The FANTABULOUS Dish means – Top of the line, marvelously good, peachy keen, and dynamite! WOW what a great surprise . You just don’t always know when a FANTABULOUS dish will show up. This salad just blew both of us away. It’s only named Arugula salad. I picked it to share as an appetizer instead of chips because it sounded lighter and healthy. I wasn’t expecting jaw dropping fireworks of flavors……
The Arugula Salad from REVOLU Modern Taqueria & Bar in Peoria AZ
This salad is made of avocado, watermelon, red onion (pickled), pico, toasted pepitas, cotija cheese, and this MAGICAL chili-lime vinaigrette.
I need to mention as astonishingly delicious as this salad is ………I must mention that it is spicy HOT. Borderline too hot for me but it was so DAM delicious I had to keep eating it. You get sweet from the watermelon, creamy from the avocado, hot and delicious from the MAGICAL chili-lime vinaigrette, Umami from the cheese, yummy from the pepitas and the right amount of bitter from the arugula. It’s far more delicious than I can describe. You can also add on protein to this dish if desired.
The Arugula Salad from REVOLU Modern Taqueria & Bar is an official FANTABULOUS DISH and is WORTH A FORK!
REVOLU Modern Taqueria & Bar
15703 N 83rd Ave Peoria AZ (a second location is in Phoenix)
Caminero Mexican Food is a small casual Mexican Restaurant located in North Peoria Arizona (#UpperWestSideAZ). It’s a small restaurant with a very large menu located in a strip mall. They offer soft beverages, appetizers, a very long burrito menu, tacos, chile relleno, combo plates, fajitas, cube steak, steak and onion plates, salads, chimichangas, enchiladas, breakfast plates, a kid’s menu and MORE! Prices are reasonable and portions are very large.
I read in our local newspaper an article called, The Good Stuff. It was about this restaurant and the writer had very high praises about the beef fajita quesadilla she enjoyed. She said that the beef fajita meat was the gold standard for beef fajita meat. So I thought…WOW! I drive by here quite a bit so I should try it!
It’s not fancy.
You order and pay at the counter. Pick out a beverage and seat yourself. Someone runs out the food when it’s ready and that person offered us salsas. They have mild, hot and green.
beef fajita
Here’s the beef fajita. It came with choice of tortilla. I picked corn and received warmed tasty white corn tortillas. The beef is tender and developed with lots of flavor (soy sauce and seasoning salt). For me and I note that I am different….It’s too much flavor that is over-powering to me….I taste soy sauce that is very strong and I taste seasoning table salt…..this might be delicious to most people but for me it’s too much. I do think both the hot salsa and green salsas are good. I also like the guacamole. The salsas and the guacamole help to mellow the beef. I guess if you had this beef in the quesadilla with all that cheese you wouldn’t notice the soy sauce and seasoning salt as much.
My husband thinks his steak and onion plate is tastier and offers to switch plates.
It’s very similar to the beef fajita plate. It’s also made with tender beef that is developed with flavor. It’s too hard for me to taste because my taste buds are blown now and all I can taste is soy sauce and salt from the fajita beef.
In the future I do plan to return but I will try something chicken or fish next time.
That was my trip to Caminero Mexican Food in Peoria AZ.
Dining out with dogs in metro Phoenix is just a “FLUFF” story about where I take my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He was elderly and diagnosed with aggressive cancer. We were told to only expect three months and maybe up to six months for him to live. He couldn’t do a lot. but he always enjoyed eating and going out to eat. so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of only three to six months Louie made it another seventeen months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are a lot of things that you need to know about dining out with dogs. First thing that you need to realize is that many restaurants do have patios but not all patios are dog friendly. You need to see a sign posted that reads dog friendly patio. If you don’t see that then you must call the restaurant and ask if it is ok to dine there with your dog. It might seem strange but it is ALWAYS BEST to dine at off times and avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Some people do’t share your love for dogs….Other people may be allergic to dogs. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs tend to bark at each other and this is a disturbance and you can be asked to leave.
You need to know that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even toxic to your furry friend. You need to get a list of foods to avoid and safe foods for your dog from your veterinarian. Usually a small un-sauced lean piece of meat is usually a safe bet. Also here in Phoenix it often gets too hot to dine out with dogs. Your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. They have fur coats, they can’t sweat, and they absorb heat up their paws. Everyone and every dog is different but for the most part 90 degrees F and up is too hot to dine out with dogs. When ever there is any doubt keep your dog safe and leave them at home.
If you do take your dog out to eat you need to know that your dog must be by your side at all times. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture or to eat off of restaurant plates. You should bring a water bowl with you for dining out with dogs.
We thought about a new treat for the dogs today and went to NakedQ BBQ in North Phoenix. It’s a casual BBQ restaurant. I like the BBQ turkey here because it is consistently delicious and moist. My other favorite is when they offer the BBQ corned beef…GOSH it’s usually FORKING amazing.
They have two high top tables for dining outside and we thought it would be difficult so we took our food togo and stopped at a cute little park on Union Hills & 59TH. The dogs were delighted by the smell of BBQ.
Me and the dogs enjoyed NakedQ BBQ’s AMAZING BBQ turkey on a garden salad.
The BBQ turkey is always amazing at this NakedQ BBQ. It was so good my bigger dog kept whacking me in my gut with her paw to get more turkey.
The dogs also enjoyed some BBQ Brisket, BBQ Pork, and Hot Links from my husband’s plate.
We enjoyed our take out from NakedQ BBQ in North Phoenix.
www.NakedQ.com
2340 W Bell RD PHX AZ
602-439-4227
We made a trip to The Craftsman Cocktails & Kitchen in North Scottsdale. This restaurant is a craft kitchen and distillery. Today my husband got the Brunch Burger.
Look at the BIG SMILE on my dog’s face. This burger was ground in house of short rib and brisket. The. burger is also made of a fried egg, American cheese, and house made maple ketchup on a brioche bun and house chips. My dogs were WAY MORE excited about my husband’s lunch than mine today…….(They also got to eat mostly his burger today)
I had the shipwright ahi tuna salad today.
I have had this before and today’s does taste different. It was still good so I didn’t complain but it taste like it was missing some of the ingredients…or maybe it just had too much wasabi taste today that burnt out all the other flavors?????? Still good though…..The dogs got a small amount of ahi tuna.
My dogs hung out with my husband today……
We enjoyed ourselves at The Craftsman.
www.cheers@TheCraftsmanAZ.com
20469 N Hayden RD Scottsdale
480-401-1102
We also took the dogs to Twisted Italian in North Peoria. They serve mostly typical Italian foods and some twisted things like home made pierogi and Italian chili rellenos. The Twisted Italian is always a good choice for dining out with dogs because they only have two outside tables so we avoid potential problems.
I had the salmon lunch platter.
It comes with a lot of vegetables (green beans, asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli) and a good amount of pasta in a lemon white wine caper sauce. My dogs liked helping me eat almost everything on this platter. I was surprised that they liked the zucchini about the same as the fish. I liked the green beans but I think the green beans were the dogs least favorite.
My husband got the Italian beef and sausage sandwich with fries.
They gave him an enormous amount of meat there. They gave him beef jus, giardinier. The dogs got to enjoy some of the beef and a tiny bit of sausage.
We did alright at Twisted Italian in Peoria.
www.EatTwisted.com
9940 W Happy Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-537-4000
We regularly go to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They specialize in serving around a dozen different banh mi baguette sandwiches. Other popular dishes that they offer are noodle bowls and rice plates but they don’t serve pho.
We both got the noodle bowls today. I got the chicken and my husband got the grilled pork. Here’s a better look at the chicken noodle bowl.
It’s a very large bowl of food. There is salad with pickled vegetables and fresh mint and rice noodles, a crispy egg roll and lots of marinated chicken. For some people this can be two meals. I have my dogs to share with and they sure don’t mind helping to eat the chicken.
They get to eat grilled pork too.
We always do great when we go to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
That was dining out with dogs in metro Phoenix. We hope that you have enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Twist Hot Chicken is a small casual chicken sandwich restaurant located in a strip mall in Peoria Arizona not too far from Westgate.
It’s very casual and busy…The little place was packed with a line out the door just ten minutes after they opened.
Again it’s casual. You order and pay at the counter. (complimentary cucumber water is by the counter)
On the menu thy offer five different flavors of chicken sandwiches that can be ordered in different levels of heat. The choices of heat are mild, medium, hot, and can’t touch this. They also offer vegan options, chicken tenders, loaded fries, macaroni and cheese, interesting stubborn sodas, beignets, limited adult beverages like Cider Corps Pog, and MORE!
Here’s the menu.
I missed the sodas on my way in but next time I’ll try one.
Today it took us around ten minutes to wait in line and order. I sat at one of the two tables that they have outside and it took around thirty minutes for our order to arrive.
We shared fries and macaroni and cheese. Most of the food comes wrapped with paper in rectangular white boxes.
The fries are fluffy, crisp, and well seasoned. They also are a generous serving. The macaroni and cheese is not bad…..better than a lot of them out there…..
We also share the Shabazi (medium heat) chicken sandwich.
Shabazi
It’s a BIG Sloppy Delicious sandwich with a crisp exterior and moist delicious white meat chicken. This sandwich is made with spicy green zhoug (Yemenite hot sauce) sauce. red cabbage slaw, and tahini sauce. This is wonderfully flavorful and delicious!
We also share the Twist Hot Chicken (HOT) sandwich.
Twist Hot Chicken Sandwich
The Twist Hot Chicken (HOT) sandwich is another BIG SLOPPY FORKING DELICIOUS Sandwich! This sandwich in hot is not for tenderfoots. This is the perfect hot for hot sandwiches. It is almost too hot for me….I can’t imagine how nuclear the “I can’t touch this” must be…Just like the other sandwich this one has a shattering crisp exterior and a flavorful moist white meat chicken inside. Adorning the sandwich is a creamy twist sauce (similar to remoulade), pickles, and house slaw. All this is packed into a nicely toasted eggy roll that is just the right size and didn’t fall apart.
If you like Hot Chicken Sandwiches this is one that you have to try!
Dining out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix AZ 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 diagnosed with aggressive cancer. We were told to only expect him to live 3 months more or maybe up to six. Louie couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed. eating and also enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are many things to know about dining out with dogs. One thing is that not all patios are dog friendly. You usually see a “Dog Friendly Patio” sign. If you don’t see a sign you must call the restaurant to find out if it is ok to bring your furry friend. It is also best to dine at off times and avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. It’s best to avoid people because some people out there really hate dogs and other people might be allergic to dogs. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs like to bark at each other and this can be a disturbance and you might be asked to leave.
When dining out with dogs here in Phoenix you have to consider the temperature because your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. Dogs wear fur coats, they can’t sweat and dogs also absorb heat up their paws. All people and dogs have different heat tolerances. In general 90 degrees F and higher is. too hot to dine out with dogs. When there is any doubt it is always better to keep your furry friend heathy and leave them safe at home.
Do you know that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even TOXIC to your dog? You need to get a list of safe foods and foods to avoid from your veterinarian. Usually a small lean piece of un-sauced meat is a safe bet. You should also bring a doggie water bowl with you so your dog can have some water.
Now that you have made to the restaurant patio with your dog you need to know that there are rules to dining out with dogs. Dogs must be close and by your side at all times. Dogs are NOT permitted to sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
Wraps ‘N’ Curry is an Indian fast food but made from fresh casual located in North Phoenix. They offer wraps on fresh made to order wraps, fresh baked other breads, and Indian dishes. They recently got a community patio at the strip mall near the restaurant so we took the dogs there.
Today I got the goa fish curry.
I think it’s tasty. I lick the sauce off of the fish for the dogs because some of the spices might not agree with them.
My husband had a spicy chicken wrap………sort of……He asked them not to put the sauce on…….but they did anyway.
It was dressed with mint mayo (and my husband won’t eat mayo) so he only picked at it and left the fresh made bread because of the mayo. (he ate something when we got home)
www.WrapsNCurry.business.site
4221 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-866-1907
Another restaurant that we went to was The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale. They are a craft American kitchen. They have a very nice dog friendly patio and the food is very good there. They also are a distillery too! One of their dishes that my husband LOVES there is the muffuletta and had it several times already. It’s served on house made herbed focaccia and he got it with their tasty house made potato chips.
I had the fish and chips….but without the chips and substituted a salad.
The Craftsman vodka crust on the fish is shattering crisp and fresh cod is the flakiest cod that I have ever had. The dogs enjoyed the cod ass well as some parts of the muffuletta.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
20469 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale AZ
480-401-1102
We also went to Cucina Tagliani in North Glendale. They are an. American Italian Restaurant. They offer sandwiches, salads, build your own pasta dishes and offer more vegetable sides than most places that are similar. They also offer pizzas, pork ribs, a few steaks, some other entrees, and more.
I got a strawberry chicken salad.
The chicken was a little dry today but my dogs didn’t mind.
“Wining!!!!” “We get MORE chicken when it’s dry!” “WHOOHOO!”
My husband got the Stromboli today.
“Stromboli is always a good choice.”
“We are ready for some more chicken!”
www.CuucinaTagliani.ccom
17045 N 59th Ave Glendale AZ
602-547-2782
We also took the dogs to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They specialize in serving the Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and offer around a dozen different varieties. They also offer other Vietnamese favorites except for pho.
Today I got the curry chicken with rice.
My husband got the beef banh mi (the beef really is very good here…….It’s tender like filet mignon but it is really ribeye)
Portions are very large (and prices are low) so we have plenty to share.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
Well that was Dinning Out With DOGS inn Metro Phoenix for February 2022. 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
Harumi Sushi & Sake iis a small casual sushi restaurant that recently opened in North Peoria Arizona. They also have their first and original location in downtown Phoenix. Their sushi is a bit unique and differs some from most other sushi restaurants. It’s made with healthier purple forbidden rice that does have a slightly different taste. The big deal here is that the fish they select to use is from fresh and was never frozen. This kind of fish gives you that melt in your mouth texture…… They use shipped overnight Scottish salmon and Nova Scotian tuna. They top most fish with fresh wasabi that is not from concentrate. Sushi is a treat here!
Inside is small and tight.
We were packed in like sardines.
The tables were so close that we couldn’t get out until the table behind us got up.
Depending on where you are sitting plates might be flying over your head.
We started with a specialty roll called The Hot Havana.
It is hot but is made with the kind of fish that melts in your mouth. I like that they make the rolls with a thin layer of rice so you don’t get too stuffed. This Hot Havana Roll was made with yellowtail, cucumber, avocado, jalapeños and mango habanero sauce.
The yellowtail collar (hamachi kama) was fried and served in ponzu sauce with lemon.
Today this was overcooked and dry….Usually this is the best part of the fish because the collar is the most flavorful and succulent part……We weren’t checked on.
Our last plate was the blue fin tuna nigiri and seared salmon nigiri. (my husband said that he checked Toro and un-seared salmon……???)
Both nigiri were were melt in your mouth fresh.
Service today wasn’t the best. In addition to not asking how the collar was and possibly serving fish different than what we ordered…….the Forking Truth is that nobody even considered clearing out our three rounds of plates.
Service can use improvement but the sushi is what you come for here and really was melt in your mouth fresh.
They were still constructing a patio on our visit that might be ready by now?
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. He was also diagnosed with aggressive cancer. We were told he only had three – six months to live. Louie couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating. I took him out to eat as often as I could. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are several things to know about dining out with dogs. One thing is that not all restaurant patios are dog friendly. Usually a sign is posted that reads, “Dog Friendly Patio.” If you don’t see that then you have to call the restaurant and inquire. You also need to know that it is ALWAYS BEST to dine at off times. You need to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. You need to avoid people because some people hate dogs and other people are allergic to dogs. You want to avoid other dogs because dogs like to bark at each other and if that happens then you might be asked to leave. Here in Arizona it often gets too hot to dine out with dogs. Your dog(s) is NOT AS HEAT TOLERANT as you are. They wear fur coats. They can’t sweat. They also absorb heat up threw their paws. All people and pets do have different tolerances for heat. Generally 90 degrees and up is too hot to dine out with dogs. When there is any doubt just leave your furry friend home. Did you know that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or toxic to your dog. You must get a list of foods that are safe and what to avoid from your veterinarian. Usually a small lean piece of meat without sauce is usually a safe bet.
There are some rules for restaurant dining. You dog or dogs must stay close to you and be by your side. at all times. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture or to eat off restaurant plates.
I called up Squid Ink Sushi inn North Peoria (#UpperWestSide) and they said that they were dog friendly so we went there. Of course they offer sushi but they also offer seasonal menus that always have something interesting to try. Some of my favorites from past menus were the Scottish salmon bowl and the wagyu steak salad. Today I saw Thai chicken fried rice.
My husband had the 8oz wagyu burger with havarti cheese, shoyu onions, truffle mayo (on the side for him), arugula, on a Noble challah bun with fries.
We did alright at Squid Ink Sushi.
www.SquidInkSushi.com
9947 W Happy Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-561-7747
We also dined at Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale, (Arrowhead, #UpperWestSideAZ). They are an Italian Restaurant that also serves Neapolitan Pizzas.
“I wonder what will I eat today?”
I went with the branzino special.
“I’m here ready to eat”
I received two grilled branzino filets (plenty to share) and a big serving of vegetable studded risotto.
“May I have some please?”
My husband went with the chicken pizziola.
The dogs got some of that too!
“Your turn to feed me now!”“We enjoy going to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante”
www.BottegaRistorante.com
19430 N 59th Ave Glendale AZ
623-777-1868
We also went to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They serve most of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho. They specialize in serving the Vietnamese baguette sandwich called the banh mi and offer it in around a dozen varieties. Today. we had a pork noodle bowl and a chicken noodle bowl.
We were all very pleased like we usually are. My husband eats the whole bowl. I think it’s a lot of food. For me and the dogs it really is two meals.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
2340 W Bell Rd Phoenix AZ
602-843-3637
The next week it was unusually cold and windy or Phoenix so we took the dogs threw a Culver’s Drive Threw (a national chain) for a butter burger.
Wee fed them outside on the Culver’s patio real fast.
That was dining out with DOGS in Metro Phoenix for January 2022. We hope that you have enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Revolu Modern Taqueria + Bar is a Mexican Southwest street food style restaurant and bar. They have two locations in metro Phoenix. One is in Phoenix and the one I visited is in Peoria Arizona by the Peoria Sports complex by P83. The majority of the menu offerings are shareable plates and over a dozen types of street tacos. They also offer cheese crisps, bowls, fajitas, and more.
We came around a holiday weekend when most places were closed today.
They have bar seating.
They also have traditional seating and a large patio with high top tables.
We started out by ordering the chips and trio of salsas. (this I forgot to photo)
The seemed freshly made and were served warm. The three salsas that we received were a roasted salsa, a tomatillo salsa, and pineapple habanero salsa. Everything was tasty. The pineapple habanero had very strong pineapple flavor with a nice not too hot heat from the habanero.
I tried three street tacos. They come with rice and beans or you can upgrade the sides to elote.
I tried the potato head, Del Mar (beer battered mild white fish), and the Nashville hot chicken street tacos. All the tacos are over stuffed and some are extra saucy. I wouldn’t recommend them on a first date with someone unless you are very comfortable with any situation……(You will look very messy). The first one I tried was the one called potato head “queso style” with a crispy hard cheese shell around the taco (I thought the cheese shell would taste best on the potato taco and I think that I was right) This potato head taco is really scrumptious queso style. It’s full of all kinds of flavors. The Del Mar (beer battered fish taco) is tasty with the chipotle aioli. The Nashville Hot Chicken taco doesn’t remind me of Hattie “B”s but it sure is tasty so it’s a win. I was pretty full by now. but I did manage to taste the rice and beans. Both. were very good and better than from most places. I’d say the beans might have been the best vegetarian beans that I have tasted anywhere.
My husband tried the chorizo, carne asada, shrimp diablo, and carnitas. All of them were good. The carne asada was tender. The shrimp diablo was extra spicy.
I have to say that our first taste of Revolu Modern Taqueria + Bar was Worth a Fork!
Outta Bronx in Peoria Arizona is a small casual sandwich shop with limited seating. The original location is in Phoenix. On the Peoria menu you won’t find some New York classics like a spiedie or beef on weck, club sandwiches, or New York Bagels and lox. However you will find are a variety of hot sandwiches. Many of the sandwiches are some sort of beef like a New York inspired chopped cheese (with beef), there’s also pastrami, hot dogs, corned beef, beef brisket, and beef meatballs. Besides beef sandwiches they also offer a fish sandwich, a bacon, egg, cheese and hash brown baguette sandwich, a shrimp sandwich, a gyro, a grilled cheese, a veggie sandwich and two chicken sandwiches. Outta Bronx also serves burgers a few salads, wings, fish & chips, a shrimp basket, lots of sides, and a children’s menu.
The Peoria location is located in an outdoor shopping center between a vape shop and a UPS store and anchored by a Fry’s Supermarket.
It’s only postage sized inside.
You order, pay, and pick up at the counter.
In the next picture you are looking at all of the indoor seating and the bottle of hand sanitizer is the only place to clean you hands (no public restroom available).
A few patio tables are outside.
I tried a sandwich called the East Coast (thick cut pastrami, pickles, mustard, on a baguette)
It taste good but…..my thick pastrami is sliced very thin.
They might have sliced it thin because the pastrami is under done. (the fat is still hard and if it was thick you wouldn’t be able to eat it). It taste good but it is a bit chewy.
My husband tried the chopped cheese. (grilled Angus beef, American & provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles on a baguette)
Mayonnaise wasn’t in the description…..and. mayonnaise is maybe the one thing that my husband hates. the most. The sandwich is slathered with mayonnaise. (I worried about him becoming unhinged over mayonnaise but he remained cool…)
My husband goes inside to ask why mayonnaise is on his chopped cheese sandwich. The girl at the counter insist that the white spread on the sandwich isn’t mayonnaise and is the melted cheese. (it truly was mayonnaise…I should have taken another photo)
Anyways…..
The cheese is slightly over cooked and hard. My husband wouldn’t eat the bread because it was polluted with mayonnaise so he ate around the mayonnaise and all the beef and cheese was like a solid block all glued together because the cheese was hard and chewy.
We also shared what they called a 50/50 (fries and onion rings.
The 50/50 isn’t actually 50% fries and 50% onion rings I guess it’s more like 80% skinny thin fries and 20% onion rings. The fries and onion rings remind me of a certain fast food restaurant.
That was my trip to Outta Bronx in Peoria AZ – Newly Opened
There are several different kinds of restaurants out there. Most go under the categories of neighborhood restaurants….and neighborhood restaurants also are very good restaurants. We LOVE neighborhood restaurants……….but…… Some restaurants out there are destination restaurants. Destination restaurants serve the FANTABULOUS dishes. These are the restaurants that you drive across town for. We lost some of our destination lunch restaurants like Tarbell’s Tavern, Christopher’s and Vincent Market Bistro possibly due to the pandemic. Some restaurants have cut back lunch service to limited days. It is important that we still have some destination lunch restaurants. These restaurants are great for a special lunch out. Some only offer lunch on the weekends. Maybe you want to impress a friend or a relative. Maybe you want a special lunch for an anniversary or a birthday. Or maybe it’s for just because…….
Here they are in no particular order.
The Craftsman (lunch Fri, Sat. Sun.) in North Scottsdale offers some expectational cuisine. When you taste just even a salad you know that it isn’t ordinary. It’s the highest freshest quality.
crunchy quinoa salad with chickenCraftsman muffuletta with friesshipwright ahi saladtomato and melon burrata
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
We have Elements at Sanctuary (lunch Mon., Tue., Wed., Thurs., Fri.) in Paradise Valley with celebrity chef Beau Macmillan. The menu is ever changing and seasonal. But you are sure to find a variety of appetizers a special of the day, bento boxes, a very good exceptional chicken dish, and pastry chef quality desserts.
bento box house made cavatelli with duck confitseasonal chicken thigh dishfive spice beef tenderloinchef crafted dessert
www.SantuuaryCamelback.com/dining/Elements
Ocotillo (lunch Sat., Sun. subject to change) is a restaurant and more. It is technically also a coffee bar, cocktail lounge, wine bar, event space and park. They offer a mostly American menu laced with global cuisine. The menu offered is a large brunch menu of mostly sharing plates of salads, vegetable plates, sweets (breakfast), light plates, savory plates. I counted over 20 different plates to choose from. The menus are seasonal and do change. Also the hours change. Before the pandemic Ocotillo offered a great lunch everyday. Currently brunch is offered on the weekends of mostly lunch sharing plates.
house smoked salmon platecrispy chicken meatballstandoori chicken salad pita with tomato watermelon saladvanilia roasted pear with goat cheese and bitter chocolate with mintsmoked brisket on parmesan polenta, fried egg, crispy onions, brisket jusJapanese fish and chips
It’s easy to see why Ocotillo is a destination restaurant.
www.OcotilloPHX.com
Superstition Downtown Meadery (lunch 7 days a week) in Phoenix offers chef crafted food and award winning meadery (ancient honey wine). They offer sharing boards, small sharing plates and large sharing plates and food and mead pairings.
12 mead sampler $24.piri piri chicken & warm cannelli bean saladgorgonzola. & herb butter skirt steak blondies with cocoa nibs and Marion berry mead sauce whipped cream
www.SuperstitionMeadery.com
Another one of the top destinations for a special lunch would be the small restaurant in Carefree called Confluence (lunch Wed. Thurs., Fri., Sat.) They serve ever changing seasonal menus of elevated modern cuisine….You can order appetizers, lunch, and don’t miss dessert….because the desserts are equally amazing as the food.
Some of the amazing detailed and delicious lunches from Confluence that we tried were- –
kampachi crudo appetizermiso braised beef cheek (don’t miss out on any beef cheek you ever come across from Confluence) (this was only on the lunch menu maybe one week)Wagyu pastrami sandwich cubano sandwichBBQ chicken sandwich, celery root, spicy pickle, beet greens, smoked onion mayo, on a house made fontina roll (This might have been the most delicious sandwich that I have ever eaten anywhere)buttermilk fried chicken with broccolini, grits and chili tepin honey mustardmixed fruit granitespiced plum with black pepper oat crumble, sake poached cherry, candied manderanquat, mint, matcha creme anglaisechocolate mousse smoked toffee risotto, spiced pear, cocoa nibs, hazelnut, mint
www.RestaurantConfluence.com
These are some of the destination restaurants of metro Phoenix for lunch.
In no particular order-
The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen – (Fri-Sun.) North Scottsdale
