The Little Pickle is a Jewish Type Deli Located in Phoenix Arizona across from the Biltmore Fashion Mall in the Esplanade (they validate parking). It’s a small casual place with only a few tables and a small counter by the window.
Currently they are open for breakfast and weekday lunch till 2pm (subject to change). We made it there just before they closed.
You order at the counter.
They call your name when your order is ready.
Here’s an everything a bagel with scallion cream cheese.
I thought that this was a West Coast Style Bagel but someone from The Little Pickle contacted me and told me that their bagels are from New York. The bagel I tried is a different style than east coast bagels that I was used to when I lived there. I was used to the ones with a shiny crust that were chewy inside. Anyone remember Abe’s or Miller’s Deli? Also Scotts Generations serves the chewy style bagels that were and also are from New York. The style of these New York bagels are different.They are good…just different.
Sandwiches come wrapped up like this.
Your sandwich comes with a wrapped Little Pickle to the side.
Our first sandwich that we tried was the corned beef.
Corned Beef
The corned beef is a little different than what I’m used to. It’s good but milder with the spices.
We also tried the turkey.
The turkey is nice, tender and moist. It’s good but……………….
Brisket Sandwich
I think that the brisket might be the *****BEST FORKING BRISKET***** that I have ever tried anywhere. The Flavors and texture is BOMB! It has this incredible burnt sweet onion taste and the beef just melts in your mouth……..They melt cheese on the bread so that is great for some people but other people might want to order the brisket without cheese.
The Pastrami is also *******FORKING GREAT**************!
It’s so flavorful and unusually juicy just melts in your mouth. It’s fatty but not too fatty. It just might be the best pastrami sandwich out there!
You’d be nuts not to try the pastrami or the brisket. Your Welcome!
The Black Sheep Restaurant is located in Las Vegas around fifteen minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. This is a casual, modern, Vietnamese/American restaurant that is ran and owned by seasoned former Top Chef contestant chef Jamie Tran. She also was awarded by Eater as Chef of the year in 2017.
Inside is casual.
You will probably see chef Tran running around the place.
The majority of the menu is interesting and different. Our waiter said that the starters are very small and to try several. We tried the salmon skin tacos.
They are crispy salmon skin stuffed with salmon belly, salmon tartare, tobiko, smoked shishito peppers, micro cilantro, and jalapeño aioli. They are very tasty, not too spicy, and full of flavors.
My husband has a little more room to enjoy more and really enjoyed the bao slider special.
These mini bao sliders were stuffed with house made pork sausage, pork belly, quail egg, crispy shallots, greens, and jalapeño aioli. It also came with shrimp crackers. My husband kept saying that these were VERY GOOD…..over and over.
We also shared the hamachi crudo.
I thought that this was FORKING Amazing. This was an explosion of all kinds of flavors and textures. Sweet, heat, citrus, clean fish, pickle, crunch, This was made with rayu sauce (Japanese citrus sauce), dragon fruit, pickled pearl onions, bubu arare (Asian crackers), and a few other goodies.
For dinner I tried the boneless fried whole trout.
I never had fish like this before…….All the bones were removed before they fried it. You just cut though and enjoy. This came with rainbow Swiss Chard, Chinese Broccoli, sesame seed crumble, in a garlic chili oil sauce with steamed rice. Very Good!
My husband tried the braised pork jowl….(it’s the cheek….tender like beef or halibut cheek)
It came with turmeric flat noodles, Chinese Broccoli and was in a spicy garlic chili oil. This was very good too! Another Hit!
Somehow we managed to squeeze in a dessert to try. We went with the citrus meringue with ube (purple yam) crust.
The crust might be thick for some but the flavors are a nice sweet ending to a FORKING Amazing meal.
Lola’s is a Louisiana Creole Restaurant located in the Summerlin part of Las Vegas Nevada. They offer an all day menu and Sunday Brunch. On the all day menu a few of the offerings are things like Louisiana style crab cakes, cajun hot wings, crawfish puppies, salads, po boys, burgers, and platters like crawfish étouffée, shrimp and grits, and shrimp creole. On the brunch menu Are things like chicken and waffles, andouille sausage benedict, and an egg and bacon grits bowl.
This restaurant was featured on Diners Drive Inns and Dive on Food Network TV.
It’s casual inside. You can sit in the bar area, at the bar, on the patio, or in the main dining area.
main dining area
I went with the signature orange bowl salad with added bronzed salmon. (bronzed is like 1/2 blackened…less seasoning and cooked lighter)
I have to say that this was an unusually good salad…..But it does run very spicy…It’s almost too spicy for me. It’s romaine lettuce, mandarine oranges, cranberry-raisins, scallions, celery, almonds, and this SPICY sweet and spicy vinaigrette. The salmon seems extra fresh and is really prepared to perfection. They didn’t even ask how I wanted it done they just prepared it perfect……medium-ish- medium/rare.
My husband was thrilled with the loaded jambalaya.
He just kept saying that it was really good. (chicken, sausage, rice, bronzed shrimp, kielbasa sausage.
The Stove is an all day brunch and comfort food sort of restaurant that also offers bottomless drink specials. This restaurant is located in Henderson Nevada a short drive away from “The Strip.” They offer things like burgers, burritos, chicken and waffles, omelettes, other egg dishes, and a few vegan dishes. This restaurant is located on the second floor so you need to walk up and down steps that may be hard to do when partaking in bottomless drink specials. They do have an elevator but there for handicapped only.
It’s energetic and festive inside. The servers seem quick, friendly, and efficient.
I tried the Nashville Spicy Chicken Stack.
It’s a good chicken sandwich but a far cry from a Nashville Style Chicken Sandwich.
It’s not even spicy…..(The FORKING Truth)
Anyways…….It’s made with slaw, house pickles, and really good toasted brioche bun, house fries that are really good and you have an option to add on an egg. I asked for hot sauce so I could add some needed heat to this sandwich. Like I said it was a good chicken sandwich. It just wasn’t anything even close to a Nashville Style.
My husband ordered the juicy Lucy.
It’s flat patties stuffed with some cheese sauce that is topped with a chori-queso bacon wrapped onion ring and sits on house pickles, roasted tomatoes, thousand island dressing (left off on request), toasted brioche bun, and house fries.
I heard that the bacon wrapped onion ring was pretty good. Because it’s not a big burger there wasn’t much room to fill with much cheese. Some people might want more cheese.
Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a Californian chain of casual Hawaiian restaurants with around three locations in Phoenix Arizona. The popular entree at Hawaiian BBQ restaurants is called the Hawaiian Plate Lunch. Maybe you are not familiar with the Hawaiian plate lunch? The Hawaiian plate lunch is usually a large Styrofoam container filled with two scoops of steamed rice, a scoop of creamy macaroni salad, some steamed vegetables and a generous serving of a protein or two. I finally tried the newer Ono Hawaiian BBQ Glendale Arizona location.
It’s casual. You order and pay at the counter.
insideinside
Seat yourself.
Our name was called and we picked it up.
Here’s the white fish and BBQ chicken.
whitefish and BBQ chicken
Two scoops of steamed white rice, macaroni salad that is on the dry side today. The fish is very greasy…and taste like grease. The chicken really is nicely caramelized and is tender……It’s also a very generous portion but it taste like soy sauce. Under the fish and chicken is mostly what they call steamed cabbage and some broccoli. I tried to eat the cabbage but it is very oily and too tough to cut with a plastic knife. The broccoli drips with oil but is next to raw. I can’t eat the vegetables or much of this.
Here’s the BBQ Combo (short rib, BBQ chicken, BBQ beef)
BBQ Combo
All the beef is tender but oddly leathery…….And it all taste like soy sauce. Vegetables, macaroni salad, and rice are same as above.
Ono in Hawaiian usually means good or delicious…….Tonight Ono at the Glendale AZ location means Oh No!
Local Bistro Restaurant is located in North Scottsdale Arizona. They call themselves a rustic Italian Restaurant. They offer dinner and Sunday bottomless Brunch. Their offerings do differ some from other Italian Restaurants. Some of their small plate offerings are tuna tartare, wood fired corn, mussels dijonese. They also offer soup and salads like French Onion soup, and a steak salad. They make wood fired pizzas, house made pastas. Some of the entrees offered are sautéed chicken with artichokes, a fifty day aged prime filet of beef, and Chilean Sea Bass with Spanish Chorizo in a white wine lobster broth. They also offer a children’s menu and desserts.
They have a large semi covered patio with lots of heaters for when it’s chilly.
They have a large bar area with big screen TVs.
Or you can sit in a main dining area.
main dining area
We started with the crispy eggplant and burrata.
crispy eggplant and burrata
It’s like eggplant parmesan but different. Instead of tomato sauce there is a coating of spicy hot Calabrian Chile Marmalade. The cheese is also creamy burrata with mint leaves, olive oil, and maybe nutmeg. Today the Calabrian Chile Marmalade is running very hot or maybe they were just overly generous with it….
The pan seared Faroe Island Salmon was very good.
Pan seared Faroe Island Salmon
It had a nice caramelized sear and was cooked to my request. The carrots and zucchini had the same exact texture. I thought that was impressive. The whipped pesto potatoes are a very generous portion and taste basil forward. Around the edge of the potatoes was a lemon-caper beurre blanc sauce for dipping.
My husband tried the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese.
tagliatelle alla bolognese
It’s house made pasta, twenty-four hour braised beef, pork, veal, San Marzano tomato ragu, and parmesan. My husband said that he really couldn’t taste the twenty-four hour braised beef. Maybe this batch tasted more like pork and veal…..?
We decided to share a vanilla gelato Toschi Cherry Meringata for dessert because you seldom come across Meringatas at restaurants.
vanilla gelato Toschi Cherry Meringata
It’s basically an Italian Meringue ice-cream type cake. A bit generous with the whipped cream but a nice sweet ending.
We found that brunch was more of a mixed bag with live entertainment.
It’s bottomless sort of……Each person can pick two starters and pick as many starters as they want. Then you pick an entree. Then you can add more starters if you can fit them in. They also have a bottomless drink special but you have to stick with one kind of beverage.
They do make the starters in portions for sharing.
I started out with the heirloom tomato and melon gazpacho shooter.
This was really great! Very clean, refreshing and enjoyable. One of my favorites here.
My husband had the sausage lollipops.
They came with honey and Calabrian chili honey. My husband’s favorite thing was the Calabrian chili honey here…He kept saying that it was very good and kept it until the end.
We shared the mini (MINI?) drunk bread.
We noticed that this was a very popular the evening we were here. It seemed that every table had one but us. It’s like cheesy and white wine dunked……We both don’t really like the white wine dunk…But many may disagree here.
One of our other mutual favorites was the patatas bravas. Spanish Romesco, and garlic aioli.
These were just really great potatoes. They just melt in your mouth. They seem like they might have been twice or tripled fried by the incredible creamy texture that they have. But they were extra light with the sauces. Could have used a little more.
Sorry to report that the entrees weren’t as good……. 🙁
The best parts of the Caesar salad was the Padano snow, the parmesan crisp, and the 6 minute egg. Lets just forget about the rest……..
My husband tried the chicken, the egg, the waffle entree.
The breaded chicken was all dried out, and covered in very thick sausage gravy with melted cheddar cheese, and a medium egg. There also was a waffle in there.
Local Bistro – Rustic Italian Cuisine – Like the majority of restaurants out there some great hits and a few misses……..Contemporary in style.
Salad World recently opened in Peoria Arizona not too far from P83. They are a casual not fancy “Chipotle Style” build-your-own salad type of restaurant.
inside
You start by picking one of the two size bowls for your salad. Then you go down the line and pick what you want. The person behind a clear sneeze guard wall builds the salad for you. You start out by picking the lettuce bend. Then you can add some fruits like grapes or dried cranberries and around four other things. Then you have all kinds of vegetables to pick from. There are vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, and jicama. Protein choices cost extra and are chicken, ham, plant based chicken, steak, and tofu. Other items to add to the salad are cheese, toppings like nuts, croutons, or bacon and salad dressing.
You can build your own salad of around 60 items or pick a suggested salad from a menu that they will make for you.
We each tried a salad. One regular sized and one large. You can’t tell by my picture but the large really is much larger than the medium.
Large is on top and on the bottom is the regular sized
I do have to say that the chicken breast is much better than what you would get from most places for salads. It can pass as sous vide chicken. Everything seems fresh. I got mixed greens and iceberg lettuce, radishes, broccoli, carrots, chick peas, onions, cranberries, sliced almonds, sesame sticks, and some sort of Asian Ginger dressing that seems tasty. Too bad I can’t go back for cucumbers……I think they’d go well here. I was surprised to be offered my choice of roll. (regular or whole wheat).
My husband got the large salad. He also tried the chicken and also added the steak. I didn’t taste the steak but it did look good…….But I can smell it and it is very smokey. He also got bacon, egg, and cheese and several of the vegetables. The large is a real bargain here….It’s so big that people can share.
They do offer a variety of soft beverages here, a children’s menu, and maybe a few other things such as a packaged cookie. I read on their website that they offer soup? Maybe they do but I didn’t notice it today.
I’d say well worth a try for a fast/casual healthy food option in Peoria.
Seoul BBQ & Sushi is an award wining restaurant from Colorado and Connecticut with one location in Phoenix Arizona. The Phoenix location offers a menu that changes slightly from time to time.
It’s a very large restaurant with multiple dining rooms. They have a long bar is on the left side of the photo. They do have an outside patio but it’s not in use.
Whatever you order they always start you off with complimentary side dishes called banchan.
banchan
The banchan usually differ some on every visit but always contain some fermented vegetables, kimchi, something fish, and usually one or two potato dishes.
They always offer a variety of Korean and Asian Foods. This restaurant is very well known for their Korean BBQ that is offered ala carte and also in an all-you-can-eat version. Dishes can be made at the table or from the kitchen. Spicy ketchup known as gochujang is served with the BBQ.
Bulgogi
Beef Rib and Tofu Vegetable soup
They also offer Korean and Japanese appetizers.
Korean Corn Cheese
Scallion pancake
complimentary vegetable pancake special with to-go orders only
Vegetable pancake
Jalapeno bombers
Crispy Rice sushi
Sushi with Fresh Wasabi
Sushi with Crispy Onions
Korean Fried Chicken Wings
A few of the other dishes they may offer are –
Spicy Dak (chicken) Bulgogi
Mackerel
Samgyetang – Chicken stuffed with sweet rice, garlic, ginger, dates, and Korean Ginseng
Broiled Yellow Croaker (didn’t notice on current menu)
Dol-pan Bibim-Bap with added Spam
Take Out
Seoul BBQ & Sushi – Good Korean Food and lots of choices.
Limon Urban Kitchen is located in North Phoenix Arizona. They offer breakfast seven days a week. They also offer lunch, dinner, and a bar seven days a week. When you walk in you pass by a good sized patio but once inside it looks like a sports bar with lots of big screen TVs.
The food menus are mostly Mexican.
Off the all day menu they offer appetizers like wings, shrimp ceviche, carne asada fries, and nachos. They also offer salads, fajitas, burgers, burritos, street tacos, and entrees like pork carnitas, beef machaca, fish & chips, and chicken enchiladas.
They start you off with complimentary warm chips and salsa. We added on the house made roasted white poblano queso.
The salsa is tasty….It’s better than some. Maybe I am overly picky about queso….For my taste this could be more poblano and cheese forward…….
Anyways –
My husband gets a cup of Sops de Fideo.
It’s a chicken based soup with thin pasta threads.
My main arrives. The Lettuce Fajita Wraps…
Not what I was expecting. They aren’t wrapped and all the wet hot stuff is on top of the lettuce. It’s hard to tell by my photo but the romaine are also very small thin leaves. It’s next to impossible to eat this as lettuce wraps.*********BUT*****This chicken is UNUSUALLY GREAT! It’s marinated with delicious flavors and is melt in the mouth tender. Might be the very best fajita chicken that I have ever tasted. The plate also contains caramelized onions, bell pepper strips, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.
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 Sosaentrance insideinside
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 macaronsbeet 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.
