The Federal American Grill is a Texas Based small group of American Restaurants that recently opened in Phoenix Arizona (across the street from Whole Foods on Mayo Blvd). They offer a great big all day menu of all kinds of things.For people that love whiskey they offer 500 labels. They offer a variety of appetizers (all day) like fried oysters, kung pao calamari, crab cakes, and BBQ bone marrow. They offer American entrees like braised short ribs, catch of the day, chicken fried steak, WAGYU meatloaf and pork chops (all day). They also offer small salads, entree salads, burgers, sandwiches, protein bowls, soup, seafood, steaks, entrees and more – ALL DAY! I was told that brunch will soon be added in addition to the all day menu.
The kitchen is visible from the dining room.
They offer a variety of seating.
They have booths, traditional tables, high top tables, bar seating, and a private room.
Whatever you order they start you off with complimentary biscuits with butter and sweet and spicy Fresno pepper jam.
We tried the truffle macaroni and cheese. (menu reads- Resistance is futile.)
It very cheesy. It taste like it was made with lots of real cheese and is laced with truffle essence. A sprinkling of crunchy crumbs were added. The pasta was also prepared perfect and isn’t mushy.
Janice’s Meatloaf is made with RC Ranch Craft WAGYU beef. It comes with mashed potatoes and bordelaise sauce.
Our server recommended the lemon basil salmon protein bowl.
The salmon was grill to request (medium) and was surrounded by deluxe seasonal vegetables (today is was brussels sprouts, multi color cauliflower heirloom tomatoes, zucchini and more) with rice and was laced lightly with lemon basil dressing.
Federal American Grill recently opened in Phoenix AZ and offers a great BIG all day menu.
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 always liked going out to eat. When he got elderly and diagnosed with aggressive cancer he couldn’t do a lot but still enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of his 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when the weather is right.
There are a lot of things to know about dining out with dog(s).
Not all patios are dog friendly…(you need to call or look for a dog friendly patio sign)
Weather is an issue in Phoenix….90 and above is too hot. Dogs are not as heat tolerant as people.
Most food and drink that you consume might be harmful or toxic to your dog. Get these food lists from your veterinarian.
While out dog(s) they must be close to your side and are NOT to sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
Our first stop this year was our neighborhood American Italian style restaurant called Cucina Tagliani.
It’s not very dog friendly but I got one of the dishes I think they do best because I haven’t had it in a long time (baked spaghetti squash).
“I’m getting something”
The baked spaghetti squash lasagna (it has onions in it that are very bad for dogs) But it is very good for people. It is very light and sauced with rich Alfredo, tomato sauce, and it has lots of melted cheese. The spaghetti squash is perfectly cooked and is somehow delicious with the sauces and cheese on the top. (I do peel off some cheese for the dogs)
My husband got the chicken parmesan and sliced off a section for the dogs.
“We enjoyed our meals at Cucina Tagliani”
Cucina Tagliani 17045 N 59TH AVE Glendale AZ
602-547-2782
www.CucinaTagliani.com
Every Month we make it to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Pho-Free Vietnamese Restaurant that specializes in serving around a dozen different Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches. They also offer rice plates, noodle salad bowls, curry chicken and more.
Today I got a chicken banh mi sandwich.
chicken banh mi
There is plenty of chicken to share.
I’m a pretty good eater but even with sharing this is two meals for me.
My husband got the shaken beef banh mi but I forgot to photo it. The beef is always very good here….It’s always tender like filet mignon but I know it’s ribeye. The dogs really enjoyed the shaken beef too!
The food is always fresh and good. Prices are low and portions are large.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese eatery in North Phoenix.
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We also made it to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in North Glendale. They offer certified Neapolitan Pizzas and Italian Foods. We were both getting pizzas today so We got the dogs their own side order of chicken.
side order of chicken
Look how happy this dog is!
“OMG YUM!!!!!!!!!!” “CHICKEN”
This little sweetie pie puts his head on my knee waiting for chicken.
“I sure LOVE to eat chicken….and a little Parmesan couldn’t hurt”
I tried the pesto & truffle pizza today.
The fragrance of truffles is stronger than the taste……..I think the generous amount of pesto and the arugula just are more forward……I think they accidentally also gave me extra truffles because they only list truffle oil as the truffle ingredient. I can see shaved truffles here. Some bites do taste like truffle. Other bites don’t.
My husband went with the salame piccante (spicy salami) pizza.
D.O.P. Tomato sauce, fior di latte, spicy salami, basil, extra virgin olive oil…What’s not to like?
“We always enjoy going to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante!”
Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante 19420 N 59TH Ave Glendale AZ
623-777-1868
www.BottegaRistorante.com
This past week it was too cold in Phoenix to dine outside without heaters. So we took the dogs out for their own butter cheese burger from Culver’s. Culver’s is good for a fast food chain. Their beef and chicken are never from frozen and they hand batter fish. My Bigger dog was so excited when she saw we were driving up to Culver’s. She smacked my smaller dog out of his seat so she could sit on the side to look right into the menu and the take out window. We got them a plain (no toppings or sauce) double butter cheese burger. They always sear the burger nice. I ripped off about a third of the burger for them without the bun. They will eat the rest over the next two days as treats.
They always enjoy Culver’s.
Culver’s
8330 W Deer Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-792-8957
www.Culvers.com
That was Dining Out with DOGS in Metro Phoenix January 2023. We hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month!
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Then Burger is located across from the entrance to Westgate in Glendale Arizona. The restaurant is brought to you by a local resident Mr. Preston who also owns Twist Hot Chicken in Peoria. This is a casual but very nice burger restaurant.
inside
Besides elevated ground in house burgers they offer service, great cocktails, beer, wine and more. Mostly everything is made in-house. Everything is fresh. They only use the freezer for the ice cream for milk shakes. They offer appetizers, a few salads, and around a dozen different modern burger choices. Most of the burgers are beef patties (short rib, SIRLOIN, chuck) that are ground in house. They are recommended to be served medium pictured below.
Some of the other very detailed burgers are short rib (like quesabirra that you dunk), beef like with marrow and mushrooms, salmon, chicken thigh, and beet patty. They are served on Noble Bread Buns and come with hand cut fries that can be upgraded to poutine fries or animal fries (dressing and cheese).
We started out with smooth strong cocktails called wild horse.
Lip Service Rye Whiskey, St George Absinthe, Maraschino Bitters
We also tried the roasted bone marrow appetizer.
This was really great! – It’s so much better than the last bone marrow I tried someplace downtown. It was adorned with wild mushroom ragu and came with Noble Bread Slices.
Then came ——-The Burger.
I picked the Kenji Burger – red Leicester cheese ( my request on the side), teriyaki, caramelized onions, arugula, yuzu aioli on a just right, not too bread-ee Noble Bun………OMG This is just FANTABULOUS! The Flavors are incredible. The Burger is incredible. ********this burger is FORKING INCREDIBLE*******Besides everything that is tasting amazing I’m pointing out the caramelized onions…..not sure if it’s just the onions or a combination of the onions and sauces but the taste is so incredible that it might be impossible for me to try a different beef burger here…..It really was that FORKING GREAT!
Around five minutes latter the cut in house fries arrive.
regular friesupgraded – poutine fries with cheese curds and gravy
I was surprised that we weren’t offered ketchup for the fries. Instead we got small dishes of sauces. One was house sauce ( a creamy mustardy sauce ((my favorite)), ranch sauce, a creamy lemon-ee sauce, and garlic aioli.
My husband thinks that the burger called drugstore was FANTABULOUS. (It’s the most traditional burger on the menu)
He got his Medium Rare. American Cheese, HOUSE Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Bread and Butter Pickles, and House Sauce. He just kept saying that this is a really good burger…..THIS IS A REALLY GOOD BURGER……..Can we go here tomorrow?
They do offer a few desserts but the food is so darn FANTABULOUS that I doubt most people will ever have room for dessert.
Then Burger (across from entrance to Westgate) Your Welcome.
Worth a Fork! THEN WE RETURNED.
The burgers are no longer a blend of short rib, sirloin, and chuck. Now they are all chuck.
The burgers taste different and cook up different now.
My husband tried the Drugstore burger again (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, bread and butter pickles, house sauce) and asked for Medium-Rare. It no longer comes with bacon.
Unfortunately it’s well done and dry.
My marrow & mushroom burger (menu reads munster but they gave me truffle pecorino ((on side at my request)), shiitake mushrooms, marrow crisp, marrow bone.
This burger patty is FORKING DRY AS A HOCKY PUCK!
For a $36.00 burger that IS CERTAINLY NOT ACCEPTABLE. It was very hard for me but I had to send it back and my husband also sent his burger back. In acceptable time we had the re-fires.
Second drugstore burger came out well done and dry.
The Little Pickle is a Jewish Type Deli Located in Phoenix Arizona across from the Biltmore Fashion Mall in the Esplanade (they validate parking). It’s a small casual place with only a few tables and a small counter by the window.
Currently they are open for breakfast and weekday lunch till 2pm (subject to change). We made it there just before they closed.
You order at the counter.
They call your name when your order is ready.
Here’s an everything a bagel with scallion cream cheese.
I thought that this was a West Coast Style Bagel but someone from The Little Pickle contacted me and told me that their bagels are from New York. The bagel I tried is a different style than east coast bagels that I was used to when I lived there. I was used to the ones with a shiny crust that were chewy inside. Anyone remember Abe’s or Miller’s Deli? Also Scotts Generations serves the chewy style bagels that were and also are from New York. The style of these New York bagels are different.They are good…just different.
Sandwiches come wrapped up like this.
Your sandwich comes with a wrapped Little Pickle to the side.
Our first sandwich that we tried was the corned beef.
Corned Beef
The corned beef is a little different than what I’m used to. It’s good but milder with the spices.
We also tried the turkey.
The turkey is nice, tender and moist. It’s good but……………….
Brisket Sandwich
I think that the brisket might be the *****BEST FORKING BRISKET***** that I have ever tried anywhere. The Flavors and texture is BOMB! It has this incredible burnt sweet onion taste and the beef just melts in your mouth……..They melt cheese on the bread so that is great for some people but other people might want to order the brisket without cheese.
The Pastrami is also *******FORKING GREAT**************!
It’s so flavorful and unusually juicy just melts in your mouth. It’s fatty but not too fatty. It just might be the best pastrami sandwich out there!
You’d be nuts not to try the pastrami or the brisket. Your Welcome!
Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a Californian chain of casual Hawaiian restaurants with around three locations in Phoenix Arizona. The popular entree at Hawaiian BBQ restaurants is called the Hawaiian Plate Lunch. Maybe you are not familiar with the Hawaiian plate lunch? The Hawaiian plate lunch is usually a large Styrofoam container filled with two scoops of steamed rice, a scoop of creamy macaroni salad, some steamed vegetables and a generous serving of a protein or two. I finally tried the newer Ono Hawaiian BBQ Glendale Arizona location.
It’s casual. You order and pay at the counter.
insideinside
Seat yourself.
Our name was called and we picked it up.
Here’s the white fish and BBQ chicken.
whitefish and BBQ chicken
Two scoops of steamed white rice, macaroni salad that is on the dry side today. The fish is very greasy…and taste like grease. The chicken really is nicely caramelized and is tender……It’s also a very generous portion but it taste like soy sauce. Under the fish and chicken is mostly what they call steamed cabbage and some broccoli. I tried to eat the cabbage but it is very oily and too tough to cut with a plastic knife. The broccoli drips with oil but is next to raw. I can’t eat the vegetables or much of this.
Here’s the BBQ Combo (short rib, BBQ chicken, BBQ beef)
BBQ Combo
All the beef is tender but oddly leathery…….And it all taste like soy sauce. Vegetables, macaroni salad, and rice are same as above.
Ono in Hawaiian usually means good or delicious…….Tonight Ono at the Glendale AZ location means Oh No!
Local Bistro Restaurant is located in North Scottsdale Arizona. They call themselves a rustic Italian Restaurant. They offer dinner and Sunday bottomless Brunch. Their offerings do differ some from other Italian Restaurants. Some of their small plate offerings are tuna tartare, wood fired corn, mussels dijonese. They also offer soup and salads like French Onion soup, and a steak salad. They make wood fired pizzas, house made pastas. Some of the entrees offered are sautéed chicken with artichokes, a fifty day aged prime filet of beef, and Chilean Sea Bass with Spanish Chorizo in a white wine lobster broth. They also offer a children’s menu and desserts.
They have a large semi covered patio with lots of heaters for when it’s chilly.
They have a large bar area with big screen TVs.
Or you can sit in a main dining area.
main dining area
We started with the crispy eggplant and burrata.
crispy eggplant and burrata
It’s like eggplant parmesan but different. Instead of tomato sauce there is a coating of spicy hot Calabrian Chile Marmalade. The cheese is also creamy burrata with mint leaves, olive oil, and maybe nutmeg. Today the Calabrian Chile Marmalade is running very hot or maybe they were just overly generous with it….
The pan seared Faroe Island Salmon was very good.
Pan seared Faroe Island Salmon
It had a nice caramelized sear and was cooked to my request. The carrots and zucchini had the same exact texture. I thought that was impressive. The whipped pesto potatoes are a very generous portion and taste basil forward. Around the edge of the potatoes was a lemon-caper beurre blanc sauce for dipping.
My husband tried the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese.
tagliatelle alla bolognese
It’s house made pasta, twenty-four hour braised beef, pork, veal, San Marzano tomato ragu, and parmesan. My husband said that he really couldn’t taste the twenty-four hour braised beef. Maybe this batch tasted more like pork and veal…..?
We decided to share a vanilla gelato Toschi Cherry Meringata for dessert because you seldom come across Meringatas at restaurants.
vanilla gelato Toschi Cherry Meringata
It’s basically an Italian Meringue ice-cream type cake. A bit generous with the whipped cream but a nice sweet ending.
We found that brunch was more of a mixed bag with live entertainment.
It’s bottomless sort of……Each person can pick two starters and pick as many starters as they want. Then you pick an entree. Then you can add more starters if you can fit them in. They also have a bottomless drink special but you have to stick with one kind of beverage.
They do make the starters in portions for sharing.
I started out with the heirloom tomato and melon gazpacho shooter.
This was really great! Very clean, refreshing and enjoyable. One of my favorites here.
My husband had the sausage lollipops.
They came with honey and Calabrian chili honey. My husband’s favorite thing was the Calabrian chili honey here…He kept saying that it was very good and kept it until the end.
We shared the mini (MINI?) drunk bread.
We noticed that this was a very popular the evening we were here. It seemed that every table had one but us. It’s like cheesy and white wine dunked……We both don’t really like the white wine dunk…But many may disagree here.
One of our other mutual favorites was the patatas bravas. Spanish Romesco, and garlic aioli.
These were just really great potatoes. They just melt in your mouth. They seem like they might have been twice or tripled fried by the incredible creamy texture that they have. But they were extra light with the sauces. Could have used a little more.
Sorry to report that the entrees weren’t as good……. 🙁
The best parts of the Caesar salad was the Padano snow, the parmesan crisp, and the 6 minute egg. Lets just forget about the rest……..
My husband tried the chicken, the egg, the waffle entree.
The breaded chicken was all dried out, and covered in very thick sausage gravy with melted cheddar cheese, and a medium egg. There also was a waffle in there.
Local Bistro – Rustic Italian Cuisine – Like the majority of restaurants out there some great hits and a few misses……..Contemporary in style.
Salad World recently opened in Peoria Arizona not too far from P83. They are a casual not fancy “Chipotle Style” build-your-own salad type of restaurant.
inside
You start by picking one of the two size bowls for your salad. Then you go down the line and pick what you want. The person behind a clear sneeze guard wall builds the salad for you. You start out by picking the lettuce bend. Then you can add some fruits like grapes or dried cranberries and around four other things. Then you have all kinds of vegetables to pick from. There are vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, and jicama. Protein choices cost extra and are chicken, ham, plant based chicken, steak, and tofu. Other items to add to the salad are cheese, toppings like nuts, croutons, or bacon and salad dressing.
You can build your own salad of around 60 items or pick a suggested salad from a menu that they will make for you.
We each tried a salad. One regular sized and one large. You can’t tell by my picture but the large really is much larger than the medium.
Large is on top and on the bottom is the regular sized
I do have to say that the chicken breast is much better than what you would get from most places for salads. It can pass as sous vide chicken. Everything seems fresh. I got mixed greens and iceberg lettuce, radishes, broccoli, carrots, chick peas, onions, cranberries, sliced almonds, sesame sticks, and some sort of Asian Ginger dressing that seems tasty. Too bad I can’t go back for cucumbers……I think they’d go well here. I was surprised to be offered my choice of roll. (regular or whole wheat).
My husband got the large salad. He also tried the chicken and also added the steak. I didn’t taste the steak but it did look good…….But I can smell it and it is very smokey. He also got bacon, egg, and cheese and several of the vegetables. The large is a real bargain here….It’s so big that people can share.
They do offer a variety of soft beverages here, a children’s menu, and maybe a few other things such as a packaged cookie. I read on their website that they offer soup? Maybe they do but I didn’t notice it today.
I’d say well worth a try for a fast/casual healthy food option in Peoria.
Seoul BBQ & Sushi is an award wining restaurant from Colorado and Connecticut with one location in Phoenix Arizona. The Phoenix location offers a menu that changes slightly from time to time.
It’s a very large restaurant with multiple dining rooms. They have a long bar is on the left side of the photo. They do have an outside patio but it’s not in use.
Whatever you order they always start you off with complimentary side dishes called banchan.
banchan
The banchan usually differ some on every visit but always contain some fermented vegetables, kimchi, something fish, and usually one or two potato dishes.
They always offer a variety of Korean and Asian Foods. This restaurant is very well known for their Korean BBQ that is offered ala carte and also in an all-you-can-eat version. Dishes can be made at the table or from the kitchen. Spicy ketchup known as gochujang is served with the BBQ.
Bulgogi
Beef Rib and Tofu Vegetable soup
They also offer Korean and Japanese appetizers.
Korean Corn Cheese
Scallion pancake
complimentary vegetable pancake special with to-go orders only
Vegetable pancake
Jalapeno bombers
Crispy Rice sushi
Sushi with Fresh Wasabi
Sushi with Crispy Onions
Korean Fried Chicken Wings
A few of the other dishes they may offer are –
Spicy Dak (chicken) Bulgogi
Mackerel
Samgyetang – Chicken stuffed with sweet rice, garlic, ginger, dates, and Korean Ginseng
Broiled Yellow Croaker (didn’t notice on current menu)
Dol-pan Bibim-Bap with added Spam
Take Out
Seoul BBQ & Sushi – Good Korean Food and lots of choices.
Limon Urban Kitchen is located in North Phoenix Arizona. They offer breakfast seven days a week. They also offer lunch, dinner, and a bar seven days a week. When you walk in you pass by a good sized patio but once inside it looks like a sports bar with lots of big screen TVs.
The food menus are mostly Mexican.
Off the all day menu they offer appetizers like wings, shrimp ceviche, carne asada fries, and nachos. They also offer salads, fajitas, burgers, burritos, street tacos, and entrees like pork carnitas, beef machaca, fish & chips, and chicken enchiladas.
They start you off with complimentary warm chips and salsa. We added on the house made roasted white poblano queso.
The salsa is tasty….It’s better than some. Maybe I am overly picky about queso….For my taste this could be more poblano and cheese forward…….
Anyways –
My husband gets a cup of Sops de Fideo.
It’s a chicken based soup with thin pasta threads.
My main arrives. The Lettuce Fajita Wraps…
Not what I was expecting. They aren’t wrapped and all the wet hot stuff is on top of the lettuce. It’s hard to tell by my photo but the romaine are also very small thin leaves. It’s next to impossible to eat this as lettuce wraps.*********BUT*****This chicken is UNUSUALLY GREAT! It’s marinated with delicious flavors and is melt in the mouth tender. Might be the very best fajita chicken that I have ever tasted. The plate also contains caramelized onions, bell pepper strips, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.
Tia Carmen is a high quality contemporary and sort of southwest restaurant located in the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in North Phoenix Arizona. The kitchen is led by Michelin Star Chef, restauranteur, and Bravo Top Chef Master Chef Angelo Sosa.
Angelo Sosaentrance insideinside
The 2022 Tia Carmen Beautiful Life New Year’s Eve 2022 Dinner cost $135 per person and was 4 courses. They did offer an optional Beau Joie Champagne parings for $85.
First course for most people was seafood orchestra
This was beau soliel oysters dressed with garden grape mignonette + cara cara sabayon + oscietra caviar, nantucket bay scallops enrobed in fresh cara cara juice, hoja santa + cara cara koshu; king crab, salsa macha + yuzu & lemon aioli + hibiscus leaf.
A vegetarian alternative was offered. With the same sauces on amazing grapes, pineapple and jicama.
Next was pumpkin chawanmushi
It was a kabacha squash filled with steamed squash & shiitake mushroom custard + squash caramel + shaved black truffle
The main course was a mesquite grilled wagyu Denver steak.
All the steaks were seared and were rare- medium rare….almost blue in the center.
They came adorned with tepary bean aged mole negra + bone marrow croquettes + manchego cheese + shaved black truffle……Really amazing…….To amazing to even discribe.
Finished by an astonishing dessert flight garnished with incredible herbs grown by restaurant.
beet macarons
beet macaronsbeet macarons
kumquat + cara cara carrot sorbet
goat cheese gel +chestnut mousse on hazelnut sable
cucumber + rosemary tarts
chocolate-aged mole negro bon bon
Every Plate was FORKING FANTABULOUS !!!! This was the best dinner I had in 2022 and I’ve been to Michelin Star and Michelin Guide Restaurants.
