Category Archives: Forking Restaurant Reviews

Honest unbiased reviews based on actual experiences

My Last Dinner at Binkley’s in Cave Creek AZ 2016

(apologies if some photos face the wrong way. Some formats will see all the photos correct. I understand the problem now and am working on it)

Binkley’s of Cave Creek Arizona is a fine dinning experience and is considered to be one of Arizona’s finest of restaurants. The cuisine is artistry, French Inspired, imaginative and whimsey. You can expect some molecular gastronomy and benson burners with your meal. The Chef/Owner is a four time James Beard nominated Chef and had experience working at the French Laundry. This was my last dinner at Binkley’s in Cave Creek because the Chef is closing Binkley’s doors the end of June. It is expected that Chef Binkley will open a new concept in the fall.

The atmosphere isn’t terribly fancy at Binkley’s. This fine dinning restaurant is located in a strip mall. The dining room looks like next picture below.

This is the kind of restaurant that you make a reservation for. You don’t just walk in and expect to get a table. For most people it’s a special occasion type of restaurant and depending on your wallet it’s either a one time visit or a once a year kind of visit if you enjoy fine dining.

Their were many changes to Binkley’s from my previous four visits.

My previous visits offered a choices of tastings menus and ala carte options with bountiful bite size amuse bouche served through out dinner, assortment of bread and choices to customize your menu. For example a choice of three each of cold appetizers, hot appetizers, dinners and desserts or Cheese Courses and you put it together the way you please.

The latest menu I had offered either an already written Petite Menu (5 Course) or a Chef’s Selection Menu (8 Course) Menu. I didn’t really have all these choices this time. I had to order the Petite Menu or the Chef’s menu. I was allowed to swap off plates I didn’t care for to go with vegetarian options. The cheese menu has been discontinued.

I was looking forward to the really delicious assortment of breads we usually get. My favorite was the bite size brioche.

They started us off with a well made crusty bread. Bread has been streamed down to one selection on my visit but it was served with French Butter.

Next comes our first amuse bouche.

Parsnip Soup with drops of Sumac Oil. It was so smooth and so rich and full of flavor.

Next comes our second amuse bouche.

Peas and Carrot with Ginger Oil and Spiced Hazelnuts. Tasty- I would have liked this one slightly bigger or served on a spoon or a piece of lettuce so it would be easier to eat. This one was candy for the eye but also was extremely hard to eat with a fork.

Next came my first course.

Milk Poached Daikon Radish with Mizuna, Wasabi and in Zabaglione garnished with starry blue flowers. The sauce was rich and smooth. The Mizuna gave this dish some texture.

My second course was….

Asparagus with Lemongrass Daikon, ( daikon again ?) Shiitakes, Cilantro, Tomato and Galangal. The flavors were mostly mild and the strongest flavor was asparagus. The only technical flaw of the evening of food preparation were the shiitakes. They were very thin and very leathery and chewy.

Next was my third course and favorite plate of the evening.

It was Leek Risotto with a Parmesan Foam. The rice was al dente and was in a perfectly flavorful seasoned balanced sauce. The Parmesan cream added that wonder umami to it to make it irresistible. This was forking great!

After that was an amuse bouche.

A palate cleanser of house made Grapefruit Soda.

My main course followed.

I had Steelhead Trout with a Fiddlehead Fern, Spring Onion, and a Stinging Nettle Sauce. Technically this dish was prepared to perfection but this dinner was far less detailed than other dinners I had previously from Binkley’s. It was good but no fireworks. I also note that no-one cleared empty glasses and previous amuse bouche ware from the table. To my surprise someone served me a very fruit forward Cabernet instead of something that might pair with this dinner. This is NOT typical of Binkey’s. I can’t help thinking that I don’t know if they were short on help or if the help were not running on full fuel because they know their jobs are in limbo with Binkley’s restaurant closing soon.

Don’t take what I wrote the wrong way……The food is always excellent at Binkley’s but in some of my past visits the food was more like this……..

Horseradish Crusted Halibut

Lobster Ravioli

Smoked Loch Etive Sea Trout

Complexity …..More Bells and Whistles….FIREWORKS!

Fortunately after being underwhelmed with my entree the best amuse bouche I ever had comes next and dishes are cleared.

House made Mascarpone Cheese with prunes, a vegetable chip, local honey and Fresh Shaved French Truffles. This was awesome. How could it not be great. This is one of the reasons why you dine at Binkley’s. I can’t think of another restaurant around the metro Phoenix area where it seems truffles are always on the menu.

Waitstaff come out with a Benson Burner to present us an amuse bouche of Hibiscus Tea infused with lemon and rosemary. It was wonderfully fragrant.

Our dessert is next. This plate involves molecular gastronomy. The dessert being served was Freezing Strawberry Soup.

I think I was too close to the dessert because it felt like ice rubbing against my lap.

We finish with two more amuse bouche.

A mini Chocolate Souffle and Orange Macarons.

We both enjoyed the chocolate souffle the most of the desserts.

We pay and notice the hostess desk is deserted. Usually someone thanks us for coming and hands us a bag of house made snack mix.

We help ourself to our snack mix.

Then in the parking lot someone runs after us to ask us if we got our snack mix. A couple days latter someone does call from Binkley’s and thanks us for dining with them.

That’s the Truth. It was The Forking Truth.

That was my last Dinner from Binkley’s of Cave Creek 2016.

Binkley’s is evolving into something different and this restaurant is closing summer 2016 The “new” project is expected to open at the more casual Bink’s Midtown Location that will be remodeled for the new dining experience that is expected to be on a higher lever. The new Binkley owned restaurant is expected to open around fall 2016.

Worth a Fork..... You might Travel across Town to Dine Here because they offer something different you can't find at most places.

Worth a Fork….. You will Travel across Town to Dine Here.

For more information in Binkley owned Restaurants please visit. www.BinkeysRestaurantGroup.com

The Forking Truth

Sometimes you just have to Spice It Up

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( apologies in advance if photos are upside-down or sideways having technical difficulties)

If you were a fan of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race Series than you might have watched the Spice it up Food Truck from Scottsdale Arizona winning most of the challenges.

The Spice it up Truck set up at the Scottsdale Arts Festival in Scottsdale AZ so I thought I’d Check them out. My husband and I were pretty excited to try them because we were already a fan from watching the TV Series and also we LOVE Flavorful Spicy International Food.

I noticed that the Spice It Up Food Truck Proudly Posted a Grade “A” Maricopa Health Inspection so I had no worries about this food truck being a “Roach Coach.”

So we order three things to share.

The Chicken Tikka Masala was oddly mild coming from a truck called Spice It Up. The white meat chicken in the dish was moist. The sauce tasted mostly of tomato. The crisp that came with it was greasy but tasty. The bowl was about 75% rice. This was sort of a toned down chicken tikka masala and not what I was expecting from Spice It Up. Still it was tasty and to me it was the best of what I tried.

Lentils- Nice presentation. Not bad but very mild also mostly just rice.

Thai Red Curry Panang Style – Nice fresh crisp vegetables but dry white meat chicken and with only the mildest flavors that resembled red curry. This dish lacked any sauce at all so it was just dry instead of saucy like it should be. Also it was made without heat. Another dish that was a surprise from someone called Spice It Up because-

They needed to forking Spice It Up!

Anyone would enjoy these dishes if you never had them before because everything was fresh and mild flavors were present. The food seemed to come from a clean atmosphere and the people working there were pleasant.

For my taste they forking needed to Spice It Up!

I felt that the food truck should read- We DON’T Spice It Up!

Rated 1/2 a Fork because it’s a mix of good and not so good to me.

I note this is just my forking opinion and your forking opinion may differ.

The Forking Truth

Machete Azteca Estilo DF -Phoenix AZ- Mexico City Mexican Food – That’s Worth a Fork

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On truck reads 4 locations but I only see three

Machete Azteca Estilo DF is a small very casual restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. It’s the kind of restaurant you might pass by unless you know about it and it’s on your radar.

Front of Restaurant

This isn’t your typical Mexican Restaurant filled with Burritos, Fajitas and Chimichangas. This hole in the wall kind of restaurant offers Authentic Style Mexico City Food. That means Machetes, D.F.Style Antojitos, Caldos and Barbaloa and Mexican Beverages.

You won’t find fancy dining here by any means and the noise level was forking loud when we were there. Mexican Music is just blaring outside the building. Inside is Mexican Television blaring and you hear the music and television at the same time and this might make your head a little wonky. This place was also very busy and completely filled up when I was there and also had non-stop take out calls being placed.

I warn you that the menu is written in Spanish.

If you don’t know your Huaraches from your Caldos ordering can be a little tricky unless you look at the pictures.

Don’t worry you can sort of figure most of it out without the use of your cell phone.

The Specialty of the house might the Machete…the name sake. The Machete is a sort of Quesadilla that is a extremely large house made corn tortilla that comes in sixteen varieties. Some of the varieties are seldom found in any Mexican Restaurant that you try in Phoenix such as the Huitlacoche. Also called Mexican Truffle or Corn Smut. Huitlacoche is diseased or infected corn but it’s prized for it’s woodsy, sweet, mushroomy flavor.

Below is the actual photo of a Huitlacoche Taco I had in Mexico.

Actual Corn Smut Taco from Mexico

Since I usually only eat Huitacoche in Mexico I decided I had to order it here.

This thing was so forking big that it can’t fit on a forking plate and comes out on a forking platter. It only cost (at the time of this review) $7.99 so I wasn’t expecting anything so large. I have to say this Machete was very tasty. It might look strange to you but the Huitlacoche was more interesting than some of the other huitacoche that I had before. This one had added sweet corn in it with various sizes of the kennels in the process of turning into huitacoche. I got more texture and more sweetness than I usually get from the huitacoche. They also filled the tortilla with a generous amount of melty mild white cheese. I whacked off a piece for my husband to try and took half home. I also had a chicken taco.

This is a very small street sized taco on double house made tortillas. I like that this taco seemed authentic style meaning without cheese. In the Jalisco area of Mexico that we visit every now and then cheese is not served on tacos. I was told in Mexico that cheese never goes on the tacos there and only Americans put cheese on tacos. This taco was very mild with flavor unlike a Jalisco Style Taco. The tortillas were very fresh and hot and tasted just like the fresh made white corn tortillas I tasted from a tortilla factory in Mexico.

My husband had the Huarache with Chorizo.

It’s like the Machete but open faced with different topping. My husband was delighted with this dish and really enjoyed the chorizo they used. He also had a Barbacoa Taco.

It’s a fresh tasting taco that’s simple with fresh lime to enhance. Both the Mexico City Style tacos (chicken and barbacoa) are more mildly seasoned than the Jalisco Style tacos that we enjoy in Mexico.

All the tortillas and sauces are all house made. This restaurant is NOT BIG on atmosphere but this isn’t your average Mexican restaurant and offer authentic style food you can’t get at most places.

I’s ALMOST like taking a Trip to Mexican City Mexico!

Worth a Fork….. You might Travel across Town to Dine Here because they offer something different you can’t find at most places.

For more information on Machete Azteca Estilo DF in Phoenix AZ you can visit them on FaceBook.

The Forking Truth

You might might be interest to read about my last trip to Mexico just type in “The Jalisco Taco” in the search box

New Restaurants Usually have Hiccups and Fusion can be Confusion

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Inde Fusion Scottsdale AZ

I recently went to a beautiful new fusion restaurant that offers a different twist on fusion. This restaurant is sort of global cuisine but uses Indian spices and Indian techniques to prepare food however I found that new restaurants almost always have hiccups and that fusion can be confusion.

I know you are always taking a chance when you dine at a newly opened restaurant. It sometimes takes time for them to get their groove and function like clockwork. Things just don’t always go as planned.

On my visit I found that some things I tried I found superb and amazing. I found a couple dishes to be confusing and lastly the dessert I tried was just forking wrong.

Things started out wonderful. The atmosphere is swank and roomy with interesting accents like these beautiful interesting lanterns and chandeliers. The colors of the interior are rich and warm. Our server was very welcoming, friendly and pleasant. I started with the most interesting hot tea selection I’ve ever seen anywhere.

A glowing box contained samples of high end interesting tea for you to sniff.

I soon ordered the organic ginger snap tea and it arrives in an interesting pristine clean vessel. It was a joy to drink! I haven’t enjoyed tea this much in a long time.

Many interesting choices are offered on the menu. It was hard to decide. I notice that the menu might be pork free and only has maybe one selection of beef.

We decide to split two appetizers and split a lunch.

We started with the salmon croquettes.

The croquettes were crisp, seemed oil free and were just bursting with interesting flavors and the raita sauce complimented them just right. I was so happy at this point because everything was so great! I thought this was the start to a five star experience. I could have eaten a sack of these little salmon croquettes they were that tasty!

Then came the Szechuan Chicken lollipops.

The lollipops had a nice crisp crust that had a little heat in them. The crust itself was tasty and might have had Szechuan Peppercorn in it. The chicken was cooked nice but not developed with flavor. Slightly bummed at this point because I’ve had other chicken lollipops that were much tastier. Then my heart sank a little more when the same raita sauce I just had came again came with the chicken because I thought a Szechuan sauce was sort of needed here for something called Szechuan Chicken Lollipops. For me this was some fusion confusion. Maybe a hiccup because it’s a new restaurant. I peeked at the online menu since I don’t recall what I read in the restaurant and the online menu states different sauces.

Now our tandoori chicken sandwich arrives.

I imagined receiving a wildly flavorful chicken on my sandwich. I received plain pressed chicken breast on a fresh roll with mint chutney and a sriracha aioli was on the side. This was nothing like what I imagined the sandwich would be like because when I think of tandoori chicken I think of chicken that was marinated and seasoned with something like cayenne, chili, turmeric and paprika and I certainly don’t think this chicken was cooked in a tandoori either. For me this was more Fusion Confusion. Again not bad food …..but not how exciting I thought it would be. I was confused because I thought that Tandoori Chicken would taste like tandoori chicken. The Sriracha aioli sauce on the side was tasty and I wasn’t sure if it was a dipping sauce for the fries or a spread for the sandwich. This was more confusion for me.

I do have to say not a forking thing was wrong with the masala fries as they were delicious and additive. I would certainly recommend ordering the masala fries.

I saw chocolate fondant on the menu so I wanted to give that a try because you don’t see chocolate fondants on many menus. A fondant is a small but rich French kind of Chocolate Lava Cake.

I imagined getting something like this……… warm with a molten center. It’s usually made with high end chocolate and is very satisfying.

Instead I got a cold but attractive lump of chocolate sugar paste. I received a lump of chocolate (laced with orange) fondant frosting.

Inde Fusion Scottsdale AZ

Can’t blame this on fusion confusion this was forking just confusion. It makes me sad that the chef clearly isn’t a pastry chef but I do note they used good quality chocolate. I am also concerned that the management and all the employees working there don’t have a clue on what a fondant is.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to alert them about the fondant because it was complimentary given to me by the management because the original lunch I ordered wasn’t ready to be served but I was going to order this dessert anyway.

New restaurants usually have hiccups and fusion can be confusion.

Your most likely not going to drive across town to dine here but if your in the neighborhood this place is suggested.

Your most likely not going to drive across town to dine here until they work things out. If they work things out there is potential here for destination dining. Some things were OUTSTANDING…some things need some work…

The Forking Truth

Casa Filipino Restaurant and Bake Shop Phoenix AZ A Forking Experience like no Other

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When you walk into Casa Filipina in Phoenix Arizona you step into a small bake shop and enter into what looks like a older banquet hall with numbered tables and a musician corner.

I’m not real familiar with Filipino Food although I know it’s cuisine is sort of Asian, Indian, Latin and American influenced. I also know some but not all dishes include organ meat, uncommon animal parts and blood.

I asked my waiter what spices are used for the Filipino Chicken Dish called Chicken Inasal. I just wondered what it would taste like….Instead of telling me what spices are used he says, “I don’t know but it’s a good choice.” I order it anyway….

Then all of a sudden….

Our waiter just starts up with a forking Karaoke Machine and starts singing “Love is a many splendid thing” and many other Frank Sinatra tunes followed.

This was kind of neat but also forking strange. The waiter actually had a forking great voice and was good enough to be a professional singer.

My husband’s meal arrives.

It’s called Beef Kalderetta. It’s basically a tender beef stew. The beef is tender and is infused with flavors. The onions lacked caramelization that was noted on the menu, “topped with caramelized onions and potatoes”. The fries were a surprise as we guessed the stew would be prepared with a potato. It tasted like something anybody’s grandmother would make but served with rice and Asian flavored noodles that contained a piece of carrot and some chicken meat.

At least ten minutes goes by and then my meal arrives during a Frank Sinatra number.

Chicken Inasal

The chicken seemed marinated in lime, vinegar and annato. The chicken was falling apart tender and a vinegary soy sauce was served on the side for dipping. Annato rice and Asian flavored noodles spiked with chicken meat and a piece of carrot were served on the side and all the food was served over some sort of leaf.

We order two desserts because the Phoenix New Times wrote this year that this restaurant serves up some of the very best baked goods in the metro Phoenix Area. They are officially on a top 10 list this year.

We order a mango and a ube (purple yam) tart.

Mango and Ube Tart from Casa Filipina Phoenix AZ

I notice that the Ube tart looks very dry.

We tried to eat the desserts but neither of us could penetrate either dessert with a forking fork. I’m NOT talking about the crust. The FORKING CENTERS can’t be penetrated with a fork. The filling from these tarts can be used to fill forking pot holes in the road.

Needed a forking jack hammer.

My husband breaks the desserts apart with his hands.

The desserts are inedible. I reckon the people at The Phoenix New Times didn’t try the desserts I tried. Or maybe they forking like the desserts this way? Who the FORK knows?

We called a waitress over told her about the desserts and she told us the manager would speak with us.

He said nothing is wrong with his desserts and they are just cold. To me that was a weird thing to say. He should have said something like I’ll fix them for you….

I’m forking thinking if his tarts need to be heated up well then why weren’t they served heated up? Am I suppose to heat them up myself sitting on them with my forking butt or perhaps I should have my own portable forking heat source?

He serves us a new ube tart that is good but our dry inedible mango tart is still on the table.

We ask for the check…pay…and leave.

As we walk out the door the manager comes running out after us.

He says you didn’t have to forking pay for the desserts.

The desserts were on our check and nobody said to us that we didn’t have to pay so we forking paid.

Guess we needed forking telepathic powers to know what the fork the manager was thinking. I guess he meant to take the desserts off the check. He just forgot.

Casa Filipina serves up some tasty homestyle foods and offers weekend all day entertainment. We actually had fun dining here and now have a funny story to remember about the dessert.

I already forking told you about the desserts I tried so I would be too frightened to try a dessert from here again.

Casa Filipina Restaurant and Bake Shop….It was a Forking Experience like No Other.

If you want more information on Casa Filipina Restaurant and Bake Shop in Phoenix AZ visit www.CasaFilipina.com

Rated 1/2 a Fork because it was a mix of good and not so good

The Forking Truth

Forking Dining with Dogs at Cucina Tagliani Glendale AZ December 2015

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On the way to Cucina Tagliani

Our adventure starts with a fun car ride and the cute three year old on the left starts crying she is so happy when she sees the parking lot because she anticipates some yummy food and fun. The 14 and 1/2 year old is still feeling fine and living life despite his condition of cancer.

We visit this restaurant often because of the location, the budget pricing, the friendly staff, great service, the dog friendly patio and the tasty food. One of the things that makes this budget American Italian Restaurant better than the others are all the vegetable selections they offer. I like that you can also substitute spaghetti squash for pasta in most dishes. They also offer a few heathy seafood dishes with very reasonable pricing.

We pick a comfortable table and the Cucina Tagliani Staff is quick to bring the dogs water and the table a hot basket of garlic toast.

We order big happy hour priced glasses of wine and then decide on dinner.

I picked a dinner I haven’t had before at Cucina Tagliani, it was the Chicken Piccata.

I had it over spaghetti squash instead of pasta and it was pretty darn tasty and not too heavy. The white meat chicken was moist and flavorful. I liked the fresh basil in this dish and the bright lemon flavor in the sauce. My buddies thought the chicken was good too.

My husband had the Papa’s Special. It’s enough forking food to feed a small family. It’s two spinach manicotti’s, veal parmigiana, and a full size sausage lasagna bubbling with molten cheese.

“Tee he I’m close to the good stuff”

“HEY! Your NOT going to eat all that Forking Food without me.”

“Much Better Now” Veal is so tender and forking tasty.”

“My other favorite is the Sausage Lasagna…I could Forking eat that any day.”

I forking love coming here. It’s the best!

The nice folks at Cucina Tagliani sent us a coupon for complimentary dessert so we had a piece of chocolate marscapone cake.

It was moist and chocolatey and not too sweet. It’s one of the best chocolate cakes I had out!

20% off Gift Cards are available for purchase at Costco. Cucina Tagliani also offers a dining card that periodically gives you extra discounts and offers via email.

Cucina Tagliani is worth a fork if you are in the area.

Your not going to drive across town to dine here but if your in the neighborhood this place is suggested.

For most information on Cucina Tagliani visit www.CucinaTagliani.com

The Forking Truth

“We got to go to Leo’s Island BBQ again in December too!” “We ate crispy grilled maui maui fish and some BBQ.”

“Hopefully we will go to more forking places to eat in 2016.”

“2015 was a good year. I wonder where we’re going to forking eat next?”

Dining with Dogs at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery Phoenix AZ Worth a Fork

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“Where are we going to eat today?”

Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery is a small fast casual restaurant that specializes in the Vietnamese Sandwich called a Banh Mi. The sandwich is made on a Vietnamese Style Baguette that’s made with rice flour in addition to wheat flour. The sandwiches at BMBVE get topped with fresh sliced cucumber, fresh cilantro, pickled carrots, daikon radish, jalapeño, house made aioli and one of ten fillings to pick from. Most of the sandwiches look similar to the photo below. I’ve tried three of the ten Bahn Mi Sandwiches so far. The bread seems much lighter than a regular baguette with a different kind of crunch to the exterior and a soft center. All the sandwiches taste different and so far all that I tried were very tasty. They are the perfect blend of savory, sour/sweet and spicy. I also like that you can eat a big sandwich and it doesn’t leave you with a rock in your stomach like a regular hoagie or submarine sandwich.

Banh Mi Sandwich

This Vietnamese Restaurant does NOT offer Pho. This is a Pho-free Vietnamese Restaurant.

Other items they offer are….

Lotus Root Salad

Green Papaya Salad (more sweet than sour and accented with fresh mint)

Egg Rolls served with lettuce fresh herbs and fish sauce so you can wrap them.

Tasty plump Pot Stickers in chicken or pork

Noodle salad bowls called bun. It’s almost like a pho salad.

This time I tried a rice plate with chicken. I note that this plate came with an egg roll that my husband swiped.

This was really FORKING delicious! The dark meat boneless chicken was moist, juicy and developed with exotic flavors and brushed with more flavors. Even the salad was light and delicious.

The dogs forking enjoyed some of the food too! This is dining on a budget. Prices run from $4.00 for a salad, most Banh Mi Sandwiches run 6-$7.00 and the rice plate is the most expensive item on the menu and runs $8.00 at the time of me writing this review. (I do note prices are subject to change)

Other items that they offer are specialty drinks such as Vietnamese Iced Coffee, Milk Tea and Smoothies.

“Banh Mi Vietnamese Bistro is Worth a Fork!”

Your most likely not going to drive across town to dine here but if your in the neighborhood this place is suggested.

For more information on Banh Mi Vietnamese Bistro go to www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

The Forking Truth

Ocotillo – Destination Casual Dining in Phoenix – Certainly Worth a Fork!

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Ocotillo is a Compound that looks like it takes up an acre and consist of a coffee shop,

an outdoor bar with all kinds of outdoor seating

and multiple patios (also another larger patio that spills out of the inside dining room that I didn’t photo) and a big sleek modern light and airy restaurant with comfortable seating. The menu is very varied but is Modern American that changes with the season with International Accents. Ocotillo offers breakfast items, detailed salads, small (but not so small) plates, hot plates cold plates big plates. Interesting vegetable plates, sandwich plates, house made pastas, A selection of roasted chicken plates and much more! From what I tried the food seems to be quality casual detailed food at reasonable prices.

I’ve been at Ocotillo a few times and this is what I tried so far…..

A well thought out detailed Spinach Salad with Smoked Salmon. The salmon was rich and buttery. Everything tasted perfect together. The eggs were prepared medium and weren’t chalky. Fresh herbs were used and brightened everything up and crisp capers added that perfect crunch.

The Mole Chicken Salad. Also delicious but far more substantial than the Spinach Salad. If I only ate the spinach salad with smoked salmon I’d still be hungry. I ate around 1/3rd of the chicken mole salad and was almost full. I’d be willing to put it out there that if you don’t like mole or never had mole you will still enjoy this salad for a few reasons. The chicken in all the dishes I tried from Ocotillo are exceptional. Very good quality chicken that’s prepared to perfection that happens to be delicious. The chicken is only lightly kissed with mole. You have just enough to taste it but it’s not blanketed with mole. Everything in the salad is very good from the heirloom cherry tomatoes to the fresh marinated avocado. The pepitas are also roasted and are bursting with flavor.

On the small plate menu are Japanese Fish and Chips.

The plate is not so small. Big Sweet Pieces of Panko Covered Cod that are served with Seaweed and Sea salt Seasoned Fries. The fish was so mild and sweet I didn’t even think this could be cod. Fries with just a light touch of seaweed were tasty too. Everything seemed like it was oil free.

The Tandoori Style Chicken Sandwich is delicious. Besides many exotic spices it has this red lentil hummus kind of spread on it that elevates the already delicious charred chicken in it. This sandwich was very layered in textures and flavors. Crispy slightly bitter greens the charred in a good way moist flavorful chicken with tomatoes that added sweetness and cut threw the richness of the lentil hummus. I had my choice of fries or the side dish of the day, the watermelon and tomato salad with mild chiles. It was light and not spicy but interesting. The light bread seemed like it was fresh made and didn’t get soggy even two days latter when I ate the other half. I thought this was a real bargain for only $9.00.

My husband had the Grilled Steak Sandwich but I tasted a small piece of the steak.

The Steak was tender, moist and flavorful. The tabasco horseradish cream on the side was amazing. It was suppose to be served spread on the sandwich but my husband wanted it on the side.

So far I only tried one of the roasted Chicken dishes.

It was the Thai Style Roasted Chicken. The Chicken was moist and developed with flavors and had a delicious red curry style sauce on it. I thought this was a large portion and this was shared the day I ate it.

Can’t wait to go back and try more.

Everything I tried was delicious so far. Unfortunately I didn’t have have room to try a dessert here yet. I thought the prices were reasonable. Atmosphere is attractive and comfortable.

For me service was like from most restaurants.

On my first visit service wasn’t so great because the hostess sat me at a table that was being used as a bus-stand. On my fist visit the server I had knew little about the food and didn’t pace our plates. Perhaps that was just opening growing pains and the bugs were worked out because on my next visit the service was greatly improved. This server could answer questions about the food and we were checked on and served in a timely manner.

Between the menu and atmosphere you might want to come here if you are from out of town for a solid good casual detailed meal that isn’t too expensive. If you live here you might want to travel across town for a very nice meal out.

Ocotillo is Worth A Fork!

Worth a Fork….. You might Travel across Town to Dine Here

The Forking Truth

Forking Dining with Dogs at Humble Pie Glendale AZ November 2015

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Today we thought we’d like to forking try Humble Pie in Glendale AZ. They offer a comfortable dog friendly patio and a budget casual menu of mostly pizzas, salads, soups and sandwiches with wait staff service.

I noticed they offer an express lunch special of any individual pizza and any soup or salad they offer for $10.99. I thought that sounds forking good so I’d go with that.

I soon receive my strawberry and gorgonzola salad.

Gosh this was a much nicer salad than I was forking expecting. The strawberries in it tasted like those really good strawberries than you only get from farmers markets and not like the tasteless cardboard kind you get from the forking supermarket. Even the balsamic dressing was tasty and seemed like house made.

One of my companions gets a whiff of my salad.

He looks at me and says something like, “What the fork do you think I am…..a Forking Chipmunk or something? I don’t eat forking nuts and berries! Then he forking races away from me and sits by the minestrone soup my husband is eating with special Humble Pie sausage in it.

I didn’t try the soup but I was told it was very tasty. I know the 14 1/2 year old dog thought it smelled good and the soup was made with sausage that is called HP Sausage.

Soon our pizzas arrive.

Then one of my buddies comes close to me again or maybe close to the pizza?

He takes a big whiff of the pizza.

Of course I share with both dogs.

I was forking surprised that this was a quality pizza.

House made milky mozzarella, good quality sauce, fresh basil and a light thin crispy crust with a little added cornmeal or semolina and topped with some oil. I wasn’t expecting something this forking good with a really nice salad for $10.99.

Pretty good food with attentive service, the waiter even provided drinking water for the dogs and reasonably priced. Worth a Fork……If you are in the area.

Your not going to drive across town to dine here but if your in the neighborhood this place is suggested.

For more information on Humble Pie Visit www.HumblePieUSA.com

The Forking Truth

New Asian Kitchen in Phoenix AZ- Take Out Chinese That’s Worth a Fork

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New Asian Kitchen is a small Chinese Restaurant located in an older strip mall in Phoenix AZ. For my taste this is the forking BEST small independent Chinese Restaurant in a several mile radius of it’s kind. They offer a variety of Mostly American Chinese Favorites, Cantonese Style, Mandarin Style, Szechwan Style and Mongolian Style dishes.

I haven’t found any of the other nearby Chinese Restaurants offering foods packed with so many fresh vegetables. Or food layered with so many flavors. I’ve been coming here for years and the chicken 100% of the time is always tasty and moist. I usually eat only chicken but I also note anytime we had a meat other than chicken it was also prepared well.

The majority of Chinese Take Out Restaurant do not have the Cantonese Dry Sautéed Beef Chow Fun on their menu. That is because that dish is considered a major test for Cantonese Cooks for their cooking. I’m NOT a big fan of beef personally but I do enjoy the Cantonese Dry Sautéed Beef Chow Fun from New Asian Kitchen. It is FORKING delicious and made with melt in your mouth buttery beef that’s very tasty. It’s among the best beef dishes I had at any Chinese Restaurant.

Dry Sautéed Beef Chow Fun

I don’t have a good photo of the Curry Chicken but it’s the only Curry Chicken that taste like what I was told was authentic Chicken Curry when I vacationed in Hawaii. In Hawaii I went on a food tour and an Asian Person made a point of having us taste Chicken Curry. She told us that this is what authentic Chinese Chicken curry should taste like and New Asian’s is just like it.

The killer dish that New Asian Prepares is the Szechuan Chicken.

Szechuan Chicken

You’re not not going to find anyone anywhere that prepares this dish this way but this dish is absolutely amazing. It’s a flavor BOMB! Not for wimps or little ones. The sauce is spicy and layered with many flavors. You also get a variety of many fresh vegetables of different textures and flavors that turn into magic in your mouth. It’s just a treat!

Some dishes do shine more than others but I never had a bad dish here.

Spicy Pineapple Chicken

The spicy pineapple Chicken is a very large portion and can feed three people. The white meat chicken is flavorful and moist. I really liked the fresh pineapple in this dish. The sauce was more savory than sweet with lots of pleasing flavors and it’s spicy. I would have liked the chicken a little more crispy like they prepare it back east but the sauce was so yummy I don’t care. This dish seems like a grown up more sophisticated version of the American Favorite orange chicken.

A few of the other dishes we had at New Asian Kitchen were………

Kung Pao Delight

You Shan Pork

Bean Curd with Vegetables

General Tso’s Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken is spicier and not as sweet as from most places.

Kung Pao Vegetables

Mushroom Chicken

Not spicy but very mushroomy. Not as layered in flavors but still very tasty.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Tastiest Moo Goo Gai Pan I ever had!

House Wor Wonton Soup

The Chicken Corn Soup is also really delicious don’t have a photo here.

Yui Shan Chicken

I often get the Yui Shan Eggplant. It’s just a really delicious eggplant dish. I just wish it had a tofu or chicken option.

The Szechuan Chicken is just so forking good I have to mention it again. It’s their “Killer Dish.” It might be worth taking a drive for……..It’s very unique….didn’t seem like authentic Szechwan but way more delicious than than any other Szechuan American Style chicken I had before.

The service is always fantastic. Portions are very large and prices are very low. It’s not a fancy place but it seems clean.

Your not going to drive across town to dine here but if your in the neighborhood this place is suggested.

Worth a Fork

For more information visit www.NewAsianKitchen.com

The Forking Truth

TheForkingTruth

Forking Thoughts on Food and Restaurants

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