Amor A La Mexicana is a small Mexican Restaurant located in Glendale Arizona not too far from the Metro Center area. They specialize in serving tacos with hand made tortillas but also serve popular Mexican entrees at reasonable prices.
order here
It’s a casual restaurant. You order and pay at the counter. You grab your soft beverage from a refrigerator and seat yourself. someone runs out your order when it’s ready.
inside
We started out by sharing three tacos.
beef cheek, chicken, pastor tacos – All are good on delicious hand made corn tortillas but what really was amazing was the salsas.
salsa cart
OH MY GOSH!!! Each and every salsa is such a tidal wave of flavor. Each was so great I don’t really have a favorite. They were all different. This restaurant SHOULD SELL AND BOTTLE THESE SALSAS……..Really unusually GREAT salsas!
We tried the chile colorado – (Mexican beef stew)
and the filete a la plancha.
Both platters came with Mexican rice and refried beans that we were told didn’t contain pork. They also came with tortillas. You have your choice of flour or corn tortillas. We both picked corn and got more of the hand made corn tortillas.
The beef is slightly tougher than we like but is well flavored. Everything is well flavored. Most entrees at this time only cost around $10.99 (subject to change)
Charcoal Grill is a casual Mediterranean Restaurant that recently opened in Glendale Arizona. They differ a bit from other Mediterranean Restaurants in the area.
One thing that’s different is that they have a small bar in the restaurant with a few beers on tap. The menu is also a bit unique and different.
This Mediterranean Restaurant is a FALAFEL FREE Restaurant.
WTFalafel no falafels!
It’s also unusual for a Mediterranean to offer a taco platter so that is on their menu too….
Anyways-
We started out with a mixed appetizer plate.
mixed appetizer plate
It’s a very large platter of fried pita chips, hummus, tabouleh, baba ghannoug (their spelling), and grape leaves.
We also shared the mixed plate.
mixed plate
This also is a very big plate platter that was covered with a pita bread. It is beef tikka, a chicken kabob, a beef kabob, choice of rice or fries, salad, hummus, and garlic or tahini sauce. Tonight the flavors were good but meats were on the dry and chewy side but maybe when you visit they will be better. The one thing that really stood out was the garlic sauce. It really was unlike any other that I have tried. It was garlic-ee but also light and fluffy. My guess is that it was made with egg whites….
The mix shawarma plate was better.
mixed shawarma platemixed shawarma plate
To my surprise none of the meats we tried tasted like they came from a charcoal grill but the marinated beef and chicken from the shawarma plate was tasty and more moist than the kabobs. This very generously sized platter also came with rice or fries, salad, hummus, garlic sauce or tahini sauce and a pita.
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 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 when I can.
In Phoenix Arizona weather can be an issue. Anything over 90 degrees F is too hot to dine out with dogs as dogs are not as heat tolerant as we are. Other issues are that you have to make sure that the restaurant patio you plan to visit is actually dog friendly. Dogs need to be kept close to your side and you shouldn’t let them sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates. You also should be aware that most food and drink that you consume could be harmful or toxic to your furry friend. Usually a small lean sauceless piece of meat is usually ok.
The beginning of February was mighty chilly (well for Phoenix) so we took the dogs out for a car-ride that they enjoyed and did take out at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix.
“I got fur..It’s not too cold for ME to dine out!”“I’m hungry…..I smell food”
The dogs get chicken from my curry chicken and beef from my husband’s beef rice plate. (I didn’t even think about photoing the food…sorry I forgot)
“Give me that chicken”“yummmmmmmmmmm!”“My turn”“Oh goodie goodie joy joy!”
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We made it to The Craftsman Cocktails & Kitchen in North Scottsdale. This restaurant offers a nice variety of different foods and are also a distillery. The original chef was well known for working at several finer restaurants in Metro Phoenix. My larger dog always enjoys dining here…..Maybe because it is almost like dining in the restaurant even when you are on the patio…..
Or maybe because of the special patio tables that are shaped underneath almost like caves that dogs enjoy.
Anyways-
Our waiter was nice and served each dog their own bowl of water.
The food soon arrives. Both dogs squish themselves between me and my husband.
My husband got the distiller’s burger (certified black Angus 1/2 lb patty, tomato, bacon jam, dijon aioli. arugula, fontina, brioche bun)
With a side salad instead of fries or house chips.
#I’ll keep slapping you for food!” “Keep it coming”
The dogs enjoyed getting bites of burgers even though it was close to well done instead of medium-rare. The burger was still good and juicy. Dogs never complain they are always happy with cheeseburgers.
I got the pan seared crispy skin Canadian walleye.
Braised fennel (not sure if I got any…if I did it was ultra minimal or maybe they accidentally gave me onions instead of fennel? tomato, whipped potatoes, with tarragon butter.
Te dogs really enjoyed the seared walleye. They also got to enjoy some whipped potatoes.
Craftsman Cocktails & Kitchen
20469 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale AZ 480-401-1102
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
We made it to Phila Deli a Cheesesteak Sandwich shop in North Glendale. They offer a variety of cheesesteaks, hot and cold hoagies, a cold cut with pate banh mi sandwich, a variety of fries, and children’s meals.
My husband got a cheesesteak.
I got the southwest chicken steak sandwich (pepper jack cheese left off at my request, grilled onions and peppers, chipotle & hatch peppers)
For me the roll is too squishy and what I call squishy Arizona roll style but I know most people don’t mind this because they are from Arizona. It’s also a bit messy and NOT GOOD for dogs so we got them an order of chicken fingers.
I fed them about 1/2 the chicken fingers and the other half they will get as treats over the next two days.
Phila Deli 20219 N 59th Ave Glendale AZ 623-376-9333
www.PhilaDeliAZ.com
That was Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix AZ for February 2023. We hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Matt’s Big Breakfast is an all day high quality breakfast restaurant with around a half a dozen locations in Metro Phoenix Arizona. One location of Matt’s Big Breakfast has been featured on Diners Drive ins and Dives on Food Network TV. I went to the Glendale-Arrowhead location.
This restaurant serves higher quality foods than your average breakfast restaurant. They use local Hickman’s eggs. You will also see things like line caught tuna, Red Bird Farms chicken, Niman Ranch ground chuck, locally roasted coffee, craft soda, fresh squeezed juices. They do also have a cocktail menu.
It’s casual. You seat yourself at any table that is covered with menus. They offer patio dining for when the weather is nice. You can sit at the counter or at traditional tables.
I’m not a breakfast person and tried the classic reuben.
To my surprise this is a really GREAT Reuben. The corned beef was roasted in house , nicely spiced, and is very good. The rye bread is nicely toasted and also is very good rye bread. It even comes with a very good dill pickle spear. This sandwich comes with potato chips but you can add on either macaroni salad or cole slaw. I added on cole slaw and it was fresh made, crispy, and not drippy at all. I thought that it was very above average for cole slaw.
My husband went with the Big Butter Burger and upped the side to the hash browns.
This came with an enormous slice of tomato with lots of lettuce and a really good deli-type pickle. The hand pressed Niman Ranch ground chuck burger was prepared to request of medium-rare. It was grilled in butter. and was topped with American cheese. I heard that the hash browns were great too.
Service was friendly and efficient.
Matt’s Big Breakfast is Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
Matt’s Big Breakfast 7507 W Rose Garden Ln Glendale AZ 623-259-9836
A changing variety of food trucks from all over the valley gather at Food Truck Friday West in Glendale Arizona. (5pm-9pm 18551 83rd Ave Glendale AZ ((between the Sam’s Club and Walmart)) check www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com for current food truck line up) Besides food truck they also offer a bounce house for children, and a children’s train ride.
train ride
On my most recent visit I notice that they offered some farm animals to pet.
I saw the Que Chevere Venezuelan Cuisine Food Truck.
They offer empanadas, arepas, plates, and more. I really enjoyed the arepa reina pepiada (chicken salad with avocado stuffed white corn arepa) that we shared last time and had one again. It also comes with plantain chips, a salsa, and a creamy ranch style dip.
I think it’s a really great chicken salad! The white corn arepa adds such a great taste here.
We did try a chicken and a beef empanada.
One was seasoned moist shredded beef the other moist shredded chicken with a salsa and a creamy ranch style sauce. They are both good with the added salsa. These aren’t dainty. They are very bread-ee to fill you up.
Next I thought I’d try the Columbian version of an arepa from Wow Que Rico Columbian Food Truck.
It taste so completely different that it is impossible to compare. The arepa taste like a corn tortilla and is crunchy but also soft. The chicken is shredded but slightly tough and covered with creamy sauces. They do offer other foods like Columbian sausage, fried yucca, fried pork skin with potatoes, empanadas, and other combos.
Wow Que Rico – 602-513-6041 and can be found on Facebook
My husband liked the thought of sliders and went to Detroit Coney Cruiser.
They offer Detroit Coney Dogs, sliders, stuffed pitas, and fries. After he ordered his sliders they were ready in FOUR minutes.
They came on steamed buns with grilled onions, American cheese, pickles and mustard.
My husband gave them an A-OK.
Detroit Coney Cruiser 480- 692-8754
www.DetroitConeyCruiser.com
I didn’t eat everything you saw here so I had room to try one more thing.
We tried one chicken taco from Good Eats Only Mexican Food Truck.
Tonight they offered a limited menu of a few tacos, burritos, quesadillas, a chimichanga, and fries.
WOW! It might not look like much but this really is one of the best chicken tacos that I have tasted in Metro Phoenix. It’s unusually GREAT! The chicken is moist, a bit charred tasting, developed with flavors, and is delicious! It’s topped with a good chunky guacamole. The tortilla is also hand made and also is a much better tasting tortilla that what you usually get. It’s also enhanced with the lemon and hot sauce (looks house made?)
Good Eats Only Mexican Kitchen 623-521-8473 can be found on Facebook
That was Food Truck Friday West in Glendale AZ
Most Fridays 5-9pm 18551 83rd Ave Glendale AZ
See www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com for current food truck line up.
Anaya’s Fresh Mexican Restaurant (according to www.AnayasRestaurant.online) has three locations in Arizona. One in Casa Grande, one in Tempe, and the one I went to in Glendale. This is a NEIGHBORHOOD type restaurant. You stop in if you happen to be in the neighborhood. This restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, bar dinks and most of your Mexican Favorites. They offer appetizers like ceviche, quesadillas, and queso dip. They also offer burritos, soups, fajitas, chimichangas, enchiladas, combo plates, a variety of beef, chicken, and shrimp plates, and MORE!
It’s one of the most festive looking restaurants to walk into. (on the other side is a bar not photoed)
Bright colors everywhere. Lots of hand painting all over and all over the tables and chairs.
We start off with margaritas. They come in small and grande size. You probably want a grande if you order a drink. I saw the small and it is only one sip. (people in photo ordered the grande)
No matter what you order they bring you chips and salsa.
Tonight the salsa ran so hot I couldn’t eat it (and I like hot but this was TOO hot).
I tried the chicken mole platter.
This is an extra large platter. For some people this could be two meals. This is a peanut-chocolate mole with expertly tender chicken breast, a little bit of vegetable garnish, Mexican style rice, refried beans and choice of tortilla. It’s not bad but not the most complex mole. But the chicken is really expertly tender. The rest gets an a-ok.
The chili Colorado (beef cubes in slightly spicy red sauce) is also made with expertly tender beef.
It’s also a very large platter. It has more of a chili taste that you enjoy when you go to Mexican Restaurants.
Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix is just a “FLUFF” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He always liked going out to eat. When he got elderly and diagnosed with aggressive cancer he couldn’t do a lot but still enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of his 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when the weather is right.
There are a lot of things to know about dining out with dog(s).
Not all patios are dog friendly…(you need to call or look for a dog friendly patio sign)
Weather is an issue in Phoenix….90 and above is too hot. Dogs are not as heat tolerant as people.
Most food and drink that you consume might be harmful or toxic to your dog. Get these food lists from your veterinarian.
While out dog(s) they must be close to your side and are NOT to sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
Our first stop this year was our neighborhood American Italian style restaurant called Cucina Tagliani.
It’s not very dog friendly but I got one of the dishes I think they do best because I haven’t had it in a long time (baked spaghetti squash).
“I’m getting something”
The baked spaghetti squash lasagna (it has onions in it that are very bad for dogs) But it is very good for people. It is very light and sauced with rich Alfredo, tomato sauce, and it has lots of melted cheese. The spaghetti squash is perfectly cooked and is somehow delicious with the sauces and cheese on the top. (I do peel off some cheese for the dogs)
My husband got the chicken parmesan and sliced off a section for the dogs.
“We enjoyed our meals at Cucina Tagliani”
Cucina Tagliani 17045 N 59TH AVE Glendale AZ
602-547-2782
www.CucinaTagliani.com
Every Month we make it to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Pho-Free Vietnamese Restaurant that specializes in serving around a dozen different Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches. They also offer rice plates, noodle salad bowls, curry chicken and more.
Today I got a chicken banh mi sandwich.
chicken banh mi
There is plenty of chicken to share.
I’m a pretty good eater but even with sharing this is two meals for me.
My husband got the shaken beef banh mi but I forgot to photo it. The beef is always very good here….It’s always tender like filet mignon but I know it’s ribeye. The dogs really enjoyed the shaken beef too!
The food is always fresh and good. Prices are low and portions are large.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese eatery in North Phoenix.
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We also made it to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in North Glendale. They offer certified Neapolitan Pizzas and Italian Foods. We were both getting pizzas today so We got the dogs their own side order of chicken.
side order of chicken
Look how happy this dog is!
“OMG YUM!!!!!!!!!!” “CHICKEN”
This little sweetie pie puts his head on my knee waiting for chicken.
“I sure LOVE to eat chicken….and a little Parmesan couldn’t hurt”
I tried the pesto & truffle pizza today.
The fragrance of truffles is stronger than the taste……..I think the generous amount of pesto and the arugula just are more forward……I think they accidentally also gave me extra truffles because they only list truffle oil as the truffle ingredient. I can see shaved truffles here. Some bites do taste like truffle. Other bites don’t.
My husband went with the salame piccante (spicy salami) pizza.
D.O.P. Tomato sauce, fior di latte, spicy salami, basil, extra virgin olive oil…What’s not to like?
“We always enjoy going to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante!”
Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante 19420 N 59TH Ave Glendale AZ
623-777-1868
www.BottegaRistorante.com
This past week it was too cold in Phoenix to dine outside without heaters. So we took the dogs out for their own butter cheese burger from Culver’s. Culver’s is good for a fast food chain. Their beef and chicken are never from frozen and they hand batter fish. My Bigger dog was so excited when she saw we were driving up to Culver’s. She smacked my smaller dog out of his seat so she could sit on the side to look right into the menu and the take out window. We got them a plain (no toppings or sauce) double butter cheese burger. They always sear the burger nice. I ripped off about a third of the burger for them without the bun. They will eat the rest over the next two days as treats.
They always enjoy Culver’s.
Culver’s
8330 W Deer Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-792-8957
www.Culvers.com
That was Dining Out with DOGS in Metro Phoenix January 2023. We hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month!
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Then Burger is located across from the entrance to Westgate in Glendale Arizona. The restaurant is brought to you by a local resident Mr. Preston who also owns Twist Hot Chicken in Peoria. This is a casual but very nice burger restaurant.
inside
Besides elevated ground in house burgers they offer service, great cocktails, beer, wine and more. Mostly everything is made in-house. Everything is fresh. They only use the freezer for the ice cream for milk shakes. They offer appetizers, a few salads, and around a dozen different modern burger choices. Most of the burgers are beef patties (short rib, SIRLOIN, chuck) that are ground in house. They are recommended to be served medium pictured below.
Some of the other very detailed burgers are short rib (like quesabirra that you dunk), beef like with marrow and mushrooms, salmon, chicken thigh, and beet patty. They are served on Noble Bread Buns and come with hand cut fries that can be upgraded to poutine fries or animal fries (dressing and cheese).
We started out with smooth strong cocktails called wild horse.
Lip Service Rye Whiskey, St George Absinthe, Maraschino Bitters
We also tried the roasted bone marrow appetizer.
This was really great! – It’s so much better than the last bone marrow I tried someplace downtown. It was adorned with wild mushroom ragu and came with Noble Bread Slices.
Then came ——-The Burger.
I picked the Kenji Burger – red Leicester cheese ( my request on the side), teriyaki, caramelized onions, arugula, yuzu aioli on a just right, not too bread-ee Noble Bun………OMG This is just FANTABULOUS! The Flavors are incredible. The Burger is incredible. ********this burger is FORKING INCREDIBLE*******Besides everything that is tasting amazing I’m pointing out the caramelized onions…..not sure if it’s just the onions or a combination of the onions and sauces but the taste is so incredible that it might be impossible for me to try a different beef burger here…..It really was that FORKING GREAT!
Around five minutes latter the cut in house fries arrive.
regular friesupgraded – poutine fries with cheese curds and gravy
I was surprised that we weren’t offered ketchup for the fries. Instead we got small dishes of sauces. One was house sauce ( a creamy mustardy sauce ((my favorite)), ranch sauce, a creamy lemon-ee sauce, and garlic aioli.
My husband thinks that the burger called drugstore was FANTABULOUS. (It’s the most traditional burger on the menu)
He got his Medium Rare. American Cheese, HOUSE Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Bread and Butter Pickles, and House Sauce. He just kept saying that this is a really good burger…..THIS IS A REALLY GOOD BURGER……..Can we go here tomorrow?
They do offer a few desserts but the food is so darn FANTABULOUS that I doubt most people will ever have room for dessert.
Then Burger (across from entrance to Westgate) Your Welcome.
Worth a Fork! THEN WE RETURNED.
The burgers are no longer a blend of short rib, sirloin, and chuck. Now they are all chuck.
The burgers taste different and cook up different now.
My husband tried the Drugstore burger again (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, bread and butter pickles, house sauce) and asked for Medium-Rare. It no longer comes with bacon.
Unfortunately it’s well done and dry.
My marrow & mushroom burger (menu reads munster but they gave me truffle pecorino ((on side at my request)), shiitake mushrooms, marrow crisp, marrow bone.
This burger patty is FORKING DRY AS A HOCKY PUCK!
For a $36.00 burger that IS CERTAINLY NOT ACCEPTABLE. It was very hard for me but I had to send it back and my husband also sent his burger back. In acceptable time we had the re-fires.
Second drugstore burger came out well done and dry.
Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a Californian chain of casual Hawaiian restaurants with around three locations in Phoenix Arizona. The popular entree at Hawaiian BBQ restaurants is called the Hawaiian Plate Lunch. Maybe you are not familiar with the Hawaiian plate lunch? The Hawaiian plate lunch is usually a large Styrofoam container filled with two scoops of steamed rice, a scoop of creamy macaroni salad, some steamed vegetables and a generous serving of a protein or two. I finally tried the newer Ono Hawaiian BBQ Glendale Arizona location.
It’s casual. You order and pay at the counter.
insideinside
Seat yourself.
Our name was called and we picked it up.
Here’s the white fish and BBQ chicken.
whitefish and BBQ chicken
Two scoops of steamed white rice, macaroni salad that is on the dry side today. The fish is very greasy…and taste like grease. The chicken really is nicely caramelized and is tender……It’s also a very generous portion but it taste like soy sauce. Under the fish and chicken is mostly what they call steamed cabbage and some broccoli. I tried to eat the cabbage but it is very oily and too tough to cut with a plastic knife. The broccoli drips with oil but is next to raw. I can’t eat the vegetables or much of this.
Here’s the BBQ Combo (short rib, BBQ chicken, BBQ beef)
BBQ Combo
All the beef is tender but oddly leathery…….And it all taste like soy sauce. Vegetables, macaroni salad, and rice are same as above.
Ono in Hawaiian usually means good or delicious…….Tonight Ono at the Glendale AZ location means Oh No!
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
