Arriving at Omni Montelucia in Scottsdale AZ

Prado is a high end Spanish Style Restaurant located in the Omni Resort in the Paradise Valley Part of Scottsdale. The Atmosphere is rich and majestic.

Not all but many of Phoenix’s most prestigious Chefs have worked at Prado at one time.

Many of the dishes that Prado serves are prepared in the wood fired oven that you can see at the end of the dining room. When you walk in it ……you don’t know what it is but there is some sort of delicious aroma in the air that possibly comes from the wood burning oven.

We get seated and made our order.

They start us off with Prado’s signature Sourdough Bread and Arugula Pesto.

The bread is INCREDIBLY crusty, not too sour but with a tender center and rich tasting. The pesto is delicious but more like a spread than a pesto.

We share the Roasted Beet Salad and the Baked Triple Cream Brie.

The Beets were soft, fresh and delicious. The Quality strong tasting Valdeon Creamy Cheese sure left an impression (how could it not?) and played well against the Wild Amarena Cherries. All the flavors went together very well. I thought I thought the salad could have used a few more more candied pecans. I think I only got a total of one. Maybe there were more on the half I didn’t eat?…But still it was really great as far as Beet Salads go.

The Baked Triple Cream Brie was baked in the Prado Sourdough Bread and was served with Meyer Lemon Jam. The Taste was AMAZING but this is super heavy bread. It’s too darn delicious not to eat but I lost a lot of stomach room after trying only two small slices of Prado Sourdough Bread with Arugula Pesto. I wish I had a steak knife so I could slice my slices thinner.

For dinner I tried the Wood Grilled Half Chicken with Harisa Potato Puree, asparagus and Chermoula.

WOW as far as Chicken goes this was FORKING STUNNING! Mostly deboned Breast and Dark Meat all juicy with thin crisp skin and MIGHTY FLAVORFUL. I didn’t see the Chermoula but those were the delicious flavors in the chicken. Something like paprika, garlic, lemon, coriander, cumin…like those kind of flavors. Just delicious. The Asparagus was substantial, tender crisp and delicious too. The Harisa Potato Puree didn’t scream Harisa to me…as if it did the flavors would be too strong and compete with the Chicken…….The Potatoes were more mild than they look  but were still rich, tasty and delicious.

My husband had the Paella Valenciana. It was a combination of Shrimp, Mussels, Roasted Chicken, Spanish Chorizo, Salmon, Peas and Bomba Rice.

All the proteins were seasoned well and prepared to perfection. This Paella lacked the bottom crust one might expect but all the flavors were delicious.

For dessert we shared the Wild Berry Crumble and the Chocolate Mousse Bomba.

The Wild Berry Crumble was much lighter and fruitier than we both imagined. It’s doesn’t look it but the dessert was mostly strawberries. The bottom was an unusual almost granola tasting light cake filled with strawberries. The dessert was topped with a very creamy vanilla flecked custard. It was very good. The Chocolate Bomba was SO RICH an SOOOOOoooooo Chocolate-tee. It was filled with very rich thick very chocolate-tee mousse with a rich caramel mousse filling. Both desserts were a sweet ending to an incredible dinner.

Prado is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.OmniHotels.com

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

The Forking Truth

Phoenix’s Ocean Prime is located on High Street just by the Desert Ridge Marketplace. This is an award winning restaurant group. Ocean Prime Restaurant has had the honor of hosting dinner at The James Beard House. Other locations of Ocean Prime are in Upscale or Resort Areas across the USA and one location in Naples. Ocean Prime offers modern-ish and or slightly global menu. Offered are seafood dishes, prime steaks, signature cocktails and a Wine Spectator honored wine list and more.

When I found out that Ocean Prime was offering a reasonably priced Special Brunch Menu May 13th I made my reservation quickly. I thought to myself….WHYTFork not! ……This is a reasonable special treat out on a holiday weekend at a very nice place. Ocean Prime seems sort of ritzy…….and I prefer to eat quality fish….YEP WHYTFork not!

We got seated in the lounge.

On the way to our table I spotted something that caught my eye.

Forking WOW!

Is Angelina Jolie on her way to Ocean Prime in Phoenix?

NO    NO  NOooooooooooooooo!

…….No it’s a little joke…On our table was a reserved for Betty Davis Sign and I saw a bunch more celebrity reserved for signs when I left.

Our table is nice and formal with crisp linen, sparkling glasses and shiny silverware. The dinning room is part masculine and classic with dark wood and dark leather. But there are some modern bright touches here and there that round things out.

We get presented with The Special Brunch Menu and the Dinner Menu.

I ordered the Blackened Salmon Salad.

I received a perfect sized plate for lunch. A nice amount of fresh lightly dressed assorted greens adorned with candied walnuts, creamy mild goat cheese, grapes and cantaloupe. The salmon was incredibly fresh tasting and prepared a perfect medium with a nicely spiced sear. The fish was almost creamy and melted in my mouth.

My husband had the Crab and Egg plate.

A well rounded plate with salad and fresh fruit. The toasted English muffins were topped with quality mostly all-crab, grilled crab cakes…..(they do them on a flat top). The Crab Cakes were blanketed in a rich hollandaise sauce and fresh snipped chives completed the dish.

Instead of sharing an appetizer or dessert we also shared a side order of the Black Truffle Mac and Cheese.

I have to say this Mac and Cheesy was pretty darn great for it’s price point. It actually contained some real truffle that actually had truffle flavor to it. The Mac and Cheese was also creamy and cheesy like it should be with perfectly cooked noodles. It also was the perfect size for sharing.

Several members of the staff made us feel welcomed on our visit and it seemed like they were genuinely happy we dined there.

This really was a Special Value Holiday Brunch that was Worth a Fork at Ocean Prime.

www.Ocean-Prime.com

Worth a Fork!

The Forking Truth is that EVERY THING EVERYWHERE is subject to change and your Forking Experience May or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

High and Rye recently opened in early March 2018 in Phoenix by the Desert Ridge Marketplace on High Street. This is a Southern American Style Restaurant set up with a very LONGGGGGGGGGGGGG bar that’s packed with a lots of bottles of booze…….It might be safe to assume that many of the bottles are RYE and Whiskies.

This restaurant looks sort of like a shot gun style house when you walk in. It’s long and narrow with high top tables on one side and the longggggggg bar on the other side. If you keep walking you might come across singing guitar player like we did and behind him is loads of seating more bars. It looks oddly large.

From my seat I have a view of High Street.

I tried the Smoked Trout Spinach Salad.

I received a generous amount of fresh spinach. My salad also contained, red onion slices, maple-ly tasting sweet pecans, some marinated apple that looks like chopped spaghetti and was wet and limp like wet spaghetti, and oddly only contains a very small amount of Smoked Trout.

Sorry Folks, I can’t sugar coat this one…….In a nut shell this is not an award winning salad.

The size of the salad is very good and perfect as far as salads go but many things should be improved here if they want repeat business.   This salad cost $14.50 (at the time of this review May-2018). For starters A Smoked Trout Salad needs some Smoked Trout in it. All I had was a little bit of fish that maybe if I added them all together came out to maybe a HALF A FORKING OUNCE…….I had to “FISH” for the Trout. The trout might have been good but it was really was hard to really tell since it was served to me in such small pieces.  I imagine I had less than HALF  a Forking Ounce of Smoked Trout in a Smoked Trout Salad.  I didn’t need a lot of trout…..But I’m thinking if they up the portion size of Trout to TWO ounces I wouldn’t be feeling so bamboozled like I am right now. The other thing I feel the need to put out there was the limp wet chopped spaghetti shaped apple in my salad. The apple wasn’t fresh tasting and was obviously held and kept in some sort of solution that sucked all freshness and crispness  from the apples. Honestly the first few pieces of apple that I tasted I actually didn’t even recognize the fruit as apple. I feel a $14.50 salad should have fresh crunchy apple in it……..How hard is it to grate an apple fresh for each salad………Also while I’m still grumpy I will add that the salad would also be tastier if they did a quick pickle to the onions. This Smoked Trout Salad left me High & Dry at High & Rye. I have to tell The Forking Truth and admit that I was disappointed with the Smoked Trout Salad.

We also shared a small side of Jalapeño Corn Bread.

It came out pretty nice looking.

This Cornbread was like a trip to the Sahara Desert.

It was very dry and lacked much jalapeño flavor.

It really needed the butter but unfortunately it was impossible to spread butter on the corn bread because it just crumbled away like my thoughts of a tasty meal here today. Either someone didn’t follow the corn bread recipe or they need a new recipe for Jalapeño Corn Bread……

Lets move on.

My husband had the Shrimp and Stone Grits with a Hand Crafted Hot Link. Fortunately this dish faired better than the Smoked Trout Salad and the Jalapeño Corn Bread but also wasn’t perfect. (Look this up on AZCENTRAL.com The Food Critic was served a very different looking Shrimp and Stone Grits)

This Shrimp and Grits contained a generous amount of shrimp that were tender and well prepared. Grits were creamy but a little lumpy. The hand crafted hot link wasn’t like a moist juicy and spicy hot link……This sausage was dry and lacked heat. This dish also was also served  warm and not hot.

At the time of this review High and Rye is newly opened and may or may not be fine tuning things.

www.HighandRyeAZ.com

The FORKING Truth is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

That was my Trip to High and Rye in Phoenix AZ.

The Forking Truth

Wraps ‘N’ Curry is a small Indian Fast Food and Take Out casual cafe in an older strip mall in North Phoenix. Some people might remember the former Ecuadorian Latin restaurant that was once here called Mi Comida.

Wraps ‘N’ Curry is very casual. You walk up to the counter, order and seat yourself. Everything we tried was made fresh to our order but didn’t take too long.

Impossible to see from Bell Rd because Wraps ‘N’ Curry is hidden behind the Taco Bell.

We started out by trying the Aloo Tikki.

Wow it’s enough for a meal! (only $4.95)

The Chic peas were tender and delicious. They didn’t call them channa masala but thats what they tasted like. The potato patties were very good. They seemed free of oil and had a light crisp exterior. The potatoes were seasoned with flavors that included onions, cilantro and turmeric. They were tasty! We also received an herby chutney and tamarind sauces.

I tried the Desi Chicken Wrap.

Wow! Fresh made naan bread that was almost like a tortilla… lightly brushed with mint mayo and was stuffed with crunchy lettuce, tomato, cabbage ,onions, green chili, cilantro and tasty tandoori chicken. Everything is very fresh and flavorful with nice textures. I’m not getting green chili…either the chilies are very scant or forgotten but it still is a delicious generous fresh wrap so I’m very happy. I forgot the wraps also came with fries. The masala fries are addicting. They are light and fluffy with crisp exteriors and are dusted with something that taste like garam masala. This big plate of fresh herby food was only $7.95.

Today my husband ordered the Crispy Fish Wrap.

The Crispy Fish Wrap is also a Fresh Made Naan Bread that is lightly brushed with mint mayo (but none here at my husband’s request) lettuce, cabbage, onions, cilantro and this mild just battered fish! This was really good! The fish is so mild and meaty with such a nice batter. A great value for $8.95.

Tasty Casual Indian Food that is very approachable and a great Value!

Worth a Fork!

www.WrapsNCurry.Business.Site

Worth a Fork! Great Value Dining. No I wouldn’t travel across town to dine here but if you happen to be in the area this restaurant is suggested.

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

The Forking Truth

Arizona is credited for the Chimichanga. Not everyone in Arizona will say so but the majority of the country credits New York for Pizza. Nashville is the Hot Chicken Capital. The meaty sandwich that represents Philadelphia is the Cheesesteak. A real Cheesesteak is sliced Ribeye (or chicken, or pork.. variations) fried up on a flat top grill. It’s acceptable to use American Cheese or  Provolone Cheese on a Cheesesteak but most people expect Cheez Whiz (a processed cheese food that comes from a jar or can).  A traditional Philadelphian Cheesesteak is also served on an Amoroso’s Roll.

From www.Corleones.net

Corleone’s is a bit of a novelty restaurant. People from Philadelphia feel at home here because Corleone’s pokes fun at Philly People but in a good way.

Below on the self serve beverage cup are 10 reasons you know your from Philly.

Number 1. is kinda true…..We went to Pudge’s…….Only locals from the subs-burbs (lol) would know about Pudge’s.

Number 2…? Do I say wooder ice instead of water ice?….My husband said we do so number 2 is also true.

Number 4 is not true……

Number 5 I agree.

Number 6 I disagree.

Number 7 & 8 are very true.

I’m an incredibly bad speller so I never was able to spell Schuylkill we’d call that expressway that ran down the Schuylkill River the Sure Kill Exspressway. So Number 9 is not true.

Number 10 – I can go either way on that one.

They also have a board inside of 20 Reasons you know your from Philly. There are some really good ones there..

There are also fun Philly Artifacts to look at.

Up on the left is a former Mayor Frank Rizzo….Below that to the right is a picture from the Rocky Movie that was filmed down in the city…..not far from Pat’s.

The Love Sculpture in Philly.

There used to be John Wanamaker’s Department Store. It was a really neat old time department store at one time. I believe the building and sculpture are still there and are a part of the Philadelphia Skyline.

Enough of that! …………… Let’s get to the food! Here’s the menu. We ordered and got our beverages and some proper condiments.

In Philadelphia they ALWAYS offer Cherry Peppers of hot and also sweet. It’s not a Philly Steak without Cherry Peppers!

We waited and looked around taking in the sights of memory lane. There is a lot to look at.

The Movie Rocky (filmed in Philadelphia) plays non stop on the TV.  Lots of Pennsylvania license plates on the wall. Lots of Cheez Whiz and all kinds of other things.

My husband got a full size cheese steak with American cheese. I got a small chicken steak and I added a bunch of hot and sweet peppers to mine.

My husband insist that this Cheesesteak is really good. I think the Chicken Steak is ok but I really like the hot and sweet cherry peppers. The fries are pretty good for fries….Onion rings are almost good…..just slightly burnt.

Haven’t tried the pizzas yet.

Been to the Tatum Blvd location before they closed.

Corleone’s is a little taste of Philadelphia in Phoenix in two locations. (as of April 2018)

www.Corleones.net

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

The Forking Truth

Cafe Monarch is located in Old Town Scottsdale. This is a Multi Award Winning, Reservation Only, Fine Dining Restaurant. Just a couple of the many awards they won are for most romantic restaurant in the country from Yelp an another recent award is from Tripadvisor that rates Cafe Monarch as #1 out of 956 restaurants in Scottsdale (April 2018). They have servers that are knowledgeable and all are sommelier trained.

When you walk in the first thing you see is the bar.

They have indoor and outdoor seating…..Today would have been a great day to sit outdoors but I didn’t specify my seat when I made the reservation so we got seated in one of the dining rooms at a secluded table.

You know me…….I have to tell The Forking Truth…..I’m in a lovely place in a lovely room….I’m about to enjoy a four course dinner soon…..But these chairs are in need of repair (or replacement) and are indeed uncomfortable. My husband’s chair and my chair both have broken springs and out butts fall threw the chairs…..The weird feeling sort of passes and we get used to it.

Our waiter greets us. He seems genuinely excited to wait on us and is very friendly and seems very knowledgeable…..I then get presented with a white linen napkin to rest on my black attire…..The Forking Truth is that this is a small thing but it slightly offends me because fine dining 101 is to match the napkin to the guest’s attire. They should have offered me a black napkin. We order and hope for the best.

Anyways…..

All is forgiving after the first course.

WOW!

The Squash Blossom Relleno is highly recommended by me.

God it’s amazing. It’s one of the best things I ate this year.

It’s layered and complex with all kinds of interesting textures.

The Squash Blossom Relleno is coated in the lightest crispest batter and rest on creamy black bean puree. Pickled red onions counter the richness of the Oaxaca Cheese. Poblano pepper, New Mexico Chili sauce and herbs add just the right flavors. There is a little heat but it’s very controlled. Just delicious in every way…..We both wished we could eat a big plate of these…..they were really extra great….I mean FORKING GREAT!

Second course was the Compressed Spring Watermelon Salad.

This was a small detailed plate that contained many ingredients. In the end it was light and refreshing.

Third Course for me was Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo.

Here was a rice cake that was topped with the freshest tuna laced with Calabrian Chili Aioli, Tare Sauce, Capelin Caviar, Chives and the tastiest micro green I have ever tasted. It tasted like a sweet pea. This was light and very delicious…….also with a light controlled heat. My husband tasted a piece of this and he said it was much better than what he picked.

He picked the Hanger Steak.

Not a thing was bad about the Hanger Steak…..It just wasn’t as bright and flavorful as the Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo. This was also a detailed many ingredient plate. It was prepared with prime beef, herb spaetzle, wild ramp béchamel, tomato confiture, asparagus, shallots, pecan pesto, garlic chips and pea tendril.

Fourth Course for me was the Citrus Crusted Sea Bass.

I eat mostly fish when I go out to eat and have had many dishes of fish called sea bass. This sea bass was unlike any sea bass I had before. It was a big thick generously sized piece of fish.This sea bass had the appearance of halibut but with a much less meaty texture and was a very light and sweet.  It was prepared close to perfect. We were light on the citrus here but the fish picked up a lot of the butter and some of the sweet beurre blanc sauce for flavor. There was a detailed sort of patty of basmati rice, roasted corn, ramps, peppadew peppers, taro root and squash that was tasty. A pretty yellow swipe of something was on the plate that tasted like sweet roasted corn to me.

My husband had the Bucatini ai Frutti di Mare.

All the Seafood was great….(Diver Scallop, King Crab Leg, Tiger Prawn, small piece of Lobster Tail)……The House made Bucatini was great too but the portion might have been overly petite. My husband said the sauce was excellent but he wished they gave him two shrimp and more bucatini.

I’m full but my husband insist that we order a dessert….He knows I’m a sucker for a good desert.

We decide on the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.

Not a fan of the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding……(neither of us liked this dessert)………..It’s very dense and not sweet. Bananas don’t taste ripe or even flambé. …….Bad finish to a mostly lovely meal. I would come back but I doubt I’d ever order a dessert here again.

The Forking Truth is that I tell it how it was!

The menu changes ever other week at Cafe Monarch.

I would say everything except dessert was Worth a Fork at Cafe Monarch.

www.CafeMonarch.com

Amazing Atmosphere! A lovely detailed dinner…….except for dessert. I’ll go back again sometime……I’m just not sure if I would ever try dessert here again.

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

The Forking Truth

El Pollo Correteado is not a fancy place. You don’t come here for the atmosphere. You come here for the Chicken. I tried to translate El Pollo Correteado to see what it means. I think it translates to The Chicken You Pursue or the Chicken you Chase After. El Pollo Correteado is a small postage stamp sized restaurant that serves Mesquite Charcoal Cooked Chicken. You order at the counter-

a half chicken ($6.57 April 2018 pricing) or a whole chicken ($13.12 April 2018 pricing). The menu is in Spanish on the wall but it’s easy for anyone to figure out. The man at the counter speaks Spanish but is bilingual. He calls your order in Spanish to the man in the kitchen and your chicken gets is served to you in a moment.

Your chicken comes in a styrofoam box and also comes with salsa, lemon, pickled onions, hot chili pepper and a stack (around 7) corn tortillas. The food comes from a window or a pass in the kitchen. Off to the side you see the grilled 1/2 chickens piled up as the man in the kitchen takes them off the fiery Charcoal Grill.

*****NOTE*******The 1/2 chickens in the window do have breast and wings……. three tables indoors or you can seat yourself outside on a bench.

We sat inside at the one remaining table…….I  watched many people picking up food and taking it to go. It was non-stop take out.

Ooooooh….I got a Forking funny looking half chicken……I was expecting an actual half chicken but I got a 1/2 chicken with three smaller sized legs and two partial thighs. My husband also had a funny looking half chicken with three legs, and a thigh and another thigh with 1/2 a breast.

Anyways-

The meat is delicious. It taste like it was marinated. It’s very juicy and flavorful. It’s not very smoky but it is delicious It’s great by it’s self.

Then I try some as a taco.

A squirt of lemon, a little pickled onion, a strip of hot pepper and a small dap of salsa….Now that’s the whole experience. Very delicious and a bargain for $6.57. I think it’s actually cheaper than national fast food chicken.

So you only come here if you don’t mind enjoying delicious dark meat chicken. I don’t know if the chicken pieces are served random or if you have to request white meat…………….They also offer macaroni salad, beans, mashed potatoes and a noticed a small sign outside that offered a 10 piece special.

El Pollo Correteado has two locations.

I went to 2904 W McDowll Rd in Phoenix

The other location is

1602 E Jefferson St Phoenix

No Website but they are on facebook.

El Pollo Correteado – Good Fast Food Chicken….it might be the Fast Food Chicken you Pursue……..instead of chicken from a national chain.

The Forking Truth is that everything is subject to change and YOUR experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth