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.
This is a collection of SOME of the better dishes that I have tried in Metro Phoenix Arizona from restaurants and food trucks in no particular order. I’m not mentioning stuff like a very good steak from Confluence or a perfectly prepared sea bass from Tarbell’s because that is predictable and expected. These are dishes that you might not know about. I haven’t been everywhere in Metro Phoenix and I haven’t tasted everything out there. This is a sampling of random better dishes. This also is mostly photos of the dish and name and address of restaurant. I tried to write as little as possible so you can fly threw the long list.
Up above is the bufalina pizza from Fabio On Fire. We have many great pizzas in Metro Phoenix but this bufalina stands out. There are several other dishes at Fabio’s that are also worth mentioning but we have a lot of food to get to here so I will cut it with Fabio’s Strawberry Gelato because it really is the best in all the land.
Fabio On Fire 8275 W Lake Pleasant PKWAY Peoria
Some of the other better dishes were-
Aloo Tikki Choley
Namaste Indian Restaurant 20851 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale
Nan Zhou – Hand Drawn Noodle House 111 S. Dobson Rd Mesa
The seared Hawiian Tuna Soba Salad
Wren & Wolf – 2 N Central Ave PHX
Chill King Chinese Food 4721 W Olive Ave Glendale
First & Last 1001 N 3RD Ave PHX
Pollo Asado (Chicken a little over and a little under….. but unusually great flavors)
Bacanora 1301 NW Grand Ave PHX
Confluence 36889 N Tom Darlington Dr Carefree (Confluence is a high quality restaurant that offers many superb detailed dishes and amazing desserts)
Mifan Claypot Kitchen 1616 N Central Ave PHX
Tortas CM 13971 N 59TH AVE Glendalr
Mrs Whites Golden Rule 808 E Jefferson St PHX
Collins Bros Chophouse 8220 N Hayden RD Scottsdale (This might be available at most if not all of the Collins Restaurants)
Honest to God this Pain Au Chocolat was maybe not as pretty but was much better tasting than the Pain Au Chocolat I tried from Dominique Ansel (Some consider best pastry chef in USA)
JL Patisserie 7342 E Shea BLVD Scottsdale
With Traditional sauce
Chick-A-Dee 49 W Thomas Rd PHX
Chula Seafood Greyhawk 20581 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale (Available at all Chula locations)
The Gladly 2201 E Camelback Rd PHX
Biryani Pot PHX 4030 E Bell Rd PHX
Red Ginger Food Truck – Good luck finding them – I found them once at Food Truck Friday West in Glendale.
Bro Bro’s BBQ Food Truck – Serving Phoenix
The Louisiana Hot Chicken Sandwich – Screaming Hot Chicken Food Truck – Serving Phoenix (This is part of Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen Family)
The Chicken Potstickers
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery 2340 West Bell Rd PHX
Buffalo Chicken Plate (He told us that this wasn’t enough from a smaller chicken and told us to come back for the rest….He was very generous. That is why two photos)
Que Chevere Food Truck (They do have a brick and morter Restaurant in Mesa too)
Everything is very good from Alzohour Market. But the stuffed grape leaves (on right) and the baklava really are the best that I have tried anywhere.
Alzohour Market 7814 N 27TH AVE PHX
The A.G. Burger – 8oz USDA Prime ground in house tenderloin burger topped with a prime rib and more.
The Arrowhead Grill 8280 W Union Hills Dr Glendale
This next one is one of my husband’s two picks.
The Volcano Pork
The Craftsman 20469 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale
My husband’s other pick.
Braised Veal Osso Buco (weekend only)
The Italian Daughter 23655 N Scottsdale RD Scottsdale
This year was a great year for Tia Carmen. I tasted many better dishes there this year. It’s very hard to narrow down to only two dishes. I picked the lunch fish torta sandwich because it deserves to be a top sandwich of metro Phoenix….It’s a YUM-Dinger that is crazy flavorful and different. (pictured below)
Maybe the one dish of the year that I tasted that was the most amazing was the Tuna Crudo from Tia Carmen. It’s a dish that can make your heart skip a beat and is worth driving across town to try.
Tuna Crudu
Tia Carmen 5350 E Marriott Dr PHX
These were just SOME of the better dishes that I tried in Metro Phoenix 2022.
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 was elderly and came down with aggressive cancer. He couldn’t do a lot but he always 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.
In Phoenix the weather is an issue. I don’t take them out when the temperature is above 90 degrees F or only up to 90 F in shade. I am aware that most food and drink can be harmful or toxic to dogs. (You should get “safe” and “foods to avoid” lists for dogs from your veterinarian) Usually only lean meat without sauce might be a safe bet. When you take your dog(s) to dine with you at a restaurant you need to know that not all patios are dog friendly….You need to see a sign or call and ask if it’s ok to bring your furry friend(s). When you and your dog(s) dine out you must keep your dog(s) close to your side. You also should respect the restaurant and not let your dog sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
We went to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery. They are a Pho-Free Vietnamese Restaurant. They offer around a dozen different banh mi baguette sandwiches, rice plates, noodle salad bowls, boba, and MORE!
Today I got the curry chicken with rice. It’s a very large portion. The dogs enjoy helping me with the chicken.
The dogs also enjoy helping my husband with his grilled pork rice plate.
“We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery”
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We were on our way to Pad Thai Cafe in Glendale for take out and dining out in the nearby park.
It started raining so we didn’t dine out………Too bad but at least the dogs got a car ride. Even the next day it rained….So unusual for Phoenix. But the Take Out was good and we’d order these dishes again from Pad Thai Cafe.
The dogs enjoyed some chicken from the Pad King (It was very gingery in a good way).
They also enjoyed some beef from the Pad Prik King.
Pad Thai Cafe 18425 N 51st AVE Glendale AZ
623-213-7297
www.PadThaiAZ.com
All of a sudden it got cold for here to sit outside for long……so we took the dogs out to our local Culver’s for a butter cheese burger.
You can clearly see my bigger dog is smiling. She’s so happy to be at Culver’s that she swats my smaller dog out of her way so she can see the Culver’s action.
Then we drive around to the Culver’s patio and crack open their butter cheese burger for them. I do have to say that these burgers are always nicely caramelized.
We give them around a third of the burger without the bun. The rest of the burger we give them as treats over the next two days.
They always enjoy a butter cheese burger from Culver’s.
Culver’s
8330 W Deer Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-792-8957
www.Culvers.com
It was still pretty cold outside but we made it to Phila-Deli in Glendale. They are a local sandwich and cheesesteak casual eatery.
The tuna hoagies are pretty good here but not so great to give the dogs.
tuna hoagie
So we got the dogs a child’s chicken finger meal.
Both dogs enjoyed the chicken fingers and we ate some of their fries.
My husband tried the new southwest cheese steak.
It’s extra steak meat, pepper jack cheese, onions, green bell peppers, chipotle peppers, and hatch chiles. I heard that it was pretty good!
The dogs enjoyed the chicken fingers today.
“We enjoy going to Phila-Deli”)
Phila-Deli
20219 N59th Ave Glendale AZ
623- 376-9333
www.PhilaDeliAZ.com
That was dining out with dogs in Metro Phoenix for December 2022. Thanks so much for reading. Have a Happy New Year and we hope to see you next month!
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
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.
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
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)
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
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!
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.
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.
