Category Archives: Forking Restaurant Reviews

Honest unbiased reviews based on actual experiences

Pane Bianco in Downtown Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork!

 

Pane Bianco is a small casual urban restaurant that focuses on serving a limited menu of mostly Italian accented sandwiches on wood fired fermented bread that’s made from local heirloom grains. The popular sandwich is the Tomato Basil made with local produce and house made mozzarella cheese. Each sandwich is painstakingly made. Here is the April 2018 menu.

Pane Bianco is a sister restaurant to the FAMOUS Pizzeria Bianco By Chef Chris Bianco. He is a James Beard Award Chef (Best South/West Chef) He is the first Pizza Chef (maybe only) that has won a James Beard Award. Pizzeria Bianco is considered to be the BEST PIZZA in the UNITED STATES and is also recognized officially by Bon Appetit, Vogue, Racheal Ray, Andrew Zimmerm, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, GQ and Gourmet. Sorry I know I got you hungry for the famous pizza now……I was lucky to hit Pane Bianco when they were also serving the famous pizza. I’ve tried several of the pizzas several times and my best memory of the pizza was from Pane Bianco.

Back to Pane Bianco. Originally you ordered at the counter, browsed or purchased some local and imported goods and did take out or sat outside on a community bench.

A few years back Pane Bianco expanded and added on a dining room with wait service.

I was surprised when I looked at the menu. There are more additions than what the website shows. I haven’t made it here in maybe a couple years because of menu changes but I see that old favorites have come back since my last visit.

This time I got the Albacore Tuna Salad Sandwich. Today it came with a sweet mustardy red cabbage and vegetable salad. It is a very large generous sandwich. You can make two meals out of it.

My sandwich was PACKED with LOTS of arugula that was massaged and made tender and was easy to bite threw. The Albacore Tuna doesn’t taste or have the the texture of canned……..It taste like there is balsamic vinegar and and oil. The tuna salad is studded with sweet marinated raisins that burst in your mouth and there are little pieces the highest quality gaeta olives. It’s all delicious together…This sandwich does differ from other tuna sandwiches I’ve had here but all of them were all very good.

My husband had his favorite sandwich. The Soppressata with aged provolone and wood roasted red bell pepper.

My husband thinks the meat and cheese are of the highest quality. He loves this sandwich! A few years back red peppers were very expensive and Pane Bianco wasn’t offering the red peppers on this sandwich….instead they used roasted onions.

This version is still good……but not as great.

One of the very BEST, Must GET, desserts in Metro Phoenix is the Crazy Great Nutmeg Ice from Pane Bianco. (also served at Pizzeria Bianco at the Town and Country location).

It’s not like any Italian Ice I’ve had anywhere before. It’s a little creamy but it’s a one note refreshing punch that knocks you out…….I promise you…. it’s AMAZING!

Town and Country Pizzeria Bianco presents the Ice a little differently with cookies.

a few things I had at Pane Bianco in the past. (most things I didn’t photo here)

Tomato, Red Onion and Cheddar Focaccia (once I had a lemon rosemary bread that was really great!)

Chicken Salad

Tuna Salad

Pane Bianco is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.PizzariaBianco.com

EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change and YOUR experience MAY or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

 

La Piazza Al Forno – Glendale AZ – Great Certified Pizza – Worth a Fork!

 

La Piazza al Forno is located in Historic Old Town Glendale. This is a small Italian Restaurant that specializes in Neapolitan Certified Pizza. Although the unique pizza is the main attraction La Piazza al Forno might be most famous for Celebrity Chef and Host Guy Fieri’s appearance and their fame of being featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive-in and Dives.

Many awards and the Vera Pizza Certificate are hung by the entrance

On this visit we started out by sharing a generously sized house salad.

We also shared the Bianca Pizza. It’s made with flavorful milky house made mozzarella, a high quality (taste house made) ricotta cheese, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano and we added Calabrian Chilies. It all got baked in a certified Italian wood fired brick oven. at a certified temperature for a certified amount of seconds.

The light as air crust with a moist middle is lightly blackened and chewy with the absolute perfect amount of salt….not too much but enough to flavor…..The made in house mozzarella cheese is very milky tender and flavorful…..Everything else is a bonus…High quality ricotta (it taste fresh made it’s moist and delicious), drizzled with the perfect amount of quality extra virgin olive oil…delicious seasonings and that added Calabrian Chili peppers that we are fond of. It certainly is among the best pizzas you can get in metro Phoenix. The Forking Truth is that PIZZA in general is very controversial…..wars can get started over pizza….it’s similar to religion and politics…..so I’m never going to you that any is the very best but this one is up there and might be the best. Hands down I don’t think there is a pizza out there that’s topped with such delicious flavorful cheese. The crust is so tender and light. These pizzas will never weigh you down. This was a Forking AMAZING Pizza!

But I do have to tell The Forking Truth……Pizzas from most places ARE NOT CONSISTENT…….(even the numeral uno….you know who!….I got a burnt one on my last visit there!)

Here is an example of two Margherita D.O.C. pizzas from La Piazza al Forno.

They look different and they taste different too!

Pizza on the left was made with tomatoes that weren’t drained well. The cheese was much looser and the middle was too wet.

Pizza on the right was absolutely delicious with a rich just right sweet tomatoes.

More often than not the pizza is very good from here. I’ve been here many times. But once I got a really bad crust on a pizza during a very busy dinner service and my crust was baked over some sort of spillage in the oven and had burnt tasting spots on the crust. That was only once. But when they get it right the Pizza from La Piazza al Forno is my favorite!

Here are a few photos from some previous visits.

Calzone

Dolce Diavolo Pizza from La Piazza Al Forno in Glendale AZ Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Soppressata, Calabrian Chilies, Basil, Honey

Salvatore Pizza- San Marzano tomatoes D.o.p., house made mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, prosciutto di parma, arugula

I don’t eat dessert here too often but this cheese cake is the very best cheesecake maybe in Arizona. It’s the only one I liked since moving here. I note I am spoiled……I grew up eating one of the best Cheese Cakes in the country. That cheese cake was from the Country Club Dinner in Philadelphia….(it’s much better than Jr’s of New York…to me) It’s light (for cheese cake) it’s delicious and not sour, heavy and thick. This La Piazza al Forno is the closest in style and taste to the FAMOUS Country Club Dinner’s Cheese Cake.

La Piazza al Forno is Worth a Fork!

www.LaPiazzaPhx.com

Worth a Fork! If you are a Pizza Foodie you might drive across town to dine here. I do note they have a newer location down town but I never visited that location so I can’t say if it’s the same.

The Forking Truth is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

I tried EGGSLUT at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas NV

 

Eggslut (logo is eggslut) is a casual restaurant that is based in Los Angelas CA. The menu is limited and focuses on the cage free egg. There is an Eggslut location in the Cosmopolitan Casino Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The line is always very long here but it seems to move reasonably well.

I tried the Fairax. It’s a locally made Brioche Bun that’s very eggy on the top but white inside. The sandwich is stuffed with LOTS of extra soft loose Scrambled Eggs, Chives, Caramelized Onions, very mild Cheddar Cheese and Sriracha Mayo. It’s a pillow of soft squishiness. Soft squishy roll with soft squishy insides that are laced with Sriracha Mayo….Did I mention that this sandwich was really squishy?

My husband got the Bacon eggslut.

They put lots of crispy bacon on his sandwich, cheddar cheese, one over medium egg, chipotle ketchup on a brioche bun. I don’t think his sandwich was as squishy as my sandwich.

If you prefer your eggs loose and your sandwiches squishy…….You will be Egg-Cited to eat here!

www.CosmopolitanLasVegas.com

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

The Forking Truth

 

My Trip to Mercato della Pescheria at Venetian in Las Vegas NV

 

Mercato della Pescheria is an Italian Seafood Restaurant located in the Cannal Section in the Venetian Casino Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Most of the seating is out in a square in front of a faux building under a faux sky.  Just a short distance from the patio are singers that are singing Italian songs, some dancers, a living statue person and a stilt walker. It’s quit a bit of entertainment.

They start us off with really delicious bread presented in a tomato can.

WOW, the bread was really great. So crusty, hot and delicious. I haven’t had bread this good in over ten years. The bread is very good here.

We start off by sharing the Swiss Chard Ravioli in Pesto that’s topped with Pine Nuts and Grand Padana.

The Pasta is thin and seems like a 50/50 semolina to flour ratio. It’s stuffed with cooked Swiss Chard and each Ravioli has two of the corners stuck together so they look like little packages  and hold more pesto sauce. We thought the raviolis were very good.

I had the Mediterranean Sea Bass (also known as Bronzino)  They served me a very large portion. It might not be enough for two people but I can say it’s bigger that any Bronzino I’ve been served before. The center bones have been removed and the fish was prepared with some coal smoke for a unique taste. The fish was prepared reasonably well but was just slightly over done….

My platter was served with creamy Saffron Laced Cauliflower Puree, some Cauliflower and a Salad of Arugula with shaved Fennel that contained small amounts of charred fish skin from my fish.

My husband had the Coal Smoked Braised Veal Osso Bucco.

The Shank was topped with some gremolata and roasted vegetables and rested over creamy saffron laced risotto. Technically the shank and the risotto were not perfect  but were passable with nice flavors.

Our service was efficient but very fast paced.

That was my Trip to Mercato della Pescheria in Las Vegas.

www.MercatoDellaPescheria.com

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

The Forking Truth

L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas NV – Dah of course Worth a Fork!

 

L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon made it to be a Top Ten Essential Las Vegas Restaurant, a Four Diamond AAA also a Forbes and Michelin Travel Guild Restaurant. You know it’s going to be Worth a Fork!  This restaurant is business casual. It’s also very small but very dramatic….the decor is all shiny black accented with red. Besides your server all you hear are the orders being called out by the expediter with a French Accent. Here you sit at the counter and watch the exhibition kitchen. There are some tables to the side but over the years I’ve seen only a very few  people that have sat at those tables. I don’t know but I’m guessing that only VIPS or maybe very High Rollers ever get to sit at the tables. There also a few seats at the tiny bar but it might be just for show because I’ve never seen anyone sit there either.

The menu is full of tiny extraordinary plates so it’s sort of tapas. You can order a la carte or pick from the fixed priced menus that suits your appetite (or wallet). We always go with the smallest menu (three course) that includes dessert. It turns to to be enough food.

Ok here we go….

Expect the unexpected. Everything is a masterfully crafted surprise. Most of the plates you can’t duplicate at home. The food is mostly all Mind Blowing! Words aren’t necessary here or can truly describe the flavors and textures.

They start us off with an Amuse Bouche.

I had the Vegetarian option on the left. Mushroom Mousse in the thinest crisp pastry resting in pink peppercorns. It was extremely flavorful and had a surprising pink peppercorn infused pastry. My husband had something warm with Foie gras.

Then they serve us a basket of their AMAZING breads and delicious French Butter. My favorite is the little round buttery croissant…so yummy!

My first course was the Le Saumon – Smoked Salmon with Potato Galette and Dill Whipped Cream.

The salmon is cut masterfully thin and the plate includes a “line” of Piment d Espelette (perhaps the world’s most delicious red pepper). Of course it delicious…how could it not be? It’s so good that I could eat this everyday….in my dreams….

My husband starts with one of his favorite plates …..The Le Jambon – Iberico de Bellota with toasted Tomato Bread.

The ham is something really special. It’s made from Black Footed Pigs that kissed by Jesus (only kidding) and eat nothing but acorns. The meat is slightly laced with acorn and just melts in your mouth.

My second course was really truly AMAZING! Who knew such a dish could ever be so memorable!

It was called Le Potager – Market Vegetable Napoleon in Root Vegetable Broth.

They poured a milky buttery laced with dill vegetable broth over mushrooms and really fancy vegetables. Did you ever see such a baby carrot before. Maybe i can’t make it sound as great as it was but let me tell you….It was really great! Maybe more like Mind-Blowing!

My husband had the Le Thon – Tuna Belly Confit.

What a stunning presentation. I tried to taste it but it clashed with my dish…..so I went back to enjoy mine.

My main course was Le Bar – Seared Atlantic Sea Bass crusted in celery leaves over citrus beet reduction and the famous Robuchon Potatoes with one gram of Truffles.

The celery crust with beet reduction is interesting. It’s sophisticated…….They go so well together but in a why that’s different.  Potatoes are amazing…well they always are………I was told once that the potatoes are 50% fingerlings and 50% butter……..

My husband had the Le Ris De Veau – Veal Sweet Bread with Bay leaves and a Lardon stuffed Romaine Lettuce.

We both picked the Les Tarts for Dessert.

Little but Forking Amazing slices of heaven….(insert disk of angels singing here)….

From the left cinnamon, chocolate, lemon meringue, apple and mango

Then they give us an extra for the road.

The menu we picked from (2018 pricing) w/o upgrades is $98.00 per person without beverages tax or tip.

I’d say dahhhhhhhhhh of course L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas is Worth a Fork!

www.MGMGRAND.com

Worth a Fork!

These are some of the plates we enjoyed from previous visits.

L’Oeuf – L’Atelier MGM Las Vegas NV

Le Canard L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon MGM Las Vegas NV

Le Bar L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon MGM Las Vegas NV

The famous Beet Valoute over Mustard Sorbet Salad………Sophisticated but Mind-Blowing.

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

The Forking Truth

 

Momofuku Cosmopolitan Las Vegas NV – Worth a Fork!

 

Momofuku Restaurant was established by celebrity Chef David Chang. This location is in the Cosmopolitan Casino Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. At the time of this review this location of Momofuku is the only west coast location. The menu that is offered at Momofuku is a fusion of Global US, Korean and Japanese Foods. The menu highlights are steamed buns, noodles, meat and raw seafood. The menu items are meant for sharing. This is a casual restaurant with a hip and modern atmosphere and one that also plays cool classic rock music in the background. There is a view of the Las Vegas Strip and also a view of the open kitchen.

There are so many tasty things to try but I decide to start out sharing the Pear and Burrata small plate. It’s made of tender butter lettuce, milky burrata cheese, pears, hazelnuts and black truffle.

It’s so delicious! I can’t imagine adding a protein to it but you can….The flavors are so great the way they are….it’s just so light and flavorful….it’s surprising.

We also share the Jidori Rotisserie Chicken Ssams with ginger rice and lettuce.

The chicken is moist, developed with flavors (marinated) with also a very flavorful exterior. I don’t know all the flavors here but one of the exterior flavors I know is star anise……The chicken alone is delicious. But you make Asian Style tacos to eat it with the lettuce as your taco. The hoisin, kimchi and mint make the lettuce wraps even BETTER…We both didn’t expect that this food would be so delicious. Wow! I’m going to try this place again the next time I’m in Vegas!

Our server was pleasant and efficient.

There was only one thing that cracked me up. When the food runner ran out the chicken plate. …Instead of removing our empty starter plate. He slapped the chicken plate over the starter plate.

Slight update- Management was happy I enjoyed the food but was very concerned about the food runner. We all know that this was fluke or isolated circumstance and you shouldn’t expect this to happen to you. But you all know I tell the Forking Truth and this is truly WTFork happened.

Food was Great! Waiter was good…..Food Runner ……well you heard.

I’d still say Momofuku was Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.Vegas.Momofuku.com

The Forking Truth is that everything EVERYWHERE is subject to change and your experience MAY or MAY NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

 

 

$28. & $29. 3-Course Lunch Specials at Lago & Milos in Las Vegas NV on the Strip

Lago in the Bellagio and Milos in the Cosmopolitan offer $28.00 and $29.00 three course lunch specials (at this time 3/2018**subject to change). Both are amazing restaurants. Lago is Italian themed and Milos is Greek. Lago is by James Beard Award Winning Michelin decorated Chef Julian Serrano. Milos might be considered to be the finest Greek Restaurant in American. Only the highest quality Greek Ingredients are used in their dishes.

Lago

This time at Lago we started with a vegetarian Minestrone Soup and an Antipasto Mista ($5.00 up-charge)

Both appetizers were unusually great! I never had a minestrone soup like this….It’s so clean and flavorful and studded with creamy sweet squash. It’s great! My husband loves the antipasto mista. There is creamy burrata in the middle with sweet charred roasted bell peppers. There’s also this super thin crisp bread included.

Main courses we picked were Bronzino and Spinach Lasagna

No complaints ……All is well.

Chef’s Choice Dessert.

Not too shabby! I’d say the $28.00 Three course lunch at Lago is certainly Worth a Fork!

Here’s Milos

At Milos they start you off with really good and hardy fresh baked bread with this super high quality Greek Olive Oil.

At Milos we picked the Tomato Salad with Greek Feta and the Salmon Tartare to start with.

The tomatoes are exceptional…..so sweet…and I never tasted Greek Feta like this before. It is tangy but also isn’t salty. The Salmon Tartare is so fresh and light.

Main courses were fresh flown in that day Dorade Royal Grilled Mediterranean Sea Bream seasoned with Greek Olive Oil, Capers and Kyhira Sea Salt and Shrimp Sagaraki.

I do have to say I ate a lot of fish this week and the fish at Milos was absolutely stunning….It was simple but absolutely perfect. This was the best fish I had in Vegas this week. Shrimp were just as great.

Desert at Milos is very simple and we did have our choice of three but we both went with the fresh fruit.

I would say the Three Course Lunch at Milos is certainly Worth a Fork! ($29.00 at this time March 2018 but I know the price goes up about once a year)

Both Three Course Specials were Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Lago  www.Bellagio.com

Milos  www.Milos.ca

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

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

My Trip to Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas NV – Worth a Pitchfork!

 

Most of us are very familiar with the Gordon Ramsay’s TV Show called Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay is an actual Michelin Stared Celebrity Chef that is well known for yelling, insulting and cursing at his crew on the Hell’s Kitchen TV Show.  It was sort of fun when I heard about this new Hell’s Kitchen Themed Restaurant by Ceasar’s Casino/Hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas. They announced on the News that this is the most booked restaurant in Las Vegas at the moment. I made my reservation months ago actually before they opened when I knew I was going to be in Las Vegas. I’ll be honest here….The food menu isn’t cutting edge in any way……it’s pretty much old school……….. Well here I am. I had no idea of what it was going to be like…..I was kind of imagining Gordon Ramsey’s voice calling people Forking Fork Face Donkeys ………after all that’s how he is on TV.

When you enter the restaurant you see this projected Gordon Ramsey image that walks around the front of the restaurant and sort of greets you when you walk in and he tells you to order the Wagyu meatballs.

Then it looks like this. You see an open kitchen with this years winning contestant from Hell’s Kitchen on the line.

The main dining room with a sort of fiery wall and pitch forks with lights hang from the ceiling.

I got seated just past this…….. With a view of the Flamingo Casino  is across the street. (Soon to become a different Casino…….bye bye Flamingo)

It’s very noisy in here and they are playing some sort of music I can’t identify. I think it’s techno….??? No singing just sounds that seem random and move fast.

What to order…?

The Wine List runs very expensive.

We’ll go with Cocktails. My husband gets some sort of interesting cocktail called a Smoke on the Blvd. It’s Rye, Aperol, Amaro, Averna, Sweet Vermouth with Smoked Cherrywood presented in a smoking box with a branded orange twist……Eeks! It’s way too smokey for me……. I just had a Negroni. It didn’t photo so well…It’s a clean tasting not sweet red drink with a single ice cube with a HK on it.

I thought Gordon Ramsey made an appearance tonight at Hell’s Kitchen. They had a look-a-like make an appearance and it looked like Gordon Ramsey was supervising the line. I don’t know if he is a paid look-a-like or if one of the chefs there just has a strong resemblance to Gordon Ramsay.

We shared a Caesar Salad and a Red Quinoa Salad.

We both really enjoyed the Red Quinoa Salad. It was different and interesting with little chunks of apple, dried apricots, hazelnuts and goat cheese. It was tasty and different. We both were slightly disappointed with the Caesar. It was just very average for a Caesar and was ok but tasted more like vinegar lemon dressing rather than balanced flavors should include garlic ,anchovy, Worcestershire, Parmesan and Black Pepper. Despite the small amount of Cheese Frico in the salad it was very bland…..

I was hoping for John Dory here…….Isn’t Ramsey calling out on Hell’s Kitchen, “Where’s the Forking John Dory?”  “Can someone get me a John Dory?”    …….. I didn’t see John Dory on the menu so I settled for the Crispy Skin Salmon. Bye the way…….earlier I was checking out the lunch menu…(****this is only slightly amusing if you watch Hell’s Kitchen)….I didn’t notice any “Idiot sandwich” on the lunch menu either.

The Salmon Skin is indeed Crispy and seasoned well. It actually stayed crispy from start to finish. The fish flesh was moist and cooked to a perfect medium. On the side was a lightly pickled fennel salad and everything was on top of seasoned Beluga Lentils (the little black ones).

My husband went with the Beef Wellington.

The Hell’s Kitchen Beef Wellington is a Filet Mignon, medium rare  coated with prosciutto and mushrooms in a crispy pastry. It was served with potato puree and root vegetables. I didn’t try this but my husband said the beef was reasonably good but for him it could have used more seasoning. He also complained to me that the potatoes were cold. I then tried a taste and I would say room temperature at best.

Neither of use ever had Sticky Toffee Pudding before……It came with my husband’s meal so I tried some.

It’s a wet very soaked cake that has a slight molasses kind of taste and is topped with an unfamiliar lightly spiced creamy ice cream called “specious.”

That was my Trip to Hell’s Kitchen……I guess it’s fair to say it’s Worth a Pitchfork!

Worth a Pitchfork

www.Caesars.com

The FORKING Truth is that every FORKING Thing is subject to change and YOUR FORKING experience may or may not Forking differ.

The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth is that All Restaurants have Potential

 

The Forking Truth is that All Restaurants have potential. They have potential to do well or not to do well. I am purposely  not mentioning the name of this restaurant because they are newly opened. It is NOT my intention to bring negative attention to them. It is my hope that they work things out because this restaurant certainly has potential that can go either way. I am not a professional reviewer by any means and  I pay my own way just like you when I go out to a restaurant. I am not treated special and I walk in like anyone else. I can’t cherry pick my stories and only tell the good ones. I can only tell The Forking Truth.

Somewhere in metro Phoenix a New BBQ Restaurant opened and I had to try it for a few reasons. The chef is a known competition BBQ Master……so that means his BBQ should be great. The Chef was also skilled enough to make it on to the Food Network Grill Masters TV Show and the other reason I had to try this place was that pastrami was a regular item on the menu and no other BBQ restaurant that I know of in the area offers pastrami regularly on the menu. I’ve been working on my own pastrami recipe so this was of special interest to me. Pastrami is a lot of work and a very difficult thing to prepare correctly. Things do go wrong even if you do things correctly because each brisket is different. That is why (not all) but nearly every deli out there does NOT BRINE Corned Beef or Pastrami in house. The majority of places that serve corned beef and pastrami pay a professional company to brine by their own recipe. Pastrami sort of is an art. Speaking of art there’s artsy kind of decor in this tiny restaurant.

The dining room is very small with very limited seating and some stools on the other side.

When I arrived on the patio there was five outside tables but then they removed one for a DJ to set up.

Back to coming in……

As you enter your at the counter.

You see BBQ Awards to your left and a Pig Mural to your right. In front of you is the menu.

We made our orders and sat ourselves on the patio. In about fifteen minutes my husband goes to pick up our order…..

We orded a New York Style Hot Pastrami Sandwich that was suppose to contain a PTG Slaw (…..oh initials of Chef Guy) Russian Dressing and Toasted Marble Rye.

The White at bottom of sandwich is fat

My sandwich was missing the slaw….not a deal breaker but someone should have told me that they didn’t have slaw ready yet. The Pastrami is barely warm but is tender, a bit fatty with a few fat chunks I have to remove. It’s very different……..Mildly seasoned and mildly smoked…Not much of a crust but it’s a different unique style………It’s more like corned beef but with a very slight smoke……The dressing they used is sweet with chunks of pickles in it ………(technically more of a Thousand Island Dressing and not the savory, spicy Russian Dressing)  …..The bread was toasted nice but I would have enjoyed the sandwich more with thinner bread….. It’s a lot of bread….like a double portion….I make a big 1/2 sandwich out of it and it’s still a lot of bread to eat with the meat. Makes it hard to taste the meat with so much bread. Maybe the ratio would have been better if my sandwich contained the slaw it was suppose to have.

We also tried the Two Meat Plate with an added Hot Link. I have to be FORKING Honest here……The Brisket had really good flavor but was just barely warm with hard fat and the beef part was chewy like rubber. This meat wasn’t ready to be served to people.

After I tried a bite my husband asked me to try more and I said, “NO.” My husband said the pork was good and he said the Hot Link would have been good if it wasn’t dried out…Usually Hot Links are juicy.

The Forking Truth is that the Cheesy Jalapeño Grits were inedible.

Again another thing served next to being cold and the grits were still hard and crunchy in a drippy thin watery sauce. It was like trying to eat sand mixed with water.

We told someone about the grits and she ran away. (Wow, I found this baffling…no I’ll tell the chef or I’m sorry or I’ll take that off your bill or anything……we didn’t get to say anything else….she just ran away….who does that?)

I will say the Waffle Fries were Delicious…..Seasoned nicely, seemed oil free with a fluffy interior. Shame they were also almost cold too.

To sum things up – The only thing that was served at the correct temperature was the Hot Link. All the other hot items were served next to cold.  My Sandwich came out without slaw. The Brisket and Grits were served to us before they were ready to be served to people. That is NOT Professional or OK UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES……..(that is something a child might do)…….and lastly……….We started to tell someone about the grits and as we were talking she ran away….

We cleaned up our stuff and left. No Thank you for coming or come back again or anything.

The Forking Truth is that all restaurants have potential….to do well or not.

Hopefully they will work things out……… but I’m not going back.

Every FORKING THING Everyday Anywhere is subject to change and YOUR Experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

 

OMG YUM – Luna Gelateria Scottsdale AZ – Mind-blowing Crazy Good Amazing Gelato

 

Luna Gelateria serves authentic style artisan Italian Gelato. Ingredients from different parts of Italy are used for the Gelato but the dairy products are only locally sourced. The machinery that makes the Gelato is state of the art Italian machinery. You can watch the fresh Gelato being made in front of your eyes.

The interior of the Gelato Shop is upscale, rich and modern and is connected inside to Pomo Restaurant next door. (You can see the open kitchen from a seat at Luna)

What am I going to get?

You can’t really tell from my photo but the machinery is spinning and many flavors of gelato are being created. Some of them are not ready. The first one I got to taste was called Luna (pistachio/chocolate chip) OMG stop right there….It’s the FORKING Best Gelato I ever tasted anywhere……….AMAZ-BALLZ It’s so creamy and velvety……but it really is the flavor…….It’s amazing Pistachio……It’s the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s so FORKING Flavorful……They made the chocolate chips creamy and they don’t take away from the pistachio……SOOooooooooo…Pistachio-eeeeeeeee…….Never had a gelato like this before……

My husband asked to try the Giaduio (hazelnut/chocolate) WOW it’s so good….so creamy unlike any other gelato I had before…..but with perfect really great flavor…..so good…. Yum YUM DE-Lish! The hazelnut is such a magical flavor and yummy….The chocolate is really a really good chocolate-teeeeeee.

It will be difficult to ever try another flavor since these were so amazing.

OMG YUM! Mind-Blowing Crazy Good Amazing Gelato!

******(our local newspaper published on Feb. 19th 2018 that breakfast and lunch was available here. On the day of my visit Feb. 24th Luna had Pomo Menus scattered around and lunch was offered next door (at Pomo) (They weren’t ready to serve lunch yet)…….perhaps lunch will be available soon at Luna. As of today March 1st 2018 Luna doesn’t have a food menu posted on their website)

Luna Gelateria is Worth a Fork! …………. OMG YUM! Mind-Blowing Crazy Good Amazing Gelato!   🙂

Worth a Fork!

www.LunaGelateria.com

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

The Forking Truth