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.

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 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.

Los Andes is a small casual Peruvian Restaurant located in a strip mall that’s between north and central Phoenix Arizona. It’s not a fancy place but it seems clean.

Things started out great! We were greeted with interesting tasty samples of Peruvian Juices, crispy salted kernels and two tasty dipping sauces. Our server was younger but seemed so sweet and cheerful too!

One juice was passionfruit and the other was a more complex combination of several things that included purple rice and cloves. I enjoyed both of the juice samples but didn’t order juice today. I thought our server seemed disappointed that I didn’t order one of the juices so I explained that I was trying to save room for dessert. (juice has a lot of sugar…so I usually don’t drink juice but prefer my sugar in dessert)

The fried kernels are tasty…..They are even more tasty with the cilantro based sauce and the spicier red sauce but are difficult to dip because the kernels are small.

There were many appetizers that did sound delicious…..Many were made with potatoes and they also offered several ceviches that were interesting to me. Today I thought I’d just get my main because it seemed like a substantial plate and I was hoping to save room for a Peruvian Dessert.

I have to tell THE FORKING TRUTH so here it goes!

I ordered the Pescado Los Andes (fish in picante sauce with yucca, Peruvian corn and asparagus ($19.95 on menu).

But my heart sank when I saw the meal they made me. It wasn’t what I ordered. Actually I would never order this dish for a bunch of reasons. Looking at this dish was as painful as getting clubbed in the knees. I had a bad experience someplace else with ahi Amarillo sauce and I have weird hang ups from my childhood with shrimp and scallops……..They me Picante Los Andes (fish in ahi Amarillo (yellow pepper) shrimp, scallops, yucca, Peruvian corn and rice (on menu $17.95).

I told the server that I didn’t order this. She didn’t say anything. She just had that deer in the headlights kind of look.

I didn’t send it back for multiple reasons. I’m thinking is it possible that I ordered the wrong thing? Another reason I didn’t send it back is because I’ve worked in restaurants and I saw what not all but what some cooks do to people’s food that gets re-made…..Sending back food is maybe the worst thing that you can do to a cook in a restaurant. I also didn’t want my husband to wait to eat because his food would get old and cold if he had to wait.

I removed the shrimp and scallops and saved them for my dogs. I was slightly fearful about the sauce because from a different Peruvian Restaurant I didn’t like aji amarillo but this sauce was edible to me. It tasted almost like a pepper soup with a peppery kick but ran slightly salty. I hate to say this but I must if I tell The Forking Truth….This fish was cooked nicely but came with too much blood line on it (the dark earthy part of the fish). On salmon the blood line isn’t so strong tasting like it is on tilapia. I don’t eat tilapia often and didn’t expect that taste in my mouth and my stomach went a little wonky. The rice was fresh and fluffy. The yucca sticks were crisp and seemed free of oil.

My husband got their other signature dish the Lomo Saltado ($15.95).

The beef was tender and tasted like it was marinated in soy sauce. This plate included onions, tomatoes, fries, rice and cilantro mignonette………We are not certain if the cilantro mignonette made an appearance here.

Anywho-

I was hoping to try a Peruvian dessert……I really thought it would make me feel better from the fish. I saw Peruvian Ice Cream and Peruvian Donuts on the menu….I saw some different and interesting desserts in the local paper from here.

Our server didn’t ask us if we wanted dessert and slapped the check down on the table. I don’t know why but I didn’t feel like having dessert after that.

Andes candies come with the check.

I didn’t study the check till I got home.

I did order the right entree and was over charged too!

I did order the Pescado Los Andes but they gave me the Picante Los Andres ($17.95 on menu) When I look at the bill I know what went wrong. The waitress ordered what I asked for but the owner- cook made the wrong entree. The server could have fixed the situation if she looked at the food that she was serving me.

They over charged me by $3.00 🙁 I don’t know why I was over-charged.

That was my trip to Los Andes in Phoenix AZ

www.LosAndesPHX.com

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

There’s no need to hop the Marrakech Express since we have Alzohour Market Bakery and Restaurant in Phoenix. Alzohour Market offers Halal Meats, some Indo-Euro, Moroccan-Middle Eastern Grocery, Islamic Clothing, Books, Baked Goods, A Moroccan/Middle Eastern Restaurant and MORE! This restaurant is in the bottom of the north end of Phoenix and is on the southeast corner of 27th and northern.

It looks like this when you walk in.

From my seat I look into the market.

We decide to share some falafels ($8.00 subject to change).

WOW! What a stunning presentation! WOW finally a very good falafel on this side of town.

It’s crisp, fluffy with good herby flavors and seems free of oil. The pickled cabbage, salad, pickles, lots of warm pita bread, garlic sauce and this INCREDIBLE CRAZY crazY CRazY FORKING GREAT Tzatziki sauce completes the plate. OMG it’s the FORKING BEST Tzatziki sauce in the whole FORKING world…….It’s almost cheesy. We had to ask about about it because it’s so different I thought maybe it was something that I’m unfamiliar with. The secret is that it’s made with house made yogurt. The portions are very generous so I can enjoy the rest another day.

One of the signature plates here is the B’Stilla. Here it is lovingly made with house made phyllo (also spelled filo) dough, CHICKEN, cinnamon and almonds. This is from a prior visit ($20.00 subject to change).

It’s oddly delicious but also very rich. My picture doesn’t show how large this really is. I think 1/4 of it is a serving….This serves four people pretty well.

Also from a prior visit we enjoyed the Cod Tangine ($15.00 subject to change).

The cod is in a tomato based sauce with onions, peppers, preserved lemon and spices. This dish also came with long grain rice.

Today I enjoyed the Frekeh with Chicken, fragrant exotic spices and almonds ($15.00 subject to change).

The frekeh is mixed with many surprises…..tiny noodles and other grains that are very aromatic. The chicken (leg and a thigh) is amazing…….it’s full of flavors and is so tender it just falls off the bones. The almonds are like little treats every now and then. This plate contains a few portions of the frekeh mixture so it’s more than you can eat but the whole plate was incredibly delicious. Our plates also came with salads.

The salad with made with very crisp iceberg lettuce, a little tomato, crisp pita and feta cheese.

My husband had the Traditional Moroccan dish of Couscous with Lamb ($15.00 subject to change).

It comes in mild or spicy…my husband got spicy…..He said it was FORKING AMAZING! He couldn’t tell me what it taste like but it was packed with delicious flavors. He said it was so Forking Great that he has to order it next time too. Today it was packed with many vegetables that include carrots, a red flesh squash that brought sweetness, garbanzo beans, Brussel sprouts and of course couscous. The portion here is also mighty large.

I wasn’t going to order dessert but the owner Zhor told me I had to try the dessert of the day.

Her house made pastry stuffed with cheese, pistachios, almonds and topped with honey. It was a stuffed baklava.

It was insanely good…It looks too sweet but wasn’t and was delicious. I know it was the BEST baklava I’ve ever had.

We washed it down with Tea.

OMG! This was the BEST TEA I EVER HAD in my LIFE! My husband doesn’t ever drink tea but even he said that tea was delicious. WOW!

I peeked into the store but I didn’t shop.

Then we pay.

It was so good my husband said that we can go back next week.

I do note that business hours do differ slightly than what is posted on the internet and the front window. (everyday around 11:30 and Sunday 12:00)

Alzohour Market – WORTH A FORK!

www.www.Alzohour-Market.business.site

Everything is subject to change and your experience may differ.