Tag Archives: #Peoria

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

Leave a reply

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

Leave a reply

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!

Leave a reply

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

Leave a reply

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

Hello Vietnam Peoria AZ – WHOO HOO The Upper West Side gets a NEW Worth a Fork Vietnamese Restaurant

Leave a reply

Hello Vietnam is a Vietnamese Restaurant that just opened this week in North Peoria Arizona. They serve most of the usual Vietnamese favorites – fried and fresh rolls, cold noodle bowls, rice plates, banh mi and pho. The atmosphere is different and interesting. They have two dining rooms and a semi open kitchen. The restaurant is decorated with Vietnamese kitchenware around the kitchen counter. There’s an illustration on some walls of a Vietnamese village. There are seashell– like fixtures and a wall of wood that looks Vietnamese.

Uptop reads “Cook like a local in Vietnam”

We started off with the Lemongrass Beef Steak Fresh Rolls ($5.99 subject to change).

The rice paper rolls are stuffed with flavorful steak, minty herbs and lots of vermicelli noodles. They are delicious on their own but also came with a peanut sauce today. Possibly due to the soft opening we didn’t receive the toppings for the rolls listed on the menu. (scallions, pickled medley, cucumber and mint…….crispy twist)…..unless it’s a misprint?

For my main I tried the Grilled Chicken Rice Plate ($10.99 subject to change)

I received a generous amount of marinated chicken thigh, pickled vegetables, fish sauce and rice. This plate differs slightly from every other Vietnamese restaurant. Everything is good!…….Chicken is tender, salad is pickled, rice is fresh. Here the fish sauce really brings the chicken to life. The fish sauce is particularly good here.

My husband goes for the Special Pho ($12.99 subject to change)

Here the Pho is an eighteen hour beef oxtail bone broth unless you order your pho with vegetable broth. I don’t often eat pho so I didn’t try it but my husband thought it really was a good bowl of pho.

This restaurant is brand new and was very busy at an off time. Service was a bit slow and we weren’t checked on till we were done but the food was good so to me that means –

Hello Vietnam is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

I haven’t found a website for Hello Vietnam but they are on Facebook.

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

The Forking Truth

The Social on 83rd at P83 in Peoria AZ – Great Appetizers that are Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

The Social on 83rd is a relatively new restaurant in the P83 (across from Peoria Sports Complex on 83rd ave = P83) area of metro Phoenix that is considered to be the upper west side. This is a New American Restaurant that offers mostly American Foods some with global touches, Weekend Brunch and more!

They offer a lovely modern atmosphere and a variety of all kinds of seating.

Traditional tables, booths, benches with chairs, high top options…..

Seating at the bar.

Seating on the outside patio and the outside bar.

I’ve been here a few times now and so far I’ve found that the appetizers are especially notable….Possibly among the best to be found in the upper west side.

They took the Korean Style 24 hour short rib bun(s) off the menu but they were exceptionally delicious.

They’ve been replaced with Korean Style BBQ Tofu that has the same flavors and is just as delicious.

Here’s the Scotch Egg with Deep Fried Mustard Vinaigrette Greens. This was really good! The greens were made unusually tasty.

Another winning appetizer is the NY Strip Sliders.

These are very developed with flavors and the meat was tender like butter.

The next one isn’t the prettiest but it was the best fried macaroni and cheese ball that I tried so far.

Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls from The Social on 83rd in Peoria at P83

The ones they served me were so cheesy and so flavorful. The pasta had perfect texture. They also seemed free of grease but I know they weren’t. The exterior breading was so crisp and thin. These were really REALLY GREAT! They also sat on top of a lemon herb aioli.

From a couple different visits the two salads I tried were very solid.

Jerk Chicken Caesar with Mango Caesar Dressing.

Cali Cranberry Salad with added chicken.

I hit them on an off night for dinner.

Someone new was cooking and dinners had under cooking and over cooking issues.

We did let them know about the dishes and our server and the chef were very apologetic. Dishes were re-made and were better …………………

I do note that every appetizer each time that I was here was delicious and very notable! Salads were GOOD!

The Social on 83rd in Peoria at P83 serves great appetizers that are Worth a Fork!

www.TheSocialAZ.com

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

The Forking Truth

My 1st Taste of Detroit Style Pizza at the REC in Peoria AZ – Worth a Fork! ******with updates The Rec Pizza & Dogs

Leave a reply

The REC is a TINY Detroit Style Pizzeria located in Peoria Arizona. They offer two outside tables. (*****Update name change to The Rec Pizza & Dogs)

One indoor table.

Four hightop community stools. (****Update they added on a dining room)

You order at the counter and seat yourself.

The pizzas come in three sizes personal, medium and large and are cut in squares. They take about 25 minutes to prepare. Many varieties of Faygo Brand sodas are offered. They offer the usual variety of pizzas and also the unusual such as hatch chili with pulled pork and spicy pickle with bacon……… As you wait you look at all the Detroit Music Memorabilia all around and a few novelty collectibles.

Then you look out the window.

I just went for a plain personal size pizza.

It’s very hot just out of the oven…I spread out the little squares of pizza.

It’s a little bit Trenton Style……..(little fact…I actually worked in a Trenton NJ Pizza Shop for a while long long ago) The sauce is on top of the cheese……that is done so you don’t get over cooked cheese……But this Detroit Style pizza is very different than Trenton Style pizza. It’s mainly the crust that is unique and different. (****Update the crust is different see down below)

It’s a bubbly thick crust that isn’t very doughy. On the edges it’s almost like eating a cheese crisp….those crackers that are only made of cheese.

The bottom has a thin layer that taste almost like a grilled cheese sandwich……It seems almost buttered but is very crisp like a really good grilled sandwich.

On top of the bubbly bread is a gooey blend of cheeses……..you can taste grated Italian Cheese………

On top of the melty flavorful cheese is rich tasting chunky tomato sauce….with the perfect amount of oregano in it. It’s delicious!

I have to say my first taste of Detroit Style Pizza at the REC Pizzeria in Peoria is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.theRECPizzaria.com

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

The Forking Truth

Did a 2nd taste on the patio.

Tried a plain again.

This one had slightly less sauce but was pretty much just as delicious.

Tried a white pizza.

This one has too much thyme for my taste…..but I wouldn’t avoid it either…..maybe you should request light on the thyme.

My husband likes meaty pizzas and enjoyed the pepperoni with added sausage.

My dogs got to enjoy some crunchy cheesy ends.

Been back a few times and more changes have been made.

main entrance

The name has changed to The Rec Pizza & Dogs (Coney Island style hot dogs)

They have added on a dining room.

They have changed the recipe for the dough. Today we tried three different pizzas. One was a seasonal pizza with pumpkin and ricotta cheese.

The dough is different.

It’s fluffy with a soft bread bottom.

The dough seemed fermented.

The crust used to have a delicious crispy bottom.

What I got today was very different.

The Forking Truth

Fabio on Fire Peoria AZ – Worth a Fork! – Still Fabulous

Leave a reply

Fabio on Fire is a small Italian Restaurant located in Peoria Arizona. This restaurant specializes in serving Neapolitan Style Pizzas, house prepared pastas, baked goods, house made gelato and more. Fabio himself is already established as a mobile pizza vender and bakery that sets up at farmers markets, events and various festivals. The restaurant offers some bar seating, a dining room and a patio.

They start you off with Fabio’s fresh baked crusty bread and olive oil spiked with balsamic vinegar.

We started out by sharing the wood roasted beets over goat cheese with peppery arugula.

It’s delicious…the beets are fresh and sweet. Arugula adds that slight bitterness to balance the sweet. That creamy milky goat cheese. It’s so delicious.

I ordered the bufalina pizza.

This pizza has all kinds of flavors going on. The crust is chewy, very thin but also crisp. The sauce is rich and also sweet from San Marzano Tomatoes. There’s spicy slightly bitter arugula against sweet reduced balsamic and really great bufala cheese dressed with nutty parmesan and olive oil. It works together so well. Another benefit is that the pizza seems very light because it’s so thin. Tonight I ate half and still had room for that amazing gelato.

My husband tried the sausage ravioli special.

The Ravioli are topped with a creamy sauce and fresh herbs and are packed with a generous amount of sausage.

One of the many must get dishes is the Strawberry Gelato from Fabio on Fire.

Trust me…….This is Forking Incredible!  

Somehow he made strawberry taste better than strawberry….It’s like a glass of the best tasting strawberry you ever had…..In the past I also enjoyed the passionfruit flavor maybe just as much.

Another one of the must try dishes is the Spinach Ravioli in walnut sauce. (when they are offered)

WOW! Astonishingly great! I think the best ravioli I’ve ever tried anywhere.

A few of the other dishes we tried were- (there are more but I can’t find them)

Veal Tortellini
Diavola

I have to say Fabio on Fire is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.FabioonFire.com

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

The Forking Truth

Sala Thai Restaurant Peoria AZ – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply
View from patio

Sala Thai Restaurant is a family owned Thai Restaurant with two locations…one in Phoenix and one in Peoria. A same namesake restaurant is located in Glendale but isn’t connected on the websites. The Peoria location is comfortable cozy and small with around twelve tables inside and two tables on the patio. There are several TV’s up on the wall and some decorate Asian Artifacts embellish the restaurant.

They serve most of the usual Thai Dishes that you expect like the basil stir fries and the curries but they also serve a few dishes that you don’t find at every Thai Restaurant like the Spicy Lemon Salad………

Spicy Lemon Salad with Chicken

and the Grilled Thai Sausage.

What makes Sala Thai in Peoria stand out from other near by Thai Restaurants is that they actually use Thai Basil and infuse that flavor in the Stir Fry Dishes and it makes a big difference in the taste of the dishes.

Spicy Eggplant with Chicken
Spicy Egg Bomb
Dan Dan Noodles
Fish Cakes
Pot Stickers
Spicy Beef Basil

I’ve had green curry and pumpkin curry this year here but I can’t find those photos. But my favorite dish that Sala Thai serves is the Spicy Basil with Pumpkin shown below.

Spicy Basil with Pumpkin and Chicken

This is really delicious! It’s full of different textures and flavors. Sweet Chestnut-tee creamy pumpkin that’s cooked just so, tender crisp sweet onions and bell peppers with a good amount of basil and those Thai Flavors that get all around the hand chopped chicken ….It’s just right heat, sweet and savory.

I do prefer Sala Thai’s Basil Type dishes over a few of their other dishes. The basil dishes are much more flavorful and delicious! Sala Thai makes the best Basil type dishes that I know of in this area.

Sala Thai is Worth a Fork!

Some dishes are better than other dishes. I recommend Spicy Basil, Spicy Eggplant, Spicy Egg Bomb, Lemon Salad, Pumpkin Curry, Grilled Sausage and the Spicy Pumpkin Basil.

www.SalaThaiAZ.com

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

The Forking Truth
Sala Thai in Peoria

Manna BBQ in Peoria Arizona at P83 is Worth a Fork! (slight update…….Dec 2019…..now offers Shabu too!)

Leave a reply

Manna BBQ is a California based Korean all you can eat BBQ restaurant located in Peoria Arizona in P83 across from the Peoria Sports Complex (with another location in Mesa AZ) . They offer the extra $21.99 menu of about 15 choices or the $28.99 menu of around 21 that include some more expensive meats such as ribeye and shrimp. Either menu buys you up to two hours of eating and you must finish the meats or they will charge you extra full entrée pricing for wasting……so don’t order more than you can eat. They offer seating at the bar and also booths with gas burners to cook the food.

On our arrival banchan (side dishes) were waiting for us already on the table.

The banchan were from top left mashed potatoes that might have been eggy, were sweet and also cold, bean sprouts, fish cakes, kimchi, Asian pickles and thin radish for wrapping around meat.

We started off with thinly sliced marinated beef called Beef Bulgogi, mushrooms, zuchinni, rice and glass noodles.

Just a few minutes later….

Gosh the beef was delicious! Tender like butter and nicely flavorful. Next we try a combo of chicken bulgogi and spicy chicken.

WOW! The chicken is also very tender and tasty. The spicy isn’t too spicy…but tasty. The Beef Bulgogi and both chicken dishes came out very good for us.

Next we tried brisket and beef belly.

Neither of these meats are marinated. I don’t know if we didn’t cook the brisket correctly but I really didn’t like the brisket (bottom meat in picture). I wasn’t too found of the beef belly either although it was slightly better than the brisket. Neither meat here had a whole lot of flavor. You had to use the dipping sauce for these meats to eat them.

My husband decided that he could eat a little more so he asked if he could have a small amount of pork belly to try.

He said the pork belly was very good. He forgot they offer a spicy version and would have went with spicy if he remembered.

Each table has a call button incase you need something but service was very good. I didn’t have to ask for a thing.

I’ve been to a few different Korean BBQ Restaurants in Metro Phoenix and they all have something different to offer…We only paid 21.99 for all you can eat. More upscale Korean BBQ will set you back at least $32.00- over $100.00 a person without being all you can eat.

For Mana BBQ’s friendly price point I’d have to say it’s a good value and Worth a Fork but be sure to try the Beef Bulgogi, Chicken dishes and Pork Belly.

Bulgogi is delicious, Chicken dishes, Pork Belly were all delicious……both of us weren’t crazy about the brisket and beef belly

I haven’t found a website for the Peoria location of Mana BBQ but they are on Facebook.

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

The Forking Truth