******UPDATE******Torn down…was suppose to move down the road ******The Pacific Seafood Buffet has two locations. One in Chandler and the one I went to in Glendale Arizona that borders Peoria just by P83. The Pacific Buffet is an all you can eat restaurant. This restaurant has been here in Glendale since around October 2010. They offer TWO HUNDRED items of appetizers, soups, sushi, sashimi, assorted shellfish, a Mongolian BBQ, various entrees, ice creams, cakes and other pastries Monday – Friday for $11.88. The Pacific Seafood Buffet is open everyday for lunch and dinner. They are even open on all major holidays and do offer holiday specials.
You walk in and it seems like a fancy place with a big high ceiling and lots of granite lined buffet tables.
The sushi table looks like a boat.
Then we get seated and the dining room is more casual.
Soon someone greets us, takes our beverage order and we are off to the buffet.
There is so much to try…what to pick?
The ginger scallion fish on the right was the best fish I tried here today. Mushrooms looked good…I forgot to try them (oh well) tried the green beans…they were ok.
Lots of assorted fried foods here…and the chicken skewers looked a little dry so I moved on.
Salmon is never good from any buffet. it appears to be very over cooked today. I know I wouldn’t enjoy this so I moved on.
Apple strudel, sliced sausage and something that looks very beefy…?
I take my first plate.
The best fish I tried here is the white fleshed fish at 6:00 on my plate. It’s in a ginger scallion broth and is light and flaky. green beans are good. Most of the sushi is not for my taste. I think it’s less desirable than supermarket sushi and they all are made with too much rice. The best of the bunch surprisingly is the spicy tuna. The mackerel at around 2:00 on the plate is slightly over cooked but ok. The other best thing on the plate is the eggplant with milld Asian flavors next to the mackerel. If I could redo and make this plate again it would only contain the ginger scallion fish, the greens beans and the eggplant.
Moving on.
Did better with plate #2. Nothing was bad with plate #2 but a few things could use more flavor. The best bite of this plate was The Korean Chicken at around 10:00 on this plate. It was a sliced juicy chicken thigh with tasty seasoning. It might have been the best thing I ate here. My husband took two pieces of the Korean Chicken and one was good like mine and the other one was dried up……(at a buffet things often go from ok to dried up..) If I could redo this plate I would take more Korean Chicken, more greens, the bun that looks like a peach stuffed with sweet beans and the fried sesame ball. The pepper chicken and the black pepper chicken were both ok (tender and reasonably fresh made) but on the bland side.
My husband tried a fish ball.
I’m not sure why it made him scream….He said I wouldn’t like it so I didn’t give it a try.
My husband tried some things that I didn’t try. A few of the things he took were dried out. I did notice that the majority of beef items did look dry to me today.
He took another plate after this and got butterflied fried shrimp that just came out of the kitchen that he liked. He said they were the best thing he tried here today.
We shared some desserts.
It looks a little scary but some of it is ok. The ice creams and sherbets were hard as rocks so it was impossible to get a scoop of any of them but my husband managed to scrape out some orange sherbet. Best of the plates might be the lemon cake or the fried plain Chinese doughnut?
For $11.88 it was an interesting adventure. A few things were good and the rest was either ok or inedible. I was overly full and that was my meal for the day. Ten years ago it seemed like there was an Asian Buffet on every corner but most of them are gone now in this area.
Our server was friendly and attentive. She cleared plates quickly and presented the bill at the perfect time.
That was my trip to Pacific Seafood Buffet in Glendale.
*******UPDATE****was torn down. The website said that they were to relocate two miles down the road. Construction was almost done and they were expected to open in October. Don’t know if they will move forward?*********
www.PacificSeafoodBuffet.com
Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.
The Perfect Pear Bistro has two locations in Tempe Arizona. This is a very casual eatery that serves casual foods and many may contain a pear surprise. Some of the pear surprises are spicy pear pico, a pear quesadilla and a grilled pear bread grilled cheese sandwich. Some of the food is very unique like the cauliflower nachos. They are made of crispy cauliflower that is tossed in green chili sauce and made with cheddar cheese, avocado and PEAR pico. Perfect Pear Bistro serves a changing menu of regular and tapas sized appetizers, tacos, salads, wraps, quinoa bowls, sandwiches and pasta. They source as much local as possible.
They offer patio seating.
Seating at the bar.
Dining room seating
We thought the tapas appetizers so so interesting and different. Most of them were only priced at $3.33 each so we tried TWO of them.
On the left are Buffalo Falafels and on the right are Ginger Sriracha Brussel Sprouts topped with pumpkin seeds. Both are very tasty and really different. I’ve never seen these on any other menu this way. Besides tasting great I LOVE the portion size (like tea cup saucer sized) and the LOW $3.33 price. WOW this is GREAT!
For my main I had a salad called Perfect Pear Classic ($10.29) with added chicken ($3.00).
This is a very large salad……(I don’t know if it’s always this big…or maybe they accidentally gave me extra?) Here is house blend mixed greens (spinach, baby kale, arugula), PEARS, dried cranberries, mint, red onions, gorgonzola, hazelnuts and cider vinaigrette with added chicken. It’s different…a little bolder tasting than not all but most salads you get out. The chicken is chilled but it taste like it was prepared recent and it is moist.
My husband got a sandwich called French pantry served with a side (French Fries) ($10.59).
It’s a toasted French Roll stuffed with PEARS, brie cheese, four cheese blend, chicken, red onion arugula, grain mustard and balsamic glaze and fries were picked as the side. I was told that the flavors were great. My husband said that this is a really good tasting sandwich but it came out steaming hot like possibly from a microwave. The bread was so hot that some of the bread turned hard….and the brie almost turned to liquid. It would have been a perfect sandwich if it didn’t seem like it was finished in the microwave…but was still mostly good. I did taste two fries. I usually don’t like the skinny style fries but these came out piping hot and very fresh tasting with a really good potato flavor.
The Perfect Pear Bistro is a little different and Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
www.PerfectPearBistro.com
Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
*****UPDATE BAR ONLY AT THIS TIME****Century Grand is a 1920’s themed restaurant with a prohibition train themed with special effects cocktail bar and a high end whiskey bar and store in the Arcadia Section of Phoenix Arizona.
You can only make one reservation a day for 90 minutes in the train themed bar called platform 18 or make your reservation for dinner in the restaurant Century Grand. Dinner is only served three times a night at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm. I came in early for my dinner reservation and hoped I could start with a cocktail in Platform 18 but I was told that no seats were available but I could make a reservation for the bar after dinner I declined but took two pictures of the restaurant before opening.
Came back for dinner and only a what seemed like a few minutes the same room looked like this. The tables are somewhat close together and the tables are very small.
Once they open up the atmosphere is loud but not too loud with 1920’s music. Dinner starts with a drink. There is a menu with lots of detailed exotic cocktails and wines. There also is a passing wine cart with a sever that describes the wines. I picked a drink called Iowa ($13.)
It was made with Old Forester 100 proof Rye Whiskey, Peychavo’s Apertivo, calamansi juice, a big handful of fresh mint and sparkling water. It was strong and not too sweet and was served with a metal straw.
We ordered a couple things off the menu and mostly picked from the passing dim sum carts.
We started with a spaghetti squash spring roll with spicy peanut sauce ($3.) from the dim sum cart.
It’s super tasty delicious and spicy! YUM!
Then another dim sum cart rolls by.
We try a cold spicy Szechuan Noodle Salad and house made hand pulled mozzarella and vegetable salad with herbs and a slightly spicy oil. We both really enjoyed the cold spicy Szechuan Noodle salad. It really was spicy and delicious! The mozzarella salad was very good too but was a much milder dish. (I forgot the prices of the rest of the dim sum dishes but they were priced between ($7-$11.)
My husband ordered a fried oyster Rockefeller that was made with fennel, spinach and bacon ($5.).
He said is was brine-ee (like it should be), the oyster was soft and tender and very good.
Another dim sum cart rolls by and we pick up a house smoked salmon with yuzu cream cheese and our heirloom cauliflower dish arrives from off the menu ($13.).
Both dishes are absolutely delicious.
I’m almost full now.
Here comes another dim sum cart.
My husband talks me into the tuna stuffed pepper with romesco sauce. I didn’t need it but it’s tasty.
I saw that this cart also had panko fish on it but by the time it got to us all the fish was sold out.
Maybe two more carts roll by and offer about four more things that I would have enjoyed but had to turn down because I am full by now.
Then our dinner that we ordered arrives.
It’s a Snake River Farms Prime Wagyu with Jerusalem artichoke puree and a warm potato arugula salad with some crisp chips that I think are fried Jerusalem artichokes. I have to tell THE FORKING TRUTH (that’s my thing…that’s what I do) The steak is not the most tender. My husband eats a good amount of it and I bring the rest home for my dogs….My dogs had no complaints.
The desserts offered tonight sound amazing and that baked Alaska flambe has my name on it but I can’t do dessert tonight.
Most of the food was amazing! Service was terrific everyone worked as a team to serve us.
I take a little stroll around the restaurant to take a few pictures.
Behind the room that I’m in is another dining area that is in-between Platform 18 and the Grey Hen Whiskey Bar and Store.
I peek into Platform 18.
The windows look like they are passing by snow in the desert.
*****UPDATE During the pandemic this became a bar only.
I’d say Century Grand is Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
www.CenturyGrandPHX.com
Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.
Confluence is a small but upscale restaurant located in Carefree Arizona. They serve painstakingly detailed farm to table elevated modern cuisine. Everything is masterfully prepared. Most plates are very detailed and complex. The atmosphere is classic and cozy with modern touches and mountain views. Seating is available in the dining room, the bar and on the patio.
Here’s the Fried Chicken (lunch menu $23.00).
My photo doesn’t show you how big this really is. I would say that this is TWO and one half portions of food. Three shattering crisp moist juicy flavorful chicken in this magical delicious chili tepin honey mustard sauce. It’s so incredibly delicious and scrumptious. It’s perfect union of this spicy sweet flavorful sauce, crazy tasty crunch, juicy moist tender chicken. It’s just perfection. It’s FORKING CRAZY yummy and so delicious that it puts a spell on your mouth and then your mouth just craves this taste. The plate also contains a butter poached smashed potato and broccolini. Maybe the best part is that I ate the biggest of the three pieces of chicken and took home the top two smaller pieces and half the potato to enjoy again! Leftover food from Confluence is like a great gift.
My husband had the roasted chicken sandwich ($14.00). This one is made with pancetta, caramelized onions, fontina cheese, (mayo but not for my husband) on a house made fontina roll that comes with either a salad or house made chips.
Desserts are always worth the calories here. Here’s the macerated strawberries with angel food cake, macadamia nuts and vanilia creme fraiche ($7.00) The flavors go together so well! I had no idea macadamia would taste so great with strawberries, the cream and cake. Just divine!
Here are not all but some of the previous dishes that we’ve enjoyed from Confluence.
SnapperDuckprime rib sandwich with chipspeach with fancy cheeseMonk FishGuinea HenFruit Granite (all the desserts were great but this one was my favorite)This Chicken Sandwich was to DIE FOR!!!!!
Now this was among my favorites….This was BBQ chicken sandwich , celery root, spicy pickle, smoked onion mayo, on that house made fontina roll. So great!………beyond words……… To die for………
beef tipsScorpion fishfish
After you try a fish dish from Confluence and taste the expertly seasoned crisp skin and the perfect flesh you will be hooked. Then all the flavors around the plate go together in layers of different flavors you never tasted before.
Fish with tamale and Huitlacoche
The best huitlacoche I’ve ever had. The whole plate was amazing.
arctic char
The Forking BEST thing I ate this week was the Fried Chicken from Confluence in Carefree.
www.RestaurantConfluence.com
Every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
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 tablebanchan (side dishes)
Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
The Farish House Restaurant is located in downtown Phoenix Arizona. This is a historic tiny bungalow that has been converted to a French/American restaurant. It’s very charming and is like a cross of an antique shop and maybe a grandmother’s house. Most of the food and drink are served on antique china or craved glassware. They serve dinner and Sunday Brunch.
It looks like they use three small rooms, a patio, and a few bar stools for seating.
While you are waiting in the lobby you can read the history of The Farish House if you desire. It was named after the first Phoenix City Manager William A Farish.
This is the biggest dining room. The walls have an almost ultra bright robin egg blue kind of color. I guess it fits in with the bird theme. There is a bird theme in the restaurant. The lobby has a peacock painting. There is a peacock tapestry in this blue room on the back wall and the drapes have a bird pattern on and bird plates grace the wall.
The kitchen is in a small building in the backyard.
For my main I had the smoked salmon Wellington ($18.00)
There is two puff pastries stuffed with smoked salmon, spinach pesto, chèvre cheese with lemony bernaise sauce. It’s sort of like a more complex French Style lox and bagel. It taste delicious! I love how all the flavors go well together. The greens look dry but taste fruity and some fresh fruit is on the side.
My husband went with the sloppy Giovanni ($18.00).
The Noble Brioche bun is topped with Chianti short rib, gravy and poached medium egg. On the side is a generous amount of roasted fingerling potatoes and greens. The rib is tender and developed with flavor. The egg is jammy instead of loose but everything taste great.
Instead of the house desserts we decided to try the gorgonzola spiced walnut stuffed figs for dessert ($7.00)
We both thought the stuffed figs were the perfect sweet ending to a very nice meal out.
The Farish House in Phoenix is Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
www.FarishHouse.com
Every Thing is subject to change and your experience may or may Not differ.
Here are most of the most memorable dishes that I ate out in Metro Phoenix in 2019 in no particular order. I do note that I haven’t been able to eat everywhere so MANY great gems are not mentioned even if I ate there last year.
The year started out really FORKING great! Every dish I tried at the Barrio Gran Reserva was truly FORKING amazing. We shared this incredible Aguachile. It was light, refreshing, SPICY with flavors and textures that POP and were electrifying.
Barrio Gran Reserva
My dinner had this rose petal mole on it and the best salsa I ever tasted in my life.
Even dessert knocked it out of the park and was a chocolate dome with orange mole and sesame seed crisp that were so delicious, tasty and light as air. Everything was Forking Amazing!
Many most memorable FORKING Amazing plates came from Confluence in Carefree.
The layers of flavors are astounding. Dinner here was a Red Sea bream with gnocchi and green beans. Everything is masterfully prepared. All the flavors and textures go so magically well together. I have no idea what they did to the green beans but they were transformed into something mind boggling.
The cabbage roll special from Cafe Chenar in North Phoenix were the best cabbage rolls I’ve ever tasted anywhere. They were unusually light and tender.
The discontinued Quinoa Ball from Meat The Ball in Phoenix was Forking incredible on my first visit…….Very flavorful and spicy…It was very delicious! The pasta and pasta sauces were also very good on both visits.
The FORKING TRUTH is that memorable can be bad……..I want to forget this but I can’t.
I went to a Chinese Restaurant in Glendale called D&Y Chinese. My first visit there was GOOD so I expected my second visit to be good. I will never know what they did to this fish but somehow they transformed a fish into rubber. We were very upset….Sometimes you get so upset that you don’t have the strength to complain. Then we really were sorry that we didn’t complain because they charged us $89.10 for this piece of rubber. That’s The Forking Truth!
Now for something FANTASTIC!
The food from Singh Meadows in Tempe was Amazing and memorable. This beet plate three ways taste as great as it looks. All the food we tried there was the best. The vegetables taste different and better than you can imagine…..You think you know what a green bean taste like…but then you don’t because a simple green bean never was so tender and sweet before…OH that is what a green bean is suppose to taste like! (same story with most of the vegetables from Singh Meadows) I think the tomatoes I tasted here might have also been the best tomatoes ever.
Another restaurant well known for incredible vegetable and other dishes is FNB in Scottsdale.
Every dish was incredible but it started with this plate of radishes, dates and pumpkin seeds with caper anchovy dressing that night. Every plate was stunning but I picked this plate because it was the prettiest.
The Burmese Fermented Tea Salad from FiGaMi Asian Fresh in Phoenix was refreshing memorable and delicious. (and only priced at $3.00 at the time) I also enjoyed the fish noodle soup there too. You should try it! This food is something special and different that is hard to find. I wish this place was closer to me so I could eat here more often.
The Vegan Tapa Tacos from Casa Terra Vegan Restaurant in Glendale were phenomenal. Off the charts with great flavors. I only wish that they were open for lunch or had a takeout window for these tacos….They were so delicious!
Never had Detroit Style Pizza till I went to The Rec in Peoria. WOW it’s delicious! Crispy cheesy ends topped with rich tomato sauce and a delicious blend of melty cheese. Wow really delicious!
Little Miss BBQ in Sunny Slope serves BBQ that will knock your socks off. Here is the turkey and the brisket…..It’s better than good….GOBBLE GOBBLE! The Turkey was even better than from the original….brisket was better for me because the fatty was less fatty than from the original location. I would go with the fatty Brisket from the the Sunny Slope Location.
The Bourbon Cellar serves me the best burger I ate this year. (I do note that I don’t eat many beef burgers out because I gave up commercial ground beef.) The beef burgers here are fresh prime filet ground in house kind of burgers. In came on an apple cider bun and I added a bourbon pickle and it was topped with a wasabi deviled egg. I’m so GLAD that a second location is opening at 83rd and Happy Valley! WOO HOO!
I must admit that The Hot Chick in Scottsdale makes a great clucking sandwich. I had the sandwich called the Hot Chick. It’s spicy, crispy, flavorful, moist, delicious. It’s among the top better chicken sandwiches that I’ve tasted in metro Phoenix. (the other one is from The Larder and The Delta but I ate something different on my last visit)
From The Larder and The Delta I had The Hopping John Dish…..WOW is it incredibly delicious! It full of flavors and textures. It’s sort of earthy and very tasty….you can’t stop eating it.
The Banana Leaf Platter from Vaigai in Glendale was very good. I especially enjoyed the Indian Beets…They were memorable and I made something similar at home.
The strawberry gelato from Fabio on Fire in Peoria can make angels sing…..I also highly recommend the Bufalina Pizza made with ultra delicious bufala cheese, arugula, reduced balsamic, San Marzano Tomatoes and olive oil. My other favorite are the spinach ravioli in walnut sauce….but I prefer when they make the sauce thin….one time someone made it thick but it was still really good!
Must mention this amazing Hiramasa Fish with Huitlacoche and Tamale from Confluence in Carefree. OMG YUM! It’s like not of this earth good…….It’s sweet, sour, salty, crispy, spicy….It got it all going on. Really really a masterpiece. Then I went back again not too much latter and had this INCREDIBLE Fried chicken dinner….OMG..YUM! One of the best fried chicken that I’ve tasted ever……really amazing! I could go on and on and on and on about dishes I had here The Chicken sandwich……OMG……maybe best of all chicken sandwiches everywhere….I mean EVERYWHERE!
The picture below does not do justice to how delicious…maybe life changing the food really was. The steak was not the star here.
Under the steak are these Forking Incredible Pupusas from Seydi’s Pupuseria in North Phoenix. OMG YUM you have to try them. They are almost like kicked up grill cheese sandwiches made of corn flour and yum! We shared a jalapeno and cheese pupusa and a flower and cheese pupusa…we liked the jalapeno one the best but both were delicious. They make around a dozen different kinds of pupusas. You eat them with this strong spicy slaw. Really delicious! You will be happy that you tried a pupusa here!
Had one of the very best dinners ever at J&G Steakhouse. It’s impossible to pick just one plate.
Black Truffle Cheese Fritters are mind blowing.
Salmon Toast silky and wonderful with the best tasting herbs I ever tasted.
Arctic char so custardy with a perfect seasoned crisp skin, wood sorrel, chanterelles and kohlrabi.
And a Forking Great Dessert too!
Also had an amazing dinner from Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale.
Dinner started with the most amazing French Onion Soup Ever……..I can tell by tasting it that this soup took many hours to prepare……..Never had onion soup that tasted like confit onions before.
It’s also very hard to pick one dish from Alzohour Market and Bakery in Phoenix.
Everything we tried here was delicious! Above is the frekah chicken. It’s fragrant and filled with exotic spices, almonds. It’s just FREKAH DELICIOUS! Again everything was great! and that tea was unbelievably delicious too!
Meat The Ball does it again but this time at the promenade in Scottsdale.
Everything was good but the meatball in the front was FORKING Amazing! It was the cauliflower (meatless) meatball in curry sauce. WOW it’s full of delicious flavors and it is spicy. It’s so delicious that I tried to make my own copy of it at home. I haven’t tried everything there yet so I don’t know what gems I am missing. (hope they kept the recipe the same so it stays just as great!)
Here’s another one I copied and made at home from The Larry in the downtown warehouse district.
It doesn’t look like much but it taste awesome. The Larry calls this Bang Bang Broccoli. It’s just ever so slightly coated and dusted with bonito flakes, Asian Seasoning and sesame seeds. It’s FORKING Delicious!
Desert Island Eatery in North Phoenix serves incredible food. The lentil balls taste like a different flavor falafel and really GREAT! The curry and jerk chicken are the best! Really great food from a tiny hole in the wall kind of place.
The next restaurant doesn’t look special…nor does the food look special but the taste is OFF THE CHARTS!
Another hole in the wall kind of place that serves incredible food is Fe La Cubana in Glendale. On the day of my visit they only served seven items that were either beef or pork. The three items we tried don’t look amazing but really did taste out of this world incredible. The food is full flavored tender and delicious. You won’t go wrong with the oxtail, ropa or the pork and garbanzo soup.
Haru Sushi and Grill from The Upper West Side in Glendale serves the best sushi in this part of town. But they serve more than just sushi. They serve yummy Korean style wings, yummy poppers, delicious unique rolls and other things but cooked fish there is OMG AMAZING too! Up above is a sea bass that just melts in the mouth like no other. It really is amazing. Love the bento boxes especially the one with salmon….best salmon in town. The hamachi collar and other collars are up there among the very best! You can’t get better fish than from Haru Sushi on the upper west side.
Some honorable mentions and local loves need to be added.
The Key West Chop Chop from Little Cay in Phoenix. Delicious layers of salad with chicken rice and beans and more! It really POPS when you add the house vinegar.
From Perseption in Phoenix.
The wood grilled steak with black eyed peas, tostones and chimichurri. Delicious and a great value and MIGHTY delicious.
I’ve been to The Vincent Market Bistro a number of times but I’ve never had the stuffed poblano pepper with goat cheese and mushrooms before. It’s incredible and so perfect. It’s really delicious and you should share it with someone as a really great appetizer to a lovely meal that awaits. Possibly the best value dining restaurant in Metro Phoenix.
Banh Mi Bistro in Phoenix is a favorite. Great fresh tasting banh mi sandwiches, rice plates, curry chicken, yummy dumplings and the very best $5.00 Chicken cabbage salad anywhere. A really great value restaurant with super nice owners.
$8.00 Happy Hour Vegetable Plate from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante
Another favorite is Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale. They do treat you like family. I love the extra thin Milano pizza they usually offer as a special with Calabrian Peppers. I love the grilled Happy hour vegetable plate. It’s so much better than something fried or something wings that most restaurants offer. The house made pastas are great and I like that this restaurant offers more proteins like chicken…so I can come in for a nutritious salad now and then when I want one. They also come up with interesting specials like pasta-free squash manicottis and always serve very good Neapolitan pizzas. My dogs also enjoy the food here because they are dog friendly.
I go to Cucina Tagliani semi regularly because they are officially dog friendly and because of the food they offer. They try to please everyone and offer the usual American Italian gut busting favorites but they also offer many healthy and vegetable alternatives that I like. They offer noodle cut zucchini and spaghetti squash as a healthy alternative to pasta. Other healthy dishes are the strawberry goat cheese salad, quinoa, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, spaghetti squash, mixed vegetables and the baked spaghetti squash. I don’t think any other American Italian restaurant offers so many healthy vegetable options. I don’t eat it often but the chocolate marscapone cake might be among the best desserts in the west valley. It’s delicious and I usually don’t enjoy chocolate desserts out.
Sala Thai in Peoria deserves some credit. They actually infuse the basil flavor in their dishes. Most Thai Restaurants do not do this in the area or even use nearly enough basil. I LOVE the spicy Thai Basil with pumpkin dish that they offer. I think it might be the best Thai dish of the west side.
The Breaded Chicken Thigh Sandwich from CHZBURGR in Glendale is quite good! It was juicy crispy and flavorful….sauces here are very above average. Actually everything we tried from CHZBURGR was very good….burgers, fries of two kinds and a hot dog.
“We got a no onion CHZBURGR that we loved!”
Even my dogs have tried CHZBURGR! Why haven’t you?
These were the most memorable of what I tried in 2019.
Here’s to 2020…Hoping for a FORKING GREAT YEAR!
Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
Vincent Market Bistro is a more casual daily French Style restaurant located behind finer dining Vincent’s on Camelback in Phoenix Arizona. The James Beard Award Wining chef is Vincent Guerithault. The atmosphere is quaint and charming as can be. Old fashioned furniture covered in colorful patterned linens and interesting flower patten china full of warm buttery croissants. That is how it starts.
croissants with sweetened strawberries in syrup
The food served at both restaurants is mainly French with with a nod to the south west. Goat cheese nachos, stuffed poblano peppers and smoked salmon salmon quesadillas share the menu with things like coq au vin, salad nicoise and gratin dauphinois.
Goat cheese nachos Smoked salmon quesadilla
You order off the menu or the chalkboard specials and at dinner time they offer a Prix Fixe 3 course $29.00.
Today we started with stuffed poblano peppers that were filled with mushrooms and goat cheese ($12.00). The kitchen was kind enough to split the pepper on two plates for us.
For my main today I had the lemon sole special ($18.00).
A choice of mixed greens or mixed vegetables and Vincent’s creamy rich gratin dauphins were offered.
My husband went with the pork loin special ($14.00).
We were thrilled with everything….and then……with out asking…they present us with not one but TWO desserts!
tiramisu ala mode and a mixed berry tart ala mode….DELICIOUS!
It should be noted that Vincent Market Bistro is early evening dining.
Lunch is Tuesday – Friday 11-3
Dinner is Tuesday – Saturday 5pm-8pm
Some of the previous dishes that we enjoyed are pictured below.
tenderloin skewerveal loin specialpepper steakstrawberry cobbler Chocolate Mocha Tarttrout speciallambcheese cakePots de Creme trioFlounder with Basil Beurre Blanc SauceMeat Paella SpecialThree Cheese Tartine with tomatoes and Basil PestoStrawberry Cobbler ala Modehouse made mushroom ravioli beet and goat cheese Napoleonlobsterstrawberry tart ala mode
Vincent Market Bistro is ALWAYS – Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
www.VincentsOnCamelback.com/bistro
Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
Dining Out With DOGS is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started when my dog Louie was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. He couldn’t do a lot but he enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out as often as I could. Instead of his 3-6 month diagnoses he made it another seventeen months. Today my current dogs enjoy going out to eat.
There are several things you need to know before you dine out with dogs. Most restaurants in metro Phoenix do have patios but not all patios are dog friendly. You need to see a dog friendly sign on the patio. If you don’t see a dog friendly you need to call the restaurant and ask if it’s ok to dine there with your dog. I highly suggest to dine out with your dogs at off times. You need to avoid as many other people and dogs as possible. Many people don’t share your love for dogs. Other people might be allergic to dogs. You also want to avoid dining with other dogs because dogs like to bark at each other and you might be asked to leave. Save yourself all this possible trouble. Call the restaurant first and ask if it’s ok to dine with your dog and dine at an off time.
There are also rules for dining out with dogs. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture or to eat off restaurant plates. Dogs also must be close to your side at all times.
You need to be aware that much of the food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even TOXIC to your dog. You must get a list from your veterinarian of safe and non-safe foods for dogs. Usually a small lean piece of un-sauced meat is usually safe. You should also bring a water bowl from home for your dog when dining out.
The other thing that you need to be aware of is that your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. All dogs are just like people and do have different heat tolerances. For most but not all younger healthy dogs 90 degrees F and over is too hot to dine out with dogs. Maybe up to 90 degrees but only in full shade. When in doubt it’s always better to leave your dog home.
Now we are ready to dine out with dogs.
I’m turning my blog over to my dogs so they can tell their story.
“We are on our way to Salad and Go in North Phoenix but they removed all the tables that we used to sit at.”
“FORK” “No tables”
“Looks like we are driving by a window where sacks come out”
“This table behind Salad and Go at The Hilton is really nice!”
“There is even a trash can that we will use!”
“We mostly ate chicken off the seasonal Harvest Salad.” Tried a little bit of mozzarella cheese off and antipasto style salad.” “We enjoyed what we ate from Salad and Go!”
www.SaladandGo.com
“We are on our way to Bottega Ristorante Pizzeria in Glendale!” “They serve Italian foods and pizza!”
“Female companion that we depend on for food is getting the half soup and salad….I don’t smell any food in her soup…only vegetables.” “Oh thank goodness she got some chicken added on to her salad!”
“Our male human companion got the half Italian dried beef panino with a cup of pasta fagoli.”
“We always enjoy EVERYTHING we eat at Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante!”
www.BottegaRistorante.com
“We are on our way to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix.” “They are a PHO-FREE Vietnamese Restaurant that specializes in serving around a dozen different banh mi baguette sandwiches and also offer most of your Vietnamese favorites…except for Pho.”
“Today one human companion got a pork rice plate filled with a very generous portion of tasty moist pork.”
“Our other human companion got the curry chicken with rice….and it smells really Forking Good!”
“Ummmm it does smell really intoxicating!”
“We always enjoy everything we eat from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery!”
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
“Well that was dining out with dogs in metro Phoenix for December 2019.” “We hope to see you you next month and for now we hope you have a happy holiday and a really Forking Great New Year!”
Proof Restaurant is located at The Four Seasons at Troon in North Scottsdale Arizona. This is a casual restaurant that serves American Food. House cocktails have a whiskey or bourbon theme. Ice cream is fresh made in house.
As soon as we turned in the sky changed and this is how it looked.
It was very chilly tonight in mid December but I wanted to sit on the patio anyway and take in the stunning views.
And then as fast as the sunsets came they have gone.
patio
While we were waiting for a portable heater to be set up we enjoyed a rye based cocktail.
They had trouble getting the heaters to fire up. The third one was successful…but only for about three minutes. I heard a pop and then it went out. Without a heater it was too cold to stay on the patio so we sat at a table inside.
The inside is casual with a big shuffle board, a big screen TV, a bar and an ice cream bar.
I thought we’d start out by sharing the wild mushroom soup ($16.00). That is listed under the start or share section on the menu.
I see them serving us two small crocks that are half full with lots of bread topped with shattering crisp cheese. I was thinking that it was so nice that they split the soup for us and gave us extra bread (only to find out at the end of our meal that we were INDEED CHARGED FOR TWO SOUPS)
Anyways-
The soup is actually very good and has a very intense mushroom flavor. It contains trace amounts of heirloom grains….like not a spoon full more like a small pinch..like the amount of ground pepper that you would add. the minuscular amount of grains get stuck in my throat when I eat the soup. I’d rather have slightly more grains that I could eat or no grains added. The noble bread with the shattering crisp cheese tops were very good. They gave us so much bread we took a bunch home and had it for breakfast the next day.
For dinner I went with the Light as a Feather section of dukkah crusted salmon ($29.00).
The salmon is prepared to a perfect medium and has a very nice sear and is lightly coated with a tasty sort of spicy crushed nut seasoning called dukkah. Also on the plate are little open rings of sliced squash, cauliflower pilaf and turmeric cauliflower puree.
My husband had the shrimp and grits ($32.00).
The shrimp were cooked to perfection. The sauce was delicious and the grits were full of lots of cheese. This was a very good plate.
The ice cream is made in house so we thought we’d share a bananas foster sundae ($10.00).
The ice cream taste very fresh and has a perfect creamy consistency. Maybe it’s just me (and my husband) but I’m not real found of the flavors with this one. This doesn’t sing banana to me……The sugar crisp taste burnt and sticks to my teeth. The ice cream and banana jam doesn’t taste like bananas foster to me and lacks a sweet caramelized banana flavor, lacks cinnamon and lacks dark rum…Maybe I’d feel different about another flavor…The little cakes are tasty and moist and citrusy.
That was dinner at Proof in Scottsdale.
I was a little bummed that the portable heaters didn’t function. I also was slightly upset that the server didn’t tell us that the soup was too small to share and decided to just order us two soups without asking. If I knew the soup was too small to share I would have ordered something different to share. But in the end the soup and entrees were very good. I wasn’t a big fan of the bananas foster sundae but I did previously enjoy a bourbon pecan pie that I tasted from Proof at a recent food festival. For the most part the food really was very good and the outdoor atmosphere is exceptional.
www.ProofCanteen.com
Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
