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
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.
insideinside
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.
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 got diagnosed 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 much as possible. Instead of the three-six month diagnosis Louie made it another seventeen months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can. It’s Phoenix so the temperature is an issue. Anything over 90 degrees is too hot and not safe to dine out with dogs. Also not all restaurant patios are dog friendly. You must see a dog friendly sign or call and ask the restaurant if it’s ok to dine there with your dog. You also need a list of safe and non-safe food to feed your dog because most food and drink that you consume might be harmful or toxic to your dog. dogs should be kept close by your side and you should not let your dog(s) sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
We made it to Squid Ink Sushi in Peoria.
The nice server brought my dogs a bowl of water to start with.
We all tried the tempura green beans.
The green beans were very lightly battered and came with a dipping sauce that tasted mostly like soy sauce. To my surprise the dogs really liked eating green beans.
I tried the blackened salmon bowl.
It came with a medley of fresh vegetables, sushi rice, and an Asian dipping sauce. I scrapped off the seasoning so my dogs could eat some salmon….They really enjoyed the salmon too. My bigger dog kept whacking my knee to give her more.
My husband got the wagyu cheese and bacon burger.
It was a really great delicious juicy burger last time…This time it came out kinda dried out but the dogs sure didn’t mind….My smaller dog waits nicely for his next bite.
Squid Ink Sushi
9947 W Happy Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-561-7747
www.SquidInkSushi.com
The dogs and us also got to dine at Twisted Italian in Peoria. It’s an Italian restaurant that offer a lot of your usual Italian dishes but also offers pierogi and Italian rellenos. They only have two patio tables but so far we’ve been lucky and manage to get one.
The server was very nice and started the dogs off with a pan of water.
My husband started out with a Mediterranean side salad.
This plate might be the best deal on the lunch menu. It’s a big plate that can sure be dinner. lots of fresh vegetables (asparagus, zucchini, broccoli) Today they added marinated bell peppers. I got 4oz of salmon that is cooked perfect today and on the side is a very generous serving of angel hair pasta in a garlic-parm wine sauce with capers. The dogs get to eat all of my zucchini (they always love zucchini) and they get a good portion of the salmon.
My husband got the made-to-order queen cut lasagna with a side of sausage.
The dogs got to eat a little bit of sausage.
We did alright at Twisted Italian
Twisted Italian 9940 W Happy Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-537-4000
www.EatTwisted.com
We always go to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Pho Free Vietnamese casual restaurant. The main digs are the banh mi sandwiches, rice plates, and noodle salad bowls.
Today we both got banh mi sandwiches. I got the chicken and my husband got the shaken beef.
chicken banh mi
I eat half but some people can eat the whole thing. It really is very delicious with the fresh herbs, pickled vegetables and house made aioli. The chicken is seasoned just so and is tender. Even the bread is very good. It’s made with rice flour locally. It is easier to eat because it doesn’t feel as heavy as a flour roll.
Both dogs enjoy the chicken and the beef.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery!
2340 W Bell Rd Phoenix AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We did take out from Naked Q BBQ in Phoenix. They also have two other locations. One in Glendale and one in Scottsdale. We enjoyed our take out at a nearby park.
My personal favorite from Naked Q is their smoked turkey. The turkey is consistency moist and delicious. You will never go wrong with the turkey from Naked Q BBQ. Today me and the dogs had it with a garden salad.
Both dogs really enjoyed the turkey.
“YUM!”“Keep it coming!”
My husband got a two meat plate of BBQ Brisket, Chicken, with cornbread, slaw, macaroni and cheese and added on sausage.
You never go wrong with the sausage. The chicken is also good…not very BBQ-ee but good. Today the brisket taste great but some of the slices are a little dry. The dogs are great and they don’t mind if they get the drier slices. They also enjoyed moist chicken.
“Ill eat all you dry meat for you”“Keep it coming…..Don’t stop!”
We enjoy Naked Q BBQ.
Naked Q BBQ 2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-439-4227
www.NakedQ.com
That was Dining Out With DOGS for November 2022.
We hope to see you next month!
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Oak On Camelback is a New American Casual full service Restaurant and bar located in Phoenix Arizona not too far from the Biltmore area and not too far from Midtown. They serve American food and globally inspired food. Oak On Camelback is mostly a dinner restaurant but also offer weekend brunch and happy hour.
Some of the appetizers offered are – Thai style mussels, Moroccan meatballs, and baked goat cheese.
They offer salads in two sizes like OAK roasted beets, Thai peanut, and blue cheese salad.
Wood fired pizzas are on the menu. Many of the usual pizzas are offered but some of the more unusual pizzas are the Moroccan meatball pizza, duck confit Asian BBQ pizza, and a jalapeño chicken pizza.
Burgers and sandwiches like pork belly banh mi, and maui maui sandwiches are offered.
You can find entrees like Argentina Ribeye, Oak fired lamb curry, scallops and risotto and more.
Inside is energetic loud and busy.
But beware of parts of the patio.
The misters are very aggressive and certain tables, chairs, and parts of the floor are covered with water.
My husband started off with a $3. Happy Hour pork schnitzel Nashville Hot slider sandwich.
He said it was good but they forgot the pickle…..
Next were the Oak roasted beets and the kung pow Brussels sprouts.
Both are tasty and good but was surprised that the Oak roasted beets lack a wood fired taste…..Still good though. Also was surprised about the difference in portion size….
Dinners arrived exactly three minutes after all the appetizers arrived. My husband felt the need to alert the manager about this. She said that she was sorry but made no offer to take the dinners back and time them better………
Anyways-
For my main I had the salmon with quinoa black rice studded with eggplant, tomatoes and almonds.
The fish is cooked to a perfect medium and has a beautiful sear on the other side. But they seared the fish with so much salt that I had to cut the sear off to eat the fish. Other than that it was good.
The cassoulet special was duck confit, pork sausage, beans, mirepoix, crumbs and toasted focaccia.
A cassoulet is suppose to be a slow cooked rich stew……….
This is not a slow cooked rich stew. It actually seemed pieced together and the beans are still hard.
Dessert was A – OK.
berry and peach cobbler was sort of like fruit soup
Food Trucks from all over the valley head to Glendale at 18551 83rd Ave (between Sam’s Club & Walmart) for Food Truck Friday West from 5pm-9pm most Friday evenings. (see www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com for schedule and Food Truck line up)
Tonight the first food truck we tried was Gibson’s BBQ for a variety plate called, “The Plate.”
Gibson’s Smokehouse BBQThe Plate
We got smoked brisket, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, green chili cornbread, apple Cole slaw, and potato salad.
The brisket had a nice smokey taste and was flavored well but ………
hard fat on brisket
Was kinda dried out with hard fat on the end. I think maybe my stomach went sour from this because I couldn’t enjoy anything on this plate. My husband has a stronger stomach than me….He said that the pork was also dried out but was better than the brisket. He also wasn’t a fan of any of the sides. Maybe it was just an off day?
Gibson’s Smokehouse BBQ 602-475-8730
I haven’t found a website for Gibson’s Smokehouse BBQ but they are on Facebook
We went on to try Fogo & Soul. They serve Southern Brazilian BBQ mixed with Soul Food Fusion. They also have a nice set up with tables and a heater for the chilly night we had this evening.
Fogo & Soul
We shared the Grilled Meat Trio (sirloin, chicken, linguica sausage) with sides of Brazilian Cheese Bread and Macaroni and Cheese.
Grilled Meat Trio
The meats are all DELICIOUS, juicy, and fresh cooked. They all are seasoned well too! The cheese breads are good and cheesy. The macaroni and cheese is a little over cooked and a little on the dry side. Also maybe for some people a little heavy handed with black pepper but does have a real cheese taste. …….Still a very good stop!
Fogo & Soul
www.FogoandSoul.com 480-849-7685
Our last stop was Mingos Louisiana Kitchen. Tonight they were offering po boy sandwiches and plates.
Mingos Louisiana Kitchen
Difficult decision on what to try here…….The chicken from the Mingo’s Screaming Hot Chicken Food Truck was so delicious that I tried a couple weeks back that I had to pick the Buffalo Chicken Plate.
It’s Buffalo Chicken, well seasoned fries, lettuce, tomato pickle, with Louisiana tartar sauce. The man cooking said that he didn’t give us enough chicken? He said come back for the rest?
Gave us more!
I think that he was overly generous! This plate was only $10. I do have to say that this chicken is amazing. The sauce taste like Frank’s Red Hot but has a rich consistency. The chicken just melts in your mouth like butter……………It’s really FORKING Amazing. The fries are also delicious and are well seasoned. They also soaked up some of the Red Hot Sauce taste. The Louisiana Tarter is also unique. I taste Old Bay Seasoning. I have some yummy leftovers to bring home too.
Mingos Louisiana Kitchen
www.MingosLouisianaKitchen.com
480-540-7872
That was a little taste of Phoenix Food Trucks – Gibson’s Smokehouse BBQ, Fogo & Soul, Mingos Louisiana Kitchen
Family Fattoush Mediterranean Restaurant opened this past summer 2022 in North Phoenix. They offer a large menu that offers the usuals but also differs a bit from other similar Mediterranean Restaurants. Some of the different offerings are the fried onion beet and lentil salad, chicken curry, a dish called bamya made with okra, and a dish called fasulia made with white beans. They also offer several fish dishes…. fish and chips, shrimp scampi, grilled fish and spicy tilapia.
It’s not a fancy place. But it looks like they are working on a large patio that looks fancy that isn’t ready for use yet at this time fall 2022.
inside
You order at the counter, seat yourself, they run the food to you and then you pay.
On one visit we started out by sharing the vegetarian plate.
vegetarian plate
On the top left corner is a very smoky baba ghanoush. to the right is the creamiest hummus that I have tried in Arizona.
The falafels have a crispy exterior and a moist herby interiors.
falafel
The stuffed grape leaves seem like house made. The tabbouli seems nice herby and freshly made. There also is a ramekin of a white bean dip….that isn’t mentioned in the description of this plate. It might be the fasulia?…..It way too sharp, tangy, and metallic for both of us…but everything else was at least good. This plate also came with nicely toasted flat breads.
On another visit we tried the chicken pie appetizer…..That look more like crispy rolls.
chicken pie
WOW! are they tasty and delicious! I’ve never tasted anything like this at a Mediterranean Restaurant. Lots of flavors and packed with ground chicken….but they are a little greasy today. They were served with garlic sauce.
Tried a mixed shawarma plate of chicken and beef….but they spell it shawirma…..
mix shawirma
This is a very large plate and we have a basket of flat bread on the side too. The chicken shawarma is very developed with flavors and is tendered nicely caramelized….It is very different than any other chicken shawarma that I have tasted. The beef is very tender but is not as flavorful as the chicken. There is a big pile of yellow fluffy seasoned rice that is laced with a small amount of red sauce that is very tasty. The hummus is extra creamy. The baba ganouj (ganoush) is better batch today. Smokey but not too smoky. The plate also includes tzatziki and garlic dip, pickles, and olives.
My husband tried a plate of lamb that they call Mandi.
mandi
Its lamb shanks with toasted almonds, over seasoned tasty rice, with house made hot sauce and chopped vegetables. I forgot to ask about the cup that looks like broth. I was told that the lamb is a strong lamb taste. It is also very succulent and fatty.
On a different visit I tried the spicy tilapia.
spicy tilapia
This plate is garnished with a chopped tomato and cucumber salad, pickled turnip, pickles and a half lemon. The tilapia is tender and perfect. It’s topped with a spicy tomato sauce and is over a bed of yellow fluffy rice. We both liked this plate better than the gyro plate.
gyro plate
The gyro plate is very similar but also comes with a thick rich tzatziki. The gyro meat is very average and on the dry side today.
I should mention that service is very minimal.
Worth a try and be sure to get the very creamy hummus.
Authentic Ethio African Restaurant is located in Phoenix Arizona. They are a small but full service Ethiopian restaurant and bar.
inside
We were going to try one of the appetizers called sambusa (pastries stuffed with lentils, beef, or chicken)……not ready yet for today so we went for our main digs. We tried the sampler plates….We tried one vegetarian sampler plate. and one meat sampler plate.
We had around 10 choices of vegetable dishes to pick from.
vegetable sampler
To try anything you have to use the spongy injera bread to pick things up with your hands. In the middle of the plate is a little salad.
We tried-
(top left) Yesuf Fit Fit – butter squash or pumpkin, garlic, ginger, spicy berbere – This one was our mutual favorite on this plate. It was delicious, wild with flavors and and heat. This was the only vegetable side that was served hot. The others seemed like room temperature.
(bottom right) – Gomen – mustard greens, onion garlic, ginger….WOW…Bright, Strong, Bitter…….Good in small amounts….It breaks all the other flavors up.
You don’t pick the meats for the meat sampler plate.
meat sampler plate
At the top of the meat sampler plate was the Doro Wat with Hard Egg (Onion Stew and Berbere spiced chicken).
Middle of the plate was house made cottage cheese.
(bottom left) Sega Wot Beef Stew – ginger, garlic, onion, some berbere
(bottom right) Gomen Besga collard greens with beef
My favorite of the bunch was the doro wat…The chicken was tender, developed with LOTS of flavors and it was spicy and delicious. The Sega Wot was good too but I just enjoyed the doro wat much more. The Gomen Besga was for an inquired taste.
I must mention that the hot tea is special and is very delicious here.
I also must mention that you come here when you have a couple spare hours to spend.
They only have one person cooking and one person serving so things take time.
When you go out to any restaurant you will like some things better than other things.
You can park to the side of the restaurant or behind the restaurant.
Mochilero Kitchen is a full service Mexican Restaurant located in Peoria Arizona. The menus and hours do change from time to time. On the current menu (Nov. 2022) Some of the appetizers they offer are – Brussels sprouts with apple cider gastrique and creamy guajillo-peanut sauce, guacamole with plantain chips, and papas pequenas with ancho Chile butter. TEN kinds of tacos are on the menu. They also offer salads, enchiladas, bowls, burritos, tortas, a kids menu and some of the dinner plates are bone in rib eyes with shrimp, pork chops, and scallops. Saturday and Sunday brunch is offered 9am-2.
They offer some patio dining for when the weather is nice.
patio
They also have indoor dining and seating at the bar.
insideinside
One night we shared an appetizer of esquites.
esquites
Fresh almost still crispy corn kernels, crema, cotija cheese, a small amount of guajillo pepper, and lime.
On another night we tried a half order of the papas pequenas.
half order papas pequenas
They are small fancy potatoes that were tossed in ancho chile butter, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro.
For dinner I tried the red snapper zarandeado.
red snapper zarandeado
It came with a nicely grilled lemon, SIX blue corn tortillas, a vegetable medley of squash, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. The fish was grilled with a mild chile laced tomato based sauce. The fish was prepared reasonably well and it was tasty.
My husband tried a taco platter with one extra added on taco.
taco platter with an extra taco
He tried carne asada, barbacoa, carnitas, and shrimp tacos with rice and refried beans. They were all flavorful and good.
On another visit my husband tried another taco plate with another added on taco.
taco plate
He tried chicken tinga, barbacoa (he forgot he already tried it), mushroom and
fish taco
All the tacos were at least good but the favorite of this bunch was the mushroom taco because of the delicious salsa matcha followed by the fish taco.
When they first opened during the pandemic we did take out here.
take out chips and salsa, chicken pibil bowl, short rib bowl, papa bravo taco
Honestly I really enjoyed the potato taco but we weren’t thrilled with the bowls so we didn’t go back for a long time.
On my most recent visit I tried a bowl again….This time the roasted vegetable and avocado bowl with added fish.
roasted vegetable bowl with added fish
Its description is beans, corn, romaine, cilantro lime rice, and cotija cheese. I did also get sweet potato and pico. It’s a very generous plate. It can be two meals for some people. This is good but would be very good with an added sauce or salsa…..The fish is plain and the lettuce is without dressing.
That was a little taste of Mochilero Kitchen Peoria AZ.
Food Trucks from all over the valley are now flocking to Glendale Arizona for Food Truck Fridays West. It was free admission with easy close parking. There also was close to twenty food trucks to pick from. It’s almost like going to restaurants….Some are great, some suck, and a lot are in-between.
We were looking forward to trying Le Chef. They offer a lot of seafood dishes and some Mexican tacos. They also have a food truck in Cozumel Mexico so I was thinking that their tacos would be amazing because the tacos I ate on my visits to Mexico were most of the best tacos that I have tried anywhere.
Maybe they weren’t into the groove yet? The steak taco was too chewy, The shrimp taco was missing the guajillo sauce but had something more like mayonnaise on it, and the fish taco was so strong that it could do push ups….and also was dumped with an accidental lethal DUMP of salt.
Le Chef
602-814-1304
www.LeChefCozumel.com
My husband can eat more than me and also tried Cheese E Wagon for a Philly Steak.
I tried just a little taste of the meat. It was tender but was surprised that it was almost free of onions. I asked about the bread….They use the squishy style Arizona bread and they don’t offer cherry peppers. (everyone that we went to in Philly offers cherry peppers) …Not Philly to us but an OK sandwich.
www.CheeseWagon.Co
215-868-5484
Tried Bulgogi at Flippin’ Rice. They are a Filipino and Asian Fusion Food Truck.
There is a soft runny egg on the top accented with a little seaweed and sesame seeds. Most of the bulgogi is tender. Some of it is hard and crispy. For me it’s a little too soy sauce forward but the kimchi is very good. The seasoned rice is tasty.
www.FippinRice.com
480-244-6102
Our favorite of the bunch was the amazing chicken sandwich from the Screaming Hot Chicken Truck by Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen Truck Food Family. They offer a few different chicken sandwiches with fries and chicken strips.
The FORKING Truth is that we ordered their Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich but they gave us their Louisiana Hot Chicken Sandwich. Well that’s what they gave us so we ate it. I already know that it is very good because I had it before. The truth is that it really is even better than I remember. Juicy, perfectly cooked crispy chicken with all kinds of delicious spices and heat play around here. with creamy fresh crispy slaw and soft rich eggy bread to cool things down with a little kick of pickle and (pretty good for) spiced crinkle fries on the side. It was so great that I can’t be mad at them for giving us the wrong sandwich. Maybe we will get to try again?
www.MingosLouisianaKitchen.com
480-540-7872
That was a little taste of food trucks in Phoenix AZ
Le Chef, Cheese E Wagon, Flippin’ Rice, and Screaming Hot Chicken by Mingo’s
The 2022 Wine & Food Experience was presented by Talking Stick Resort at Salt River Fields in Salt River Pima – Maricopa Indian Community near to Scottsdale Arizona. The event was held November Saturday November 5th 2022 1-4pm with VIPS starting at 12:00.
There were culinary demonstrations, sommelier and mixology seminars, SAMPLES of FOOD, WINE, and CRAFT BEERS…
We skipped the alcohol and went to try the light bites that awaited us. First stop was Tia Carmen with chef Angelo Sosa himself serving and greeting people.
He actually made small talk with us. He told me that he is changing up his menu. He also thanked up for our visits and told me that he liked my necklace. I told him that we really enjoyed our visits to his restaurant. He served his FORKING FANTABULOUS tuna crudo today.
tuna crudo from Tia Carmen
Next was…..
mozzarella and tomato salad from Chic Chef
Chic Chef made mini tasting mozzarella and tomato salads.
Pearl’s Mini Doughnuts
Pearl’s mini doughnuts were fresh made to order and came in powdered and cinnamon.
vegetable taco from Pool Boys
Pool Boys offered tasting sized vegetable tacos that were very tasty.
Next was Lasgidi Cafe that offered a taste of jolif rice.
Sushi Roku offered SUSHI!
tuna crudu
hamachi crudu
Nomad By Food made very complex tiny taste of beef shanks on what might be laffah bread.
