these tacos are actually street sized and are very small tacos.
hot smoked salmon and spicy turkey tacos
I tried the hot smoked salmon taco with sumac aioli, fennel slaw, pink peppercorns.
I also tried the spicy turkey taco that came with broccoli slaw, cranberry hot sauce, and crispy sweet potato chips.
I thought that the hot smoked salmon taco was much more flavorful and more spicy than the spicy turkey taco……….The turkey in the turkey taco seemed good and was seasoned…but somehow all together this taco didn’t turn out spicy..or as flavorful as the hot smoked salmon taco…..?????
I know my husband had a bbq chicken, pulled pork and a mushroom tacos. I didn’t taste them but I remember he said that he enjoyed the chicken one the most.
Besides tacos they also had a meat plate section on the menu. You can get a half pound of meat with tortillas, pickled onions, cucumber, and salsa. The selection of meats were prime brisket, half chicken, pork shoulder, turkey breast, and beef rib.
We were interested in the plate section. They had things like duck enchiladas, smoked grilled pork chop, sweet potato gnocchi with brisket, grilled salmon, and a surf and turf.
Duck confit enchiladas with white bean puree
The duck confit enchiladas are in a sharp tomatillo green chile sauce that balances well with the creamy white bean puree.
side order pimento Mac ‘N” cheese
The pimento mac ‘n’ cheese is a bit light with pimento but is so darn cheesy who cares. It’s rich and delicious and OH SO CHEESY!
On our visits we noticed that the majority of people were eating sandwiches. They offer sandwiches like salmon, pulled chicken. pulled pork, and brisket. They also offer desserts and have plenty of sides on the menu.
That was a GOOD Taste of Taberna De Arcadia in Phoenix AZ.
Haldi Indian Cuisine recently opened a second location in north Glendale Arizona in Arrowhead. The original Surprise Location was awarded by Phoenix Magazine for BEST IN THE VALLEY for Indian Food. Haldi Indian Cuisine offers North and South Indian dishes. They also offer beer, wine, sodas, tea, coffee, mango lassi, basic cocktails and more.
Today we tried vegetable samosas.
They came with tamarind and cilantro sauce. Very tasty. Anyone would like them.
We also shared spicy chicken curry and vindaloo chicken (also spicy). They came with a bowl of fluffy basmati rice studded with cumin seed.
We ordered #4 out of 5 for heat spiciness. It was hot but not as hot as #4 from other places that we have been. ……We had lots of rice and tasty sauces left over so we took them home. .(OMGosh..the next day these not so hot with heat #4’s turned into #5’s and grew with lots of heat almost too much heat…WOW)……….The sauces both were very fragrant, delicious and were made with lots of exotic spices. The white meat chicken in both could have been more moist.
Haldi Indian Cuisine has recently opened in North Glendale AZ
NakedQ BBQ is a casual BBQ restaurant that serves dry rubbed barbecued meats at three locations in metro Phoenix. NakedQ BBQ is located in Glendale (Westgate), Scottsdale and in the Deer Valley part of North Phoenix. The Phoenix location is small and casual.
It usually has an appetizing smokey smell when you walk in.
You order at the counter and you pay and either take your tray of food with you to the table or they run the food out to you. This restaurant was featured in our local paper The Arizona Republic. According to Go Shindig the NakedQ BBQ in Deer Valley was listed on Go Shindig’s Ultimate BBQ Road Trip based on reviews and prices.
The meats they offer are pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket, sliced turkey, jalapeño hot link and ribs. Only a couple times a year they offer a FORKING AMAZING smoked corned beef. Most meats are offered on sandwiches that are priced around $8 or $9 that includes a side. Platters are offered in one or two meat platters that include two sides and a corn muffin. Most platters are priced around $14-$20.
The atmosphere is casual and woody with Naked Q BBQ logos all around.
They have a roll of paper towels on every table. They also have a small station of house sauces that you can add so your meat isn’t naked. They offer a North Carolina Style vinegar based sauce, a South Carolina mustard based sauce, a sweet sauce and a spicy sauce.
This day I got the Turkey Salad because on previous trips the BBQ Turkey was always my favorite meat. ($9.00)
The salad is kind of average but it seems fresh. The Turkey really is very good, moist and is full of great flavors. I like that this is a sensible portion of food. Usually I get overly stuffed at BBQ places.
On a different visit I got the garden salad with turkey.
The above salad was only $9……It’s almost fast food priced and is bigger and better than fast food.
My husband got a two meat platter and a side of hot links.
Another time my husband got the same plate…On this day everything was tastier and even more succulent. This time he asked for the fatty. You should ask for the fatty if you want succulent.
Above are hot links to go.
I was lucky enough to get that amazing smoked corned beef sandwich twice. One was FORKING FANTABULOUS…..the other was from the lean side and tasted great but was a little dry.
smoked corned beef sandwich
Above is the one that was a little dry.
smoked corned beef
The above smoked corned beef sandwich were OFF THE CHARTS FORKING INCREDIBLE……OMG….Succulent …so amazing….These sandwiches made the same would be a best sandwich of Phoenix.
On a previous visit we had a 2 meat platter with brisket and pulled chicken, a slaw, green beans and a corn muffin.
Here’s a pulled pork, sausage, macaroni and cheese and a corn muffin with beans on the side.
Another time I had a one meat Turkey platter with slaw, broccoli and a corn muffin.
A one meat platter with brisket, macaroni and cheese, bbq beans and a corn muffin.
That was a taste of NakedQ BBQ in Phoenix AZ.
www.NakedQ.com
Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
Zinc Bistro is a New York Style Parisian Bistro Located in Scottsdale Arizona in the Kierland Commons. They offer ever changing menus of lunch, Afternoon menu, dinner, brunch and more. Whatever you order the food is finely crafted, detailed, and quality. The atmosphere is charming and sort of yesteryear…..Tin roof and classic fixtures with some nods to France.
You can choose patio, limited courtyard dining, bar seating and traditional table seating.
courtyardinside
The tables are set with crisp linen and heavy silverware.
The menus do change but one dish that is on all the menus but IS OMITTED FROM BRUNCH is the onion soup gratinee made with six month aged AOP gruyere cheese.
Traditional French Onion Soup
This soup was featured on Food Network TV Show called, “Best thing I ever ate.”
It really doesn’t taste like any onion soup I had before because it’s better….It taste like very developed onions….The onions are the star and everything thing else is just delicious with it…..
Other appetizers we’ve tried.
roasted beet salad chicken liver mousse, fig and port compote and grilled Noble bread (fall restaurant week 2021)Escargot Bougugnon vichyssoiseScottish salmonKale saladfoie gras raviolis in consomme
Lunches we tried. (We’ve also enjoyed lunches from the Phoenix Airport location called Zinc Brasserie)
chicken curry salad sandwichbrisket pastrami sandwich (this is very small)fries
It is Restaurant Week here in Phoenix Arizona. Around a hundred and fifty restaurants are participating and are offering three course meals for set prices of $33., $44., and $55. Usually I look forward to going to a restaurant or two that I have never tried before during Restaurant Week. Tonight we made reservations to Fuego at The Clarendon in Phoenix. It’s a Latin Fusion type of restaurant. I do note that this restaurant has earned a 4.5 star average out of 5 stars on Yelp from nearly 900 people so that means that most people enjoy what they order here.
It looks like this when you walk in.
To left is a musician playing the piano.
To the right is the cool looking bar area.
We get seated in the main dining area. It’s early and it’s already a very energetic atmosphere.
All around the main dining area is a wrap around patio. We start with margaritas that seem good.
My husband gets an extra starter and starts with a cubano sandwich off the happy hour menu. (only $5.)
He said that the cubano was very good and tasty……THE CUBANO WAS VERY GOOD!
I soon get my appetizer the salmon croquette.
It looks nice but taste fishy….not spoiled fishy…It taste like the type of fishy fish my local Safeway sells. I’m hungry so I eat it anyway.
My husband got the pernil nachos.
They also look nice. But you can’t see that the pork is dried out tonight. Or maybe this one sat under a heat lamp too long and the fresher ones were carried out first?
I just received my complimentary red sangria. It taste like it was made not good, past it’s time wine. I can’t drink it……………. just tasting it makes me feel queasy now….
I soon get my dinner.
Most of the food on this plate looks great but most of the food doesn’t agree with my palate.
To the right is a cup of jalapeno creamed corn. I can only imagine that someone slipped in the kitchen and accidentally dumped a whole bag of sugar into it. It is so painfully sweet I thought I’d get sick eating it. It’s sweeter than dessert sweet. The green beans are good and very garlic-ee……..I forget what was under them (something like sweet cabbage?). but I couldn’t eat it. The salsa on top of the fish seemed good but whatever the fish is coated with taste unpalatable to me. I tried to scrape the exterior of the fish off but didn’t do so well.
This is what I left on the plate. I tried to eat it but couldn’t.
I’m surprised that nobody said anything to me……….about this.
Anywho-
My husband had different issues from his meal (surf and turf pasta).
It is very hard to eat a steak that is served in a bowl of loose pasta. My husband said that the steak and the pasta had little flavor. The person that ran the food promised to bring salt and pepper but never came back with any………….My husband said, that the beans had an unusual taste in them that he didn’t like. The signature jalapeño corn bread was tasty but very sweet and very rich. At some point during dinner someone did ask how things were….I lied and said ok. My husband was surprised that they accepted the ok the way I said it………. I’ve worked in restaurants. Some chefs are professionals…..and some are not. Some chefs get very unhinged when food gets sent back. You don’t want to know how some chefs get and what they might do to your food that gets “re-fired.” I pretty much never send food back when it isn’t an open kitchen.
Moving on…
For our third course we shared the key lime pie and the ancho chile torte.
These are both very good.
The good news is that currently Fuego at The Clarendon has a 4.5 average on Yelp from close to 900 people so that means that most people order dishes at Fuego at The Clarendon that they enjoy.
BUT The FORKING Truth is – Not every dish a restaurant serves is for your taste…..or maybe they just had some screw ups in the kitchen?
Remember that the cubano sandwich, key lime pie, and ancho chile torte are recommended.
De Babel is a semi/fast casual Middle Eastern type restaurant located in Scottsdale Arizona. It isn’t a fancy place but seems shiny and clean. They offer many of the usual Middle Eastern Mediterranean offerings and some that are not that usual.
Some of sandwiches offered are falafel, meat shawarma, chicken tawook (classic Lebanese chicken marinated and usually made on skewers…), a burger, ribeye, wild mushroom and more. They offer some plates, platters, salads like tabouli, fattoush and freekah. Some of the sides they offer are truffle fries, cole slaw, mushroom soup, bread bowls, and roasted cauliflower.
You order at the counter, grab a beverage, pay, and seat yourself. They run your food to you when it is ready.
We shared a vegetarian platter of hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaf platter with added chicken shawarma so we could taste that too.
hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaf with added chicken shawarma
It’s very crisp, moist and green inside and flavored well. The hummus is nice and creamy and accented with oil, chickpeas, and Aleppo pepper. The baba ganoush is smoky and the top of it glistens with pomegranate. The grape leaves are very tender, rolled thinner than most and taste laced with allspice. I think that the chicken shawarma is seasoned nicely and it is flavorful but is a little dry today. Same with the meat shawarma…… It’s seasoned very nice but is a little dry. The tabouli is bright and lemony fresh and flavorful. The rice is also flavorful here too.
That was a little taste of De Babel in Scottsdale AZ.
Vecina is a modern American Latin style restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. This is a small casual restaurant that offers seasonal elevated sharing plates, interesting dinners, and upscale desserts. Only high quality ingredients are used and the seafood comes from Chula. Vencina is loved by many but might not be for everyone. The majority of the dishes contain chili peppers and the atmosphere is energetic and noisy.
If you don’t have a reservation you sit at the bar or at a high top table behind the bar.
The dining room is very small and only is two rows of tables. I think I counted only around eight tables in the dining room.
For a small restaurant I was very surprised to find twenty two different menu items tonight. Remember that this is a mostly but not entirely small plate type of restaurant. The Vecina website suggest two – three plates a person.
We shared two small plates. Recommended by our waiter was the karaage (breaded fried chicken) with aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chili) citrus gastrque, togarashi (spicy Japanese spice blend), lime. Our table was very small and these plates almost didn’t fit. We had to lose the candle.
karaage
It was full of flavors and was spicy…but not too spicy..and tasty.
We also shared the elote.
It was made of corn kernels with butter that is spiced like chorizo and on the right is a smooth cream made with toasted green chili, cream fraiche, lime and topped with a little cheese and fresh cilantro.
The above plates were very good and were quite a treat but the dinners wowed us even more!
I had the hiramasa collar. Incase you didn’t know the collar meat from a fish is very flavorful and extra tender. It’s the fattiest, richest, best tasting part of the fish.
hiramasa collar
WOW! They gave me two great big fish collars that look like big steaks. The meat is so tender and flavorful. I love the smoked tomatillo salsa with this fish and the hand made tortillas are delicious and very tasty. This is also a very large portion. I think they gave me extra by accident. For me this is one dinner and two lunches.
My husband enjoyed the Sonaran pasta gemelli.
Sonatan pasta gemelli
It was made with chili de arbol arrabbiata, Spanish chorizo, grilled fennel, pickled tomatillo, and parmesan.
They offered two desserts tonight. We thought the one sounded extra interesting so we tried the savory and sweet banana bread with peanut butter ice cream.
You can’t tell by my picture but this dessert is very large…..I think it can serve four people. It’s very rich but unusually delicious and very unique.
I have to say Vencina in Phoenix AZ is Worth a Fork!
