Blue Clover Distillery recently opened in DownTown Scottsdale AZ. This is Scottsdale’s first distillery.  I think I overheard that the Vodka is ready now but several other spirits are soon to come. The atmosphere is neat and clean and open. Interesting light fixtures grace the ceiling.  They offer regular tables and high top community tables inside.  They also offer bar seating indoors and out with a patio for dining…or sipping.

The menu is mostly casual and mostly laced with New Mexican Chile Peppers.

My husband tried the Spicy Shrimp Scampi and Bacon Grilled Cheese (pepper jack, havarti)  and Sweet Potato Tater Tots as his side.

The sandwich came with a nice crisp garlic-ee Deli pickle too! He said the sandwich was spicy and the shrimp were prepared well. He thought it was a tasty sandwich. We think it was spread with a Vodka Prickly Pear Jam that made the sandwich very unique. We both liked the Sweet Potato Tots…..They tasted like Sweet Potato but less mushy with a light skin that wasn’t oily.

I went with the Corn Bowl Salad with added Chicken. It comes in two sizes and I asked the waitress to show me with her hands the difference is size so I’d know what to order. She said the smaller one is just an appetizer size so I went with the large.

I have to be FORKING Honest like I always am………My first thought when I received the Corn Bowl was that this Corn Bowl Contains a very small amount of corn……(hardly Forking any)

Any Who-

Here’s a close up so you can see the salad better.

On the other hand my salad had Forking LOTS of chicken on it. I think it might satisfy a truck driver OR TWO!……(Extra to bring home for my dogs) The chicken has tasty grill marks on it but it was pre-cooked and was served refrigerator cold. Other ingredients in the salad were mixed greens, black beans, green chiles, roasted red pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, local cotija cheese, spicy sunflower seeds (? seemed plain) in a BC. Mezcal Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette. (not certain if the salad contained all those ingredients)…..The dressing was very good…….It was very flavorful….But the green chiles in this salad were too spicy for such a delicate salad. They were burning my mouth…..and I enjoy spicy foods…..If the salad had a little more corn, beans and cheese I think it would taste better and tone down the heat…..The chef did come to our table and asked how things were…I just said, “OK.”…….because my meal was OK…..At the time I felt grumpy from this platter and I didn’t have the balls to bitch about the cold pre-cooked chicken in a $18.00 salad, the spicy level, trace ingredients and the lack of corn in something called a corn bowl……… To me it’s just obvious that a $18.00 menu item should have chicken that’s hot and juicy and I should have a more noticeable amount of grilled corn on something called a Corn Bowl………Listen folks we have to chalk this one up to an opening hiccup that nearly all restaurants do. ……..Maybe..chances are that I ordered the one item they do least well. Maybe  it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have ordered a salad……….I mean Corn Bowl.

Remember Folks! The Spicy Shrimp Scampi Grilled Cheese with Sweet PotatoTater Tots was well received!

At the time of this review  Blue Clover Distillery is just Newly Opened and may or (may not) be still working things out.

That was my trip to Blue Clover Distillery – Newly Opened

www.BlueCloverDistillery.com

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

The Forking Truth

D & Y Chinese Food is located in a older looking strip mall in Glendale AZ. This isn’t a fancy restaurant and would look nicer if they organize things better.

(incase you are wondering…..This restaurant was full of people when I left….We were the only non-Asians there)

This isn’t your average take out Chinese Restaurant but yes…..they offer that too!

According to this restaurant’s Facebook Page they serve Canton and Mandarin Food.

I came for the Chinese Menu and the Fresh Live Fish.

Here is the Chinese Menu (not the take out menu).

Did you catch Chef Special C3?      Jellyfish Head w/Sweet Peas…….Bet your Grandma never cooked that for you!

The fresh fish listed on the board in by the dining room were –

Lobster

Crab $15.99 Lb

Tilapia $8.99 Lb

Striped Bass $10.99 Lb

Red Grouper $15.99 Lb

When I asked about the live fish I was told they only had one Tilapia left so I ordered it and an iced tea. (It seems that they get sold out by Sunday)

My iced tea is very watery. It’s mostly water.

We wait about 45 minutes to receive our meals.

The placement of the spoon makes it looks like we are checking for breathing

Wow…..I never had a tilapia that was this fresh before. It’s prepared like a really good fish from a fine restaurant. It’s really perfect…..and really fresh…..It’s in a delicate soy-ginger kind of broth that’s slightly oily. The Fish is topped with a shredded vegetable that might be celery. When a fish is this perfect it melts in your mouth and this one does.

My husband ordered Beef with Black pepper.

Notice that this dish is dry sautéed. I tried one piece of beef and one piece of green pepper. The beef is a little chewy, not partially tender and not as flavorful as other beef with black pepper I tried from other places….

Well the Fish was really great! Today fish was the sweet spot here.

I will come back to try fish again and maybe a few other things on the Chinese Menu.

If you happen to be in the area you might want to step in to D & Y Chinese to try some fresh live (until you order it) Fish! (but make it there before Sunday)

www.DYChineseFood.com but you will only see the Take Out Chinese Food there.

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

Went back and tried the Rockfish and Shiitake Mushrooms with Asian Greens. (pictures below)

Fish was like rubber and very tough and they charged me $89.10 for it. The Shiitake and Asian Greens were not for our taste….Sauce was very slimy…

The Forking Truth

Sign isn’t up yet but will be in a few days.

The Starlite BBQ just opened a few days ago in down town Scottsdale AZ. This is a casual BBQ restaurant that offers a menu like no other BBQ place I’ve been too. They offer many interesting appetizers like Grilled Squash with Mole Negro, Sesame and Epazote, Fried Macaroni and Cheese and a Grilled Cauliflower with Green Goddess and Crispy Black Eyed Peas. A wide variety of sandwiches are offered. House Smoked Turkey, A Burger, Smoked Grilled Meatloaf, Pork, Fried Chicken (reg or HOT), Brisket and Fried Green Tomato. Of course they also offer Traditional BBQ plates and a Crispy Grilled Fish for Two! Some of these BBQ plates come in two sizes regular size and a larger size. For me what was special was the all the sides I tried were delicious as well as the BBQ I tried.

Starlite BBQ is a smaller sized casual restaurant. They have three community tables on the Ocotillo lined patio that seat up to twelve people each. Inside seating is either at the bar on one half of the room or the high top tables on the side.

It killed me not to order an appetizer since so many sounded delicious to me. I will have to try one or two next time……This time we shared two BBQ plates and three full sized sides. (and yes we had yummy extras to bring home)

We shared the smaller brisket. My server said this was about an 8 oz size.

The Brisket was out of this world delicious! It was SUCCULENT with a thoughtful amount of smoke. I really enjoyed the caramelized ends and for me it was sauced just right. I also thought the pickled onions was an amazing touch. The onions seem to magically lighten the meat up. I didn’t use the mustard but I did taste it and was great. I wish I scraped it out and brought it home.

We also shared the Hot Fried Chicken.

We received a Big Chicken Breast and a whole leg that were CRUSTED with a HOT Sauce. I will tell you The Forking Truth…like I always do…….The Chicken was Mighty Scrumptious and delightfully HOT but it was served not hot enough today in temperature and was almost cold.  I made sure we told them about it. So we just have to chalk this one up to being an opening hiccup…….(only hiccup I came across) The crisp pickles and that really yummy whole grain mustard were a nice touch…..

Now the sides come in two sizes and I tried were -either vegan or vegetarian bbq beans, v- braised greens, tomatoes and macaroni and cheese. I thought it was thoughtful that they offered mostly vegetarian sides at a BBQ place. I really liked that because when I eat meat I don’t like meat in my side dishes.

Wow the BBQ beans are really good…they are spiced nicely with a small amount of heat and are a little sweet. The Braised Greens have some punch are a lighter vegetable with sweet tomatoes. The macaroni and cheese is very creamy and taste like melted American Cheese on good pasta that isn’t mushy with a top that is nice and crispy!  These sides made me happy because I like to enjoy other food besides the meat when I eat BBQ and these sides were the best I’ve had at the different BBQ places I tried. I also enjoyed all the nice little touches like the pickled onions, pickles and whole grain mustard.

Wow overall this was Great! Looking forward to try other things too!

Starlite BBQ Just Opened and seems to be already – Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork! Just opened….already pretty Forking Great!

www.StarliteBBQ.com

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

The Forking Truth

Pino is a casual restaurant that serves Italian Style Wood Fired Pizza, many salads, sandwiches, appetizers, specials, French Foods and entrees. Pino is actually a European Pizza Chain. The Owners are from France and Owned a Pino in France. They moved to Arizona and opened the only Pino in the United States. Nothing about this place seems like a chain at all. The bread is baked in house and some of the pastas are made in house. The patio is very charming. There’s a flower pot on every table and a lot of shrubbery as walls and shade on this patio. It’s like a little piece of France in Scottsdale by the Movie Theater.

On our way in we were welcomed by a gentleman with a French Accent and then we were welcomed by a waiter with a French Accent. We made our orders and the food arrived in reasonable timing.

I had the Lunch Sized Bonita. It was made of crisp romaine, avocado and few other vegetables. The salmon was prepared reasonably well. Although it was fully cooked the salmon was moist with a crispy skin and nice grill marks.

My husband had the French Dip.

It was thinly sliced Prime Rib with caramelized onion on house made bread with hand cut fries.

I managed to save room to try the Lemon Meringue Pie.

It seemed house made but had a soggy crust and a tough chewy meringue. Maybe it was better when it was fresh made?

That was my visit to Pino.

www.PizzaPino.US

The Forking Truth

****UPDATE 6-2-18 under new ownership and it’s not the same.

When it comes to sushi I have to admit I am spoiled…….I truly was……….Back east I lived not too far from a certain China Town.  My introduction to sushi came from no other than the original Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto himself………he was a working chef at that time and worked the sushi bar himself day and night…….Sorry….I really was Spoiled….I GOT USED TO THE BEST! ….. Small tight sushi…each one was stunning and each one looked like a tiny painting……. I haven’t had sushi since that was the same. ………… (wish I took food photos back then)

It was culture shock food wise and other wise when I moved to Metro Phoenix…Wow…so much lousy bread (from supermarkets), inedible ricotta sold at most supermarkets, inedible American Cheese, so much expired food, no fish cakes, no roaster chickens, limited variety of mushrooms, far less dairy items, no India relish…No Hot Cherry peppers, canned things taste more canned, soda taste poisonous here……  ….Why The Fork isn’t  Cooper Sharp Cheese sold here?…and God did I have to loose sushi too?…..and there are a lot of other things …I’ll stop  rambling……..for now.

Not all but the majority of sushi I tried in the North-West metro Phoenix was mostly unappetizing to me.

The above sushi came from a place in Glendale AZ. It was HORRIBLE and not fresh tasting either. It still lives here today and most people think its great!…(review-wise on a certain review site) .But The Forking Truth is that it was HORRIBLE!

This sushi was from another Glendale AZ Restaurant

Sushi from a Glendale restaurant

Often I’d get served BIG GIANT thick bands of loose not so tasty unseasoned rice with big globs of fish that were hard to chew or tasted fishy…….IT WASN”T THE SAME at all….. I note that I am only talking about casual not fancy local sushi restaurants in the North-West Valley. HORRIBLE….maybe most people are happy with the large amounts of lousy fish and rice………that are questionably edible……

I happy to say I enjoyed sushi again when I tried the Sushi Catcher on Bell Road when it was owned by KC and his Lovely Wife Sue.

It was not at all like Morimoto’s…..NOBODY’S IS…..hear it again….NOBODY’s is……….NOBODY’s is………….NOT ANYTHING like Morimoto’s……. but the sushi that  this little casual place served was flavorful, clean tasting, easy to chew,  and not fishy) and didn’t have those super fat globs of bad rice…instead their rice was thinner (like it should be) and good tasting. This was the only CASUAL sushi I enjoyed most since Morimoto’s.

I’ve been to higher end sushi restaurants that I also enjoy (I really do) that are REALLY GREAT but it’s so good to have a local casual sushi restaurant that’s good.

KC and Sue sold the Sushi Catcher a few years back and recently have opened Nagoya Sushi in Peoria AZ   a few months back. Remember we are talking casual sushi……you won’t get table side tofu here……I’ve been there a few times and these some of the things we tried there.

Clean tasting sushi, Nigiri style correctly seasoned under the fish like better sushi places do. Little spicy tuna rolls…..Not all mayonnaise up like most places do…..really delicious and also spicy. More flavorful than any other spicy tuna roll I had before and it’s only around $4.00….a steal at such a tasty treat!

They call this screaming “O” roll. It’s really Tuna Tataki. Lightly seared and pounded tuna with radish strings, sprouts and greens….. The Forking Truth is that at many sushi places I can’t eat the tuna………because it doesn’t taste good to me…….too fishy……….but at Nagoya I enjoy tuna here.

A rainbow Roll of Yellowtail, Tuna and Salmon…….Spicy Tuna Roll, (delicious) a few Nigiri Style Sushi…..

Spicy Garlic Fish Roll and other sushi……

Takoyaki…..Octopus Balls…Interesting Japanese Style Fried tasty Doughnuts with  a little octopus adorned with a little spicy creamy sauce and shaved bonito flakes. Doughnuts are so tasty and seem light……Very tasty treat! that you don’t find at many places……

Hoedeopbap – Korean Style Sashimi salad, spicy sauce and rice that you mix up before eating.

At the moment Nagoya Sushi is the best I know of for sushi in the West Side or Peoria area….It’s not a high end sushi place like a Morimoto’s when he was the chef……but what they serve is very much above what most neighborhood sushi restaurants serve ( at the moment on the west side).

At the time of this review KC is the only chef preparing sushi……he loves his work so much he wants to make sure your sushi is correct but this might cause a delay in receiving your food in a timely matter when they get busy.

Nagoya Sushi was Fork!

No website.

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

UPDATE*********6-2-2018 Under new ownership and not the same

The Forking Truth

The Cabin Whiskey & Grill is located in Peoria AZ a little past P83 Sports Complex and before WestGate Complex. It also is among a few places for your last stop for food if you want to eat before you go to the World Wildlife Zoo. The Cabin offers a variety of mostly American Foods with some international twists at reasonable pricing. The atmosphere is rustic with many trophies (dead animals). It’s worn looking and woody like a cabin…..either at a ski resort or the woods…..it’s also loud with what some people would consider party music and there is a very large bar and an outdoor patio. It doesn’t feel like Phoenix here at all……I see Deers, Antlers and Bears Oh My!……and a metal pig butt.

We start with by sharing the Fried Mac ‘N” Cheese Balls served with House Made BBQ Ranch Dressing.

These Fried Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls do seem oil free and have a nice thin crisp crust and are filled with creamy macaroni and cheese. Texture wise these are the best Fried Macaroni and Cheese I ever tried anywhere but I do need to note that they also were very bland…….I never add salt to food in a restaurant…..Usually I find the food too salty for me often and my husband complains that I am too sensitive but I found myself adding salt to these balls so they were really under seasoned.  With only a minimal amount of parmesan and or  seasoning these balls could have been  amazeballs! ……Maybe it’s just a slightly off batch? ….The house made BBQ ranch sauce is very flavorful for me the sauce is too strong for the balls but it taste good.

I ordered the Korean Street Tacos. They are described as Corn Tortillas stuffed with pan seared marinated flat iron steak, ginger-lime slaw with cucumbers and cilantro.

These are Street Sized Tacos on a single shelled warmed up Corn Tortillas. I take a bite. The meat is very tender and very good but lacks Korean Flavors (soy, vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, hot pepper). The slaw is fresh and very lime-ee and lacks cilantro. I use some hot chile sauce..it helps but it also wets the thin single layer shell and the shell then disintegrates………..any who

My husband tries the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.

It’s Cute how they branded the soft bun with a ‘C” for Cabin!

The Chicken is VERY lightly breaded. It juicy and doesn’t even seem fried. The Buffalo Sauce it was tossed in has a nice tang and a nice kick to it…………the fries are coated and were seasoned nicely and arrived hot. Good sandwich!

Service was average.

That was my trip to The Cabin Whiskey and Grill in Peoria AZ.

www.TheCabinWest.com

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

The Forking Truth

*****UPDATE…this location has closed but is expected to reopen around fall 2018

The Bourbon Cellar by day offers BIG (8 0z.) house ground burgers of many varieties. How about PRIME Filet, Bison, Elk, Venison, Cajun Turkey or Veggie on an Apple Cider Egg Bun and topped with a mouth watering Wasabi Deviled Egg THAT’S Embellished with a Bourbon Soaked Cherry!!!!!!! Bourbon Cellar also offers a few unique drool sounding Sandwiches like their version of a Philly Steak……It’s thinly sliced ribeye that’s soaked in Bourbon…sounds delish to me… By night this small restaurant is a Steak House that also offers a good selection of seafood…..

……..I only had one visit so far so I can’t vouch for much but I can tell you the in-house-ground PRIME Filet Burger was very moist and very flavorful. Sorry for my bad photo here….I couldn’t get any better at my seat.

I start with the Wasabi Deviled Egg. Ummmmmm Mighty Tasty, spicy and smooth with that little pop of the bourbon soaked cherry…(happy now). For me this is too big (8oz.) of a burger to eat in one sitting so I cut it in half. I discover that they somehow compacted a FULL Salad over my burger  explodes mixed greens. At the time I suddenly remembered my childhood neighbor’s kid’s toy. The one that looks like a can of peanuts that you open and a snake pops out. The greens flew out like that or really more like confetti but the snake in a can popped in my head when the lettuce flew everywhere.  I also added on the Bourbon Pickles and avocado.  Somehow I get it together so I can eat it.

It’s just Forking Delicious! Very Juicy and very flavorful. I like the Bourbon Pickles on the burger but these pickles are so different that I don’t care for them outside of the sandwich……but on the sandwich these pickles add something delicious that I like….. I don’t have any sauce on my sandwich and it still mighty flavorful and DOESN’T NEED ANY SAUCE!  My burger also came with a side. I picked the cole slaw….It was fresh and crispy and not drippy. Good cole slaw.

My husband also had the Filet Burger but his was topped with pepper jack cheese, sautéed onions and the Bourbon Pickles. He liked that his burger was also very flavorful and juicy but he was disappointed that they didn’t prepare his burger medium rare as he requested. Instead it came out medium/ well like mine.  I asked for medium so for me it was still great!

2 days latter I ate the other half. WOW it’s still Forking delicious, juicy and so flavorful. Today my only issue is I notice more that the pickles are so big…..for me it would be better if the pickles were cut thinner…and that roll is really yummy too. This burger had everything going on and Bourbon……so good! I do note – It’s not perfect because of the exploding lettuce and if you add the bourbon pickles because they are really big  and maybe they don’t know how to cook a burger less than medium well?????? I don’t know……But I also don’t care because… it’s so Forking Delicious I can still say it already that it might be one of the most delicious Sandwiches I ate in 2018.

In House Ground Prime Filet Burger on Apple Cider Egg Bun and Topped with Wasabi Deviled Eggs embellished with Bourbon Soaked Cherry!

That one dish is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.TheBourbonCellar.com

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

The Forking Truth

Doda’s Pizza recently opened by the Petsmart on Bell Road in Glendale AZ. This is a small, very casual, family owned Pizza Restaurant.

The Spinach Pizza with Mozzarella, Ricotta and Sauce sounded interesting to us but you really need a plain slice to tell how the pizza is so we tried one plain slice.

and a Spinach Pizza.

I bite into the plain slice and WOW!….This is the first pizza I tried in over ten years that reminds me of east coast style pizza……It’s not oily like really good authentic New York Pizza but the Mozzarella Cheese has flavor to it like from the typical east coast pizza parlor. The sauce is a little thick like it should be with the correct amount of sweetness and the pizza taste seasoned like east coast pizzas. The dough is close to east coast style. It’s thin with a nice crisp bottom and it’s flavorful. The chew isn’t exact but it’s close. These pizzas actually taste like pizza. This pizza reminds me of pizza from a pizza shop that was walking distance from my childhood house. Actually most pizzas that I tried from east coast places had this kind of taste. All of the pizzas I found near me in my my little corner of Metro Phoenix don’t taste anything close to this. The spinach pizza was really a meal. It was made with fresh spinach, had delicious mozzarella cheese, that flavorful sauce on great crust. I do note the ricotta used on our spinach pizza sure WASN’T east coast ricotta but with all the good things going on do make up for the ricotta.

Doda’s Pizza offers many varieties, sizes of pizza and two thickness of crusts. They also offer sandwiches, calzones, pastas, lunch specials and more.

www.DodasPizza.com

I don’t think you’d drive across town to come here but if you happen to be near here and are in the mood for casual east coast style pizza Doda’s might hit the spot!

The Forking Truth