Tag Archives: #Peoria

Salads I took out in Metro Phoenix AZ

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I often eat salads so I do a lot of take out salads too. Here is a collection in no particular order of the salads I took out in metro Phoenix. Up above is the Greek Salad with chicken kabob from Pita Kitchen in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. The chicken has a delicious char taste and about 18 out of twenty times is juicy, super flavorful and delicious.

Next is the chicken fajita salad from Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.

This is a great big salad. It differs slightly every time I order it. But it is always BIG.

These salads from Skewers Mediterranean Grill in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide are really great and are only $7.50.

The side salads are very good too above is tabouli and below is beet salad ($3)

Below is the chicken and cabbage salad from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix.

It’s always tasty and it only cost around $5.00.

Next is the strawberry and goat cheese chicken salad from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.

They make their own dressings that are very good and this salad is always delicious. (It usually has more goat cheese on it)

Below is the strawberry and chicken salad from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.

It’s also delicious and is also served with house made dressing.

From Phila-Deli in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide is the select-your-own $7.50 Salad.

It’s a BIG pretty nice salad too!

Below is a family style pear salad (lower left) from Fabio On Fire in Peoria #UpperWestSide. Also pictured is his amazing bread, gelato and pasta.

Next is a mista salad from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide

It’s surrounded by their delicious pasta.

Below are two salads from newly opened Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale.

On the left is the mistral salad with added salmon and on the right is the chop chop salad with added steak. These salads were really unusually great with all kinds of yummy surprises in them.

Below is a lovely chopped chicken salad from Confluence in Carefree. This is an upscale modern American food type restaurant. Most of the foods they serve are more unique but sometimes you just need to eat a salad.

All kinds of goodies are here like beets and apples. There’s house made from scratch croutons.

In the middle of the picture below is the lotus root salad from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix.

We even got a house salad from La Piazza Al Forno in Glendale.

Upper left corner is the house salad. On the right is their CRAZY GREAT Bianco pizza with added Calabrian Chili Peppers..(CRAZZZZZZY GOOD!)

Well that is most of the salads that I took out in Metro Phoenix.

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During The CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix Week 16 – Pita Kitchen, Fabio On Fire, Scott’s Generations Restaurant and Delicatessen, FnB, Aioli Burgers

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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.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During the CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ Week 11- Chula Seafood, Kabob Grill N Go, Twist Bistro & Gallery, Angelina’s Pho & Grill (Lemongrass Vietnamese Bistro)

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All restaurants are struggling to stay in business. Several restaurants have already permanently closed from lack oof business due to the pandemic. Many restaurants have opened their dining rooms with limited seating. Nothing is for certain but take out seems like a safer option with less risk.

Our first take out this week was from Chula Seafood in Phoenix.

I enjoyed the Chula Chopped Salad with added Salmon and my husband got the Tuna Melt with Spam Macaroni Salad and chips. My fur buddies were booth highly interested in the foods but my bigger fur buddy is well behaved and waits till she is served.

Next take out was from newly opened Kabob Grill n Go in Phoenix.

This is a postage sized kabob take out restaurant with around three small tables. Prices are low. Portions are big.

We tried on the left is a chicken tenders kabob. In the middle is the beef (steak) kabob and on the right is the whole Cornish chicken kabob. My dogs were waiting for theirs.

Next take out was from Twist Bistro & Gallery in North Scottsdale. We got the amazing take out special of one appetizer, two dinners and one dessert for $55.00.

We shared muffins with honey butter and then southern fried chicken breaded shawarma kabobs with minted cucumbers, marinated olive and jalapeño preserved lemon basil syrup. For my dinner was that AMAZING loch dart salmon with tomato salad, asparagus, black rice and basil pistou. My husband had the shrimp and sausage diablo. It came with spicy Italian sausage, shrimp, asparagus, olives, tomato confit and three cheese polenta. WOW! all this was really great and then we enjoyed mascarpone cheese cake with pistachio praline, salted caramel, whipped cream and strawberries. Gosh Twist Bistro and Gallery really knocked it out of the park again! I have some fur buddies that are also excited about the food here.

“Twist Bistro was a GREAT choice”
“I can’t wait for mine”

Last take out of the week was from Angelina’s Pho & Grill that is possibly changing their name to Lemongrass Vietnamese Bistro.

current menu

Angelina’s is officially one of the best places in metro Phoenix for pho. I’ve been here bunches of times and often do get one of their amazing pho bowls but felt like having something different today.

The dining room had customers when I arrived and I noticed the fresh new paint job.

We did take out and got the yellow chicken curry and the mixed three rice plate.

Both plates were delicious and also were very large portions but we had help with that.

“We are in this thing together”

That was week 11 of take out in metro Phoenix. This week we did take out from-

Chula Seafood – PHX

Kabob Grill N Go – PHX

Twist Bistro & Gallery – North Scottsdale

Angelina’s Pho & Grill (Lemongrass Vietnamese Bistro) – Glendale/UpperWestSide

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better

The Forking Truth

Take Out During the CoronaVirus Pandemic Week 10 – Twisted Italian, Pane Bianco Van Buren, Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante

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These are the worst of times and all restaurants are struggling. Some have already closed permanently due to the lack oof business from the coronavirus pandemic. We are trying to support as many restaurants as we can. Not all but many restaurants have opened for indoor dining but we feel safer doing take out but will consider sitting on a patio because it is far less likely to catch the virus outside in the open air.

Our first take out this week came from Twisted Italian in north Peoria.

I went with the Friday Dinner Special and they gave me a WHOLE BUFFET PAN OF FOOD. I got pan fried walleye in citrus cream sauce. It came with vegetables and a whole dinners worth of angel hair pasta (this was only $17.50) My husband had the Italian Relleno. It was a poblano pepper stuffed with house made Italian sausage, provolone cheese, mozzarella cheese, peppers onions basil. It was in a creamy tomato sauce and came with three fried raviolis. As per usual our fur buddies didn’t mind a bit helping us eat all that food.

Next take out was from Pane Bianco Van Buren.

I got the line caught tuna salad and my husband got a sandwich called the Italian Combo. We also took home a side of olives. The tuna salad is very good and comes with a large piece of that famous crusty Bianco bread. My husband just loves his sandwich. My dogs anxiously wait for some meat and cheese.

Our last take out for the week was from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale/Arrowhead. They offer a new variety of Pizza called Pina Romana so I wanted to try it.

We tried a Margherita (cheese, sauce, fresh basil) and a Patata E Cipolla (mozzarella, provola, multi color potatoes and red onion.

It’s completely a different dough and crust from regular pizza. It doesn’t sit heavy in your stomach like regular pizza.

It’s thin and airy but shattering crisp and the bottom is covered with either corn meal or semolina. It has heavier toppings than a regular pizza would have. I saved some of the cheese from the margherita for my dogs.

I think a reduced balsamic drizzle goes really well with the potato pinsa Romano.

This week we did take out from –

Twisted Italian – North Peoria (#UpperWestSide)

Pane Bianco Van Buren – PHX

Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante – Glendale/Arrowhead (#UpperWestSide)

We also did our first Patio Dining during the pandemic at Confluence in Carefree. The Patio stayed mostly empty the majority of the time we were there and the food was truly amazing.

I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Best EATS of the NINE WEEKS of Take Out Food in Metro Phoenix During The CoronaVirus Pandemic

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I tried a lot of restaurants for take out during the pandemic. Most were good. Some old favorites are great for dining in but lost some of the magic with take out. But surprisingly some were GREAT beyond my expectations. Here are most but not in any particular order. One of the best take outs was from Confluence in Carefree.

This fried chicken with chilitepin honey is to die for. OMG it really is that good!

Binkley’s Dinner was pretty much over the top too!

It was the only take out dinner that felt like dining out when I ate the carefully packaged five courses.

A new restaurant that opened during the pandemic called Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale was also AMAZING!

They gave us these delicious complimentary muffins that were moist and seemed light as air. The muffins were studded with feta cheese and were laced with dill and also came with this warm honey butter with fresh chives…….(these alone were amazing)……We enjoyed an amazing appetizer. Both our dinners were incredible.

I had the salmon and it was one of the very best salmons that I had anywhere in metro Phoenix.

The Bianco pizza (left pizza) from La Piazza Al Forno just might be the best pizza in metro Phoenix……It’s that GREAT!

The untraditional smoked corned beef sandwich special from NakedQ BBQ in Phoenix just might be the BEST corned beef in ALL of ARIZONA! It was tender like butter but the flavors were just out of bounds!

The fried chicken thigh sandwich from CHZBURGR in Glendale is CRAZY CRAZY GREAT! I’ve been told that the cheese burgers are just as great!

Desert Island Eatery in North Phoenix serves some the most DELICIOUS curry and jerk chicken.

The best tacos in town come from Taco Fusion in Glendale. All the tacos are really great but my favorite is the mild habanero chicken.

Alzohour Market serves delicious food. This time I had the chicken kabob and it is tender juicy and developed with flavors. All the food from Alzohour Market is delicious.

I may have forgotten a few and for the most part everything I took out really was good…but these are the ones that seemed the most memorable because they traveled well for take out and also were “knock it out of the park’ delicious.

Everything IS subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Safer Curbside Pick Up Restaurants I’ve Been to in Metro Phoenix AZ

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Nothing is for certain and you can never be too careful. Dine in restaurant meals mean more contact with more people and germs flying threw the air conditioned air in restaurants. There are also other diners who are probably not wearing masks to hold in their droplets that might contain the coronavirus. We’ve done take out where we’d walk into a restaurant with a small amount of risk but curbside is safer. I note that I haven’t been everywhere but here are the restaurants that offered curbside pickup that I have been too..

Fabio On Fire (N Peoria)

At Fabio On Fire you order and pay on line. They communicate with you by text and a table is sanitized and your order will be placed on the table.

CHZBURGR in Glendale offers you to call in your order but it’s 100% touch free paying.

At Kawaii Sushi and Asian Cuisine you order and pay on line. You park at a special parking spot and call to let them know that you are there and they place your order on a table in front of your car.

The Grassroots Kitchen & Tap in Scottsdale also offers curbside pick up.

You order, pay on line pull into a curbside parking spot and someone runs out and drops off your order.

Vincent Market Bistro (Phoenix) offers curb side pick up.

We ordered and payed on line and gave them our pick up time. As soon as we drove in they asked who we were and placed our order in the back seat.

Chino Bandido in North Phoenix also offers curbside pickup. I don’t remember how we paid but I do remember a worker with a mask did run the food to our car.

The Larder and the Delta in Phoenix also did a curbside pick up. We paid over the phone and our order was placed on a pick up table outside of the restaurant.

Curbside pick up is also offered at Desert Island Eatery in North Phoenix. I don’t remember how we paid but I do recall that your order was placed on a table outside of the restaurant.

Tratto in Phoenix also offered curbside pick up.

We paid there and then we picked up at a table out side of the restaurant.

Binkley’s in Phoenix no longer offers curbside pick up and has returned to being a dine in fine restaurant again but they also were very careful and did contactless curbside pick up food a few weeks..

These restaurants we went to that had the safer curbside pick up were -.

Fabio On Fire – N Peoria

CHZBURGR – Glendale

Kawaii Sushi and Asian Cuisine – N Glendale

The Grassroots Kitchen & Tap – Scottsdale

Vincent Market Bistro – PHX

Chino Bandido – N PHX

The Larder & The Delta – DT PHX

Desert Island Eatery – N PHX

Binkley’s – PHX But as of this date (5-19-20) has discontinued curbside and has gone back to dine in service.

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Greek Palace Peoria AZ – Greek Food and Flaming Cheese! OPA!

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Greek Palace is a full service Greek Restaurant located in Peoria Arizona. They opened around June 2019. Since my first visit they added two patios. The inside dining consist of a large bar, traditional tables and tables with benches. It’s bright and airy with some greek accents on the walls.

We ordered our dinners and two fresh Greek Salads come out shortly.

Then our appetizer comes out.

OPA! FLAMING CHEESE! Now THAT is an OPA!

It’s saganak flamed with brandy and lemon and it came with pita bread ($9.99). It’s really delicious!

For dinner I tried the chicken kefta because I never saw chicken kefta on a menu before ($15.99).

.It’s caramelized long logs of seasoned ground chicken that is tasty and a very large portion. It rest over yellow basmati rice and comes with charred zucchini, peppers, onions, carrots and tzatziki sauce.

My husband got the three meat platter called the supreme platter ($22.99).

He got a chicken kabob, a kefta (beef), gyro (beef & lamb), yellow basmati rice, mixed vegetable tzatziki and garlic sauce. All the meats are moist and seasoned. His favorite is the gyro. I like the garlic sauce but it is too much garlic for my husband’s taste.

Last time we had-

combo Appetizer plate $14.99

Lunch chicken kabob plate $10.99

The lunch firefighter plate $10.99

Greek Palace Peoria AZ – It’s Greek Food and they offer really delicious saganak (flaming cheese)

www.GreekPalace.net

Every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

All You Can Eat Shabu hits P83 in Peoria AZ at Manna BBQ and Shabu

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Manna All You Can Eat Korean BBQ opened around September 2018 in the P83 area of Peoria (near the sports complex). They are a Californian Based Korean BBQ Restaurant with two other locations in Metro Phoenix. Now besides the BBQ they offer a Shabu all you can eat.

The shabu tables are set up slightly different from the BBQ tables with soup wells instead of a grill in the middle of the table.

You have several choices for your soup and pick as many meats as you care to start with. You can eat all you want for up to two hours for $24.99.

Then you hit the buffet.

You might want to start with cold shellfish.

Next case over are several kinds of fish cakes and tofu. They are not marked.

Then you got more choices. All kinds of noodles…one is marked cactus..???

Now to get your veg on.

Corn, yams, seafood mushrooms, enoki mushrooms cilantro, jalapeños, something I forgot (didn’t take notes) and Asian Squash.

Asian greens, onions, bok choy, bean sprouts and another pan I can’t make out.

A vanity of green onions, cabbage and spinach.

Various sauces, herbs, condiments, dressings and eggs.

By now your meats and soup you asked for are delivered to your table.Now you put whatever you want in your soup.

I just did my soup and now I have to wait a few minutes for it to get hot and cook.

I really like the seafood mushrooms a lot. They are an amazing flavor in Shabu…The hard squash aren’t done yet and need a few more minutes. I picked the tomato soup because I’m a big fan of tomato flavor with beef….It’s on the weak side….and gets even weaker when you add vegetables and meat to it. The Manna house soup is also on the weak side today. Maybe the other varieties are more flavorful?

I liked the vegetables and all the variety. The meats seemed to be shaved even thinner than last time. Each meat was an extremely small serving that cooked down to very little in the soup so you could try many.

The food seemed fresh and healthy and might be the only Shabu in this part of town.

www.MannaBBQ.com

Worth a try if you are in the area!

Here’s some photos from my last BBQ visit. (it’s more meaty than the shabu)

BBQ table
banchan (side dishes)

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Favorite Thai Dish in North Phoenix – Spicy Pumpkin Basil from Sala Thai in Peoria AZ – FORKING Delicious – Worth a Fork!

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At the moment my favorite Thai Dish that I’ve come across in North Phoenix is the Spicy Pumpkin Basil from Sala Thai in Peoria. The Pumpkin adds another delicious flavor. It’s sort of sweet, a little creamy and sort of chestnut-like. This dish is basically a Pad Gra Pow with added Thai Pumpkin. It’s your choice of meat hand chopped with extra surface space to soak up flavors. Then it’s stir fried with bell pepper, onion, garlic, Thai Chillies, basil and fish sauce. It’s incredibly delicious. I enjoy that they use a handful of delicious basil that you can taste in this dish. This dish also taste better than from other places because they use Thai Chillies for heat unlike some of the other places that use jalapeños and or a granulated powder. Some of the other Thai restaurants in North Phoenix do offer Pumpkin Curry but Sala Thai is one of the few or possibly only Thai Restaurant in North Phoenix that offers Spicy Pumpkin Basil.

Why settle for Pad Gra Pow when you can have Spicy Pumpkin Basil?

Worth a Fork!

www.SalaThaiAZ.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

The Forking Best Pizzas I’ve Tasted on the West Side in Glendale and Peoria AZ

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We have really Forking Awesome Pizzas in Glendale and Peoria. All the pizzas are Forking Great and delicious. These are the most delicious ones I’ve tasted so far. Pictured above is the Pizza Milano from Bottega Pizzaria Ristorante in Glendale. This particular one is special because it is ultra thin and is made with San Marzano Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a little spicy kick from Calabrian Chile Peppers. It’s crisp but does have a soft middle. it’s also the best ultra thin pizza that I know of on the west side. The regular pizzas are delicious as well and are very similar to Pomo Pizzas….(this restaurant used to be a Pomo). Delicious pizzas you can’t go wrong here.

From Fabio on Fire in Peoria is the Bufalina Pizza. This one has all kinds of flavors going on. Rich San Marzano tomatoes, peppery arugula, sweet reduced balsamic, creamy bufala cheese, nutty parmesan on a thin light chewy and crisp crust. The bufalina cheese was partially delicious…..It was creamier and more flavorful than other buffalo cheeses I’ve tasted from other places. This pizza was incredibly delicious! It’s one of the BEST ever!

The Pizzas from La Piazza Al Forno are all delicious but this Bianca Pizza was really extra special. This pizza was made with their insanely delicious house made mozzarella, a high quality ricotta (don’t know if house made but it tasted like house made), extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano, and Calabrian chiles. All this was on their very delicate textured certified crust. It was really awesome.

The Forking Truth is that I do really love their Margherita pizzas too but they differ depending on the visit……They both taste good (pictured below) but I prefer the one on the right. The one on the right might be my favorite Margherita anywhere. The house made mozzarella is the most flavorful mozzarella…Their crust is the most delicate and tender and when the sauce is just right is pretty darn amazing.

Also on the west side by the same owner of La Piazza Al Forno is Piazza Romana that is technically in Avondale but is so freaking close to Glendale it just has to be included. This place is basically around the corner from Westgate in Glendale.

Here are Piazza Romana in Avondale is the Metro Phoenix first Roman Style Pizza Shop. Pictured above is the Arrabiatta. It has a delicious chunky thick topping that’s seasoned well with a kick!

Pictured above are the Margherita and the picante (spicy salami ((sopresata))

These pizza slices have a bubbly textured dough that is crisp but also moist in the center and are generously topped with delicious toppings. They aren’t as heavy as they look….and they ARE DELICIOUS!

At The Rec in Peoria they serve Detroit Style Pizza. (pictured above and below)

This pizza has a bubbly thick crust that isn’t doughy with these scrumptious crisp CHEESY edges.

The bottom taste almost like a buttery grilled cheese and this pizza was topped with a rich chunky oregano laced sauce and a delicious melty cheese blend. This pizza is incredibly tasty.

I make pizza too…..One of my favorites that I make is the Heirloom Tomato slices with fresh basil, E.V.O.O. with my cheese blend of mozzarella, provolone, sharp provolone and parmesan.

Those were The FORKING Best Pizzas that I’ve Tasted on the west side …..(mostly) in Glendale and Peoria.

Every FORKING Thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth