My Spot Mediterranean Grill is an extra casual kosher Israeli Restaurant that recently opened in North Phoenix Arizona. This restaurant offers fresh baked pitas and laffa breads. You can also order things like falafels, shawarma, schnitzel, skewers, kabobs, platters, burgers, salads, and more!

You order and pay at the counter. Then you grab your own silverware and drink and seat yourself at a table. When your order is ready someone will run it out to you.

We started out by sharing the falafels with hummus. They came with choice of bread and I picked the pitas.

The hummus is nice and creamy. It tastes like it was made with toasted cumin. The falafels have a crisp exterior and are moist and herby inside.

The pitas are nice , fresh and fluffy.

For my main I went with the beef lola on laffa bread…(it comes with fries).

I’ll open it up more so you can see inside.

It’s like a giant burrito stuffed with all kinds of goodies. There’s onions, cabbage, spicy pickles, tahini sauce, and beef lola meat that looks like it was prepared on a skewer. The beef is moist and delicious. It’s so full of flavors…..It’s even better when you just eat the whole thing together. Kosher beef does have a nice clean taste that is different. Only the front part of the cow is used for kosher beef and you don’t get the stomach or intestinal spillage in the meat that all grocery store ground beef contains. That is why kosher beef is much more expensive. DON”T GET MAD AT ME but……..You might not believe me but the FORKING Truth is that regular commercial ground beef really does have poop in it.

Only the front part of the cow is used for kosher beef and kosher beef really does taste clean and different.

Anyways-

The laffa bread is heavier than the laffa bread I had at James Beard award winning Micheal Solomonov’s multi award wining restaurant Zahav….But this was fresh made and still is very good. This can be two meals for some people.

My husband tried the spicy chicken schnitzel that comes with Israeli salad and fries.

This is breaded white meat chicken that is moist and seasoned nicely….The fries and Israeli salad are kinda very average. They have salt, pepper, and white vinegar to season the sides.

Based on this visit I’d recommend getting a beef lola with laffa bread. It was surprisingly delicious. I thought that the hummus and the falafels were good . The spicy schnitzel was good but the sides were very average.

A word of warning for people who don’t know. This is a kosher restaurant that serves meat so that means there is nothing dairy in the restaurant. If you order a burger it will be cooked well done and cheese is not offered. Also only soft beverages are available. You do need to check hours and be aware that they close for holidays that you might not be aware of. They also are closed every week for the sabbath that is Friday and Saturday.

My Spot Mediterranean Grill is CERTAINLY Worth a Try!

1601 E Bell Rd Phoenix AZ – 602-612-3955

www.MySpotKosherKitchen.cm

Every THING is subject to change.

Alzohour Market and Restaurant is a Moroccan/Middle Eastern Halal Restaurant, market, grocery, and Islamic clothing store in Metro Phoenix Arizona. It’s not a fancy place and alcohol is not served here.

One woman named Zhor runs and serves and prepares all the food herself. She also runs the market and clothing store. Somehow (I have no idea how) she makes her own pastry and even yogurt too for the greatest tzatziki anywhere.

Due to all the hard work she does service is at Zhor’s pace……..So PREPARE for that………. It’s like visiting a foreign land.

You might want to start off with falafels.

Or maybe something hard to find like kashke Bademjam.

It’s meaty eggplant with garlic and walnuts….that gets embellished with vegetables and fresh herbs. You eat it with flatbread. It’s like a vegetarian eggplant fajita.

Another stand out starter are the stuffed grape leaves.

I promise you that these grape leaves are the most delicious ones out there!

Another MUST GET is the Moroccan Tea.

It’s the most delicious tea we ever had anywhere.

The most famous dish here is the painstakingly made B’Stilla.

It’s Zhou’s hand made phyllo dough with chicken, cinnamon, almonds, and dusted with powdered sugar. It’s sweet and rich and also a very large generous portion.

My personal favorite entree is the fish tagine.

It comes out bubbling hot and the fish is always mild tasting and tender moist. Moroccan spices, lemon and olive are the flavors going on here. This comes with rice.

My husband’s favorite entree is the mix grill.

You get a chicken kabob, a shish kafta, gyro meat, rice and whatever vegetables Zhor is serving today.

Some of the other offerings are –

Lamb couscous

(to go) Chicken Tagine

(to go) Chicken Kabob

Kebssa (Kabsah) Saudi Rice Dish with chicken

Chicken couscous

Frekah with chicken.

So far the best tasting baklava I’ve tried is the baklava from Alzohour. It’s not as sweet as it looks.

Sometimes there is a dessert special.

Stuffed baklava

Maybe my favorite dessert here is the kunafa.

This is made fresh to order and comes out HOT! It’s noodle pastry stuffed with cheese and topped with pistachios (I was too full and had to order to go!)

The hand painting inside was done by Zhor herself.

Alzohour Market and Restaurant is the most unique restaurant in Metro Phoenix Arizona and is Worth a Fork!

Alzohour Market and Restaurant

7814 N 27th Ave PHX AZ – 602-433-5191

www.Alzohour-Market.Business.site

Every THING is subject to change.

NakedQ BBQ is a small casual barbecue restaurant that serves dry rubbed barbecued meats. You can add whatever sauces you like but the meats come out “Naked.” NakedQ BBQ is in three locations in metro Phoenix Arizona. The original located is in north Phoenix in the Deer Valley Area. They also are in Scottsdale, and the newest location is in Glendale by the State Farm Stadium in Westgate.

Just like the original location the Glendale location is small and casual. You order at the counter, get your platter, pay, grab drinks, and sauces, and seat yourself.

All the BBQ is good….don’t get me wrong but the turkey really stands out. It’s nicely flavored and smoked just right. It’s always moist and tender so well that it seems like it was prepared from a sous vide oven.

Below is a caesar salad with turkey.

For some people this is a very large salad with a large portion of tender amazing moist turkey breast. (I got two meals out of this and it was only…ONLY $9…….I expect that price to change)

Pro-Tip – The caesar dressing is bit mild……I make it pop by adding a little drizzle of NakedQ’s mustard sauce…..Now you got a tasty meal.

My husband usually gets the two meat plates that comes with two sides.

He got BBQ brisket, pork, beans, and vinegar slaw. He said that the corn bread ran more moist than from the Phoenix location.

Once in a while like a few times a year they have smoked corned beef as.a special. I only had it twice so far.

Below is the first time we had the smoked corned beef.

OMGosh! These were incredible. If a food critic was here and tasted them that person would call these sandwiches among the best in the valley…..Tried them a year latter….discovered that they make two different versions of this sandwich. Up above is the fatty and usually I don’t do fatty but fatty here is better. The second version I had was the lean and it didn’t melt in your mouth like the fatty here……..If you ever happened to catch the smoked corned beef you must ask for the fatty.

The second smoked corned beef……*This was the lean*

Below are a few photos of NakedQ BBQ food from the North Phoenix Location.

Turkey Garden salad

2 meat plate – brisket, pulled pork, with added jalapeño hot links, sides bbq beans and Mac ‘n’ cheese

to go – 2 meat plate – pulled pork, jalapeño hot links, Mac ‘n’ cheese

to go – 2 meat plate – chicken & brisket, vegetable, slaw

1 meat pulled pork, beans, mac’n’ cheese

1 meat plate bbq turkey slaw & vegetable

Side of jalapeño hot links

Everything is good but the turkey is fantabulous!

Worth a Fork!

NakedQ BBQ – 9405 W Glendale Ave Glendale AZ 623-230-2199

www.NakedQ.com

Every THING is subject to change.

PA’LA is a high quality casual Italian, Mediterranean, and global type restaurant that prepares most of the foods served from a wood burning oven. They have two locations in Phoenix Arizona. One location is downtown and the other might be considered close to downtown. PA’LA might be considered a sort of tapas restaurant? They offer seasonal changing menus always offering organic produce, native grains, seafood and are local as much as possible.

The original location that is close to downtown is a very cozy restaurant.

When the weather is nice you will want to sit outside.

A few of the offerings you might find are things like-

white anchovies with crackers

Artichokes with Italian crackers

Navarro Bowl – skate, 5 grains, beets, cannelloni beans

Wood roasted fish Navarro bowl

Tuscan style whole grain open sandwich

“The sandwich” grass fed beef, poblano pepper, spinach, chimayo Chile powder

The sandwiches always taste amazing and are very high quality…..but sometimes they are very “skinny.”

Here’s the Hot Italian (Arcadia meat market sausage, arugula, pickled red peppers on their wood fired bread)

The lox sandwich is even “skinnier.” (lox, ricotta, capers, arugula, fennel, pickled red onions)

The really is very good and certainly is high quality but sometimes it is skinny so you can load up on the tapas appetizers and house made desserts.

PA’LA – 2107 N 24th St PHX AZ – 602-795-9500

www.PALAKitchen.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Confluence is a small but upscale high quality restaurant located in Carefree Arizona that is just above North Scottsdale. This restaurant is usually only a husband and wife team. That MEANS one of the most talented Top Chefs of Metro Phoenix is actually doing the masterful cooking for you…..(that seldom happens anywhere).

They offer changing seasonal menus of hot and cold appetizers, fresh fish dishes, meat dishes, desserts or cheese. You can order your meal a la carte or you can take advantage of a tasting option.

Tonight we took advantage of the tasting menu and went for the four courses for $75. (subject to change)

Whatever you order they usually start you off with bread and oil embellished with white balsamic.

Next we got two rounds of appetizers.

Soft scrambled goose egg – mascarpone, kennebec potato, cocks comb, shishito pepper, iitoi onion

Mixed greens salad – beets, radish, mozzarella, brioche croutons, red onion, herbs, oil & balsamic

Guinea hen ragout – braised leg, polenta, turnip

White mushroom soup – oyster mushroom, celery, cauliflower, hazelnuts

Entrees were-

Venison loin – red wine risotto, cauliflower, broccolini, pine nuts, parmesan

Halibut – great northern beans, spinach, sweet pepper, olive, Calabrian chili

Possibly the most complex Desserts in the valley.

Aged gouda and caramelized onion tart – Iberico Chorizo, horseradish, sunflower seeds, arugula, pomegranate molasses, freeze dried honey

Smoked Butterscotch tapioca pudding – blueberry, pepitas, candied butternut squash, smoked vanila creme fraiche

When the weather is nice patio seating is available with partial mountain views.

Confluence is Worth a Fork! and the $75. 4-Course tasting is a Screaming Hot Deal! (subject to change)

Confluence

36889 N Tom Darlington Dr Carefree AZ

480-488-9796

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Food Truck Friday West is a weekly gathering of Food Trucks from all over the Valley. This happens Friday nights 5pm-9pm at 18551 83rd Avenue in Glendale Arizona. See www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com for current Food Truck Lineup.

We tried King’s Mini Pancakes because the chicken bites with mini pancakes did sound like a tasty treat. They offer several varieties of mini pancakes and also offered several different flavors of sauces for the chicken.

Mr. King himself suggested the hot honey sauce so that’s what we went with.

We got chunks WHoOops! I mean BITES of tender breaded chicken breast covered in a tasty spicy/sweet sauce with a little kick to it. They are good but what is really great really are the MINI PANCAKES. The pancakes seem light as air and just melt in your mouth! They really are GREAT!

Kings Mini Pancakes – 480-529-1485

You can find them on Facebook and Instagram

We had to go to Good Eats Only Mexican Kitchen because last time I was super impressed with the chicken taco I tried. It really was among the best chicken tacos I’ve tried in Phoenix. They offered a limited menu of Mexican Foods like tacos, burritos, plates, and fries.

Today I had another chicken taco and a carne asada taco.

The tortillas are delicious and are fresh hand made! Both the chicken and steak are tender, charred yummy, and infused with flavors. The taco also came embellished with grilled onions, cilantro, and a scoop of guacamole and a side of hot sauce. VERY GOOD TACOS! Among the better ones out there!

My husband tried a quesobirria and a side order of beans ……not photoed…..next to the quesobirria is consommé.

All Good Eats here!

Good Eats Only Mexican Kitchen – 623-521-8473

You can find them on Facebook.

I had enough but my husband can eat a little more so he tried Coney Shack Grill. They offer Coney Island Style food but with a Midwest Twist. They offer things like wings, sliders, pitas, and Coney dogs.

He said it was a very good hotdog!

Coney Shack Grill – 12325 W McDowell Rd Avondale AZ – 602-882-6032

www.ConeyShackGrill.com

At Food Truck Friday West they also offered many activities for children.

Children’s Train Ride.

A bounce house.

A bounce car ride

And a child’s petting zoo. I also saw some novelty children’s balloons being sold there.

Food Truck Friday West

18551 83rd Avenue Glendale AZ (between Sam’s Club and Walmart)

Friday nights 5pm-9pm

See www.GetLocalArizonaEvents.com for current food truck line up

Carolina’s is a family owned group of four Mexican Restaurants that are considered to be a staple of Phoenix. The original location has been in business since 1968. This restaurant might be most famous for their daily made fresh flour tortillas.

Some of the other offerings are breakfast burritos, 16 combo platters, burros, chimi’s, tacos, tostados, tamales, a children’s menu, soft beverages, and more.

This is a casual restaurant.

You order and pay at the counter, grab a number, and seat yourself.

We started out by sharing a cheese quesadilla.

The flour tortilla is really great. It’s light and thin and melts in your mouth. The cheese adds a little something to it…….I think I should have ordered a fried jalapeño because that would have been tasty here.

I tried three different tacos. They came wrapped up like this.

Potato taco, shredded chicken taco, and a shredded beef taco with sides of guacamole, green salsa, and hot sauce.

The meats are both finely shredded and are tender. The taco shells are good and tasty and were fresh fried to order…….I don’t know if my visit is typical or maybe I hit them on an off day but the potato taco and the beef taco are both flavorless. Only the chicken taco today is infused with flavors. The beef taco and the potato taco are better when you add the green salsa to them. The green salsa is actually very good and full of flavors. I thought that the hot sauce had a taste that is similar to tabasco sauce.

My husband tried the burro 3 way combo platter.

The burro is 3 way because in the middle are beans and on one end is stewed beef in a red chili sauce and on the other end is beef in green chili sauce. The platter comes with Mexican style rice and refried beans. He said that the beef in red sauce was very good……but the green chili side was next to meatless.

Summing things up….From the Glendale location

Get the shredded chicken

Get the beef red chili

Get the green salsa

Take out some flour tortillas

That was my trip to Carolina’s Greenway Location in Glendale AZ

5920 W Greenway RD Glendale AZ

623-878-6277

www.CarolinasMexicanFood,com

Every THING is subject to change.