Category Archives: Forking Restaurant Reviews

Honest unbiased reviews based on actual experiences

Singh Meadows in Tempe AZ – Detailed Breakfast/Lunch Plates with STUNNING VEGETABLES – Worth a Fork!

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Singh Meadows is a farm with a farmers market and breakfast/lunch cafe. The cafe is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 8am-1:30pm. The farmers market is taking a break after today. You have to check the Singh Meadows Facebook page for a re-opening date.

It looks like this when you walk into the market. (this picture was from March…less produce this time)

Then we wait in line to order at the cafe.

Here was todays menu.

The food is so detailed, delicious and special….It’s really hard to decide.

We order, pay and get a pager. Now we pick a table either inside.

On the patio

Or grab a blanket and get comfortable in the meadow.

Maybe by a pond….

Or by some vegetables.

It was pretty hot today so I grabbed a table inside.

Soon our pager goes off so my husband picks up the platters at the pick up table outside the door.

We start by splitting the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich ($13.00)

I sort of forgot how extra large the portions are…..even half is very large. But this is a lovely detailed and extra special plate. We received lots of crunchy battered chicken that was paired with these FORKING AMAZING heirloom tomatoes that were beyond belief. There also was pickled zucchini, arugula, tarter sauce and spicy honey. It was a super delicious sandwich but also was a delicious mess……If that wasn’t enough…..I found fancy greens on the plate with a whole BUNCH of these delightful lightly pickled beets….and we aren’t done yet…TWO good sized pieces of watermelon seasoned with a mild hot fruity pepper that I am guessing might have been Urfa pepper. WOW!

The Grilled Sweet Potato Fattoush ($12.00) turned out to be a more substantial plate than I anticipated.

This plate is packed with grilled sweet potatoes, red lentil hummus, charred cabbage, crisp pita breads, grains, harissa vinaigrette, seeds and sheep milk feta. We tasted it and it’s similar flavors that take you so maybe the best falafel you ever had but with sweet potato. It’s all delicious with all the pops of different flavors and textures but we got another plate so this one is getting packed up to enjoy another day.

We moved on to share the Apricot and Ricotta Napoleon.

Here we got apricots, sweet creamy fresh made ricotta cheese, crisp thin sweetened phyllo dough with pickled cherry vinaigrette and arugula….This all seems so light (but I know it isn’t) It’s easy to inhale. All these flavors go well together like magic Bitter arugula, sweet phyllo and apricots……unusually very good creamy sweet ricotta and then that cherry vinaigrette just taste so Forking GOOD!

Plates from our last visit were…….

Korean Beef Stew
Swiss chard falafel sandwich
Beet Toast

Singh Meadows Farmers Market and Cafe are Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.SinghMeadowsTempe.com

Every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Los Arbolitos De Cajeme Restaurant Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork! North/Central Phoenix gets a New Higher End Mexican Seafood Restaurant

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Los Arbolitos De Cajeme is a slightly upscale but casual Mexican Seafood and Steak Restaurant located in Phoenix towards the North Side.This is an established group of Mexican Restaurants with eleven locations in Mexico and Phoenix is home to their first location in America.

It’s bright modern and beautiful at the entrance and the first thing you notice is the bar with a really high ceiling with fish decorations and glass that lets in lots of light. The restaurant is sort of “L” shaped with the bar in the middle of the “L.”

On the other side of the bar is a dining room that isn’t being used today.

Straight ahead is where we are being seated.

There’s modern fixtures. Fish decor and neon. You can view the kitchen action threw the glass if you want to.

They started us off with chips, a sauce, a pickled onion condiment and fresh limes.

We started with an appetizer called Toritos de Marlin ($10.99…price is subject to change)

These are blistered yellow peppers are stuffed with Marlin and are in house made soy sauce. (this is a traditional taqueria dish) The yellow peppers are unlike similar looking yellow peppers I’ve purchased…..Each one taste different. They go from almost tasteless to hot jalapeño HOT! Most were on the milder side. For the most part this is a tasty milder dish….I think if you like tuna that you’d probably like this marlin. This appetizer dish was very generous in size.

For my main I tried the Filete Al Ajillo Con Nopal (grilled lemon sole with guajillo, garlic and cactus) ($18.00…price is subject to change)

Hot steamy tortillas, rice and vegetable garnish are served with the entree. I don’t always like cactus but here it’s very good. They cooked it so well it’s almost like eating green beans. It’s garlicky, a little spicy but not too spicy. There’s a generous amount of mild white fish.

My husband tried the Camarones a La Diabla. (deviled shrimp in a chipotle chiltepin cream sauce) ($18.00 price is subject to change)

This dish was served with rice and steamed fresh vegetables. The comment was that it was that this was delicious with well cooked shrimp but didn’t run as spicy as other shrimp diablos we’ve tried from other Mexican Seafood restaurants we’ve been too.

I’d say our first visit to Los Arbolitos De Cajeme was Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.MariscosLosArbolitos.com

Every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

NEW Restaurant ALERT Lychee Kitchen – North Phoenix AZ

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Lychee Kitchen recently opened in North Phoenix a short distance from the Happy Valley Mall Area. This is a Chinese Take Out Sushi and more kind of place. Alcohol is offered, a couple pan Asian dishes, fish dishes and hots pots are on the menu.

During daylight hours it’s bright inside from lots of natural light that comes in threw the windows.

We started out by sharing the pan fried dumplings.

We received four plump hand made dumplings stuffed with tender white meat chicken and a tasty Asian dipping sauce. All is good here!

I ordered the Korean Spicy Chicken.

I received a generous portion of lots of tender chicken slices studded with onions and scallions in a sauce that looked like it was made from paprika but tasted almost like sweet tomatoes and sweet bell peppers. It wasn’t spicy and had no other flavors to it.

My husband ordered the Szechuan Spicy Chicken.

This plate also was made with tender white meat chicken and came with mixed bell peppers, broccoli and onions and was in an unusually sweet brown sauce that looked spicy from visible crushed chili flakes but was only slightly spicy. (he ordered extra hot) I would rate the heat level as a number 2 out of 5 on a Thai Scale. I can’t say it had no heat. You really couldn’t detect heat at first when you ate it. You just got an ever so slight building heat. Possibly the high level of sweetness blocked the heat and other flavors here. This dish ran very sweet.

Based on only trying the dumplings and two of the spicy entrees Lychee Kitchen might be perfect for those seeking Chinese Food that is less seasoned, more sweet and less spicy with large portions and tender chicken.

www.LycheeKitchen.com

Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Ingo’s Tasty Food in Phoenix AZ is Tasty Food – Worth a Fork!

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If you have driven around the Arcadia area of Phoenix you might have noticed an unusual small round building that is Ingo’s Tasty Food. This is a small casual restaurant that serves a petite casual menu of reasonably priced quality burgers, sandwiches, salads and a few other items. They also serve some cocktails, draft beer, wine and more. They offer patio seating.

They also offer a walk up take out window.

Or you can dine inside at the circular counter that wraps around the open kitchen.

We started out by splitting the Ingo’s Chopped Chef Salad. ($9.25 subject to change)

The kitchen was nice enough to split the salad for us.

The salad is made of romaine, local Arizona dates, white beans, avocado, cheese and almonds.

Today I tried a burger with lettuce, tomato, pickle and Russian Dressing. ($8.75 subject to change)

I was told that the beef used is grass fed beef and not commercial ground beef. I was told that they grind the beef. (It appears that the kitchen is too small to ground it here so I assume they grind the beef at one of the neighboring sister restaurants.) I see that my burger is not too large and it’s nicely caramelized. I take a bite. The things that stand out is that the burger is juicy and I think the roll is extra good and not average. It looks like the rolls are fresh baked here because they are on a baker’s rack of sheet pans covered with parchment paper…….(don’t know but the rolls could have been wheeled over from just across the street.)…….The roll is soft, lightly sprinkled with poppy seeds and seems very light as air but it is study enough to hold up to the juicy burger and fillings. Yes…It’s tasty!

My husband got the Paris Texas Burger. ($9.00 subject to change)

He got a medium rare nicely caramelized burger with apple bbq sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce and dill pickles on a soft bun. What’s not to like it was Tasty!

We were checked on often and plates were cleared quickly.

They are set up with salted chocolate chip cookies by the door so you leave with a sweet ending.

From previous visits we had…..

Toni’s Deviled Eggs made with German Mustard and beets

Farmer’s Daughter Burger -Dijonase fol epi cheese and sauerkraut

A previous Paris Texas Burger

No longer available – Ahi Grade Tuna Burger – No longer available

Fresh Shattered Potato Chips (these came with a Lebanese Yogurt Topping….not sure if this topping is still offered)

Ingo’s Tasty Food does serve Tasty Food.

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.IngosTastyFood.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Agave del Scottsdale in Scottsdale Arizona

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Agave del Scottsdale recently opened in the Mercado de Largo Plaza in Scottsdale Arizona. It’s difficult but not impossible to locate the entrance from the parking lot because the only sign is the one pictured above from the other side of the street. (at the moment subject to change) Agave del Scottsdale serves Mexican Cuisine. Everything is fresh made to order. They serve lunch and dinner and Mexican Breakfast on the weekend.

This is the entrance.

A few steps in here is what you see.

The main dining room features beautiful crystal chandeliers. Curio cabinets housing tequila, exposed brick, wooden tables and bright pinkish velvety looking benches.

A few steps latter you come across a tequila serving cart and a wall embellished with stone.

Around the corner is the bar, dining area and beautiful large patio with a nearby water fountain.

This is my view from my seat.

They started us off with three sauces and chips.

Theres tomatillo based salsa, in the middle is a warm bean sauce and on the end is a spicier sauce that’s made with Serrano peppers, habanero and chili de arbol peppers. The sauces seem like they have a slight creaminess or richness to them.

We started out by sharing the Tlacoyos (elongated masa ) de Huitacoche (corn smut also known as corn truffle).

How easy to share! They served us two!

We received TWO blue corn masa that was topped with beans, huitacoche, quest fresco, onions and cilantro. This is very flavorful and tasty. This huitacoche is the same as what I tried in Mexico. This is the real stuff. I think most places use bottled or canned….This is real. The blue corn is special…it’s a little sweeter than yellow..This really is a treat! This is excellent! All the flavors are marvelous. It’s better than how I ate huitacoche in Mexico…There most people just eat it in a tortilla…

For my main I had the Pescado Al Pastor.

I received three double shelled street sized tacos. The seasonal fish today was red snapper. It was marinated and served with pineapple, cilantro and onions. The tacos are well packed with food. The tortillas seemed like fresh made and ran sort of thicker than Mexican tortillas so I only used one tortilla. The tacos weren’t spicy but were tasty.

My husband tried the Huarache Con Carne Asada (elongated open faced masa tortilla).

It’s grilled beef on top of a masa tortilla with a little bit of beans, salsa verde, salsa roja, sour cream (left off at my husband’s request) and quest fresco. This is mildly seasoned. I think the beef would be more flavorful if it had a sear. This plate is for someone with a lighter appetite.

Our server was welcoming and friendly. She spoke English well and seemed well trained on the menu.

That was my trip to Agave Del Scottsdale in Scottsdale AZ.

www.AgaveDelScottsdale.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth

The Social on 83rd at P83 in Peoria AZ – Great Appetizers that are Worth a Fork!

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The Social on 83rd is a relatively new restaurant in the P83 (across from Peoria Sports Complex on 83rd ave = P83) area of metro Phoenix that is considered to be the upper west side. This is a New American Restaurant that offers mostly American Foods some with global touches, Weekend Brunch and more!

They offer a lovely modern atmosphere and a variety of all kinds of seating.

Traditional tables, booths, benches with chairs, high top options…..

Seating at the bar.

Seating on the outside patio and the outside bar.

I’ve been here a few times now and so far I’ve found that the appetizers are especially notable….Possibly among the best to be found in the upper west side.

They took the Korean Style 24 hour short rib bun(s) off the menu but they were exceptionally delicious.

They’ve been replaced with Korean Style BBQ Tofu that has the same flavors and is just as delicious.

Here’s the Scotch Egg with Deep Fried Mustard Vinaigrette Greens. This was really good! The greens were made unusually tasty.

Another winning appetizer is the NY Strip Sliders.

These are very developed with flavors and the meat was tender like butter.

The next one isn’t the prettiest but it was the best fried macaroni and cheese ball that I tried so far.

Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls from The Social on 83rd in Peoria at P83

The ones they served me were so cheesy and so flavorful. The pasta had perfect texture. They also seemed free of grease but I know they weren’t. The exterior breading was so crisp and thin. These were really REALLY GREAT! They also sat on top of a lemon herb aioli.

From a couple different visits the two salads I tried were very solid.

Jerk Chicken Caesar with Mango Caesar Dressing.

Cali Cranberry Salad with added chicken.

I hit them on an off night for dinner.

Someone new was cooking and dinners had under cooking and over cooking issues.

We did let them know about the dishes and our server and the chef were very apologetic. Dishes were re-made and were better …………………

I do note that every appetizer each time that I was here was delicious and very notable! Salads were GOOD!

The Social on 83rd in Peoria at P83 serves great appetizers that are Worth a Fork!

www.TheSocialAZ.com

Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Boondocks Patio and Grill Scottsdale AZ – Worth a Fork! – BIG Patio – Lots of Games – Better Bar Food

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Boondocks Patio and Grill is located in Scottsdale by Old Town. This restaurant serves better or maybe just more creative more interesting and detailed bar food like duck fat fries, roasted corn on cob with Mexican tahini sauce, salads, half pound burgers, sandwiches and some entrees. When we arrived the atmosphere was energetic with classic rock and roll. Boondocks also offers an indoor-outdoor bar, inside dining and a massive patio that I wasn’t able to photo because the entrance to the patio was clogged with people today.

I noticed that most of the people arrived via several of The Arizona Party Bikes.

Boondocks offers community high top tables and booths in the dining room. There are several big screen TVs and Digital Darts inside. They also offer pool tables, bag toss, ping pong and more.

I ordered the Grilled Tacos Pescado.

I received three full sized tacos stuffed with grilled blackened (spicy) seasonal whitefish, lime shredded cabbage, tomato, big creamy wedges of avocado and these really tasty pickled onions on well made tortillas (I picked corn). I was pleasantly surprised….these tacos are actually better than most I eat out. The fish is meaty and very flavorful and spicy. Then combined with lime cabbage, pickled onions and creamy avocado they are very good! A large amount of very crisp corn chips and tomatillo salsa finish the plate.

My husband got the Sin Burger.

It’s a half pound of American raised beef, jalapeño marmalade, pickled cabbage, lots of avocado, a thick blanket of good pepper jack cheese, cilantro mayo (left off by my husband’s request), and a big roasted jalapeño on a big soft eggy bun. WOW! a perfect medium rare! (that rarely happens) My husband said that this is another of his favorite burgers. He picked potato tots as his side. They seemed free of oil and had crisp exteriors and were chunky and potato-ee inside.

Our meals last time were Worth a Fork! (same burger and another that was discontinued)

Our meals this time were also Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.BoondocksAZ.com

Boondocks Patio Bar and Grill Scottsdale AZ – Worth a Fork! BIG Patio -Lots of Games – Better Bar Food

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

A Taste at Tacos Chiwas in Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork!

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Tacos Chiwas is a small casual state of Chihuahua Style Taqueria located in Phoenix Arizona. They offer about eight kinds of tacos (some are a little tongue and cheek), gorditas, quesadillas, burritos, breakfast burritos and a bean soup.

You order at the counter.

Pick a table on the patio.

Or pick a table indoors.

Soon someone runs your order to you.

Today we tried an asada taco, a carnitas taco and a pollo taco.

These are street sized tacos (smaller sized) but they are very well packed with lots of fillings. You can eat them the way they come or spike them up a little more with the salsa bar.

All the tacos were very good but the one that stood out today was the asada (beef) taco. The beef (today…maybe not tomorrow) was the most developed with flavors. It was tender and had this delicious smoky char on it. All the tacos were well worth the $2.50 that each of them cost.

I’d say my trip to Tacos Chiwas was Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.TacosChiwas.com

Every FORKING Thing is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Opa! Newly Opened Greek Palace Restaurant Peoria AZ – Full Service Greek Restaurant

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The Upper West Side of Metro Phoenix has a New Restaurant Opening with Greek Palace…..OPA!……This is a full service Mediterranean Restaurant. The atmosphere is airy modern with some Greek accents.

We ordered and the first thing that comes out are freshly made Greek Salads that are part of our lunch platters.

Next comes out our Combo Appetizer.

We received creamy Hummus, smoky Baba Ghanouj, lemon-ee Domas, Falafels, Tzatziki Sauce, (ultra garlic) Tahini Sauce and Lots of Warm Pita Bread.

The falafels are on the dense side and not so herby……but they taste fresh made and have a nice chick pea flavor.

Then our lunch platters arrive. I got the Chicken Kabob Platter.

I received juicy slightly charred marinated chunks of chicken breast, yellow basmati rice, grilled tomato, pepper and onion, tzatziki and more pita bread. All is A-OK here! I should note that the menu description differed slightly for the platters and reads Greek Pickles and Turnips instead of the Grilled Vegetables…..Our waiter explained that is due to the soft opening and they weren’t able to get them in………

My husband tried what is named the Fire Fighter Platter.

He received a plate of thin seasoned beef and lamb that was charbroiled on a vertical skewer, grilled onions, tomato, pepper, hot peppers (that might be giardiniera), yellow basmati rice, tzatziki and warm pita bread. The meat is moist and flavorful all is good here too!

Portions were large and we had leftovers to pack up…..

OPA! Muchas Gracias! LOL

If in the area you might consider giving Greek Place in Peoria a try!

OPA! Greek Palace recently opened in Peoria!

Opa!

www.GreekPalace.net

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

The HOT Chick Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ – Poultry in Motion – Worth a Fork!***Was CLOSED and now OPEN AGAIN!

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********UPDATE was CLOSED FOR BUSINESS during pandemic and is NOW OPEN AGAIN*****The HOT Chick Restaurant recently opened in Scottsdale by Old Town. This is a FUN casual chicken restaurant that offers a bar, games, videos to watch and of course food with a retro 70s vibe.

The bar

They also offer all kinds of seating. You can be by the video games.

One of the patios

You get full service only if you sit at the bar.

For all other seating you order yourself at the trailer that is located behind the bar.

The trailer is the counter where you order and pay if you are not sitting at the bar.

Here’s the menu. All the chicken is organic, free range, antibiotic and hormone free.

They offer Fried Chicken in half or whole in original or Hot Chick, 2 kinds of wings, chicken nubs, snacks and sides, salads, seven varieties of chicken sandwiches but ONLY ONE is HOT Chick. They also offer a brunch menu limited to the weekend and two desserts.

We walked up to the trailer and ordered and paid. Took a pager with us and sat at a booth. We checked out the cocktail menu while waiting. In reasonable time our pager was blinking and buzzing.

I got the HOT Chick sandwich.

It’s a crispy hot chicken breast with house slaw and house pickle on a rich eggy bun. (they also had a condiment area and we picked up deviled egg sauce and some sort of Thai sauce)

First I taste a small amount of chicken by it’s self……WOW is THAT FORKING CRISPY and MIGHTY Flavorful……it’s also moist! It is HOT but VERY Flavorful. I think around a number 4 Thai Hot out of 5. I can taste a lot of flavors like cayenne, but there is something in there that makes the cayenne taste very delicious, there’s something very sweet but it’s balanced, not too sweet…..not sure but I think a taste some secret crushed potato chips…? Well whatever all this is …….This is Forking AWESOME with well made slaw and well crafted pickles. It’s getting very messy with sauce or and juices squirting out everywhere…….It’s a DELICIOUS HOT MESS! It’s also a Forking hum YUM Dinger! (only $9.00…..WHAT THE CLUCK!…..is that a misprint?………..only $9.00…… ((price is subject to change..))

Mu husband ordered the 1/2 hot chicken…..but it was cut into 6 pieces. It came with house made biscuit and house made pickles. I think it was suppose to come with maple butter?

He got a wing (cut in two), thigh, breast (cut in two) and a leg. I took a small bite out of the thigh. NO FOWL PLAY HERE! The Thigh is Forking awesome……Crunchy succulent flavorful…….really Really Great…..Not sure but seemed hotter than the HOT Chick sandwich…maybe because it didn’t have the slaw, bun and pickles to cool things down…? . (only $12.00) subject to change

We shared two of the sides The pimento macaroni and cheese and the green goddess green beans. ($5.00 each and subject to change)

pimento macaroni and cheese and the green goddess green beans

The pimento macaroni and cheese was topped with crunchy chicken skin. I taste the macaroni……..This is smoky……to me it doesn’t taste like pimento because the smoke taste over powers everything else. My husband taste it and agrees that it is smoky. The green goddess green beans are more of a cold salad with a lot of arugula and smoked almonds.

I’ll say find that HOT Chick and buy a sandwich and all the day you will have good Cluck!

Hot Chick is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.TheHotChick.com

Every FORKING THING is subject to change and YOUR experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth