Author Archives: The Forking Truth

AZ Restaurant Week Fall 2019- Zinc Bistro Scottsdale – Worth a Fork!

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Arizona Fall 2019 Restaurant Week runs September 20th – 29th and somewhere around two hundred restaurants are participating. They are offering three course special meals for $33.00 and $44.00. A few restaurants are offering TWO for $33.00 and TWO for 44.00 deals. Zinc Bistro is among the participating restaurants offering a special restaurant week menu ($44.00).

Zinc Bistro is a New York Style Parisian Restaurant in Scottsdale Arizona in the Kierland Commons.

The atmosphere is sort of an old fashioned look with a tin ceiling and classic fixtures and traditional seating indoors, or at the bar, on the patio or the courtyard.

If you have an appetite for shellfish an oyster bar and other shellfish is available in addition to the menus.

The traditional French Onion Soup has been featured on Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate so I had to start with that since it was on the restaurant week menu.

It taste like a high quality gruyere with a little snip of chives. Ohhhhhh It’s DELICIOUSSSSSSSSSSS! I don’t know why so much cheese is melted on the outside of the bowl. A toasted piece of baguette holds up the cheese. The soup is so different…and amazing. It’s not at all what I expected……It’s so caramelized onion-ee It taste just like confit onions well maybe because they are confit onions. Those onions are melty and must have been slow roasted for around 8-12 hours with bay leaves, pepper, herbs and a big splash of something I’m not very familiar with maybe Pernod? Oh it’s delicious and Forking Amazing. WOW!

My husband started with the Escargot Bougugnon.

There’s an interesting spice blend on the escargot. It’s herbs de Provence, garlic, parsley, pernod and a little heat from Calabrian Chile. There is also a rich slice of brioche.

My main was the Blackened Alaskan Halibut.

It’s almost too pretty to eat! There’s flowers, pretty vegetables and special seasonings. Now I go to taste some fish. I never had anything blackened that tasted this delicious and complex before. It’s sort of spicy but lightly smokey and fruity with other flavors mixed in. The halibut is very tender, moist and flakes. Under the center piece of fish is a breaded green tomato in a pickled tomato remoulade. YUM! what a treat! There’s another dab of something green and creamy and chopped up onion and celery and a little tempura fried oyster. This plate was very detailed and Forking DELICIOUS!

My husband had the Compart Farms Pork Tenderloin.

All kinds of wonderful things were on this plate. There was escarole with ventreche (pork belly seasoned and with smoke), choucroute ( a type of French sour kraut) and caramelized apple hydromel (honey and water liquor that is fermented or mead).

Then we got to share TWO desserts!

One was the Upside Down Apple Tart Tatin that was topped with malted cascara ice cream. Other goodies here were luxardo cherries and cocoa nib crumble. YUM!

The other dessert was a Peanut Butter Eclair.

It had Nutella Pastry Cream and Strawberry Ganache with pretty flowers. It was suppose to come with Foie Gras Powder but I asked them to leave that off. I liked how this was so different and the strawberry ganache wasn’t too sweet either and had lots of strong strawberry flavor.

It was a lovely very detailed three course dinner that we both enjoyed!

Restaurant Week Fall 2019 at Zinc Bistro was worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.ZincBistro.com

Every THING is subject to change and your exsperience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Falafel Flavored Chickpea Side Dish Recipe

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I came up with this because I was going to make falafels…but then I got thinking that I didn’t want to eat a lot of fried food so I thought I’d make a healthier side dish out of chickpeas that taste similar to falafels. If you like the taste of falafels you should enjoy this. I note that you have to get the chickpeas started in water the night before.

Ingredients for around 12 servings

1 lb dried chickpeas – inspected and rinsed – must soak over night in a little more than twice the amount of water (you can do the one hour method but I don’t like it as much)

5 1/2 cups water to cook drained and rinsed – already soaked chickpeas (after cooking save one cup for making the tahini sauce)

1 lb carrots – peeled – chopped into pieces around the size of chickpeas

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon vegetable base

sweet onion – chopped around chick pea size (around 13 oz)

3 medium sized bell peppers (preferably mixed colors) – chopped around chickpea size

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 Tablespoon Aleppo pepper

1 Tablespoon course sea salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup fresh parsley leaves – chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and some tender stems) – chopped

4 Tablespoons (some were heaping) tahini (this is for tahini sauce)

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane (this is for tahini sauce)

1 nice lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice (this is for tahini sauce)

1 teaspoon sea salt (this is for tahini sauce)

1 teaspoon cumin (this is for tahini sauce)

1 cup chickpea water (leftover from cooking the chick peas) (this is for tahini sauce)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Your chickpeas should have been inspected, rinsed and soaked over-night first. Now drain and rinse the chickpeas again. Bring about twice the amount of water to what you have of chickpeas to a boil (around 51/2 cups water). Once the chickpeas are boiling then reduce them to simmering. Let them simmer at least an hour and then check to see if they are done. Mine took exactly one hour. Once done drain the chickpeas and save one cup of cooked bean water and set the chickpeas and chickpea water to the side.

While the chickpeas are cooking get the carrots in a pan. In a small mixing bowl mix the 1/4 cup of water with the vegetable base and pour it on to the carrots. Cover the pan with foil and set in the preheated oven till the carrots are fork tender. (in my oven this took around 40 minutes….yours may differ)

Also while the chickpeas are cooking……. on one small sheet pan add the onions and on the other add the peppers and broil on high till vegetables look charred. Remove onions and peppers when charred.

By now or soon the chickpeas will be done. Add the peppers, carrots and onions to the chickpeas. Now add three cloves garlic, Aleppo pepper, 1 Tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons cumin, coriander, turmeric, parsley and cilantro and gently mix.

In small bowl add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, cumin and chickpea water and mix well. You can keep this on the side and add as you please or just mix it into the chickpea mixture.

Falafel Flavored Chickpea Side Dish

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

My Visit to Zinburger Phoenix AZ Sept 2019

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Zinburger is a casual full service burger restaurant chain with many locations across the country. They started off as a Phoenix Based Fox Concept Restaurant but have recently been purchased by the Cheesecake Factory. I went to the Phoenix location at the Biltmore Fashion Plaza.

The specialty of the restaurant are burgers. The standard burger here is fresh ground two times a day and is portioned at six and a half ounces. The standard burgers are made from certified Angus beef or you can upgrade to American Kobe for $5.00 extra. Other choices are all natural chicken and turkey. They also offer salmon, veggie patty, salads, sides, milkshakes, children’s menu and more are available.

Outdoor seating on patios that wrap around the restaurant.

Indoor seating at the bar or standard tables.

This picture in the restaurant sort blocks my burger craving today.

When you look at the beautiful cows it’s easy to feel guilty about eating beef……………for me…maybe not you.

Today I tried the seared salmon salad ($16.50 subject to change)

My salad is made with some fried Brussel sprout, radish, carrot, romaine, other greens and was tossed with lemon mustard vinaigrette. I also got a few sunflower seeds and my salad is missing the avocado. The salmon is seasoned nicely and is juicy. It’s a decent salad as is………….Last time I did have the Bruce Lee Burger and that was memorable and really delicious. It was also some sort of prize winning burger from a burger battle.

Zinburger – Bruce Lee Burger

My husband had the El Diablo Burger again just like last time. ($11.50 subject to change).

The burger is nicely caramelized and was prepared to a perfect medium rare (on one side). This burger came with pepper jack cheese, jalapeños (that taste canned) and caramelized onions. This burger is missing lettuce today and looks like it was made with less cheese than before. Still a very good burger. It’s fresh ground in house, nicely caramelized, prepared reasonably well.

Here’s a El Diablo from a prior visit.

Zinburger’s El Diablo Burger

Zinburger in general prepares good food but the service that I experienced runs very average. Servers should be aware of what they are serving and should check to see that the dish leaves the kitchen correctly.

I do need to note that the management adjusted our bill generously each time an error was reported. (on a prior visit we ordered a salad to share that never arrived)

That was my September 2019 visit to Zinburger.

www.ZinburgerAZ.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Today’s QUICK Cherry Tomato Sauce Recipe

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This is Today’s Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce. I call it today’s because tomorrow I might have made it different. I had a pound of rainbow cherry tomatoes that I had to use up so I made them into a quick sauce. Just cut each tomato is half and cook them up. around ten minutes later you will have a delicious sauce for about two generous servings.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb cherry tomatoes (made sure that the tomatoes are very ripe and sweet or you might need sugar) – cut each in half.

3 garlic cloves – either ground to paste or microplane

1 cherry pepper (I used a jarred hot/sweet ) minced (you can substitute a pinch of crush red pepper but it won’t taste as good)

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons wine (dry white or a red)

1 teaspoon vegetable soup base (instead of salt and it adds flavor)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

Put your sauce pot on medium high heat with the olive oil. As soon as the oil is hot add the tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, cherry pepper, wine and soup base. Stir it up and the tomatoes will start to break down and before you know it the sauce will have thickened. Shut off heat and add the herbs and remove the bay leaves.

Today’s Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce

I latter used some of the sauce with dinner and the rest went on top of a pizza I made.

Today’s Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce topped my pizza

Serve with pasta or rice or it can be the start of a delicious soup or stew.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Dog Haus Scottsdale AZ – Tasty enough to WOOF it down! #DOGHAUS

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Dog Haus is a quick/casual restaurant located in Scottsdale Arizona in the Scottsdale Quarter. They serve beef hot dogs, nitrate free sausage, angus burgers, a fried chicken sandwich, plant based (burgers/sausages) on grilled King’s Hawaiian Rolls kind of place. They also offer craft beers and milkshakes. This is a growing California group of restaurants with over 30 locations in the United States.

You order at the counter.

Then you pay, grab a number, get your drinks and seat yourself inside or at one of the four small tables outside.

I was all set to get an Impossible Burger (meatless). I’ve tried Impossible Burgers from three different places and they all tasted different so I was curious on how an Impossible Burger from Dog Haus would taste …….. Then I saw the September Special and it sounded so much more interesting I had to get that.

The September Special is BUBU’s Hot Chicken Grilled Cheese by chef Eric Greenspan ($10.99 with $1.00 donated to No Kid Hungry). It sounded really special so that’s what I got but slightly adjusted for my taste.

OMG it’s so heavy and big I can’t pick it up. If I eat this whole thing I’ll look like Eric Greenspan.

I have to cut the sandwich in half. This sandwich has all kinds of sauces and chipotle mayo on it……so I cut out the cheeses for my taste because this is enough fat for me. DANG this powerfully flavorful. The chicken is very crispy, moist and meaty and has chef Greenspan’s hot chili oil all over it and his angry dust…..It’s a delicious taste. I taste bay leaves and other spices. It’s spicy but not too spicy. There’s LOTS of creamy cole slaw that cools things down just right with that sort sweet soft crisp grilled Hawaiian Rolls. That crisp pickle adds another pop. I do taste a small piece with cheese and I honestly think this sandwich is much better without the cheese sauce or cheese because you can’t taste all the delicious flavors as much with all that cheese. It’s a delicious sandwich. Chef Greenspan should sell his chili oil and angry seasoning…..It’ all yum here!

My husband enjoyed his Italian Sausage sandwich called The Fonz ($7.99). It’s an Italian Hot Sausage, pastrami and mozzarella cheese with caramelized onions and pickled peppers also on grilled King’s Hawaiian Buns.

We also shared onion rings ($3.49).

This is a very large portion…I wonder if they gave us extra? Anywho the rings seem like they are free of oil and are very crisp but not the most flavorful…..I’d try fries or tots next time.

That was my trip to Dog Haus in Scottsdale – Tasty enough to WOOF it down!

www.ScottsdaleQuarter.DogHaus.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Favorite Thai Dish in North Phoenix – Spicy Pumpkin Basil from Sala Thai in Peoria AZ – FORKING Delicious – Worth a Fork!

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At the moment my favorite Thai Dish that I’ve come across in North Phoenix is the Spicy Pumpkin Basil from Sala Thai in Peoria. The Pumpkin adds another delicious flavor. It’s sort of sweet, a little creamy and sort of chestnut-like. This dish is basically a Pad Gra Pow with added Thai Pumpkin. It’s your choice of meat hand chopped with extra surface space to soak up flavors. Then it’s stir fried with bell pepper, onion, garlic, Thai Chillies, basil and fish sauce. It’s incredibly delicious. I enjoy that they use a handful of delicious basil that you can taste in this dish. This dish also taste better than from other places because they use Thai Chillies for heat unlike some of the other places that use jalapeños and or a granulated powder. Some of the other Thai restaurants in North Phoenix do offer Pumpkin Curry but Sala Thai is one of the few or possibly only Thai Restaurant in North Phoenix that offers Spicy Pumpkin Basil.

Why settle for Pad Gra Pow when you can have Spicy Pumpkin Basil?

Worth a Fork!

www.SalaThaiAZ.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Leek Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette Recipe

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I got this bundle of leeks that were unusually nice and tender so I thought I could make a salad out of them so this is what I came up with. You can only do this recipe with tender white parts of the leek……Some leeks aren’t tender enough and you might have to slice them thinner than I did…..This is for only when you find those really nice really fresh looking leeks. This makes two salad entree servings or four smaller servings. Free free to add a protein. I think some anchovies or sardines with maybe an egg would work well here but pulled, poached or grilled chicken would be just as good.

Ingredients for 2 servings

2 leeks – trim off roots and green end – half it longways and slice it up – soak in a big bowl of warm water and swish around to get bugs and dirt off. Soak it in fresh new water for at least ten minutes. Rinse and soak again ten minutes to make sure you got off all the dirt.

1 cucumber- remove skin – slice in half long ways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon – slice up the cucumber.

2 radish – shredded

1/4 cup golden raisins

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

1 preserved lemon – scoop out the insides and try to scoop out as much as the pith (white stuff in rind) as you can. Then fine chop the yellow rind.

1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard (I used Maille Brand)

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard (I used Amora Brand)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon date syrup (I used McClendon’s)

salt and pepper to taste if desired (I think there is enough salt from the preserved lemon…)

Directions

Leeks, cucumber, radish, raisins and fresh oregano go in a large mixing bowl.

In a small mixing bowl add the preserved lemon, whole grain mustard, dijon mustard, olive oil, vinegar and date syrup. Mix well till it emulsifies. Taste it and decide if you need any salt or pepper.

Mix the dressing into the salad and serve or serve the dressing on the side.

Leek Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Enjoy! This was really delicious!

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie M&M’s – WTFORK it tastes like……….

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These White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie M&M’s were out perviously (last fall or the fall before I forget) but this is one flavor I skipped. I thought I’d try them this year.

I start by opening the bag and taking a whiff.

I see that I got lots of broken pieces of M&M’s all over.

They are mostly larger and slightly irregular in shape….compared to standard M&M’s. They come in colors of white, orange and a brown that looks just like dog doo colored.

Now I smell them.

It smells familiar………sort of like a spice cookie but with sour cream cheese frosting.

I taste one…this is kinda gross………It’s really greasy……Maybe I just got a bad batch…..or maybe these spoiled in the truck making its way to 110 degree F Phoenix.

This taste like FORKING greasy artificial GINGER BREAD with molasses and sour cream cheese frosting.

This doesn’t taste like Pumpkin Pie.

I wonder if this flavor was concocted from other leftover flavors?

I don’t know WTFork they’ve done here but I imagine that it could be possible that I am tasting some sort of carrot cake flavor that is possibly mixed with gingerbread.

This one just doesn’t taste good.

There’s an unpleasant after taste from this one.

BLECH! These are sickening!…….and they are greasy gross.

On the bright side I know that I am not going to gain any weight from these M&M’s.

I have to give these White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie M&M’s a Not Worth a Fork!

NOT WORTH A FORK!

Taste is subjective and your opinion and experience may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth

Forking Awesome Pickled Cascabella Peppers Recipe

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While dining at the Barrio Grand Reserva in Phoenix Arizona I ate this salsa that was OUT- OF – THIS – WORLD delicious that was made with cascabella peppers. It was the most delicious salsa that I have ever tasted in my life. I remember that it was so FORKING AMAZING that I would have to try to find these peppers someday. I finally have come across these peppers at the ninety-nine cent store so I picked up a couple packages of them. When I got home I washed them up well like three times and trimmed off the ends. I go to taste one and it’s so hot that it is too difficult to taste so I know that I have to pickle them so that’s what I did. BUT WOW! They turned out FORKING AMAZING. When you pickle the cascabella pepper the heat comes out in the brine and the brine alone is incredible. With these pickled cascabellas you too can make the most delicious salsas and more ever! It’s easy to make pickled peppers you just heat up the liquid and pour it over the peppers but I do recommend THAT YOU SHOULD WEAR GLOVES TO PROTECT YOUR HANDS. These stay fresh for many months even without canning.

Ingredients

28 oz cascabella peppers – soak and wash well – remove stem end

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups rice wine vinegar

2 cups water

4 Tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 sweet onion – sliced paper thin

6 garlic cloves – chopped

1 Tablespoon black peppercorns

1 Tablespoon coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

1 carrot – shredded

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

The cascabella peppers go in a large bowl with the carrots and onions. Set this bowl to the side.

In a sauce pot on medium high heat add the vinegars, water, salt, sugar, garlic, peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves and oregano. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Let simmer maybe ten minutes. Pour the hot liquid and all the contents over the bowl of peppers. Let the bowl of peppers cool to room temperature and then put in sterilized containers or tubs. Wait at least a day to taste….they are even better a few days latter. Now you will be hooked on them.

Forking Awesome Pickled Cascabella Peppers

Forking Delicious!

The Forking Truth

The Forking Best Pizzas I’ve Tasted on the West Side in Glendale and Peoria AZ

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We have really Forking Awesome Pizzas in Glendale and Peoria. All the pizzas are Forking Great and delicious. These are the most delicious ones I’ve tasted so far. Pictured above is the Pizza Milano from Bottega Pizzaria Ristorante in Glendale. This particular one is special because it is ultra thin and is made with San Marzano Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a little spicy kick from Calabrian Chile Peppers. It’s crisp but does have a soft middle. it’s also the best ultra thin pizza that I know of on the west side. The regular pizzas are delicious as well and are very similar to Pomo Pizzas….(this restaurant used to be a Pomo). Delicious pizzas you can’t go wrong here.

From Fabio on Fire in Peoria is the Bufalina Pizza. This one has all kinds of flavors going on. Rich San Marzano tomatoes, peppery arugula, sweet reduced balsamic, creamy bufala cheese, nutty parmesan on a thin light chewy and crisp crust. The bufalina cheese was partially delicious…..It was creamier and more flavorful than other buffalo cheeses I’ve tasted from other places. This pizza was incredibly delicious! It’s one of the BEST ever!

The Pizzas from La Piazza Al Forno are all delicious but this Bianca Pizza was really extra special. This pizza was made with their insanely delicious house made mozzarella, a high quality ricotta (don’t know if house made but it tasted like house made), extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano, and Calabrian chiles. All this was on their very delicate textured certified crust. It was really awesome.

The Forking Truth is that I do really love their Margherita pizzas too but they differ depending on the visit……They both taste good (pictured below) but I prefer the one on the right. The one on the right might be my favorite Margherita anywhere. The house made mozzarella is the most flavorful mozzarella…Their crust is the most delicate and tender and when the sauce is just right is pretty darn amazing.

Also on the west side by the same owner of La Piazza Al Forno is Piazza Romana that is technically in Avondale but is so freaking close to Glendale it just has to be included. This place is basically around the corner from Westgate in Glendale.

Here are Piazza Romana in Avondale is the Metro Phoenix first Roman Style Pizza Shop. Pictured above is the Arrabiatta. It has a delicious chunky thick topping that’s seasoned well with a kick!

Pictured above are the Margherita and the picante (spicy salami ((sopresata))

These pizza slices have a bubbly textured dough that is crisp but also moist in the center and are generously topped with delicious toppings. They aren’t as heavy as they look….and they ARE DELICIOUS!

At The Rec in Peoria they serve Detroit Style Pizza. (pictured above and below)

This pizza has a bubbly thick crust that isn’t doughy with these scrumptious crisp CHEESY edges.

The bottom taste almost like a buttery grilled cheese and this pizza was topped with a rich chunky oregano laced sauce and a delicious melty cheese blend. This pizza is incredibly tasty.

I make pizza too…..One of my favorites that I make is the Heirloom Tomato slices with fresh basil, E.V.O.O. with my cheese blend of mozzarella, provolone, sharp provolone and parmesan.

Those were The FORKING Best Pizzas that I’ve Tasted on the west side …..(mostly) in Glendale and Peoria.

Every FORKING Thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth