Category Archives: Forking Restaurant Reviews

Honest unbiased reviews based on actual experiences

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

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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

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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

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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

 

My Trip to Blue Clover Distillery Scottsdale AZ – Newly Opened

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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 Restaurant Glendale AZ – Fresh Asian Fish on the West Side ****With Update

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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

$89.10 and like rubber…very tough
Very slimy sauce……

My Trip to a Certain Restaurant When They were Having a Bad Day

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A certain Healthy Style Restaurant recently opened somewhere in Metro Phoenix AZ. The owner already knows about my visit and what I was served and is very upset. She had a terrible day on the day of my visit and on top of that one of her two ovens went down. She wants to make things right with me and although that is a generous offer that I appreciate…… I don’t feel like returning. I will do her a favor and not mention the name of her restaurant because it’s my intention NOT to bring any negative attention to her establishment. This is a small local restaurant that’s open in a few locations in Arizona. This restaurant offers mostly Italian Style Foods and most with a healthy twist such as baked wings, vegan chicken, quinoa bowls, salads, gluten free pasta and a few varieties of pizza dough that include gluten free(but in a non-gluten free environment). They also serve organic, non-GMO, nitrate-free and so on ingredients.

The atmosphere is fun and attractive with modern and also retro with modern fixtures, school style chairs, retro benches and old fashioned style tile floor. Seating is available indoors and out. Tables are set with a fancy mixed salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper.

We were greeted by a cheerful server and made our order.

We started with Mama’s Meat-za Balls (Turkey).

They arrived cold so our server brought them back to the kitchen and then we received them again. This time they are hot like they should be. The meatballs are seasoned with LOTS of fresh oregano and possibly nothing else. The cooked tomatoes are seasoned pretty much the same way……..I think the meatballs and sauce would have been very good if they were seasoned with less oregano, a little salt and pepper and a few other herbs. (maybe they should have been?) The focaccia bread on the side is very unusual. I’m at a loss to describe it because I took a bite and decided it wasn’t for me. Today I forgot what it tasted like.

We also tried the Roasted Vegetables.

We received a fresh mix of zucchini, squash snap peas and grape tomatoes that were mostly raw and ever so slightly heated. I think they were seasoned only with oregano. Well I guess that’s healthy!

For our main we shared the small (15in.) Fig and Gorgonzola Pizza on original flour crust option.

The pizza was supposed  to be topped with thinly sliced dried figs, caramelized onions, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, mozzarella cheese, gorgonzola cheese, arugula and balsamic vinegar.

I take a bite.

The crust is very non-traditional. It’s puffy, delicate, SWEET with a wet SWEET center.

I don’t know what it is…..It reminds me of a wet crust like from an apple pie. Not floury and soggy like from a baked apple pie more like the gooey part of a fried apple pie like where the filling sits up against the crust. This crust on this pizza is very sweet and not at all savory. The crust almost seemed fried but wasn’t crisp.

You can’t pick up the slice to eat and have to eat it with a knife and fork. The pizza was tasty in a dessert kind of way. Even with spicy arugula this pizza was still very sweet. I didn’t get the taste of gorgonzola here so I can’t say if it was there or not. I kept thinking when I ate this pizza that walnuts would have been a tasty addition here and I never crave walnuts.

Our server was attentive and efficient. She even offered to send us off with beverages for the ride.

That was my trip to a Certain Restaurant in Metro Phoenix …When They Were Having a Bad Day.

The FORKING Truth is that EVERYTHING is subject to change and YOUR experience MAY or MAY NOT Differ!

The Forking Truth

 

Starlite BBQ of Scottsdale AZ – Worth a Fork!

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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

 

My Trip to PINO Restaurant in Scottsdale AZ

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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

Nagoya Sushi Peoria AZ – ****Update New Ownership

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****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

 

 

 

 

 

My Last Meal at Christopher’s & Crush at Biltmore Fashion Park Phoenix AZ

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Christopher’s and Crush Lounge Phoenix AZ

Christopher’s & Crush Lounge is a Contemporary and Classic French Restaurant located in the Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix…….. that is until near the end of this month January 2018. The lease is up at the Biltmore Fashion Park but it’s not a good-bye…….The Chef Christopher will be the Executive Chef at near-by Geordie’s at Wrigley Mansion and will later this year is expected to open a new Christopher’s as well…..Incase you didn’t know the Chef and owner Christopher Gross is a MULTI AWARD WINNING CHEF. Not only is he a James Beard award wining chef he is famous for an appearance on the PBS Television TV Show Julia Child and presented her with his famous Chocolate Mousse Tower. The Chef has also been known for cooking for a few past Presidents and much more!

The Famous Chocolate Mousse Tower

The atmosphere is a mix of contemporary and classic. Heavy silverware, crisp linen and crystal clear polished wine glasses grace the tables. Service is very professional and formal. It might seem old fashioned to some…..but old fashioned is sort of refreshing and special now and then.

From this part of the restaurant I’ve always been greeted by Chef Christopher himself at dinner time and while he was working always asked how things were and thanked us for coming….no matter how busy he was……

I enjoyed every past dinner and incredible wine dinners I’ve been to here. I’ve never dined here for lunch so I did that today!

Just like at dinner they started us off with the best French Baguette I tasted anywhere. The bread is shattering crisp and has a great structure like no other. The butter is also special….as it sure doesn’t taste like Costco butter……it’s a whole lot better! This butter is delicious…

I tried a Signature Plate that was written in Big Lettering without a description. Christopher’s House Smoked Salmon.

It’s a wonderfully detailed plate! It looks almost too pretty to eat. The main of the plate was buttery carefully smoked salmon that was masterfully sliced razor thin. The salmon was buttery, not too smokey and sliced so perfect that it melted in my mouth.

The fish rested over this very crisp thin crepe that contained a sort of magical fancy baby mixed green lemony salad. It seemed like the salad was gift wrapped. This salad seemed unlike any salad I had before…It seemed marinated but also crisp…different. Off to the right side of the plate is an edible spoon (I think it was made with squid ink?)……that contained a dot of creme fraiche how cute! (but not enough I needed a another dot more) Off to the side were rich crisp round toasts. This plate was something special…..Now this is dining out!

My husband tried the Wood Oven Bacon and Taleggio Pizza.

The pizza was good and the cheese used (taleggio) is an above average cheese that cost more and has more flavor than most cheese most pizza places use but pizza is not as special like the House Smoked Salmon Plate. Don’t get me wrong it’s still very good……

From the first time I dined at Christopher’s I found out that dessert is a must!!! Your meal is not complete until you have dessert at Christopher’s…..Among the very best you can get!!!!!!

Today the Lemon Tart was calling my name.

The dessert is detailed beautiful and very delicious! The lemon flavor in the tart is absolutely perfection. Not too sweet or too tart but powerfully lemon-ee with a light richness in a thin crust. The plate was also adorned with a rich custardy cream, berry sauce, the freshest sweetest mixed berries and a scoop of a mixed berry frosty confection in a tasty thin crust. This was a delicious elegant ending….

Last time was the Famous Chocolate Tower….(you need to see it again)

The Famous Chocolate Mousse Tower

Certainly Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.ChristopherAZ.com

YOU KNOW THINGS HERE ARE CHANGING! Next Month they are moving to the Wigley Mansion. I know things will change but am hoping the experience will be just as good there…….

The Forking Truth