Virtu Honest Craft is a very small restaurant located in old town Scottsdale AZ. This restaurant has won and also was nominated for many awards. The menu they serve is considered contemporary European with an Italian Slant. You will be seated on the patio unless you have specified otherwise in your reservation.

We were seated on the patio and were slightly uncomfortable in the 93 degree F heat. Our table was very wobbly but our waiter was able to fix it.

We started with cocktails that were very detailed and contained ingredients I never heard of. Very interesting cocktails that also were delicious.

Our appetizers were a Salad of beeted cheve sformato, micro greens, citrus hazelnuts and Sicilian Rope sausage with garlic potatoes, peppers, onions and charred salsa.

My salad was fine and was greens and citrus over a disk of goat cheese whipped with beets…The Salad was great but I thought it needed a crouton or a slice of bread to spread the cheese on to. My husband enjoyed the sausage.

For dinner I tried the Big Eye Tuna with Sun-chokes.

The tuna is prepared reasonably well and rest above fried sun-chokes in a very sweet sauce and it topped with some thinly sliced fried sun-chokes. The sauce was suppose to be an agro dolce sauce….(a sweet and sour sauce) but the sauce lacked sour and mostly lacked the rosemary that was in the description. (I think one stray leaf made it to the plate) To be honest the sauce  was cloyingly sweet to me ..(and I am a BIG FAN of sweets but this is too sweet)..I started to wonder if it was me……..so I asked my husband to try the sun-chokes. He tried a forkful and said he wouldn’t be able to eat them either. I should have asked the waiter to bring me a lemon to fix the sun-chokes. Oh well now I have more room for dessert!

My husband had the Lamb Shank with Melguez Borlotti Beans, Pine Nuts and Mint.

He said the Lamb was prepared well and he liked the taste of the beans.

For dessert we had the Peaches and Cream Olive Oil Cake.

It came as broken cake in a glass with syrupy peaches and loose cream. It didn’t seem the least bit sweet after the sun-chokes.

www.VirtuScottsdale.com

This dinner didn’t hit it out of the park for me. Shame because the last time was awesome….actually better than awesome…more like life changing….

Had this last time all this dishes were very complex crafted with unique ingredients and artfully composed all genius dishes. Better than awesome….life changing.

That SHOWS you that EVERYTHING is subject to change and YOUR experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Huauchinango’s Mexican Food Restaurant is located in Mesa AZ. This isn’t a fancy place and might be considered a little worn. The menu is in Spanish with some English but don’t worry because the family working there can answer questions you might have about the menu. Here the cuisine is authentic Mexican Puebla Food.

You might be wondering what is Puebla Food?

I can tell you that I don’t really know what Puebla Food really is but I can tell you I saw Huachitlacoyos, Chalupas, Tiacoyoes and Molotes on the menu and I believe that they all are made of corn or masa flour and are fried into a different various shapes that are stuffed or topped with fillings.

Dining Room

They started us off with complimentary chips and tomatillo salsa.

My meal came with chicken based and tomato laced soup with added pasta.

I gave my soup to my husband so I’d have room for my meal. He said the soup was very good and our server suggest adding lime and some salsa so he did.

For my meal I tried what is called Pollo en Chittepin con Cachuate. It means Spicy Chicken with Peanuts.

I received a Chicken Thigh and a Leg that were “fall off the bone” and “Melt in Your Mouth Tender.”  The sauce tasted so yummy and sort of like like peanut butter, other spices and was embellished with some really spicy peppers but not too much or too many…The peppers tickled my mouth in a fun way. The sauce was slightly oily but very tasty. The sauce also contained pieces of peanuts.  It was a treat dipping the tender chicken in the tasty sauce. This plate also came with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, seasoned rice, beans and maybe the best home made tortillas I ever had. They were sort of on the fluffy side and really hugged whatever you put in them.

My husband had the Potato and Chorizo (4) Molotes with ($3) added Steak. (I didn’t think either photo really showed what was on the plate but with the two photos you can see how it was)

He received  Masa Tortillas stuffed with Potato and Chorizo topped with lettuce and shredded cheese. Steak wasn’t the most tender but it was tasty. (but what do you want for only $3.00) My husband said it was all delicious together. He wants to come back to try other things. I want to return to try the Spicy Peanut Chicken again!

A pretty amazing value that’s certainly Worth a Fork!

Not big on atmosphere and lacks a restroom but Authentic Style Puebla food that saves you BIG BUCKs on airfare and a Hotel in Puebla Mexico.

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

No website but you can find Huauchinango’s Mexican Food on Facebook.

The Forking Truth

The 613 Grill is a small kosher restaurant that serves a very limited menu of mediterranean food and hamburgers. The number 613 is very meaningful in Judaism. There are 613 commandments in the Torah. 613 means excellence. This little restaurant has big shoes to fill with such a name.

This isn’t a fancy place but it seems neat and clean. (look at the light fixtures…pretty cool!)

I was hoping to try the Moroccan Cigars…( a seasoned filled pastry that looks like a cigar)……..but they have been popular and they were all sold out so I tried something else I never had before……The Fire Poppers. They were a little different than what I was expecting them to be.

The Fire Poppers were white meat chicken that seemed fried in a mostly sweet sauce with hardly any heat.  On the side is an herbed mayonnaise based sauce.

We also shared the Falafels with humus and fresh hot pita bread.

The falafels have a soft meatball texture. They weren’t the most herby but they were full of good flavors. The Pita was hot and fresh made. We both liked the pita bread and it seemed to have a little chew to it.

We were torn between the Chicken kabob and the pastrami burger….Our server strongly suggested going with the Pastrami Burger so we did.

The kosher beef does have a better beef taste than non kosher beef but this burger as you can see has room for improvement.

Hopefully this newly opened restaurant will offer the Moroccan Cigars again.

The website is unfinished at this time but you can contact them at  www.613Grill.com

That was my trip to 613 Grill in Phoenix AZ.

The Forking Truth is that your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Haldi Indian Cuisine is located in North Phoenix. By day they are an all you can eat buffet and for dinner they offer an extensive menu of North and South Indian Cuisine. On their website they say they specialize in all kinds of Biryanis and Tandoor Items.

The dining room is casual but soon after I took this picture was completely filled with people.

This restaurant has only been open a few weeks but already has a great following and I can see why.

They give every table a picture of ice water.

Fresh made potato stuffed dosas with sauces. (a sort of crepe)

Fresh made hot buttery naan bread.

Then your off to the buffet. (at the time of this review the weekend price is $13.99…of course subject to change)

Here are photos of most of the offerings.

We were both surprised on how tasty and delicious everything was. (that is very unusual for a buffet as things are usually old, dried out and too salty or oily) Even the dishes that contained meat for flavorful and moist. Nothing ran too spicy…even my husband said that this was one of the best buffets he has ever been too!

The Buffet from Haldi Indian Cuisine is certainly Worth a Fork!

www.HaldiAZ.com

Worth a Fork! A pretty good value!

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

The Forking Truth

My view of the patio at Mora Italian Restaurant

We enjoyed the food very much on our last visit to Mora Italian Restaurant so we decided to try Mora again. This is newly opened restaurant co-owned by Celebrity Chef Scott Conant. The atmosphere is hip, interesting, rich, masculine and energetic. The menu is creative Italian style.

This time we started with Ricotta Fritters.

The fritters were filled with fresh milky cheesy goodness. It was like hitting treasure when I tasted little hidden delicate pops of lemon and chili. The crust was thin but sturdy and seemed oil free. Not too sweet honey peperonata and shredded cheese garnished the tasty fritters.

This time we shared the Fettuccine with mushrooms, roasted garlic and escarole.

1/2 portion of fettuccine

Not too much and just enough perfectly cooked pasta in the perfect amount of sauce. The mushrooms and escarole went really well together in this dish.

For dinner I tried the Chicken in Potacchio. (Chicken and Fennel with Slow Cooked Tomatoes)

The 1/2 Chicken was expertly prepared and melt in your mouth tender and sat in a pan sauce. I enjoyed the chicken but what blew me away was the fennel. I never tasted fennel that was that good before….What kind of magic cookery did they do? The fennel had this amazing texture and flavor.

My husband order the Grilled Scaloppine of Beef Short Rib again.

It had a slightly different presentation and preparation from last visit. (see photo below)

I don’t know if the recipe was changed or if each chef puts his or her own spin on things? Both were good but one was awesome.

I planned ahead to save room for dessert to try the Apple Crostata.

The dessert was decadent and delicious and sat in a pool of creamy caramel mascarpone cheese. The crust was flavorful and was filled with seasoned apples, ribbons of not too sweet caramel and a scoop of toasted almond gelato. It was a perfect ending to a nice meal.

Mora Italian Restaurant in Phoenix AZ is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork! You’d drive across town for this one.

www.MoraItalian.com

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

The Forking Truth

Twisted Italian Restaurant in Peoria AZ serves up traditional Italian favorites and some very NON TRADITIONAL Italian Food. This is a small locally owned restaurant that was established in 2010 and changed ownership and menu in late 2015. The decor is sort of a mix of traditional and nontraditional just like the menu.

They started us off with complimentary bread and balsamic dotted extra virgin olive oil.

We decided to start with something “twisted” and ordered the Pierogi of the month that was Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Our Pierogi were served “crispy” and had a potato filling mixed with tasty corned beef and a little bit of cabbage. A horseradish laced sauce with served on the side. Our corned beef and cabbage pierogi were surprisingly delicious. Who would ever guess to find something like this at an Italian Restaurant?

For dinner I tried the European Sea Bass (also called Bronzino)

I received a generous portion of meaty mild white tender fish that was lightly crusted and had crispy skin. The plate also contained grilled asparagus, tomatoes and lemon and caper angel hair pasta. Everything was prepared reasonably well and everything tasted great!

My husband tried the Italian Relleno.

It was a Poblano Pepper that was stuffed with House Made Italian Sausage and cheese and was topped with a creamy tomato sauce. Three generously filled fried cheese ravioli were served on the side.

Everything we tried was tasty. Service was efficient and prices were reasonable.

www.EatTwisted.com

Twisted Italian serves Pierogi and Italian Relleno Oh My!

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

The Forking Truth

Paradise Valley Pizza Co. recently opened in Phoenix AZ. They serve Arizona Style Pizza and more. I thought that Arizona Style Pizza sounds interesting so I wanted to give it a try.

This is a small family owned business. The restaurant is very casual. You order at the counter and seat yourself.

It was hard to decide on what pizza to try because they all sounded different and interesting.

I decided on ordering the one called Margarita …like the drink…..

My pizza was covered in a tangy sauce called marinara verde. Other ingredients were, spicy serrano chili pickled in tequila, queso fresco (cheese), avocado, lime and cilantro. The pizza is fresh and hot so I pick up a slice and try and started with the the crust. It’s unique and unlike any other pizza crust I ever tried. It’s shattering crisp, maybe a little buttery and sort of flaky and the crust underneath is thin and crisp. The pizza seems very light when you eat it and doesn’t weigh you down. I like the heat and the fresh cilantro. The pizza is good and tasty but a little hard to eat. The avocado rolls off and my teeth don’t cut threw the cilantro stems. All they need is a chop and all is good.

I don’t really think of this as pizza but it’s unique and different.

My husband got the Ditka Pizza.

He got house made sausage, roasted green chili marinara, oregano and fried onions.

Besides mostly non traditional pizzas they offer a short menu of wings, salads and cannoli in of Non Traditional Varieties of Lucky Charm, Oreo and Maple Bacon.

If your in the area you might care to give them a try.

www.ParidiseValleyPizzaCompany.com

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

The Forking Truth

The Blazin Mongolian BBQ is located in a half deserted strip mall that surrounds the nearly deserted Metro Center Mall located in a busy area of Phoenix Arizona.

This is a very casual and not at all fancy………

heathy style Asian stir fry buffet. This isn’t fancy food but what I tried seemed heathy and tasty. It’s the type of place you go to when you want something better than fast food that’s fast. A healthy bowl packed with your choices of protein and vegetables , noodles that’s dressed in Asian flavors.

You have your choice of size bowl small or large or an all-you-can-eat option called the “Warrior” bowl. once you decide and pay you fill your bowl with your choice of meat…….

…………vegetables,

noodles and sauces with a suggested sauce menu.

Then the chef that operates the Mongolian grill cooks up your bowl for you.

They provide some extra add ons like a few extras like white and fried rice, soups, peanuts and fried noodles. Beverages and complimentary  serve yourself ice cream are included.

My verdict is that both bowls came out tasty!

The vegetables came out tender crisp and not boiled like from some other Mongolian BBQs. But what really matters to me is that the food did actually taste good. I haven’t had the same experience at some of the other Mongolian Grills. I am not much of a meat eater and I must add the razor thin rolled meat takes up some room in your bowl and I wound up with a very small portion of meat that pretty much dissolved into the vegetables (I picked dark chicken). My husband’s choice of beef stayed more in the dish. If you are a bigger meat eater you might be most happy with the warrior bowl. So you can go back for more meat.

Besides a tasty meal were you can control the amount of starch and fat in your meal you can also do some interesting people watching here.

I noticed some people don’t pay for the “Warrior” (all-you-can-eat option) yet they fill their bowl to the sky and continue to add on soups, rice fried noodles and even the cut lemons. To take home.

No kidding I saw a different woman taking 5 or 6 bowls of fried noodles a bowl of lemons and more. Her bowl and her husband’s bowl were piled twice as high as the one in this photo. I also saw a man using a paper towel to squish the food flat to fit in as much as he could.

It IS The Forking Truth!

You might want to visit Blazin Mongolian BBQ to get a tasty inexpensive meal and to witness the actions of people. It was entertaining to me and would make for a good TV show.

NO..You are not going to drive across town to dine here…but if your in the area and want something casual and healthy you might want to give this place a try.

www.BlazinMongolianBBQ.com

In the end the food was tasty and what I thought was a good value.

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

The Forking Truth

Fox Restaurant Concepts New Restaurant Doughbird just opened this week in the Arcadia parts of Phoenix AZ. This is a full service Free Range Chicken Rotisserie and Organic Pizza Restaurant. (Get it Dough …..  Bird …….Doughbird) I’m not an interior decorator but the interior reminds me of the near by Ikea Store…..I’d call the decor a sort of Swedish Farm House type of decor mixed with touches of retro but I read in the local newspaper it’s California Style.

The dining areas include a mix of high top tables, low top tables, some with banquettes and booths. Doughbird also has a full bar and a narrow patio that wraps around the restaurant.

We start by sharing a smart sized Truffle Cheese Stromboli.

It’s indulgent bursting with creamy rich Italian Cheeses and completely flavorful and laced with truffle. The dough also has a nice great crisp crust.

Of course we have to try the Chicken……Do we get a half or a whole….well the whole seems to be the right answer value wise…..it’s only a few dollars more than the half…Both the half order or the whole order include one side and one sauce. For a small amount more we try an extra side and an extra sauce.

We tried Delicious juicy Rotisserie Chicken with Jalapeño Pesto and Spicy Buffalo Sauce, Quinoa Tabbouleh and Macaroni and Cheese. I have to say the Chicken is really melt in your mouth delicious…..it was a nice very light smoke….nicely seasoned good meaty chicken……both sauces are good but I think the unique Buffalo Sauce is extra special….and far more complex…You get a lot of mild mustard kinds of flavors and a good zing of apple cider…..I don’t think I’d call this sauce buffalo sauce but who cares…It’s Forking Delicious! The Non-Traditional Quinoa Tabbouleh hits your mouth with quality ingredients….My mouth can taste those expensive sweet vine ripened tomatoes in there…..yum……While this isn’t my style of Macaroni and Cheese…I do have to say it’s better than most macaroni and cheese I’ve eaten out at a number of restaurants……If you like American Cheese then you will love this Macaroni and Cheese….

As it turns out food wise a half Chicken here is enough for two people because they use plump chickens and not those little tiny chickens…….but I’d say you need to have – one side and one sauce a person for dining portions. I took home a half chicken and some of the sides….because I was saving room for dessert.

The desserts from Fox Restaurants are usually worth the calories…so I tried the Butterscotch Cream Cake.

It’s a not too sweet sort of corn cake soaking in butterscotch and topped with high quality vanilla bean gelato. This was impossible not to like…..

I’m so happy to say that all the food was delicious! Service was great and atmosphere is nice! Can’t ask for anything else except a new location closer to my house!

www.FoxRC.com

Worth a Fork!

Winner winner Chicken Dinner….Doughbird is Worth a Fork!

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

The Forking Truth