The weather is finally nice and comfortable in Phoenix Arizona for outdoor dining. I wanted to dine out at a restaurant with a big open patio where I thought I could dine safely and not worry about being too close to people. I guessed that Cucina Tagliani (an American Italian Restaurant……similar to Olive Garden….(but better and with more vegetable choices) would be the perfect choice today and it was. Cucina Tagliani is an American Italian restaurant that has been in business for close to thirty years in North Glendale. They are a little different than other American Italian Restaurants because besides the typical American Italian favorites they also offer healthier choices like grilled chicken parmesan (instead of breaded and fried), spaghetti squash lasagna, spiral cut squash and spaghetti squash as pasta substitutes and around a DOZEN different vegetable choices. I was even able to take my dogs with me on their officially certified nice dog friendly patio.
As soon as we pulled up I could see from a distance that they were sanitizing the tables and they were even wearing masks outside.
We picked a comfortable table on the patio. It was a nice comfortable temperature so we didn’t need the misters for cooling or the portable heaters.
The nice friendly staff treated my dogs like royalty and brought my dogs water right away.
They started us out with a basket of fresh toasted seasoned bread.
They changed the bread again. This bread is soft chewy and sort of Italian seasoned. I give just a little to my dogs.
“I always love to dine at Cucina Tagliani” “I have had many good memories here”“Ummmm food” “I love most food”
Our meals arrive. I got the strawberry goat cheese salad. It’s topped with grilled chicken and is dressed with house made white wine dressing.
This is how things actually looked.
My husband got the chicken parmesan.
The dogs just live for some hand outs!
“All was good and we all were happy!
That was Dining Out With Dogs at Cucina Tagliani in Glendale AZ.
Everything is subject to change and your experience there could indeed differ.
www.CucinaTagliani.com
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Cucina Tagliani was Louie’s favorite restaurant to dine at. We had many good memories there.
Here are the most delicious $5. or less foods from restaurants around north Phoenix that I have tasted in no particular order.
Pictured above is the $3.00 delicious Beetroot Salad from a little casual restaurant called Skewers Mediterranean Grill in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide . Next is their fresh herby delicious $3.00 tabouli.
My next favorite is the $3.00 Eggplant salad pictured below on the right. But everything is tasty. They also offer hummus and eggplant dip at similar prices.
All these reasonably priced goodies come from the small casual Skewers Mediterranean Grill in Glendale/Arrowhead/#upperWestSide.
Also in Glendale is Taco Fusion. They offer very good tacos on hand made tortillas. The tacos are smaller sized but are bigger than street tacos and are stuffed generously. They make a variety of house made sauces. If you can do spicy ask for the interesting flavorful but very (FORKING) hot black salsa. Get the regular salsa, the pico and the pineapple salsa if they have them. Our favorite tacos here are the mild chicken habanero (with pineapple salsa), carne asada, jaas, Lorenzo, fish (ask for corn tortilla here) and my husband likes the shrimp and barbacoa. We also like both beans they offer. Depending on what tacos you pick you might be able to get two tacos for around $5.00.
Below are 7 mostly different tacos and a container of black beans.
Wraps ‘N’ Curry is located in North Phoenix. They offer a $2.99 Naan Menu.
I’ve had their naan on a wrap sandwich but more recently I did try the stuffed chicken naan ($2.99 on the appetizer part of the menu). It was stuffed with boneless chicken breast, cilantro and Indian spices. It was different and also very tasty.
On my last visit we tried the Onion Kulcha $2.99.
This was very tasty!
I’ll try another one next time.
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix really kills it with the $5.00 or less food and offers 9 tasty options. My favorite $5 meal is the chicken and cabbage salad.
It’s a good size for me and has a good amount of deliciously seasoned chicken in it. I also like the tasty $4 chicken potstickers.
Here is a better picture of the potstickers.
My other favorite salad is the $5. lotus root salad. (lower right)
I love the refreshing flavors in it. It comes with shrimp but I gave up shrimp a long time back and I don’t eat shrimp. I already gave the shrimp to either my husband or dogs. Their papaya salad is also good. I added that picture because I didn’t remove the shrimp yet.
This is a collection of the most delicious $5. or less food that I have tasted in North Phoenix AZ.
Experts say that take out is a safer health option during the pandemic than dining in so we do take out. This week we did take out from Tarbell’s The Tavern in Phoenix. This restaurant is by chef Mark Tarbell. He is a highly decorated multi award winning chef and wine expert. The tavern offers elevated bar foods in a rock n roll man cave atmosphere. They offer the safest option curbside pick up. We took out the seared salmon, Scotch beef, a salad and coconut cream pie.
WOW! This salmon is really great! It’s so silky. Very few restaurants prepare salmon this well. This one is very different with sides of tomato broth and AZ honey mustard. It’s delicious! The curry potato cake is a really nice treat. It taste like it came from an Indian restaurant. I did taste the Scotch beef. WOW great flavors there and it was made with good wine too! The coconut cream pie was also very good. I think they accidentally gave me extra. It’s a large portion and we are getting 4 servings out of it but it very rich and delicious with this chocolate surprise coated crust. Treated the dogs so some salmon from Tarbell’s.
We also did take out from CHZBURGR in Glendale. They also are still offering the safest option that is curbside pick up. They serve the greatest cheeseburgers and fried chicken sandwiches in town. We ordered the crispy chicken thigh sandwich with pickled jalapeños. We also ordered a triple cheeseburger with tater tots.
I thought my sandwich was a little different today but everything still was delicious. My dogs were happy to help me with the chicken sandwich.
We love Taco Fusion in Glendale. They serve the best tacos closest to me. They serve Sonoran Mesquite Style Tacos that are slightly bigger than street size tacos on hand made tortillas that really taste good.
My favorite taco is the chicken mild habanero taco. I think I like it best on a flour tortilla with pineapple salsa (if they have it). I also like the fish taco and the carne asada. (I don’t like carne asada at most places but it’s always tender and flavorful here) My husband likes all the beef tacos and especially likes the shrimp taco here. They opened just before the pandemic and used to offer a salsa bar packed with many delicious salsas…Now they cut it down to a few salsas a day and you have to ask for them. My dogs are always excited to try some.
Last take out of the week was from Fabio On Fire in Peoria/#UpperWestSide. This is a place for Italian Food, Neapolitan Pizzas, fresh baked goods and the best gelato maybe on earth. They offer curbside pick up here.
We got the ravioli ai funghi porcini, strawberry gorgonzola salad, and gnocchi sorrentina. Everything was delicious. Have different dog friendly leftovers for my dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food!”
Week 26 restaurants we did take out from –
Tarbell’s The Tavern – Phoenix
CHZBURGR – Glendale
Taco Fusion – Glendale
Fabio On Fire – Peoria/#UpperWestSide
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
According to the experts take out is a less risky option than dining in and we aren’t risk takers so we do take out during the pandemic. Our first take out of the week was from a little casual place in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide called Skewers Mediterranean Grill.
They make really great $7.50 salads. I got the one with pickled turnips and chicken kabob. My husband got the chicken shawarma with chickpeas and pickles. I just love the fresh herby tabouli it’s only $3. so why not? My dogs enjoyed some of the tasty chicken kabob.
Next take out was from Twist Bistro & Galley in North Scottsdale. They are a small modern restaurant that swings towards Mediterranean.
We started out by sharing the falafels. They were crisp and herby inside. They came with tahini aioli and garlic yogurt sauce. For my main I had the Mediterranean Salad. WOW! it was packed with all kinds of goodies. The salad came with marinated olives, almond golden raisin couscous, crispy chickpeas, minted cucumbers, good ripe tomatoes, really good creamy feta, hummus and really delicious sauces..and I added the salmon as my protein (the salmon here is very good). WOW! It’s like a special occasion Birthday salad. My husband got the steak sandwich pallard. It’s a really good beef (tenderloin) on a really great baguette (garlic toasted Noble Bread) with mozzarella cheese, horseradish and demi sauces. The cheesecake here is very good so we shared that too. It’s not heavy and sour like most cheesecakes I’ve tasted. It’s light creamy and delicious and detailed with pistachio praline, salted caramel, strawberries, whipped cream and a tasty crumb crust. Dogs helped with the generous portion of salmon.
Our last take out of the week was from a brand new restaurant that just opened this week called Gabriella’s Contemporary American Cuisine in Scottsdale. They were just on TV and the food looked so good from TV we wanted to try some.
On the left is the short rib grilled cheese and on the right is the fish and chips. I live 35 minutes away so the food didn’t travel as well as from some of the closer places that I go to but all was tasty. As per usual I always share some with my dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all that delicious food”
That was week 25 oof take out during the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurants that we did take out from –
We got many places around North Phoenix where you can take out DELICIOUS food for $10.00 or less around North Phoenix. One restaurant that is on my local rotation is Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Bistro in North Phoenix. They are a pho free Vietnamese Eatery that offers around a dozen different Banh Mi Sandwiches and many other Vietnamese Favorites except for pho. Pictured up above is the noodle bowl. It’s a lot of different flavors in one (or two) meals. Minty salad, fried shallots, tasty protein that taste even better with fish sauce, lots of rice noodles and a tasty egg roll for me.
Here’s the shaken beef Banh Mi my husband recently got.
shaken beef from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery
Below is a $5. Chicken and cabbage salad and on right are the potstickers $4. They are delicious and tasty. The $5.00 is the right size for many people. The papaya salad and the lotus root salad both come with shrimp and are the same size as the chicken and cabbage salad.
Below is a rice plate. It a large amount of tasty meat with a double scoop of rice, a fragrant pickled salad and a pork egg roll.
Rice Plate
Another restaurant that we enjoy is Taco Fusion in Glendale.
They sell the BEST tacos in the area!
It sure doesn’t cost much to eat from Taco Fusion. Most tacos are less than $3.00 each and are made on hand made tortillas that just TASTE BETTER than from most taco places. It isn’t just the tortillas….The FILLINGS ARE DELICIOUS TOO!
I usually don’t even like carne asada from not all but most places. It has to have a really good flavor and be tender for me to eat it. I do really like the carne asada tacos here. My personal favorite taco at Taco Fusion is their mild chicken habanero taco on flour with pineapple salsa and a little pico. That taco is stuffed with flavorful moist dark chicken meat. It’s even better than chicken tacos I ate in Mexico. I also like their fish taco but I prefer that one is better on a corn tortilla. My husband eats the different styles of asada tacos here and he always tells me that they do shrimp tacos very well here. The salsas differ everyday. Sometimes they have.a real interesting black salsa that’s next to too hot but really delicious. I really enjoy their pineapple salsa because it usually has so many flavors in it. All the salsas I tried are good but you have to ask for the salsas. They also offer cilantro rice and two kinds of beans here and MORE.
Also in Glendale is Skewers Mediterranean Grill.
I get big beautiful salads here for only around $7.50.
On the left is my chicken kabob salad and on the right is the salad with shawarma. Look at the GREAT LOW pricing below. You get your meal as a pita, rice bowl, fry bowl, wrap or salad like I always get.
Almost across the street from Skewers MG is Phila-Deli in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
My husband enjoys the cheese steaks from Phila-Deli but they cost over ten so we will talk about the really great $7.50 salads that Phila-Deli offers. (My salad was 75cents extra because I added avocado.)
You can get a very good salad for only around $7.50 at Phila-Deli to FILL YOUR BELLY!
We also like Rocket Burger in North Phoenix for burgers, Mexican Fish sandwiches maybe the largest collection of bottled sodas anywhere and MORE!
It doesn’t cost much to eat from Rocket Burger. Not all but more than half of the menu is priced under $10.
On the left is a cheese burger with a big fried chili pepper on it. At the right is the Mexican Fish Sandwich. The slaw and rocket sauce are so tasty that you can slap it on a hamster and the hamster will be delicious.
In Glendale we love going to CHZBURGR. They offer great cheese burgers, FORKING delicious crispy chicken thigh sandwiches, hot dogs, milk shakes, SPECIALS and more!
Most of the time I get the Crispy Chicken Thigh Sandwich with added Calabrian Peppers because IT’S FORKING AMAZING!
It’s crisp! It’s delicious, It’s Juicy! It sort of POPS from the house made pickles! The bun is delicious and not too big. It’s just perfection. My bigger dog is usually well behaved when I eat but when I have this sandwich she slaps me for some.
My husband gets the Triple cheese burger.
He said it’s just so perfect he can’t get anything else.
CHZBURGR is a GREAT Place for $10. or less. During the pandemic CHZBURGR offers the safer Curbside Pickup.
In North Phoenix on Bell Rd inn an older strip mall is Wraps ‘N’ Curry. They offer aromatic delicious Indian Food in fresh made naan wraps and many Indian Dishes and MORE! Below is one of their delicious wraps that you can order for take out that is only around $9.00.
Wraps ‘N’ Curry expanded their menu since opening and now offers at least 20 different Indian dishes priced at $9.99.
In North Phoenix is the home of Chino Bandido A sort of Chinese and sort of Mexican and Other foods type of restaurant. According to Food Network Chino Bandido offers (starting at $9.35) NINTY THOUSAND different combination plates. You get a BIG Pan of food that is BETTER than fast food and cost LESS than fast food if you figure that amount of food you get for your money. During the pandemic they even offer curbside pick up. Once I got the veggie salad combo with the Chili Relleno.
Our most recent take out is more typical of what to take out. I got a chili Relleno again because it is good! They use a real pepper that doesn’t taste canned (like from certain more costly restaurants) The cracker coating is unique and all that cheese is darn tasty. I like the emerald chicken with scallion ginger sauce. I get lots of rice and lots of black beans. It’s more food than I can eat and could be two meals for some people. They also give you a BIG complimentary snickerdoodle for dessert.
That was EIGHT $10. or less food from Restaurants for Take Out in North Phoenix AZ
You can never be too careful. Take out is a less risky option than dining in these days during the coronavirus pandemic. All restaurants are struggling these days so we are doing take out as much as possible. Besides there isn’t much else to do safely these days besides staying home.
Our first take out of the week was from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Vietnamese Eatery that offers most of your Vietnamese Favorites except pho, Meals are very large portions and can be two meals for some people. Prices are very low and I believe everything on the menu is $10. or less. They even offer $4. & $5. menu items. My husband had the shaken beef Banh Mi Sandwich. I know the beef is ribeye but it is as tender as filet mignon. It’s delicious and you can’t go wrong with a shaken beef Banh Mi. I got the chicken & egg roll noodle bowl.
There’s lots of rice noodles and a pile of refreshing minty salad, tasty chicken covered with some fried shallots, crushed peanuts and an egg roll for me. (there are other choices). You can mix the whole thing up and eat it dressed with chili sauce if you want. Or just eat it the way it comes. Just make sure to dip the protein inn the fish sauce because it makes it taste even better. This is a very large platter and can be two meals for some people. My dogs sure didn’t mind helping me out with this.
Next take out was Moroccan/Middle Eastern Cuisine from Alzohour Market ion Glendale. We’ve enjoyed many amazing dishes from Alzohour Market.
We got two jerk chicken curry chicken combos from Desert Island Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a very small mainly take out restaurant that offers Caribbean Food and Vegan Options.
The food is always delicious. The chicken meat is always developed with great flavors and is always falling off the bone. They give you a very generous portion of food that might be two meals for some people. Both the jerk chicken and curry chicken are delicious. I think they make the best around. Sometimes it is saucier than other times. It’s CRAZY GREAT when you get it a little extra saucy. My dogs sure don’t mind samples.
Our next take out was from Phila-Deli in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
Their salads might be the best deal in town! They are only around $7.50. Many other places charge over $12. for salads that aren’t as good. My husband likes the cheese steaks at Phila-Deli. The people there are extra nice. They also have treated our dogs extra nice when we dine on the patio. My dogs are always happy to help eat Phila-Deli Food.
Our last take out of the week was from Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. They are a casual Sonoran Style Mexican Restaurant.
I got my usual chicken fajita salad and my husband got the carnitas fajita. They gave us chips and salsas. The chicken was really good today and they loaded the salad up with lots of caramelized onions. I had plenty to share with the dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat alll that delicious food”
That was week 23 of take out during the coronavirus pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ.
The restaurants we did take out from-
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Ratery – North Phoenix
Allzohour Market – Glendale
Desert Island Eatery – North Phoenix
Phila-Deli – Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide
Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol – Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
Unless I make a trip to Nelsons or Chula Seafood it is hard for me to buy fresh fish. I have purchased inedible fish from Frys, Safeway and Costco. I have paid top dollar from AJ’s Fine Foods and got less than fresh. For those reasons I mostly gave up preparing fish at home and enjoy eating fish out or taking it home these days. The dishes below are not in any particular order. Here are some of the fish dishes I took out from restaurants since around March 2020.
On the right is the grilled salmon from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. It’s a good size portion that is prepared reasonably well and I like that you can have healthy options like double vegetables instead of pasta. I had spaghetti squash and asparagus. My husband had a shrimp and pasta dish that night.
The best tacos near to my house are from Taco Fusion on Glendale. My favorite taco from them is the mild habanero chicken taco with pineapple salsa but all their tacos are good. They even use hand made tortillas. On the right is their fish taco. Doesn’t taste like a fish taco from Mexico but it is a good taco and is better than most fish tacos I try out . My husband says that the shrimp tacos here are really great so I’ll take his word for it.
Everything from Confluence in Carefree is extraordinary!
These are the halibut lunch tacos from Confluence. Nobody prepares fish as masterfully as from Confluence. The crispy skin on fish actually can taste good and stays crisp from beginning to end. Even the finest restaurants anywhere can’t do that as well. If you like to eat fish than you must take the splurge and try one of their fish dinners.
You can even get fish from Rocket Burger in North Phoenix.
On the left is a double cheese burger with a really big fried chili pepper but on the right is their super tasty Mexican Fish Sandwich. It’s delicious I have to have one once in a while. The slaw and rocket sauce are so darn tasty that you can slap it on a hamster and the hamster would taste good.
I would say among the top fish take outs was from Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale.
I had the Salmon dish twice. It was really great both times. Very few restaurants in metro Phoenix prepares salmon this well. My husband is just as found of their Shrimp Diablo dish below.
Aiello’s Italian Restaurant in Phoenix offers three course dinners with a bottle of wine and a candle for ($50.&$65.)
I got a generous pan of salmon with artichokes and a tasty potato croquette. The other dishes were tasty too!
In Peoria (#UpperWestSide) is the Twisted Italian and they offer a Friday Night Walleye Special. (It’s that BIG PAN on the left in the picture below.)
It’s more food than a human can eat and I tried to order it a few weeks before and it was sold out. Now I know why.
I also got a salmon salad from Chula Seafood in Phoenix.
It was prepared well and everything was fresh. My husband got some sort of grilled tuna sandwich that day.
Below was our take out from Vincents Market Bistro in Phoenix.
To be honest (like I always am) I didn’t order the salmon dinner but wound up with it. When we called them to let them know of the mix up they quickly took care of things. VMB has been a long time favorite of mine and I have enjoyed dining in here for a decade or so now. Dining in they always give you delicious fresh baked croissants and some of the best desserts in town.
Below is the really great Halibut from Fabio On Fire in Peoria #UpperWestSide.
The halibut was cooked to perfection and also was a large portion that came with fancy vegetables in a delicious sauce. This was really great!
We did take out from Wally’s American Gastropub in Scottsdale.
My husband said the meatloaf from here is really great. I liked the healthier grilled salmon with tomatoes and really tasty cauliflower. It was filling but light enough to add on one of their really delicious slices of pie.
FnB in the arts district of Scottsdale usually offers delicious wood grilled seafood.
Upper left hand corner is the Blue Nose with Citrus and Couscous
One of the plates to get from Scott’s Generations Restaurant and Delicatessen is the fish plate supreme (middle). It’s suppose to serve one person but I always get three servings from it.
It think it’s kind of special because you get to pick three kinds of fish for it. One fish I always pick is the smoked sturgeon because it cost around $40 a pound and you seldom find it anywhere. They offer belly and nova lox. (Belly is better but sometimes it runs too salty) and then I pick something like white fish too. I think it’s fun to get once in a while.
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix offers a few fish dishes. Bellow is the middle is the Lotus root salad.
I think it only cost $5.00 and comes with shrimp.
Nayana Japanese Kitchen recently opened in the Arcadia Area of Phoenix,
On the left side of the picture is a spicy tuna roll and the very tasty salmon yuanyaki.
Below is the amazing house smoked salmon from the Barrio Cafe in Phoenix (Lower Left)
WOW! it was all so delicious! YUM!
From Szechwan Cuisine in Glendale (on the left) I tried the fish with fungus in egg white sauce.
In the middle my husband tried the kung pao shrimp.
Also in Glendale we did take out from Taylor’s Chowder House.
On the left my husband got the dish that is called 2 plus 2 (2 cod 2 shrimp) and I got the Sole Florentine. They were very generous with the potatoes and fish in the 2+2. I like that they serve vegetables with the dishes.
We even did take out by Old Town Scottsdale and did take out from Starlite BBQ.
I tried the Hot Fried Catfish there and it was very good!
Went back to Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale.
The Grilled Hawaiian Opah Special was really good! (and so was everything else!) That beef sandwich and Moroccan Vegetable soup were really great too!
We did take out from a really special Thai Restaurant in Phoenix called Glai Baan.
On the left corner is their famous Mackerel fried rice. Everything was really great!
Stratta Kitchen recently opened in Scottsdale. I had another one of the best salmons there.
On the left is the mistral salad with added salmon. WOW this was a really great salad and a spectacular salmon. This was really special.
Those were 27 fish dishes we took out in Metro Phoenix so far in 2020.
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
Going out to eat can be deadly these days during the coronavirus pandemic. Take out is a safer option. Curbside pickup involves even less risk. All restaurants are struggling these days so we are trying to give as much support to restaurants as much as we can……. Besides there is little else to do that can be done safely.
Our first take out of the week was from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Bistro in North Phoenix. They are a Vietnamese Restaurant that serves most of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho. Instead they specialize in serving banh mi baguette sandwiches and do offer close to a dozen different varieties of them.
I got the noodle bowl combo on the left with tasty marinated chicken and a vegetarian egg roll. The chicken is developed with good flavors and is topped with some fried shallots. They give you fish sauce to dip the chicken and sriracha for the egg roll. This plate also comes with a refreshing minty salad and vegetables with lots of rice noodles. It’s a very large portion and for some people can be two meals. My husband got the grilled pork rice plate. His meal comes with a pork egg roll, a seasoned salad, rice, fish sauce and lots of tasty grilled pork. You get delicious generous plates of food at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese eatery and at the moment I believe that all the dishes there are $10. or less. My dogs always enjoy helping to finish up the food from BMBVE.
Next take out was from Barrio Cafe in Phoenix. We were there two weeks back and the food was delicious. Incase you live under a rock you should know that the Barrio Cafe is an amazing award winning restaurant for Mexican Food. The chef is James Beard Nominated Sillvana Salcido Esparza.
This time we got a huitllacoche las tlayudas (left corner), a vegan chiles en nogada vegano (right corner), and their famous cochinta pibil. All was delicious and we had plenty to share with the dogs.
Confluence in Carefree is another AMAZING restaurant. They also have an amazing chef that also prepares food on a level that very few achieve. They serve upscale modern farm to table type cuisine. My take out is more casual than what I typically get here but is detailed and is very good!
My husband got a cheese burger. It’s not average and is made of the highest quality. The roll is baked in house. The pickle is made in house and the chips are made in house. Sauces are made in house.
Sauces that go with the cheese burger
I went with a chopped chicken salad and we shared a herb roasted maitake mushroom that was garnished with Brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes. Everything was delicious. My dogs eagerly were awaiting for their portion.
We also did TAKE OUT from Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale (just down the road from Confluence) TB&G is a sort of modern Mediterranean Restaurant that offers an interesting and creative menu.
This time I tried the grilled Hawaiian opah special. WOW! was it delicious! I also tried a small piece of my husband’s steak sandwich pallard. WOW AGAIN! That was CRAZY GOOD beef. It was so flavorful and so tender. It was really great! We also shared the Moroccan Festival soup. It was deep earthy and fabulous! WOW! What a great takeout. My lucky dogs were thrilled to try some of the opah and tender delicious beef.
The last take out of the week was from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. They are an American-Italian Restaurant that also offers some healthy options and around a dozen different vegetable choices. They have been here in business for close to thirty years.
Today I got the baked spaghetti squash with a side of asparagus. My husband got the chicken parmesan. and they packed us some garlic toasts. The spaghetti squash doesn’t look light but is very light and delicate. It sits in a rich tomato sauce that is topped with alfredo sauce. Of course we saved some for the dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all that food!”
The restaurants we did take out from on week 20 during the coronavirus pandemic-
Dining out can be deadly during the coronavirus pandemic. Take out is a safer option and curbside pick up involves even less risk. Most restaurants are struggling and we are trying to support restaurants as much as we can with doing take out.
Our first take out of the week was from Skewers Mediterranean in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
Here’s a better look of the food.
We got DELICIOUS BIG salads for only around $7.50 each. I got the chicken kabob salad. The chicken was even better than usual. It’s always good but today it was far more flavorful and very juicy with a really good char taste. My husband got the gyro salad. We added some fresh herby tabouli to the salads to jazz them up. (tabouli was only $3.) These salads are really great! One of the best deals in town. I had plenty to share with my dogs.
Next take out was from Taylor’s Chowder House in Glendale (the North Mountain Area). TCH is a budget seafood house. I got the sole Florentine and my husband got a BIG fried plate called the two plus two (fried battered cod & shrimp).
They were very generous with the potatoes. I got enough for a family with my dinner. All was good and our dogs wanted to try some too!
We also did take out from a tiny casual Indian restaurant called Wraps ‘N’ Curry in North Phoenix. This is a very tiny restaurant with only a couple tables. The sign outside says they offer authentic Indian food. I noticed that the menu has expanded quite a bunch since my last visit. They offer some dishes I haven’t noticed from other Indian restaurants.
My husband got the tandoori prawns. I got the Goa fish (cod) curry and we shared some stuffed chicken naan.
Here’s a nicer picture of the Goa Fish Curry.
The sauce is really delicious. If someone gave this to me to taste and didn’t tell me what it was I would say it’s an unusually great tikka masala. The taste is very similar to tikka masala but has more depth and heat. The fish is cooked nicely and it came with my choice of rice or naan. My husband said that the shrimp were very tasty and cooked well. The stuffed naan was flavorful because the chicken inside of it was very flavorful. What an interesting and delicious take out!
For the last take out of the week we took a little trip by old town Scottsdale and did take out from Starlite BBQ. At the moment (subject to change) they are only open for take out. Incase you didn’t know Starlite BBQ is a sister restaurant of Ocotillo in Phoenix (closed for the month of July).
WOW! It’s abundant and DELICIOUS! We shared mesquite grilled cauliflower, hot chicken and hot fried catfish. Everything is so DARN GOOD! The chicken is a very big portion and we have enough leftover chicken (and extra vegetables) for two small lunch salads.Oh and even the breast meat was super moist and delicious. But gosh it all was DELICIOUS! My dogs were happy to try some.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help with all that delicious food”
The restaurants that we did take out from this week-
Dining out can be deadly these days during the pandemic. Take out is a less risky option. All restaurants are struggling and we have little else to do these days anyway so we are giving as much support as we can to restaurants.
Our first take out of the week was from a small casual Mediterranean/Greek restaurant Pita Kitchen in Glendale (#UpperWestSide). I didn’t go in to pick up but my husband said that they installed more plexiglass inside for our safety.
Pita Kitchen bakes their own fresh pita bread that is always delicious. I usually get the chicken kabob Greek Salad. The kabob always taste delicious with lots of flavors and always has a delicious char. 18 out 20 times it is also juicy. My husband usually gets the gyro meat on a Greek Salad.
My dogs always love Pita Kitchens’ food.
Next Take Out was from Fabio On Fire in Peoria (#UpperWestSide). This is a small Italian Restaurant that offers Neapolitan Pizzas, various Italian dishes, amazing breads and desserts (FORKING FABULOUS Gelato). They have a 100% contact free curbside transaction. You order and pay online and all the communication is done by text. They sanitize a table and your order is placed there.
We got family style pear salad, pappardelle con fungi and peach gelato. Everything was very good. Portions were very large. P.S. That peach gelato is the best in the whole wide WORLD. Fabio should go to shark tank to sell his gelato across America….YES IT’S THAT FABULOUS!
Pups were happy to try a little cheese from the salad.
We also did take out from Scotts Generations Restaurant and Delicatessen in Phoenix. They offer breakfast dishes and delicatessen favorites.
My husband got a pastrami sandwich (or actually 2) I got the smoked fish supreme platter and tomorrow we will try the latkes for breakfast. My platter is a really great value. My platter is large and I get three meals out of it. One of the fish I pick is Lake Sturgeon…..I don’t think any other restaurant sells it in Phoenix and it cost around $40. a pound. My platter also comes with a bagel, cream cheese, cole slaw, potato salad, fresh made pickles and vegetables. It’s a nice treat to have once in a while. We also like that Scott’s is open on most of the holidays.
Our dogs were very excited to try some of Scott’s.
FnB in Scottsdale had a take out special on fried chicken so we got two. In case you have been living under a rock…..FnB is co-owned by a James Bead award winning chef Charleen Badman so if she offers a take out special like this it would be advisable to try it.
Half a fried chicken with a peach and feta salad, macaroni and corn salad and potato salads. This is also way more food than anyone can possibly eat. But WOW! This take out was GREAT! Reminds me oof a similar take out from Thomas Kellers’ Ad Hoc. His fried chicken was also fabulous but FnBs’ sides are far more detailed and delicious!
Dogs are yappy….I mean happy to try some.
Last Take Out of the week was from Aioli Burgers in Phoenix. I heard about a Nashville Hot Chicken Style Sandwich that was on special for the Fourth of July….But it was Sunday the fifth and they were still offering them so we decided to give them a try.
We each got a Nashville Style Hot Chicken Sandwich with a side of roasted vegetables. Our sandwiches were suppose to come with green chili aioli but the aioli was forgotten….or maybe they ran out?. The sandwiches are tasty and the chicken is moist. They aren’t very spicy but they are tasty as chicken sandwiches. As per usual my dogs helped with the large portion of chicken. (I removed the coating for them since it might contain spices and vinegar that are not good for dogs)
“We are in this thing together!”
That was take out in metro Phoenix week 16 of the coronavirus pandemic.
We went to-
Pita Kitchen – Glendale/#UpperWestSide
Fabio On Fire – Peoria/#UpperWestSide
Scott’s Generations Restaurant and Delicatessen – Phoenix
FnB – Scottsdale
Aioli Burgers – Phoenix
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.
