Category Archives: Forking Restaurant Reviews

Honest unbiased reviews based on actual experiences

Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva in Phoenix Arizona – Always Worth a Fork!***UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

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***UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****The Barrio Cafe Grand Reserva is located in Phoenix Arizona and is an upscale modern Mexican Restaurant. The executive chef is James Beard Nominated Silvana Salcido Esparza. She is well known and famous for her tender flavorful Oochinita Pibil, Chiles en Nogada and her bright chunky Guacamole topped with pomegranate seeds. The menu offerings at Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva are about half vegan and half with cheese or meat. The menu offers a la carte options and tasting menu options that are vegan or non-vegan or flexible. Often special hard to find Mexican ingredients are used in dishes offered. Most of the dishes are very complex and some but not all do run extremely hot and spicy but also very flavorful.

The restaurant is only postage stamp sized. The dining room is a vestibule of about 8 tables. The bar only seats two.

The walls are an art gallery that tells Mexican Folklore.

La Llorona is of popular Mexican Folklore. A song about a ghost of a woman in-between worlds who lost her children.

Around the restaurant are amazing decorations. Much more than these photos show. Many whimsical things. Trees that are crocheted…..hanging dolls…lots of colors and lights.

Tonight they started us off with complimentary extra spicy but delicious nuts and seeds.

We shared an amazing dish that was made with fresh lime, cilantro, seaweed, a few different hot peppers, onion, radish, cucumber, watermelon, pear, pomegranate, sushi grade ahi tuna and some other special things.

Without tuna this is vegan Aguachile and with tuna it’s Atun

OMG this is so refreshing, light, delicious and oh so spicy……but delicious…..I got sort of hypnotized. It’s almost too hot. ……but did I mention how Forking Delicious this is???? It’s so light and all the flavors pop!

We also shared the Huitlacoche (corn smut also known as the Mexican Truffle but it’s not truffle) with corn, chile, corn masa tortilla and salsa de xoconostle.

This was tasty…..but I think my mouth was sort of numb from the last dish and my spicy cocktail……I’m not certain that I was able to taste everything here…still tasty.

My dinner was a masterpiece. I had the Pescado en Mole de Rojas.

Pan seared Corvina, this unique delicious salsa d Xoconostle (cactus fruit) tatemado (fire roasted), red pine nut and rose petal mole sauce and vegetables. It was more delicious than I can describe. Different flavors were all around the plate. The salsa was more delicious than other salsas I’ve tasted…..Rose mole…who knew that this could be delicious? It was a very spectacular plate!

Same thing with the Amarillo con Chicharron de Pancita.

Here we had tender pork belly in a amarillo mole sauce also with different flavors around the plate and lots of fresh vegetables.

For dessert we shared this incredible light as air vanilla cream filled chocolate dome with orange mole and the plate came with these whisper thin tasty sesame crisps.

Everything was Forking Awesome!

Worth a Fork!

Barrio Gran Reserva is always Worth a Fork!

www.BarrioCafeGranReseva,com

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

The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth is that Eating Out at Some Places is like getting Clubbed in the Knees

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My first visit to this restaurant located somewhere in Metro Phoenix Arizona was ok….It sure wasn’t five star food but ok food at a fair price. On my second and third visits I wasn’t so thrilled with what I had and I haven’t been back in a long time …actually a few years………I recently heard that this restaurant had a new menu and had hopes to find something tasty. The new menu wasn’t on-line for me to check out but since this restaurant has been here a while I thought maybe they settled in and caught their stride. I’m not mentioning the name of this restaurant because It is not in my interest to bring negative attention to this establishment. It’s not my intention to bring negative attention to any restaurant……but this one serves foods (foods?) that have a level of suckiness that I think is criminal……like maybe worst than what incarcerated people get………..This place is always busy so it seems most people have a different taste than me …or maybe the beers are cheap so they don’t care about the food?

When I stepped in I noticed that they were very busy. I think every table inside and outside was full. Inside is very energetic and noisy. 

We waited a few minutes for a table. I looked at the menu and my heart sort of sank…The new menu is sort of American……slightly American Mexican and Hamburgers now. The old menu was better as they used to have a seafood section. 

We ordered and about FOURTY minutes latter our dishes arrive.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Wow…..(small clap) this is worst than what a school cafeteria would serve……….lucky me!

This is what I think I tasted……. processed, purchased from frozen, was pre cooked… from what seemed like possibly freezer burnt and or microwaved till the chicken blew up…….breaded chicken. (I think at least Microwaved till the chicken blew up……(look at picture…blown up chicken that’s hallow now)……Then the chicken was chilled and then served to me……..and enhanced with sprinkled buffalo sauce so I wouldn’t notice the blown up processed, chilled chicken………. I received FORKING COLD pre-cooked, chopped up chicken fingers that seemed like pre-made processed chicken that were Crunchy in a bad way……like blown up in the microwave oven. This sh*t is FORKING WORST than fast food and taste very salty too…..Also on the salad was cheap budget cheese and bottled (I can taste the citric acid in them) red peppers…YUK! THIS SUCKED! This wasn’t even close to being on the level of fast food…..This was lower than fast food prepared in a way on the level of the way a three year old youngster might prepare food. This is just something that I find polarizing……. I just don’t get how anyone can own a restaurant and serve food like this?

What kind of person is preparing food like this….?

It’s either someone that doesn’t know any better……

or someone that doesn’t give a flying Fork!

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..Eating here was as painful as getting clubbed in the knees

My husband received the Sandwich Version of yuck. 

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with $3.00 upgrade for Onion Rings
The cheese was melted and hard

My husband said the cheese was hard but also melted. His sandwich was made with luke warm slightly buffalo chicken fingers that seemed processed?…..but his were fresh cooked (probably manufactured from frozen) and weren’t COLD like my blown up crunchy in a bad way, salty, chilled, chopped up processed tasting breaded chicken. He said the sandwich was also on a cheap tasting bun.

The Onion Rings were good. They tasted fresh made and not processed like everything else. Or the onion rings seemed so much better than the chicken I thought they were fresh made……

Sometimes eating out is like getting clubbed in the knees and is NOT Worth a Fork!

NOT WORTH A FORK! Wild horses can’t even drag me back!

Everything is subject to change……maybe it will and maybe it won’t…..Your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Slapfish in Glendale AZ – Cod do Better

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Slapfish is a fast food style sustainable seafood restaurant that recently opened in the Arrowhead Area in Glendale Arizona (late December 2018). This is a California based company that is in rapid growth expanding into many states across The United States and coming soon to The United Kingdom. On the day of my visit they offered a great variety of fish, shrimp, lobster that are served in a variety of ways. Again this place is very casual, order at the counter, pay, grab a beverage and number and then seat yourself kind of place.

I decided I’d try the The Grilled Fish Bowl with daily fish (salmon $2.00 extra), seasoned rice, herb sauce and hand picked salad ($13.00 + $2 for salmon).

It’s a nice big piece of salmon that was browned.

It’s slightly over cooked.

Here’s a close up. As soon as I saw the albumin (white protein) pushed out of muscle fibers I knew the fish was over cooked…….That wasn’t the biggest problem. I am undecided if this fish was spoiled or very close to being spoiled. (I wish it went to salmon else…….(excuse bad pun). I can tell you that it had a strong fish taste. Me and my husband couldn’t eat it. I wanted to tell someone about the fish…..But it’s a casual fast food type place here. During that time they had a line going to the counter and I thought if I brought up my bowl with smelly fish all the customers in line would leave and the people working at Slapfish might spit on the new plate of food that they would have to make me. Of course I don’t know if the cooks would get mad and act that way but I’ve worked in several restaurants and do know it takes next to nothing for a cook to flip out sometimes.

That said for the most part most things we tried faired well.

Except for the fish the rest of my bowl was delicious. I received a very nice fresh salad with fresh cut cucumber, carrots, radishes, a sweet tomato and honey lime dressing. The chewy short grain rice was seasoned nice and was topped with a yummy herb sauce. I would have loved this bowl if the fish was ok.

We also shared the Cold Pickles ($4.00).

Also the Natural Cut Fries ($4.00).

We both enjoyed the pickles. They seemed light and refreshing. My husband liked the fries but I was a little put off by the powdery texture. I thought the fries were slightly dry and not too potato-ee tasting like Burger King Fries.

My husband tried a Shrimp Burrito ($11.00).

He said his shrimp were fresh and were moist and not dried out. This burrito is different and is filled with rice, fries, salsa and pickled onion. He thought the burrito was seasoned nicely but also added he thought the tortilla was on the dry side. Neither of us were found of the chips and salsa.

Average pricing run around $12.00 a plate. Expect to pay extra for upgrading the fish, a side and a beverage. (About $20.00 per person or more)

Such a great idea for a restaurant but Cod be better……..(excuse bad pun)

www.SLAPFISHRESTAURANT.com

1/2 a Fork…

My first visit was Hit and Miss.

The Forking Truth is that EVERYTHING is Subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Po Chicken in Mesa AZ

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Po Chicken is a casual Korean Restaurant in Mesa Arizona that specializes in Korean Porridge and Korean Fried Chicken. They also serve other Korean Dishes and Beer. This isn’t a fancy place and the atmosphere is a mix of new and worn.

I noticed something odd and saw something I’ve never seen in a restaurant before.

Each table had it’s own call button to ring a server.

We ordered and soon a few plates of side dishes arrive that are referred to as banchan.

The pickles were very unusual tasting to me…..sort of like regular pickles but mixed with Asian Flavors. We received crunchy salad with sweet thousand Island type dressing, fish cakes, kimchi, pickled radish, pickles, miso soup and a condiment for our hot pot.

We shared the Hot Pot with Flying Fish Roe.

We were told that this dish was meatless except for the fish roe. This was a rice dish with nori, shrimp, fine chopped vegetables, onions and fish roe. We mixed the condiment into the dish. It’s a mild but tasty dish. I like the texture of the onions. They are cooked but sort of crispy in a different way.

We also shared a split order of Korean Fried Chicken. We picked Sweet and Spicy and Soy Garlic. They serve a very large portion that might be enough to share between four people.

On the left is the Yang Nyum (the Sweet and Spicy). The Chicken is hot and very juicy……The sauce runs very sweet for my taste and I am a big fan of sweets but this is too sweet for me with very little heat. It’s like eating a warmed up jar of duck sauce. But the chicken on the left would be good if I liked the sauce. It would be my luck that I hit this restaurant when the “B” crew was on because the Ganjang (Soy Garlic) Chicken on the right was almost cold and was very dry……………..very VERY dry…stringy dry and almost cold…..If this chicken could talk what would it tell me?………Clearly this chicken wasn’t fresh made for us…..it was cooked…..chilled….possibly re-heated again for a long time so it could get all dried out (and awful)…and possibly chilled again……and slightly reheated to below a safe serving temperature for us… I tried to eat one piece and the piece I tried was a back bone that hardly had any meat and should have been saved for a stew …….but hey it did have an ultra crispy skin! We had a great deal of leftover chicken that we didn’t box up.

If you need service or the check you have to walk to the front desk or hit the button on the wall.

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

That was my trip to Po Chicken in Mesa.

1/2 a Fork…

www.Po-Chicken.Business.site

The Forking Truth

1st Taste at The Social on 83rd Restaurant at P83 in Peoria – Worth a Fork!

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The Social on 83rd Restaurant and Bar recently opened in P83 section of Peoria Arizona (former location of Slick’s Garage). This area is also known as part of the Upper West Side. The Social on 83rd offers a full bar and an intriguing Modern American Global Menu with reasonable pricing. The atmosphere is clean and modern and maybe sort of lounge-like with a mix of all sorts of tables and booths.

The bench was very comfortable

Seating is available indoors and also outdoors. They offer an indoor-outdoor bar and a two level patio for dining or libations.

We shared two appetizers and a salad. The appetizers were reasonably priced and were larger than we expected them to be. We shared the Bao Buns that were filled with 24 hour short rib. The Buns were topped with pickled vegetables and came with a side of mandu sauce. ($8.50 – subject to change)

The menu reads Bun so we only expected one bun and not two. Inside the fluffy steamed bun was a generous amount of short rib that was compacted into a meatball sized ball. The meat was tender and the fat was cooked out. All together with the pickled vegetables and mandu sauce it was delicious!

The Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls had a thin crisp exterior and creamy cheesy pasta inside that was prepared to perfection. ($7.50 subject to change)

Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls seemed free of oil and were flavorful. They rested on top of a little lemon herb aioli.

How often to you come across a Jerk Chicken Caesar Salad made with iceberg, peppered pecorino and mango caesar dressing? ($9.50 subject to change)

The first thing I tasted was a crouton. It was buttery with a tender crunch. The Jerk Chicken was not spicy hot but very flavorful with allspice and other flavors. All together it was a delicious interesting salad.

That was my First Taste at Social on 83rd.

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Can’t wait for my second taste!

www.TheSocialAZ.com

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

The Forking Truth

Confluence Restaurant in Carefree AZ is Always Worth a Fork

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Confluence is a small casual upscale restaurant located in beautiful Carefree Arizona. Confluence offers detailed elevated Modern Cuisine. The atmosphere is classic with modern touches. Seating is at the bar, standard tables or outdoors with mountain views. Currently Confluence is open for lunch and dinner Tuesdays – Saturdays at this time (December 2018). 

Between use we tried around twenty different plates so far at Confluence. Dining at Confluence never gets boring and the food is always exciting.

Today we started out by sharing the Grilled Eggplant with Sesame Seeds, Peanuts, Fresno Chili, Miso and Bonito Flakes.

Delicious! Now I know new flavors to do to eggplant!

For my main I went with the BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Celery Root, Spicy Pickles, Beet Greens, Smoked Onion Mayonnaise on a Fontina Roll.

OMG! YUM! This is from another planet DELICIOUS! This is another one of the best things I’ve tasted this year! It’s MAGICAL! I’m almost speechless…..I’ll start with the Fontina Roll. It’s rich but light textured. I think it taste eggy and buttery…but it’s very strong with a strong yummy-licious Cheese Flavor. The bun alone taste almost like the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever had! The middle of the sandwich is a MIX of all the fillings and became almost like a messy but FORKING DELICIOUS Chicken salad with all kinds of DELICIOUS Flavors….A little sharp crunch and bite from the pickle. Chicken that seemed slow cooked or Sous Vide and was tender like butter. Sharp beet greens. Smoked Onion Mayonnaise that should be bottled……..OMG…BIG FAT YUM! 

My husband went with the Beef Tips with Sun-choke, Broccoli, Potato, Mushroom, Cipollini Onion and a Taleggio Sauce.

We didn’t need dessert but Confluence Desserts are among the best…..

A little Chocolate Mousse with Almond, Orange and White Chocolate Biscotti was well received. 

Confluence Restaurant in Carefree AZ is Always Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

Some of the prior dishes we tried

Cured Farm Egg with Faro
Duck
Snapper
Monk Fish
Guinea Hen
Fruit Granite
Roasted Peach, Epoisses Cheese, Mint, Pecans, Honey

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

The Forking Truth

The Worst Foods Served to Me in Metro Phoenix Arizona 2018

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I try many restaurants in Metro Phoenix always hoping to find something special. Sometimes I do find the delicious…….but sometimes I don’t. You know how it goes…..There’s no Ying without a Yang. There’s no Good without Evil. You can’t know Great Food without tasting the Mediocre. Its not in my interest to put a bad word out about these restaurants so I won’t mention the name of the establishments.

Up above is the BEST of the Worst Foods of the year. I have to admit the Chicken Steak Filling is delicious, tasty and overly abundant. But that roll is the worst roll I ever had in my life. It’s soggy and deteriorating. It looks like they dropped in sink of water.

These vegetables were cold and RAW….Blech! They didn’t even bother to cook them for me.

This pizza was disappointing too from the same place as the raw vegetables.

These Cheesy Grits are watery and not cooked. What kind of person serves this?….I can’t believe this restaurant….served me this. When we told someone about the grits they just walked away. There was no I’ll tell the chef or I will get you another one. No I’ll take it off the bill…..The person just walked away. 

The Brisket might have been good if it was cooked more but was chewy with hard fat because it wasn’t done yet.

We went to a fish fry restaurant that possibly had equipment malfunctions and the owner had poor cooking skills. We both had fish that seemed freezer burnt and all the sides seemed spoiled or tasted inedible.

The Macaroni and Cheese was gooey with a bad taste. The tarter sauce was very watery. Sweet potatoes seemed old. I tried to eat a hush puppy and spit it out. After one taste of every thing we threw the food out and ate someplace else.

Chips and salsas should be avoided. …….. Steak Tacos taste like soy sauce. Mashed Potato taco is bland and flat.

This cornbread was too dry.

My smoked Trout Salad lacked Trout.

Very heavy and dense bread pudding…..didn’t taste good either.

These meatballs and the sauce was awful. Meatballs were mushy with hard uncooked carrot chunks and the sauce was bitter, acidic also with hard uncooked carrots…….. BLECH!

Someone served me a geriatric pickle with it’s own Sr Citizen Card but the rice and tomato were good. 

These falafels contained hard chick peas that never got soft. (I think they didn’t soak the chic peas but I don’t know…maybe they used pebbles from the parking lot) These falafels were like mortar and rocks in the mouth. I couldn’t eat them. Really most of the food sucked from here. Beef Shawarma was so dry it was like trying to chew a pony tail. Eggplant dip tasted like an ashtray. The Chicken Shawarma wasn’t but tasted like grilled chicken baloney. Only the rice, tomato and onion was good…..

We got this Fried Chicken Plate somewhere. Chicken on the left is fresh hot and juicy……But it was in a weird sweet sauce that tasted just like fruity duck sauce.  Chicken on the right is almost cold and very dried. The chicken was so stringy  you could use it for dental floss.

I heard that this particular ok but not great restaurant had a new menu so I thought the food would be better…My heart sort of sank when I saw the menu…..but we ordered anyway. I got a plate of greens that was topped with cheap shredded cheese, bottled  roasted red peppers,  and really weird pre-cooked COLD chicken that’s salty and taste like processed. The chicken is also crunchy in a very strange way…….like maybe it was microwaved too long and got crunchy.

Take a closer look. See the hallow piece. It’s like manufactured chicken that got blown up in the microwave and then gets kept cold in the refrigerator for victims ….I mean customers.

My husband was also disappointed with his sandwich but said his chicken was a little better.

His chicken sandwich contained two chicken fingers that seemed like processed from frozen on a low quality bun and was topped with low quality cheese that was hard and melted at the same time. On the bright side the onion rings were fresh made and good.

These were the worst foods served to me in Metro Phoenix in 2018.

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..Eating at these places was as painful as getting clubbed in the knees
NOT WORTH A FORK!

The FORKING TRUTH is that every thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Rancho Pinot in Scottsdale AZ- Worth a Fork!

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Rancho Pinot is a dinner only restaurant that’s located in a shopping center right on Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale Arizona. This restaurant has been in business for twenty five years now. You might be wondering what kind of restaurant is this…..The answer might be a mix of global American that slants Italian. On the menu the night I was there they offered Kabocha Squash with Tahini Sauce and Dukka, to Gnocchi with Lamb Bolognese. The menu changes often from what I was told but some menu items stay the same like the long time specialty of the house The Nonni’s Chicken that has been on the menu for twenty five years.

The atmosphere is mostly Western and sort of Kitsch.

From my seat I wasn’t able to photo all I wanted but I did get in the saguaro skeleton that’s in the middle of the dining room. The chairs are very rustic and somewhat uncomfortable. On the walls are cow head skeletons and a few stuffed animals such as jack-o-lopes. Lots of cowboy related pictures grace the walls and there is a curio cabinet with all kinds of strange things.

We were greeted by several workers that were very friendly. One worker told us that they work as a team so anyone could help or serve us. Our main server took our order and seemed very knowledgeable about the menu and the food served. We order and soon very fresh soft bread arrives.

We started out by sharing the Asian Pear, Fennel and Pomegranate Salad.

Everything was very fresh and everything did taste great together. The salad contains crunchy Asian Pears, shaved fennel, sharp greens, hazelnuts, pomegranate and creamy feta cheese.

For my main I went with the specialty…The Nonni’s Chicken.

Two generously sized braised chicken thighs with mushrooms, herbs and stock-ee white wine sauce served with crispy polenta and topped with a sprinkling of Italian Cheese.

WOW! I have to say that this is the moistest chicken I’ve ever had! You Forking don’t need teeth to eat this chicken! This is even more moist than from a Sous Vide! The polenta is prepared perfect. It’s nice and creamy inside. If I had a bigger appetite I would have dunked my bread in the sauce….On this dish the meat portion is about double of what I usually eat. It worked out well because the dish my husband ordered was smaller so he finished my dish.

He ordered a brand new dish to the menu and had the Fettuccine with Duck Confit, Winter Squash, and Braised Greens.

This was a more flavorful dish that was also prepared to perfection.

We were told that it was a big deal that they were offering Pecan Bars tonight because they haven’t had them on the menu for a year and a half so we ordered one.

The Pecan bar was very chewy….sensibly sized and wasn’t too sweet. We both liked the house made vanilla ice cream on top.

That was my trip to Rancho Pinot in Scottsdale AZ.

Worth a Fork!

www.RanchoPinot.com

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

The Forking Truth

My Trip to The Bourbon Cellar in Scottsdale AZ

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The Bourbon Cellar is located in a strip mall in North Scottsdale Arizona. They specialize in serving a variety of craft bourbons, craft sandwiches and craft burgers of Prime in-house ground Filet, Bison, Elk, Venison, Cajun Turkey and Veggie.

At the time of this review they are newly opened and are going with the lunch menu as an all day menu and offer three course dinner specials at night. (subject to change at any time)

Inside the atmosphere is clean and neat. It’s woody with brick walls.  Gracing the walls are slices of Barrels and stacked wine bottles.

Seating is available at the bar, dining room and front and side patios.

 

The side patio is lush with plantings and also has a water feature.

I’ve been to the original location before and enjoyed the Prime Filet Ground in House Burger. It was a very detailed burger and might have been the only burger I’ve ever tried that was so delicious and flavorful it didn’t need a sauce.

Pime Filet Ground in House Burger

The generously sized burger is served on an apple cider egg bun. It’s packed with lots of lettuce and a tomato slice and is topped with a wasabi deviled egg….(what a treat!) I didn’t have this burger this time but my husband had to have it again. He was somewhat upset that again they didn’t prepare it medium-rare like he asked for and got it sort of medium on one side and medium-well on the other side……But he said just like last time it was a juicy flavorful burger that was delicious……but he would have loved if they prepared it medium/rare. Next time he is going to ask for a rare burger. (I note that we do go to many restaurants and very few…actually almost none of the restaurants have a cook that can prepare a medium/rare burger…The only restaurant I can remember where my husband got a medium/rare burger was Amuse Bouche in Surprise AZ under the original owner)

What impressed me last time about this burger was that this was maybe the only time I had a super flavorful juicy burger that didn’t need any sauce or dressing to be delicious.

This time I tried the Ground Cajun Turkey Burger with Bourbon Pickles as a topping. Burgers come with hand cut fries or slaw…

This Turkey Burger was juicy with really good super flavorful grill marks on it. It was flavorful but in a very different way than the filet burger…..It was good but I think I needed different toppings than what I picked to make it special like the Filet Burger. Maybe instead of bourbon pickles I should have went with something like raw onions and avocado????

That was my trip to The Bourbon Cellar in Scottsdale AZ.

www.TheBourbonCellar.com

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

The Forking Truth

 

After 4 Visits Haru Sushi & Grill in Glendale AZ is still Forking Awesome! Stunning Sushi!***update different ownership

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*****update******different ownership since I wrote review*******Haru Sushi & Grill recently opened in a strip mall in the Arrowhead section of North Glendale. You might think that this is an average sushi restaurant because it’s in a strip mall but you would be wrong. Once you step inside you see that the decor is modern, sleek and very clean. My pictures here don’t do justice. Natural light comes in from the large windows on one side but the bright light makes the room look darker than it truly is….

I didn’t try everything or everything I want to try yet but in four visits I tried many things.

This special order of Asian Style Poppers were incredibly delicious! They were filled with cream cheese and had a light crunchy coating….But it was the sauce that made it….The sauce was especially delicious with the cream cheese and everything. I don’t know what it was but it tasted like Gochujang (fermented Korean Spicy Chili Paste), Rice Wine, Soy Sauce, garlic and Ginger….It was just SCRUMPTIOUS!

We also tried Korean Style Wings….another winner….Really yummy with delicious flavors. It seemed a little BBQ-y, Gochujang-ee, a little sweet but not too sweet and other flavors. Also that  tender yummy moist scrumptious chicken…..

Here’s Tuna Tataki! This is so clean tasting and melts in the mouth. It lightly seared and seasoned.

I’m not big on most sushi rolls…..I usually just go for something like a basic spicy tuna….But I have to admit this one….The Spicy Awesome Blossom Roll was one of the most delicious Sushi Rolls I ever tried anywhere. It was spicy tuna, cucumber, spicy seared albacore, a mountain of the tastiest crisp fried onions you ever tried and yummy sauces to jazz it up more. You keep going back and forth between the tasty roll and the crisp tasty onion puffs..The puffed up onion crisps are tastier than popcorn…..This Spicy Awesome Blossom Roll is really like attending an event…..It has so much going on.

Tried a lunch Bento Box with Beef Bulgogi, a Spicy Tuna Roll, Tempura Vegetables and Rice. The beef was tender like butter and delicious. Spicy tuna roll was very good and most important to me…I learned from Masaharu Morimoto that the rolls shouldn’t have too much rice…(I’m kicking myself for not photographing  actual Morimoto sushi (YES MADE BY IRON CHEF MORIMOTO HIMSELF)….they were very unique and looked like thick small coins….like dime sized but really beautiful and filled with sushi that had a design.  Morimoto’s sushi rolls had just enough rice like the way the rolls are made here. Masaharu Moromoto used to be an actual working chef at his namesake restaurant in Philadelphia in China Town. I went there often enough that he would wave to me when I came in. Back then the only sushi I ate were the beautiful small rolls and I liked all the Japanese small plates. Getting back to the bento box I should add that the Tempura vegetables were delicious and seemed free of oil.

But Sushi is Forking Amazing Here at Haru Sushi and Grill!

On this visit we had Nigiri in Ocean Trout (on left that looks similar to salmon) Toro and Blue Fin….Behind the Nigiri Plate is the Spicy Forbidden Roll. All the sushi was the freshest tasting I ever had and just melted in my mouth….It doesn’t feel or taste like sushi from the surrounding sushi places. This sushi has a certain smoothest to it and clean tasting like no other…….After eating this sushi I don’t need to go to any other sushi restaurant. I can’t settle for less now.

******UPDATE*****A change in ownership since this was written

Haru Sushi and Grill is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

I haven’t found a website for Haru Sushi & Grill but they are on Facebook.

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

The Forking Truth