Every Forking thing is subject to change. I went to a certain restaurant in Peoria AZ. This is a casual small brewery that offers a limited menu of food. I was here before and enjoyed a mouth watering plate of salmon. It was seasoned just so and seared crispy with a silky interior. It came with a mix of carefully prepared vegetables and garlic lemon confit. (pictured below)

So I thought I’d get the salmon again since I was craving a good salmon.

I didn’t get a salmon like the last one I had. It appears and taste like the chef has been 86th and they have someone filling in.

The salmon is edible but not the same as you can see.  It sure isn’t seared or seasoned with the same finesse either. It’s kind of very average….just average at best.  Did you ever go to the shore and get a mouth of seawater in your mouth? Well that’s what the couscous tasted like studded with squishy squash that was sprinkled with dry oregano.  The waitress asked me how it was and I said the couscous only tasted like salt. She did offer to get me something else….I declined for two reasons. One was because the menu is very limited and I don’t recall anything else I wanted to eat……and I seriously doubted the person cooking was capable of preparing anything that taste good. I asked for some lemon so I could taste something other than salt on the couscous. She gave me two thin lemon slices that were impossible to squeeze. When I got home I re-read the menu and saw that my plate was suppose to come with lemon confit that I didn’t get.

 

The food was really great last time.

Seems like the Chef is gone and they just have someone slapping out whatever now.

The Forking Truth is that EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience or my experience may or may not differ.

 

The Grassroots Restaurant isn’t fancy but it is comfortable and they offer very American Comfort Food. We both like to dine at the Grassroots every now and then because they offer a great variety, the food is always tasty and technically great all the time. Another reason we like to visit is because the pies are exceptional. The Chef is famous for his Key Lime Pie and is proud to make each pie with a crazy number of maybe 30 hand squeezed fresh key limes….At this time (Sept. 2017) there are two locations of the Grassroots…..one in the Phoenix Biltmore area and the other in Scottsdale. The Biltmore area is closer for me but I wanted to try the Chef’s new Sweet Provisions Sweet Shop located next door to the Grassroots Scottsdale location so we picked that one to visit.

Today I went for the Scottish Salmon with a Side Chop Salad.

The Salmon is moist and buttery with nice grill marks. The tasty salad is filled with many textures and flavors and it’s filled with all kinds of goodies like edamame, grapes, corn, cucumbers, radish, fresh herbs and more in a champagne vinaigrette.

My husband went for the special of the day.

House prepared Pastrami Sandwich on Pretzel Bun with Cheese and Jalapeño Grits.

It’s delicious as we expected it would be. No it’s not like a Deli Pastrami Sandwich it very American on a Pretzel Roll and made with Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

It killed me not ending my meal with that amazing Key Lime Pie.

www.GrassrootsAZ.com

We finish and go next door to Sweet Provisions.

It smells like a sweet doughnut or sweet cupcake when you walk in.

There is candy, baked goods and house made ice creams.

Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Lemon Bars and More OH MY!

“drooling”

I made the most of the situation…..Ice cream for now and a lemon bar to take home for latter.

I try the Banana Walnut Ice Cream and my Husband picks his usual….the Chocolate.

Ummmmm They are BOTH Very Good!

The Banana Walnut is very creamy and natural tasting…Not too sweet and more like a natural sweet banana with toasted walnuts.

The Chocolate is rich with Chocolate Flavor. It taste just like a high quality Belgium Chocolate.

Can’t wait to try the Lemon Bar….

www.SweetProvisionsAZ.com

That was my visit to Grassroots Scottsdale and Sweet Provisions…….YUM!

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

 

 

6 Degrees Urban Kitchen recently opened in Scottsdale in the Gainey Ranch Center. They serve up a sort of New American type of menu in a comfortable casual atmosphere.

We started with a Smoked Salmon Rillette.

The Rillette was adorned with pickled mustard seeds and onion, pesto, creme fraiche and toasted bread. The salmon was lightly smoked and wasn’t too fatty. The pickled mustard seeds and onion elevate the salmon to another level. I like the pesto….It’s a nice little break from the other flavors.

For Dinner I had the Halibut.

The fish was moist and flaky. I liked the flavors in the pea puree with the addition of fresh peas. The flavor was great and then I gots these sweet pops of texture from the peas. The assorted fingerling potatoes with creamy centers were yummy goodness. A bit of creme fraiche added some richness and completed the dish. A very nice dinner….

My husband had the Porchetta.

The Porchetta was served over soft creamy grits and was topped with peach/tomato basil relish, maple mustard and candied bacon. The bacon was very unique and was candied with sesame seeds and some cinnamon for a unique sensation. Sort of busy but a unique spin on the classic.

We left full and happy.

Can’t wait to try the lunch menu!

www.6DegreesAZ.com

Too soon to rate but everything was great so I just have to say it was …

Worth a Fork!

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

 

 

 

I’m thrilled that lighting struck again and another new independently owned restaurant has opened near to Arrowhead in Peoria. A new Vietnamese Restaurant named Pho For Days recently opened in P83 Entertainment District near to the Peoria Sports Center. Pho For Days is a nicely furnished Vietnamese Restaurant with a bar and a wine list and offers indoor and outdoor seating.

I decide to order the Broken Rice Plate with Lemongrass Chicken.

My plate came with tender flavorful white meat chicken that was mixed with sautéed scallions, bell peppers, onions and hot spicy peppers. They were generous with grassy cilantro. The plate also contain crisp vegetables and fresh hot rice. They brought a smokey spicy chili oil and a pork/chicken soup. The Chicken was delicious but the flavors differed from other similar plates I tried elsewhere. Good but very different.

My husband not always but most times orders the Soup called Hot and Spicy. (Bun Bo Hue)

The soup was described as containing beef, well done pork and pork roll.

Look closer and see what I see.

The Blocks in the soup are congealed pork blood.

None of the other Vietnamese Restaurants we’ve been to put congealed pork blood in the Hot and Spicy. I do watch Anthony Bourdain on his food travels and I know congealed pork blood is one of the things he looks most forward to eat. Many people do enjoy congealed pork blood but neither of us find it appetizing at this time.

The waiter was very understanding with my husband and brought him a rare beef and brisket soup that he would enjoy more.

No problems with the rare beef and brisket pho.

Your Vietnamese favorites might have a different spin here!

Pho For Days located next to the Peoria Sports Center.

The website is under construction at this time www.PhoForDays.com

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

 

Rocket Burger isn’t a fancy place. This is the kind of place that you visit if you live nearby for the tasty low priced better and more DELICIOUS than fast food kind of place. This is almost fast food but different…… almost fast …you wait a few minutes…  with quality and value pricing. Fast Food but ELEVATED. The food is never from frozen and is made fresh to order……. Breaded things are hand breaded to order.  Another thing that they do different are the delicious house made sauces that make simple food taste special. I wouldn’t say they offer the absolute best burgers in Metro Phoenix but the burgers are certainly scrumptious and tasty and maybe the most delicious out there for the price point.

Most likely you will order one of the many varieties of burgers they offer. You will get fresh hand patted angus burgers that are thin. You have your choice of single, double or rocket sized. Just  order at the counter and try a Sandwich, a Burger, Hot Dog, some sides and a SODA. Then you seat yourself and look at the wall of sodas till your food arrives.

Did I tell you they offer sodas?

They offer Craft Sodas on tap –  Snozzberry, Shirley Temple, Root-beer, Ginger-Beer, Cola and Black Cherry.

Then there is the great wall of maybe a thousand sodas. Maybe every Root Beer made in America is there ?????????   The flavors are endless. I always see something I never have seen  before. Once you finely decide on your soda you can have it transformed into a float if your appetite can handle it.

Between the two of us we haven’t tried everything Rocket Burger offers yet but we have made a dent in the menu.

Double Bacon Burger with Cheese

New York Burger with Pastrami, thin cut fresh made coleslaw and that tasty Rocket Sauce.

Corn Meal Crusted Onion Rings

You can order a Chicken Salad…..but I wouldn’t say it’s a light healthy meal here….

Fried Zucchini

Double Cheese Burger with a Fried Green Chili

At the moment this is my favorite Sandwich at Rocket Burger.

The Pescado de Cohete. It a hand cornmeal crusted fish (not sure but taste like swai to me) topped with spicy Mexican Slaw and Pico de gallo. The bun is big, really fresh tasting and buttery. I normally don’t like swai…but with that delicious slaw they make….. even an old shoe would taste good. The slaw is sort of fruity and spicy. It just taste great all together.

You just might have a blast at Rocket Burger!

It’s the kind of place where you eat like a local. It’s the place we know about and go to.

www.RocketBurgers.com

As you know..everything is subject to change and your experience may…or may NOT differ.

 

We now have maybe the only independently owned Brazilian Steakhouse in Arizona and it recently opened at P83 in Peoria AZ across from the Peoria Sports Center. This is a big deal because we have very few independently owned restaurants in this area and also very few fine restaurants of any kind in this area. The dining room is formal and is set with tablecloths and wineglasses.

They also offer a full bar and a good sized wine list.

They start everyone off with Brazilian Cheese Bread.

Then you make your trip to the Salad Bar.

They offer many vegetable salads, hearts of palm, chicken salad, cheese salad, potato salad, lunch meat, rice, black beans with pork and several other items.

Everything I tried was very fresh….but also mostly very mild tasting.

I took a peek into the kitchen….looks like the meats are cooked here.

Back at the table they bring us tasty caramelized bananas and garlic mashed potatoes.

After our salads we turn our red cards on our table on the other side to green to alert the Gauchos (meat servers) that we are ready.

All kinds of meat on screwers comes our way.

The meats offered to us were-

Chicken Legs

Chicken wrapped in bacon

Rib Eye

Bottom Sirloin

Filet

Filet Wrapped in Bacon

Parmesan Pork

Pork Sausage

Pork Ribs

Lamp Chops

Leg of Lamb

Garlic Beef

and

The Signature Picanha Top Sirloin pictured below

We both thought the Signature Picanha Top Sirloin was by FAR the best of what we tried. It was tender, juicy and delicious!

We didn’t try every meat that was offered but we did find a few that were short of perfect.

This restaurant at the time of this review is newly opened and may still be working things out.

www.SerraGauchaUSA.com

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