Fantabulous means – Top of the line, marvelously great, peachy keen, and DYNAMITE!
Confluence is a small restaurant located in Carefree Arizona just above North Scottsdale. This restaurant serves an ever-changing menu of elevated modern American cuisine.
They always start you out with some sort of delicious house made bread. Tonight it came with olive oil and white vinegar.
We started out by sharing an amazing cold detailed appetizer of kampachi crudo.
The fish is clean and buttery and is enhanced with baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, radish, supreme grapefruit, red onions peanuts and laced with ponzu. It’s light and refreshing but also interesting.
This next one is a drop the mic moment. Sorry my picture doesn’t do it justice.
Above is the miso braised wagyu beef cheek. (Insert the sound of angels singing)
OMG it’s one of the most amazing things that I have ever eaten and I am not a beef person.
This beef isn’t like any beef that I’ve had anywhere……It’s so tender that you don’t need teeth. It really does just melt in your mouth.
The combination of everything on the plate is simply FANTABULOUS! It’s miso braised beef cheek with fried forbidden black rice, kimchi, miso emulsion, lotus root chips, garlic chips, and pickled ginger.
Both dinners were masterfully prepared to perfection……both were fish and both were much better than from any fish house that I’ve been to.
My husband went with the branzino.
This is one of the only restaurants that crisps and seasons the fish skin in a way that I can eat it. The fish also always. comes with something interesting and and very detailed that you won’t get anywhere else…..
On the side of the branzino is house prepared fettuccini with Parmesan, pancetta, kale, crimini mushrooms, eggplant, and white anchovies. My husband usually doesn’t order fish but this one was maybe the best that he has ever tried anywhere.
I went with the grilled steelhead.
Look how crisp the skin is…..It eats like a seasoned. potato chip. You just don’t get this almost. anywhere.
Under the perfectly prepared fish is a combination of wild rice, cauliflower, carrots, celery, scallions in a fumet (reduced stock).
Dessert should never be missed at Confluence because desserts here are ALWAYS as detailed and amazing as the food.
Tonight we tried the smoked toffee risotto.
It’s full of all kinds of surprising textures and flavors that have a confluence together…….The risotto is a very elevated kind of rice pudding with spiced pear, cocoa nibs, hazelnut, mint, and maybe orange zest.
I’ve had some Yum-Dingers this year but This dinner from Confluence in Carefree AZ was the most FANTABULOUS Dinner of 2021. It was stupendously impressive and Worth a Fork!
Worth A Fork!
www.restaurantConfluence.com
Everything is subject to change. Remember that the menus change often so don’t wait.
My claws come out on Halloween. This is an all new collection of bad and the most frightful food that was served to me in Metro Phoenix Arizona in the past year or so. I already wrote about all of these restaurants so I don’t feel the need to name them again. It is not my intention to put down any restaurant too much. I mentioned them once and once is enough. If you read my blog then you know what restaurants these were.
Got these roasted vegetables somewhere in Metro Phoenix. Half were all shriveled up and chewy and the other half were RAW and crunchy.
Even children know that hummus is suppose to be a creamy dip. Somebody served me hummus that was thick like modeling clay.
Did take out from a brand new seafood restaurant and seafood market in Peoria. A few things were good but a lot was BAD. At the bottom of the photo is a large burro. The steak meat in it was chewy and we waited 30 minutes for it. They didn’t even bother to heat it for us. Here’s a better look at more of the BAD from this place.
This was the worst fish taco that I have ever had and it didn’t even come with a lime. The fish was so strong that it could do push ups. Fish was a throw away. I thought the food would be good here so I purchased a fish for dinner.
It was edible but wasn’t so fresh and smelled. So bummed I really wanted this place to be good.
Here’s another Fish Story.
You might think that I already ate this fish.
The FORKING TRUTH is that I opened up the fish and almost all the flesh was removed. I will never go back to this particular Thai Restaurant in Peoria. Come on…it’s not right to remove all the fish from someone’s meal. They don’t seriously expect anyone to come back for another do they?
The next one doesn’t look bad at all but it WAS REALLY BAD! ( I blurred out the one ok dish)
It’s like what do you want to try today?
Meat tough like leather?
Chicken that can be used for bungy cords with raw tasting starch? (this chicken was so rubbery and strong that you could pull out a tree with it)
Or meat so tough that you can chew and chew all night long and never get it down?
This restaurant should be named Tough MEATS R Us.
OMG this was so bad that I can’t believe this restaurant is in business.
Nothing is as stomach turning as bad sushi.
I tried one and was done. It was very fishy tasting…It turned my stomach. This place used to serve very really very good sushi. They went from hero to zero.
Went to a new upper end restaurant somewhere in metro Phoenix….Yes I ordered fish and it was so fishy tasting it was impossible to eat.
The waiter told me that Bronzino is always fishy because the flesh is so close to the skin (that is BULLSH*T)…….This fish was FORKING OLD…..This did go back and they did prepare me another fish dish that was good.
Sometimes food can be fresh but awful.
This was suppose to be bulgogi risotto.
It FORKING tasted like they put the bulgogi in a blender with cream cheese and then mixed in some rice and a few kernels of corn. This was more like vomit on a skillet.
I thought it would be impossible to really screw up a smoked fish…Well I was wrong.
This one looks very good but it wasn’t.
It taste like ammonia, fishy fish, smoke, mixed with funk. I couldn’t eat it. the fennel orange salad lacked fennel and was mostly fizzy bitter lettuce accented with sour oranges.
This plate also looks good…..but is one of the worst WHOLE PLATEs that I ever had anywhere.
Well start on the left. There is a mahi mahi fish that is coated in a GOD-AWFUL rub, GOD AWFUL house-made reduced balsamic and mango avocado salsa. The combination is impossible to stomach. The only thing that I can eat on the plate are the green beans. Under the green beans is candied red cabbage (ICK!), Next is a cup of jalapeño creamed corn….that looks and sounds good but isn’t……Someone dumped a whole bag of sugar in it and it is sickening……It is way sweeter than any dessert. This whole combination is one of the worst whole plates that I have ever been served anywhere. I think when a restaurant serves food that is this bad they need to loose their license because this was a crime. I could sure understand someone getting unhinged over this dish.
Trying to eat this was pure torture. (and the sangria that went with it was made from OLD SPOILED wine……) They are lucky that I am not the kind of person that gets unhinged….
I tried to eat it but it was too painful. Whoever prepared this missed their calling to cook at the local jail. The server didn’t make a peep when they cleared my plate of food and the full drink………I guess that means this happens often there?
Thought that I was done with bad food. Next is the only restaurant that I have never mentioned by name on my blog. This restaurant recently opened (newly opened restaurant)….It was bad when I walked in for lunch (20 minutes after they opened)….They just opened and all the tables were filthy. (Note to self…When you walk into a restaurant and see only dirty tables leave.) I should have left. Our server said pick any table. I thought she’d wipe it off for us but didn’t……then things got worst.
All the food we tried was mediocre. But the most memorable (in a bad way) was the complimentary chips and salsa.
You’d think that packaged chips can’t be screwed up but that isn’t so…….They didn’t warm the chips at the correct temperature and they taste burnt……:( The salsa taste like a ten year old experimented with a can of crushed tomatoes and added too much dry oregano and then tried to doctored it up with bottled hot sauce. I only went to this restaurant because of all the 5 star reviews and the pictures of food that looked amazing on Yelp. The reviews must have been from friends and the photos I saw of the food must have come from someplace else.
Going out to eat can be scary!
This was the Halloween Special Edition Of All NEW Bad Food served to me in Metro Phoenix.
Little Asia Cuisine is a casual Asian restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. They offer sushi, Hawaiian big plates, ramens, Thai soups, Burmese soup, fried rice dishes, noodle dishes, some American Chinese style dishes, children’s meals, soft beverages and more!
It’s casual. They have a counter so we ordered and paid there. People came in after us and the girl at the counter waited on them so it can roll either way.
We started out by sharing an appetizer of chicken dumplings.
They came out a little greasy but were tasty.
I tried the mohinga soup (spicy Burmese fish noodle…..National dish of Burma)
I am not an expert on Burmese Foods but I have had this soup from another restaurant and it differed very much. Although both soups contain a fish broth and noodles there are many differences between the two. The soup below is richer, more savory, and has more textures. What I really liked about the bottom one was that tasty toasted rice taste…..so yummy and more aromatics to counter the fish. Don’t get me wrong…..The top soup is good too. It’s also tasty.
mohinga from a different restaurant
I don’t know if this other one is a different style or just taken further?
Anywho-
The other dish we tried was the spicy chicken fried rice.
It was studded with peas and carrots and it’s ultra spicy. They offered heat levels of one, two, or three. We picked three and that really is too hot for most people. This dish was a very large generous size, a little one note and FORKING hot today…..actually MOLTEN HOT.
Did some take out to try other dishes.
Lemongrass chicken with green salad. Very large portion. For me this is three meals. The salad stayed fresh and crisp. Doesn’t remind me of lemongrass when I eat the chicken…..?It doesn’t taste like anything that I am familiar with……….But I do taste lemongrass in the rice that is under the chicken. This chicken could be more tender. The heat levels differ here greatly. The spicy chicken fried rice was ordered at a #3 heat level and was almost too hot for anyone. The #3 lemongrass chicken has no heat. Maybe it’s. an error?
Teriyaki salmon…..Large amount of food. Well done salmon. …..but it taste good….Maybe a little sweet but the fish isn’t fishy so that is a win!
Curry chicken…..not a beauty here but developed with some tasty flavors. The chicken is tender and the sauce is a little on the thick side but has good flavors. I got three meals out of this one too.
Better and cheaper that fast food. Not all but many of the dinners are less than ten dollars and for most people are more than one meal.
That was a Little Taste of Little Asia Cuisine in Phoenix Arizona.
Tratto Restaurant is a full service Italian restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. It is by James Beard Award Winning Chef Chris Bianco. The chef is famous for his pizzas and is well received by celebrities, Food Network TV, magazines, and food critics. Tratto recently made the New York Times list of 50 favorite restaurants in America. The food served is high quality.
Tratto is a small old building with a bar and a patio that is currently not in use. There is exposed brick to see, antiqued furniture and a roof that looks like from a time gone by..
Tables are set with linen.
Tratto has an open shiny kitchen.
bar area and kitchen in the middle of the restaurantdining area
The menu is seasonal and does change around a bit. Today they offered a few salads, a seafood crudo, and a chicken liver toast. They also offered three hand made pastas, Three entrees and two vegetable side courses.
Tonight they started us off with a complimentary plate of cured olives, some cheese, and a couple pickled green beans.
Our first course tonight was the seared two wash ranch chicken livers on grilled sourdough bread with quince jam and crispy sage leaves.
We didn’t have it tonight but they also had a farinata as a special – a tasty chick pea crepe made with tomatoes and onions.
farinata
We also previously enjoyed a roasted beets in fig leaf with gorgonzola dolce.
Beets in fig leaves with gorgonzola dolce
Our pasta course was coming next so they gave us the famous Bianco Bread and olive oil.
Bianco Bread and olive oil.
I do have to note that this bread and this olive oil are either the best or close to the best in all the land.
Tonight we shared the orecchiette pasta with walnut, Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and chiltepin (an expensive but VERY delicious spicy Mexican pepper).
The dish lacks textures but the pasta and flavors are exceptional.
On a past visit we enjoyed the scarpinocc (cheese ravioli with fava beans and crisp sage).
scarpinocc
Tonight we shared the snapper special.
snapper special
It was very fresh and cooked to perfection. It was good but had less meat in it than I thought it would have. It might be too small for two people to share.
We didn’t have it tonight but the grilled two wash ranch piccolo chicken with lemon sage was offered on the menu tonight.
Tonight we had room for dessert so we tried the dark chocolate board.
dark chocolate board
We had thin slices of the freshest sweetest crisp apple that I have tasted in decades. yummy midnight moon gouda, short bread, and callebaut dark chocolate.
Dining out with dogs in Metro Phoenix is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He was elderly and had aggressive cancer. He couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating so I took him out as often as I could. Instead of his 3-6 month diagnoses he made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat as often as I can.
There are many things to know about dining out with dogs. Not all patios are dog friendly. Even if a patio is dog friendly it is always best to call first and ask if you can bring your dog today because the patio can be booked for a party. It is also always best to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Some people don’t share your love for dogs and other people can be allergic to dogs. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs enjoy barking at each other and that can be a disturbance and you will be asked to leave. Avoid potential problems and dine out with dogs at off times.
You also need to know that much of the food and drink that you enjoy can be harmful or toxic to your furry friend. It’s best to get the facts on that from your veterinarian. Usually a small amount of lean meat without sauce is usually best for your dog. Here in Phoenix the temperature is something to be cautious about. Your dog is NOT as heat tolerant as you. They wear fur coats, can’t sweat and absorb heat up from their paws. All dogs like people do have different heat tolerances. Hopefully you know your dog well enough to determine for dining out. For most healthy younger dogs 90 degrees F and over is too hot to dine out with dogs.
There are also rules to follow to dine out with dogs. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture. Dogs are not to eat off restaurant plates.
My Lucky dogs got to eat at The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale. The Chef is from a fine dining Italian Restaurant Sassi that is no more so the food is pretty darn good. Just look how excited my dog is to be here.
Today I had the crunchy quinoa salad with chicken.
crunchy quinoa salad with chicken
My husband had the Craftsman muffuletta with fries.
Craftsman muffuletta with fries
We all enjoyed our meals at The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
We always enjoy Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a pho-free Vietnamese restaurant that specializes in serving the Banh Mi Baguette sandwich.
My husband got a pork rice plate and I got a chicken noodle bowl today. Portions are double for some people, prices are very low and the food is always good. I didn’t get a good picture of my other dog today so you are only seeing the bigger dog.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
That was dining out with dogs in Metro Phoenix AZ for October 2021. We hope to see you next month!
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
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.
The Smoked food festival was held Sunday October 17th 2021 at Ocotillo restaurant, coffee bar, cocktail lounge, wine bar, and park near downtown Phoenix Arizona.
The event was hosted by Arizona Foodie Diana Brandt. This festival is called Smoked because it features smoked food, smoked drinks and more!
Here are random pictures from Smoked 2021.
That was just a taste of Smoked Food Festival hosted by Arizona Foodie at Ocotillo in Phoenix 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.
