Category Archives: Forking Restaurant Reviews

Honest unbiased reviews based on actual experiences

Tia Carmen The Beautiful Life New Year’s Eve Dinner 2022 Phoenix AZ – Best Dinner of the Year! – Worth A Fork!

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Tia Carmen is a high quality contemporary and sort of southwest restaurant located in the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in North Phoenix Arizona. The kitchen is led by Michelin Star Chef, restauranteur, and Bravo Top Chef Master Chef Angelo Sosa.

Angelo Sosa
entrance
inside
inside

The 2022 Tia Carmen Beautiful Life New Year’s Eve 2022 Dinner cost $135 per person and was 4 courses. They did offer an optional Beau Joie Champagne parings for $85.

First course for most people was seafood orchestra

This was beau soliel oysters dressed with garden grape mignonette + cara cara sabayon + oscietra caviar, nantucket bay scallops enrobed in fresh cara cara juice, hoja santa + cara cara koshu; king crab, salsa macha + yuzu & lemon aioli + hibiscus leaf.

A vegetarian alternative was offered. With the same sauces on amazing grapes, pineapple and jicama.

Next was pumpkin chawanmushi

It was a kabacha squash filled with steamed squash & shiitake mushroom custard + squash caramel + shaved black truffle

The main course was a mesquite grilled wagyu Denver steak.

All the steaks were seared and were rare- medium rare….almost blue in the center.

They came adorned with tepary bean aged mole negra + bone marrow croquettes + manchego cheese + shaved black truffle……Really amazing…….To amazing to even discribe.

Finished by an astonishing dessert flight garnished with incredible herbs grown by restaurant.

beet macarons

beet macarons
beet macarons

kumquat + cara cara carrot sorbet

goat cheese gel +chestnut mousse on hazelnut sable

cucumber + rosemary tarts

chocolate-aged mole negro bon bon

Every Plate was FORKING FANTABULOUS !!!! This was the best dinner I had in 2022 and I’ve been to Michelin Star and Michelin Guide Restaurants.

Worth a Fork!

Tia Carmen

5350 E Marriott Dr PHX AZ

480-293-3636

www.TiaCarmenDesertRidge.com

The Forking Truth

Bigs Peoria AZ – American Bar & Grill – Worth a Try

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Bigs is an American Casual Comfort Food and Sports Bar kind of place with two locations. The original location is in California and the one I went to is in Peoria Arizona. It’s in the entertainment and sports area called P83.

It’s a sports bar so there are a lot of big screen TVs inside and a lot of high top community tables.

inside on a non-sports day

We sat at one of the few traditional tables on the patio.

We started out by sharing the mac ‘n’ cheese balls.

mac ‘n’ cheese balls

They are deep fried panko coated white truffle mac ‘n’ cheese that sit in what they call Asian zing and chipotle ranch. The balls are fried very nicely and don’t seem greasy at all. The inside is strange.

inside

They are made with chopped up pasta. The strangest part is that they don’t even taste like cheese. To me they taste more of butter than cheese. They aren’t terrible but don’t taste like what I was expecting. Neither of us cared for the Asian zing sauce. I thought the chipotle sort of overpowered everything in the ball but it was ok that way.

For my main I had the seared ahi quinoa salad.

seared ahi quinoa salad

It’s a very large salad with mixed very fluffy greens, thin slices of avocado, crispy cucumber, tomatoes, little bits of quinoa, cajun seared ahi tuna, and honey ginger vinaigrette. Everything seems fresh! It all taste good. But there are so many greens…enough for two big salads.

My husband tried the chili verde plate.

chili verde plate

It’s a big bowl of slow cooked pork in tomatillo sauce with neutral rice, refried beans, and tortillas. It’s different…..There is a lot of pork that is cooked nicely. The tomatillo sauce is good but kind of plain…..They do have a variety of condiments that can be added. The tortillas were nicely heated but we received flour instead of the corn tortillas ordered.

Worth a try.

Bigs Peoria AZ

16550 N 83RD AVE Peoria AZ

623-979-3296

www.BIGSPeoria.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Call Her Martina – Modern Mexican Restaurant Scottsdale AZ

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Call Her Martina is a small modern Mexican Bar and Restaurant located near the Scottsdale Waterfront and is basically across the street from the Scottsdale Fashion Mall in Scottsdale Arizona. They offer an all day menu with some appetizers that you don’t come across very often like ribeye chicharron guacamole, mini street elotes, and charcoal ribeye aguachile with chicharron. They also offer salads, tuna ceviche, tacos, tostadas, and entrees like charred octopus with squid ink risotto, a short rib, ribeye, and a wagyu beef burger. Besides the all day menu they also offer a brunch menu.

It’s festive and formal looking inside.

They start you off with complimentary tostadas and a trio of salsas (charred tomato, tomatillo, and chipotle)

complimentary toastadas and salsas

We started out by splitting the salad called beets in a cloud.

beets in a cloud – garlic goat cheese, beets, arugula, lemon zest, caramelized pecans

Nice light starter.

My husband made a better meal decision than me and had the cochinita cazuela.

cohinita cazuela – braised pork, pickled red onions, raw onions, cilantro, cabbage, frijoles with corn tortillas

The pork was braised nice. You can eat it like fajitas. It did need a little zip from the salsas.

I ordered the tuna fresco tostada.

tuna fresco tostada – tuna, salsa negra, suppose to have smashed avocado but mine didn’t, capers, crispy leeks

I guess you order the tuna fresco tostada when you are not hungry. I didn’t remember that this was suppose to contain smashed avocado or I would have said something to my waiter……So they made me the EXTRA LIGHT version of the tuna fresco tostada withOUT avocado. To be honest it does taste good with the creamy mayo, crispy leeks and salsa negra…….But there isn’t much to it. The salsa negra is also very thin but spicy and kinda like a vinaigrette. It’s the wet stuff on the plate. It was under the fish soaking into the tostada making it soggy. It probably works out better if they give you avocado.

That TRULY was a little taste of Call Her Martina in Scottsdale AZ

7135 E Camelback Rd Scottsdale AZ

480-687-8592

www.CallHerMartina.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Sake Butter Scorched Cauliflower with Yuzu Marmalade Soy Butter Sauce Recipe – Different but based on chef Scott Hallsworth’s Scorched Cauliflower Recipe

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I had a cauliflower that I had to use and I wanted to do something new with it. I just typed into my computer BEST CAULIFLOWER RECIPE. I saw a few list of cauliflower recipes and one of them was chef Scott Hallsworth’s Scortched Cauliflower Recipe. It’s a very easy recipe with very few ingredients….When I got done roasting the cauliflower I still had a lot of DELICIOUS sake butter on my sheet tray.

So I got the idea in my head to USE THE FORKING GREAT BUTTER SAUCE and add yuzu marmalade and a little bit of soy sauce.

Chef Scott Hallsworth uses just 40ml dark soy sauce mixed with 20ml yuzu salted juice over the cauliflower. You do what you want.

Ingredients for around two servings

1/2 a large cauliflower – cut into florets

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons sake

1 pinch sea salt

4 oz unsalted butter – melted

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 Tablespoons yuzu marmalade

1/4 cup scallions – sliced thin or use chives

Directions

Set oven to 500 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl toss the cauliflower with the butter, oil, sake, and salt. Spread out the cauliflower florets in an even layer on a sheet pan (one with sides). Leave in till golden and charred. (in my oven this took 30 minutes)

Pour the extra sake butter from your sheet pan with the cauliflowers into a small mixing bowl and add the yuzu marmalade and the soy sauce. Serve the sauce either over or under the cauliflowers and top with thin cut scallions or chives.

Sake Butter Scorched Cauliflower with Yuzu Marmalade Soy Butter Sauce

ENJOY!!!!!

A Special THANKS!!!!!! To Chef Scott Hallsworth for sharing his FORKING GREAT Recipe so I could come up with what I got here.

The Forking Truth

That Place Subs and Salads Peoria AZ – Gangster Theme Sandwiches – Worth a Fork!

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That Place Subs and Salads is a neighborhood Gangster themed casual sandwich and salad restaurant located in North Peoria Arizona. They serve most subs or hoagies on what they call French Rolls (8 inch) but also offer choices of wheat, marble rye, spinach tortilla, and lettuce wrapped. They offer sandwiches named after gangsters.

inside

A few of the sandwiches have names like The Capone, The Gambino, The Siegle, The Lansky, and The Gotti. Some of the gangsters are pictured below.

inside

It’s extra casual. You order at the counter, pay, and they run your order to you.

I tried a small Italian Beef with added giardiniera.

Small Italian Beef with added giardiniera

This is very spicy and might be too spicy for some people with the giardiniera. But it is delicious with really great flavors. It comes with some au jus that is very good. The roast beef is very tender…I like the taste of this very much. I’m just not a fan of the bread…..because it is that Arizona style squishy bread that most sandwich shops use…….Never had this type of bread until I moved to Arizona so I call it Arizona style squishy bread. ….BUT it still taste really great even with the Arizona squishy bread.

My husband tried the Castello (Castello was from the Luciano crime family…….He was a crime boss that survived several assassination attempts.) *******(ham, mortadella, capicola, Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, garlic mayo (left off because my husband doesn’t do mayo), and Italian dressing).

I heard it was a tasty sandwich. My husband said he’d come back and eat either of these sandwiches again.

Some sandwiches cost more but most run only around $10.49 (subject to change because that is very cheap these days)

That Place Sub and Salads

Is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

That Place Sub and Salads Peoria AZ

20340 N Lake Pleasant Rd Peoria AZ

623-466-6814

www.ThatPlaceSubs.com

We’ll make you a samich you can’t refuse.

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

A Little Taste of Fratelli La Bufala – Scottsdale AZ

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Fratelli La Bufala is an Italian Based Group of Restaurants with over seventy locations in Europe and the Middle East. This new Scottsdale location is the second location in the United States. For the most part they offer Naples style pizzas and house made pastas. They also offer appetizers, salads, two burgers, two entrees, a kids menu, desserts, and bar and cocktail drinks.

It looks like this when you walk in. It mostly traditional tables with a high top community table accented with their namesake…..the bufala cheese. The other logo that you can see all over the restaurant is the buffalo horn. You can’t tell by my photo but the pizza oven looks like a big red buffalo horn.

To the right is an indoor-outdoor bar and patio.

We start out by sharing a Cesare salad even though we were warned that the dressing contained anchovies. We ordered it because we are GLAD the dressing contains anchovies like it is suppose to.

1/2 Caesar

The salad is crisp and fresh and ever so lightly dressed. Almost undressed. The croutons were house made and do taste like good bread. The cheese is good. It’s good but at the table you should add some black pepper to it. (I do know because I used to prepare Caesar Salads table side at a high end restaurant)

For my main I have to try the Margherita Di Bufala DOP.

This is described as Buffalo Mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, DOP Parmesan, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. The stand out best thing to me is the fresh basil. This basil has a nice very strong sweet basil taste. This is unusually great basil. The pizza is good. I can’t say that it isn’t……….It has a nice rich tomato sauce. The cheese seems good but would be better cooked less so you can taste that very special milky Buffalo cheese more…..The crust is extra thin and extra light almost like a flour tortilla.

The crust is just cooked with some char. It’s very fresh tasting. It’s very neutral so you can taste the toppings more.

That pizza was good but maybe the real treat are the meat pizzas.

This one has the same light crust, rich sauce, and exceptional basil. But the hot soppressata really is hot and is different than from what some of the other pizza restaurants serve.

This was a little taste of Fratelli La Bufala-Scottsdale in Scottsdale AZ

7300 N Via Paseo Del Sur Ste

480-687-7784

www.FLBOFArizona.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Cafe Hollywood at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas NV

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Cafe Hollywood is a casual full service restaurant located in Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. They feature all day breakfast but also offer lunch and dinner. Inside you can sit at the counter or a table and marvel at all the Hollywood stars that grace the walls.

inside
inside

I tried the smoked salmon and avocado toast.

It’s a slice of wheat toast topped with smoked salmon, mashed avocado, poached egg, sour cream, pickled red onions and capers. It was mostly good but I asked for a medium poached egg and they just poached it soft and it was a little underdone. The waiter did offer to get me another egg but I declined.

My husband tried the breakfast burrito.

The burrito is stuffed with scrambled eggs, pepper jack cheese, green bell peppers, refried beans, bacon, sausage, and ranchero sauce. The burrito comes with breakfast potatoes. This platter was A-OK.

An overall A-OK so …….Worth a Try!

That was my trip to Cafe Hollywood at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino

3667 Las Vegas BLVD S Las Vegas NV

702-732-1222

www.TheCafeHollywood.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

KP Mediterranean Restaurant – Sun City AZ – Worth A Fork!

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KP Mediterranean Restaurant is located in the strip mall at 99TH Avenue and Bell Road in Sun City Arizona. The KP stands for………

Kahramana Palace.

Kahramana happens to be a fountain that is one of Bagdad’s most iconic artworks. Inside and outside I didn’t notice a fountain but it is casual inside with a mix of traditional tables and booths.

They have a small stage in the front of the restaurant set up with a drum set. Perhaps they have live music at certain times?

They offer most of your Mediterranean favorites but maybe with a slightly different style.

We ordered and my husband got a complimentary vegetable plate. It was a surprise since there is no mention of this on their menu.

complimentary vegetable plate

The complimentary plate came with pickled vegetables, lettuce, crispy jajeek salad (creamy cucumber salad), and this really amazing eggplant salad that had these magically crisp cucumbers in it.

Then our appetizer veggie plates arrives topped with a thin flat bread.

Veggie Plate

It’s a little different. It came with garlic sauce, Arabic salad, tabouli (spelled tabboula), very minty stuffed grape leaves, cole slaw, hummus, a less creamy baba ghannouj, and very different falafels. These were shattering crisp and also a bit spicy.

For dinner I tried the Pompano Fish. It came out covered with a thin flatbread.

Pompano fish

It came out opened up in half. It was nicely seasoned, fried golden to perfection. It came with pickled vegetables, lettuce, sumac onions, and vegetable studded yellow rice. You can eat some of it fajita style with the thin flat bread. It also is a very generous portion….

My husband got the Adana Kebab also covered with a flatbread.

The Adana Kebab is a Turkish Kebab that is traditionally made from ground lamb but here it is made with ground beef. It is also is spicy from red pepper.They are set up the same as the fish with pickled vegetables, lettuce, sumac onions, and vegetable studded rice.

KP Mediterranean Restaurant is Worth a Fork! Everything Delicious! Large Portions, Low Pricing!

Worth a Fork!

KP Cuisine Mediterranean Restaurant

10050 W Bell Rd Sun City AZ

623-259-9692

www.KPCuisine.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

The Vic Bar + Kitchen in Verrado Buckeye AZ – Stunning Atmosphere

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The Vic Bar + Kitchen is located in the FAR West Valley in a community called Verrado that is in Buckeye Arizona. he Vic Bar + Kitchen is an American Restaurant that offers an all day menu. They have a completely different menu from their opening. It’s a lot more casual comfort food now. They offer appetizers like sausage nachos (my husband was thinking about trying them), soft pretzels with green chili cheese sauce, and wings. They also offer salads, sandwiches, a few burgers, mahi tacos, and flat breads. They also offer entrees like half roasted chicken, steak frites, and grilled cauliflower and more!

Inside is a very large bar and it’s surrounded by a mix of tables and booths.

inside

Today I went with the plum salad and added salmon to it.

For my taste the salmon is over seasoned but is flaky and moist inside. They were very generous with walnuts that would be tastier toasted. The salad also is embellished with slices of strawberry, chunks of blue cheese, and slices of plum that taste like they have something on them that shouldn’t be there. I thought my salad was better than what my husband ordered.

green chili mac ‘n’ cheese

Here’s the green chili macaroni and cheese that comes with avocado and a boneless chicken thigh. The chicken thigh is good, tender, and tasty. The cheese sauce is very loose and has a processed taste. It’s better when you get a little green chili with it so you don’t taste the cheese as much.

Previously The Vic Bar + Kitchen used to have these items on the menu.

Deviled local duck egg

Shishitos with soy sauce and blueberry sugar

Melon salad

Smokie sandwich with fries

Strawberry-lemon icebox cake with an added surprise that I had to spit out.

The Vic Bar and Kitchen in Buckeye AZ

Stunning atmosphere

The Vic Bar + Kitchen

5325 N Verrado Way Verrado Buckeye AZ

623-533-4722

www.Verrado.com

www.VicBarandKitchen.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

A Little Taste of Dominique Ansel Patisserie – Las Vegas NV

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Dominique Ansel is a multi award wining pastry chef. He also is the inventor of the Cronut that is a cross between a croissant and a doughnut.

Up above to the left is the famous cronut and to the right are pain au chocolat.

Cookies shaped like cups filled with vanilla milk.

Spinach and cheese quiche, croque monsieur sandwich, and fluffy egg sandwiches are available.

Assorted cakes

pumpkin pie

bourbon pecan pie

novelty desserts

novelty desserts

desserts

Three days in a row we tried something.

My first try was this amazing looking fortune cookie.

The limited seating is all filled up so I take our dessert to a slot machine with a tray to enjoy. It’s softer than it looks. My husband takes a bite and says, “YUK.”……… Well it’s not a yuk ……but it is different from what I was expecting. The thin tender fortune cookie is filled with slightly lemon laced cream. It’s richer than frosting but taste exactly like a lemon laced frosting from a bakery. The baked goodie on the bottom taste buttery and the Lucky Me fortune is white chocolate.

The next day we tried a pain au chocolat.

They look amazing but maybe I was unlucky and the one we got had very little chocolate in it. My half didn’t have any. My husband dug out a small piece for me to try. It was very good. Obviously high quality chocolate but ours had very little in it. The croissant also doesn’t have many layers in it. The croissant part looks amazing but wasn’t nearly as many layers or that from French butter taste as the croissant from L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon.

I had to try a cronut. I didn’t know that it was filled with mocha cream. Mocha is my least favorite flavor so it wasn’t for me.

Dominique Ansel Las Vegas

3570 Las Vegas BLVD S Las Vegas NV

www.Caesars.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth