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.
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.
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
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.
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)
