Tag Archives: #Phoenix

Bigs Peoria AZ – American Bar & Grill – Worth a Try

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Bigs is an American Casual Comfort Food and Sports Bar kind of place with two locations. The original location is in California and the one I went to is in Peoria Arizona. It’s in the entertainment and sports area called P83.

It’s a sports bar so there are a lot of big screen TVs inside and a lot of high top community tables.

inside on a non-sports day

We sat at one of the few traditional tables on the patio.

We started out by sharing the mac ‘n’ cheese balls.

mac ‘n’ cheese balls

They are deep fried panko coated white truffle mac ‘n’ cheese that sit in what they call Asian zing and chipotle ranch. The balls are fried very nicely and don’t seem greasy at all. The inside is strange.

inside

They are made with chopped up pasta. The strangest part is that they don’t even taste like cheese. To me they taste more of butter than cheese. They aren’t terrible but don’t taste like what I was expecting. Neither of us cared for the Asian zing sauce. I thought the chipotle sort of overpowered everything in the ball but it was ok that way.

For my main I had the seared ahi quinoa salad.

seared ahi quinoa salad

It’s a very large salad with mixed very fluffy greens, thin slices of avocado, crispy cucumber, tomatoes, little bits of quinoa, cajun seared ahi tuna, and honey ginger vinaigrette. Everything seems fresh! It all taste good. But there are so many greens…enough for two big salads.

My husband tried the chili verde plate.

chili verde plate

It’s a big bowl of slow cooked pork in tomatillo sauce with neutral rice, refried beans, and tortillas. It’s different…..There is a lot of pork that is cooked nicely. The tomatillo sauce is good but kind of plain…..They do have a variety of condiments that can be added. The tortillas were nicely heated but we received flour instead of the corn tortillas ordered.

Worth a try.

Bigs Peoria AZ

16550 N 83RD AVE Peoria AZ

623-979-3296

www.BIGSPeoria.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Call Her Martina – Modern Mexican Restaurant Scottsdale AZ

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Call Her Martina is a small modern Mexican Bar and Restaurant located near the Scottsdale Waterfront and is basically across the street from the Scottsdale Fashion Mall in Scottsdale Arizona. They offer an all day menu with some appetizers that you don’t come across very often like ribeye chicharron guacamole, mini street elotes, and charcoal ribeye aguachile with chicharron. They also offer salads, tuna ceviche, tacos, tostadas, and entrees like charred octopus with squid ink risotto, a short rib, ribeye, and a wagyu beef burger. Besides the all day menu they also offer a brunch menu.

It’s festive and formal looking inside.

They start you off with complimentary tostadas and a trio of salsas (charred tomato, tomatillo, and chipotle)

complimentary toastadas and salsas

We started out by splitting the salad called beets in a cloud.

beets in a cloud – garlic goat cheese, beets, arugula, lemon zest, caramelized pecans

Nice light starter.

My husband made a better meal decision than me and had the cochinita cazuela.

cohinita cazuela – braised pork, pickled red onions, raw onions, cilantro, cabbage, frijoles with corn tortillas

The pork was braised nice. You can eat it like fajitas. It did need a little zip from the salsas.

I ordered the tuna fresco tostada.

tuna fresco tostada – tuna, salsa negra, suppose to have smashed avocado but mine didn’t, capers, crispy leeks

I guess you order the tuna fresco tostada when you are not hungry. I didn’t remember that this was suppose to contain smashed avocado or I would have said something to my waiter……So they made me the EXTRA LIGHT version of the tuna fresco tostada withOUT avocado. To be honest it does taste good with the creamy mayo, crispy leeks and salsa negra…….But there isn’t much to it. The salsa negra is also very thin but spicy and kinda like a vinaigrette. It’s the wet stuff on the plate. It was under the fish soaking into the tostada making it soggy. It probably works out better if they give you avocado.

That TRULY was a little taste of Call Her Martina in Scottsdale AZ

7135 E Camelback Rd Scottsdale AZ

480-687-8592

www.CallHerMartina.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

That Place Subs and Salads Peoria AZ – Gangster Theme Sandwiches – Worth a Fork!

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That Place Subs and Salads is a neighborhood Gangster themed casual sandwich and salad restaurant located in North Peoria Arizona. They serve most subs or hoagies on what they call French Rolls (8 inch) but also offer choices of wheat, marble rye, spinach tortilla, and lettuce wrapped. They offer sandwiches named after gangsters.

inside

A few of the sandwiches have names like The Capone, The Gambino, The Siegle, The Lansky, and The Gotti. Some of the gangsters are pictured below.

inside

It’s extra casual. You order at the counter, pay, and they run your order to you.

I tried a small Italian Beef with added giardiniera.

Small Italian Beef with added giardiniera

This is very spicy and might be too spicy for some people with the giardiniera. But it is delicious with really great flavors. It comes with some au jus that is very good. The roast beef is very tender…I like the taste of this very much. I’m just not a fan of the bread…..because it is that Arizona style squishy bread that most sandwich shops use…….Never had this type of bread until I moved to Arizona so I call it Arizona style squishy bread. ….BUT it still taste really great even with the Arizona squishy bread.

My husband tried the Castello (Castello was from the Luciano crime family…….He was a crime boss that survived several assassination attempts.) *******(ham, mortadella, capicola, Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, garlic mayo (left off because my husband doesn’t do mayo), and Italian dressing).

I heard it was a tasty sandwich. My husband said he’d come back and eat either of these sandwiches again.

Some sandwiches cost more but most run only around $10.49 (subject to change because that is very cheap these days)

That Place Sub and Salads

Is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

That Place Sub and Salads Peoria AZ

20340 N Lake Pleasant Rd Peoria AZ

623-466-6814

www.ThatPlaceSubs.com

We’ll make you a samich you can’t refuse.

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

A Little Taste of Fratelli La Bufala – Scottsdale AZ

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Fratelli La Bufala is an Italian Based Group of Restaurants with over seventy locations in Europe and the Middle East. This new Scottsdale location is the second location in the United States. For the most part they offer Naples style pizzas and house made pastas. They also offer appetizers, salads, two burgers, two entrees, a kids menu, desserts, and bar and cocktail drinks.

It looks like this when you walk in. It mostly traditional tables with a high top community table accented with their namesake…..the bufala cheese. The other logo that you can see all over the restaurant is the buffalo horn. You can’t tell by my photo but the pizza oven looks like a big red buffalo horn.

To the right is an indoor-outdoor bar and patio.

We start out by sharing a Cesare salad even though we were warned that the dressing contained anchovies. We ordered it because we are GLAD the dressing contains anchovies like it is suppose to.

1/2 Caesar

The salad is crisp and fresh and ever so lightly dressed. Almost undressed. The croutons were house made and do taste like good bread. The cheese is good. It’s good but at the table you should add some black pepper to it. (I do know because I used to prepare Caesar Salads table side at a high end restaurant)

For my main I have to try the Margherita Di Bufala DOP.

This is described as Buffalo Mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, DOP Parmesan, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. The stand out best thing to me is the fresh basil. This basil has a nice very strong sweet basil taste. This is unusually great basil. The pizza is good. I can’t say that it isn’t……….It has a nice rich tomato sauce. The cheese seems good but would be better cooked less so you can taste that very special milky Buffalo cheese more…..The crust is extra thin and extra light almost like a flour tortilla.

The crust is just cooked with some char. It’s very fresh tasting. It’s very neutral so you can taste the toppings more.

That pizza was good but maybe the real treat are the meat pizzas.

This one has the same light crust, rich sauce, and exceptional basil. But the hot soppressata really is hot and is different than from what some of the other pizza restaurants serve.

This was a little taste of Fratelli La Bufala-Scottsdale in Scottsdale AZ

7300 N Via Paseo Del Sur Ste

480-687-7784

www.FLBOFArizona.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

KP Mediterranean Restaurant – Sun City AZ – Worth A Fork!

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KP Mediterranean Restaurant is located in the strip mall at 99TH Avenue and Bell Road in Sun City Arizona. The KP stands for………

Kahramana Palace.

Kahramana happens to be a fountain that is one of Bagdad’s most iconic artworks. Inside and outside I didn’t notice a fountain but it is casual inside with a mix of traditional tables and booths.

They have a small stage in the front of the restaurant set up with a drum set. Perhaps they have live music at certain times?

They offer most of your Mediterranean favorites but maybe with a slightly different style.

We ordered and my husband got a complimentary vegetable plate. It was a surprise since there is no mention of this on their menu.

complimentary vegetable plate

The complimentary plate came with pickled vegetables, lettuce, crispy jajeek salad (creamy cucumber salad), and this really amazing eggplant salad that had these magically crisp cucumbers in it.

Then our appetizer veggie plates arrives topped with a thin flat bread.

Veggie Plate

It’s a little different. It came with garlic sauce, Arabic salad, tabouli (spelled tabboula), very minty stuffed grape leaves, cole slaw, hummus, a less creamy baba ghannouj, and very different falafels. These were shattering crisp and also a bit spicy.

For dinner I tried the Pompano Fish. It came out covered with a thin flatbread.

Pompano fish

It came out opened up in half. It was nicely seasoned, fried golden to perfection. It came with pickled vegetables, lettuce, sumac onions, and vegetable studded yellow rice. You can eat some of it fajita style with the thin flat bread. It also is a very generous portion….

My husband got the Adana Kebab also covered with a flatbread.

The Adana Kebab is a Turkish Kebab that is traditionally made from ground lamb but here it is made with ground beef. It is also is spicy from red pepper.They are set up the same as the fish with pickled vegetables, lettuce, sumac onions, and vegetable studded rice.

KP Mediterranean Restaurant is Worth a Fork! Everything Delicious! Large Portions, Low Pricing!

Worth a Fork!

KP Cuisine Mediterranean Restaurant

10050 W Bell Rd Sun City AZ

623-259-9692

www.KPCuisine.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

The Vic Bar + Kitchen in Verrado Buckeye AZ – Stunning Atmosphere

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The Vic Bar + Kitchen is located in the FAR West Valley in a community called Verrado that is in Buckeye Arizona. he Vic Bar + Kitchen is an American Restaurant that offers an all day menu. They have a completely different menu from their opening. It’s a lot more casual comfort food now. They offer appetizers like sausage nachos (my husband was thinking about trying them), soft pretzels with green chili cheese sauce, and wings. They also offer salads, sandwiches, a few burgers, mahi tacos, and flat breads. They also offer entrees like half roasted chicken, steak frites, and grilled cauliflower and more!

Inside is a very large bar and it’s surrounded by a mix of tables and booths.

inside

Today I went with the plum salad and added salmon to it.

For my taste the salmon is over seasoned but is flaky and moist inside. They were very generous with walnuts that would be tastier toasted. The salad also is embellished with slices of strawberry, chunks of blue cheese, and slices of plum that taste like they have something on them that shouldn’t be there. I thought my salad was better than what my husband ordered.

green chili mac ‘n’ cheese

Here’s the green chili macaroni and cheese that comes with avocado and a boneless chicken thigh. The chicken thigh is good, tender, and tasty. The cheese sauce is very loose and has a processed taste. It’s better when you get a little green chili with it so you don’t taste the cheese as much.

Previously The Vic Bar + Kitchen used to have these items on the menu.

Deviled local duck egg

Shishitos with soy sauce and blueberry sugar

Melon salad

Smokie sandwich with fries

Strawberry-lemon icebox cake with an added surprise that I had to spit out.

The Vic Bar and Kitchen in Buckeye AZ

Stunning atmosphere

The Vic Bar + Kitchen

5325 N Verrado Way Verrado Buckeye AZ

623-533-4722

www.Verrado.com

www.VicBarandKitchen.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Sushi Plus – Glendale AZ

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Sushi Plus is located in Glendale Arizona. They are named for what they serve. They serve a variety of sushi, sushi combination plates and lots of rolls. Many but not all of the sushi items are cooked.

As for the “Plus” they also offer appetizers like gyoza, soft shell crabs, and tempura. They offer noodle dishes – several ramen dishes, yakisoba, and seafood noodle soup. They offer a few salads, a kids menu, and entrees like teriyaki, sesame chicken, fish and chips, and bibimbap. They offer soft beverages, sake, and wine.

They happen to have an impressive 4.5 average out of 5 stars on Yelp so I thought this restaurant should be pretty darn good.

We thought we’d start out by sharing a combination sushi plate. We waited a while. But for some reason our server serves us our entrees first.

Japanese Curry Rice

I got the Japanese Curry Rice with Vegetables with chicken. I guess it was sitting a while because the sauce has grown it’s own skin. The vegetables in this dish are microscopic. It is suppose to be with vegetables…… I think this bowl was microwaved because parts of the bowl are steaming hot. Some of the chicken is ok but about half the chicken has a very strange texture. Like biting threw an over cooked chicken gizzard….The sauce is thick and very gingery. It is torture eating this dish. Our server only has one other table but didn’t ask how it was.

My husband tried the spicy chicken.

It is better than the curry rice. The chicken seems fresh prepared and is reasonably tender. The thin flat sauce taste taste laced with gochujang. This came with one piece of broccoli, some cabbage, and a generous portion of rice.

When we pushed the plates to the side our combination sushi plate arrived. We got a variety plate of sushi and a spicy tuna roll.

I started with a salmon nigiri. (look at the bottom end of the fish)

It’s leathery and warm. It’s also unseasoned under the fish. It isn’t spoiled but isn’t the freshest.

Then I try some spicy tuna roll. It is actually spicy. It seems ok. The white fish nigiri is a little warm but seems ok.

I try the tuna nigiri. I take a very small bite.

I can’t eat it. It’s way too fishy tasting for me. My husband tries it and can’t eat it either.

The server here didn’t ask how anything was, didn’t clear plates, didn’t even ask if we wanted to bring leftovers home. Didn’t question the tuna we left behind.

That was my trip to Sushi Plus in Glendale.

Sushi Plus

5830 W Thunderbird Rd Glendale AZ

602-595-9891

They are on Facebook and UberEats.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Food Truck Friday West – Que Chevere, Fogo & Soul, Fippin Rice – at Glendale AZ

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Food Trucks show up from all over the valley for Food Truck Friday West. It is held in Glendale at 18551 83rd Ave between Sam’s Club & Walmart 5pm-9pm most Friday nights. See www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com for schedule and food truck line ups.

One of the food trucks we tried tonight was Flippin Rice. They are an Asian Fusion and Filipino Food Truck that came here all the way from Gilbert.

We tried them a few weeks back and had the Bulgogi that was pretty good.

bulgogi

So tonight I wanted to try the orange chicken with crispy kale & fennel because that sounded interesting to me.

orange chicken with crispy kale & fennel

Sad to report that this wasn’t as exciting as it sounds. The chicken does have a nice crispy exterior and is very tender inside but lacks a nice flavors. The kale was cut into very small pieces and is almost not there and the fennel was just shaved…..Maybe this is their least interesting dish? The bulgogi from here was much better. We didn’t eat much of this dish so we had some room.

Flippin Rice 480 – 244 – 6102

www.FlippinRice.com

Our next food truck does have a brick and mortar restaurant in Mesa called Que Chevere. They serve Venezuelan Cuisine. The food truck offered empanadas, arepas, plates and more.

Tonight we shared a white corn arepa stuffed with chicken salad with plantain chips on the side.

arepa reina pepiada

WOW! What a game changer! This is unusually delicious! The chicken is moist and developed with flavors. It has a cilantro sauce threw it and avocado but what makes it special is the fresh made white corn arepa. On the side are plantain chips and a dip that seems like ranch dressing to snack on. What a great stop this was!

Que Chevere

480 – 474 – 4954

www.QueChevereAZ.com

Restaurant – 142 W Main St Mesa AZ

Our last stop was Fogo & Soul. They are a Southern Brazilian BBQ Soul Food Fusion Food Truck. We’ve tried them before and it was very good…..Will they be that great again?

They do a nice set up with lights, tables, chairs and a portable heater. We tried their mixed grill trio again but with different sides.

mixed grill trio linguica sausage, chicken, sirloin, potato salad and almost famous cornbread

SCORE! *********** Everything is delicious! The meats are all tender, delicious, and seasoned nicely. The potato salad is seasoned nicely and is laced with dill. The cornbread is buttery, moist and a little sweet. Two times in a row Fogo & Soul was very good!

www.FogoandSoul.com

480 – 849 – 7685

That was a taste of Food Truck Friday West in Glendale AZ

www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com

Every thing is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Visit to PT Pho Express Glendale AZ – Newly Opened – Worth a Try!

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PT Pho Express is a casual Vietnamese local chain of restaurants in Metro Phoenix Arizona. They offer most of your Vietnamese favorites…..The offer appetizers like spring rolls, crispy egg rolls, and wings. They also offer a chicken salad, sandwiches, a Vietnamese burrito, 8 varieties of noodle soup called Pho, noodle bowls called bun, stir fry noodle dishes, plenty of rice dishes, teriyaki, curry, orange chicken and more. They offer many of your usual beverages and they also offer Vietnamese coffee, mint lemonade, and smoothies. They offer macarons for dessert.

It’s casual inside. You get partial wait service. They take your order. They run out your food and beverages. When you are done you walk up to the counter and pay.

inside

We started out with chicken spring rolls.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

They are larger than others I’ve had and do have a nice dramatic presentation. They seem free of herbs. Chickens is tender in them. The sauce is a slightly flat.

Tried the PT Chicken Curry.

The sauce is good. I get fresh lemongrass, and fresh ginger, I added one slice of jalapeño and it is also pretty hot. The chicken in it is tender but it taste undeveloped with flavors. They were very generous with the carrots and potatoes in this dish. Some people might make two meals out of this.

My husband tried the Hot & Spicy Bun Bo Hue.

It’s a slightly spicy beef/pork broth with rice noodles and sliced beef. It also is a very large portion.

Worth a Try!

That was my visit to PT Pho Express in Glendale AZ – Newly Opened

23425 N 39TH Ave Glendale AZ

623-624-7171

www.PTPho Express.com

Every thing is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Big Buddha Chinese Restaurant Surprise AZ – Worth a Fork!

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Big Buddha Chinese Restaurant is located in Surprise Arizona. According to Phoenix Magazine they are BEST IN THE VALLEY for American Chinese Food so I wanted to give them a try. It’s best to get here early. This restaurant is close to Sun City West and the blue hairs line up like they are in line for a rock concert….and wait for the restaurant to open. It’s small inside with only a few patio tables and fills up fast and goes on a wait.

inside
inside

Once seated they work very efficiently as a team to wait on you.

I went for the flounder in black bean sauce because I can’t get that anywhere near my area.

flounder in black bean sauce

It’s cooked perfect. The flounder is lightly coated and is mild, and light as air. It’s in a black bean sauce with tender crisp green bell peppers, carrot slices, and mushrooms. A generous amount of steamed white rice is on the side.

My husband asked for the tomato beef dish but they were out of that today so he went with the Hunan beef.

Hunan beef

This is beef sautéed with mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, bamboo shoots, and peppers in a chili paste black bean sauce. The beef is infused with some flavors and is very tender. The sauce is only slightly spicy but basically taste like black bean sauce.

Worth a Fork!

Worth A Fork!

Big Buddha Chinese Restaurant

16572 W Greenway Rd Surprise AZ

623-266-3328

www.Big BuddhaAZ.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth