Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix AZ November 2019

Dining out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started when my dog Louie came down with aggressive cancer and was only given 3-6 months to live. He enjoyed going out to eat so I thought I’d take him out as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 months Louie made it another 17 months. Today my current dogs enjoy going out to eat.

Before you take your dog out to eat there are several things that you need to know. Not all restaurant patios are dog friendly. You need to look for a dog friendly sign or give the restaurant a call first before dining there. Actually it’s always best to call because the restaurant could be already booked for a party. It’s also best to dine at off times because it’s important to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Other people don’t share your love of dogs and some other people may also be allergic to dogs. You want to avoid other dogs because they tend to bark at each other and you might be asked to leave.

There are also rules for dining out with dogs. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture and are not to eat from restaurant dishes. Dogs must stay close to you and by your side at all times.

You need to know that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or toxic to your dog. You must get a list of safe foods and harmful foods from your veterinarian. Usually a small piece of lean sauce-free meat is usually a safe bet.

Another thing that you might not be aware of is that your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. Individual dogs do differ (just like people) but in general over 90 degrees F is too hot to dine out with dogs. Maybe some younger healthier dogs can take up to 90 degrees F BUT ONLY IN SHADE. Hopefully you are able to judge for your dog. If there Is any doubt it’s better to leave your dog at home.

Now that all that is out of the way I’m turning The Forking Truth over to my dogs so they can tell you about their dining experiences.

“We are on our way to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix.” “They are a PHO-FREE Vietnamese Eatery that specializes in serving around a dozen different banh mi baguette sandwiches.”

“Today we got a great deal of chicken off of someone’s $5.00 chicken cabbage salad.”

“We also pigged out with some yummy pork off someone’s rice plate.”

“We always enjoy ourselves at Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery!”

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

“We are on our way to Pita Kitchen in Arrowhead (Glendale) for some Mediterranean Greek Food.

“I always enjoy the chicken kabob salad because there is lots for sharing.”

“I’ve been enjoying the chicken kabob salad here before that little “Dinklage Dog” was born because the chicken is moist, flavorful and delicious!”

“I don’t know why the “Big Woman” calls me “Dinklage?” “I know that I’m short and have a big deep low voice and I am always hungry!”

“We also like the gyro meat!”

“We love everything we eat from Pita Kitchen in the Arrowhead part of Glendale.”

www.PitaKitchen.net

“We are Forking on our to Cucina Tagliani in Glendale”

“Cucina Tagliani is an American Italian full service restaurant that’s been in business for around 30 years.” “They offer your usual Italian favorites that are usually served in large portions and they also offer many vegetables and healthier options.”

“Today my dear human in front of me went with a chicken Caesar salad so we ate mostly chicken here.”

“Our other human got a pepperchini pasta with chicken.” “We didn’t get much oof anything thing there because the sauce is made with pepper brine that might be hazardous to our health.” (vinegar is harmful to dogs)

“We enjoyed all the chicken we ate off the Caesar salad!”

www.CucinaTagliani.com

“Well that was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for November 2019.” “We hope that you enjoyed and we hope to see you next month!”

The Forking Truth
In Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017

My Trip to Mowry and Cotton at The Phoenician in Scottsdale AZ – Brunch this time November 2019

Mowry and Cotton is a modern American Restaurant location in the Phoenician Luxury Resort and Spa in Scottsdale Arizona.

Inside is nicely decorated lots of warm wood and walls full of growlers.

The outside offers views of grounds, mountains and the vast pool area.

The outdoor seating is more popular with people and also birds today. (if you look close at fence in below photo you will notice birds)

A woman is walking around with her pet bird too….. I don’t know why? ……..I thought it would be rude to ask her why she is walking around with her bird of prey. But I did ask how the bird is on car rides.

Anywho – We order and our brunch plates arrive in over thirty minutes.

Below is a picture of the seared ahi tuna melt that I sampled from an AZCentral Wine and Food Festival from Mowry and Cotton.

It was so unusually delicious that I wanted to try the sandwich again. You’d never expect that ahi tuna could be delicious in a grilled cheese but it was at the festival.

So I got the seared ahi tuna melt ($18.00)

It’s very unusual and unique. The sandwich is filled with melted white cheddar cheese, a thin swipe of spicy CORN HUMMUS and a very small amount (a few thin shavings) of ahi tuna on a quality bread. (It’s rye but lacks caraway and has a very wheat kind of taste to it.) This sandwich had less tuna in it than my sample I tried at the festival. It’s not as tasty as what I tried at the festival. I think it was made with less hummus too……. Maybe that is why it had less flavor. The plate is garnished with a little unknown dirt, a large hot shishito pepper and for my side I picked the salad. It was dressed with maple balsamic dressing and the salad was adorned with mixed dried fruit. I was slightly disappointed that my sandwich wasn’t as delicious as the sample I tried before…….

Below is a picture I found on a review site of the same sandwich. The sandwich below has a thick slice of tuna mine didn’t have and I can see the thick smear of hummus mine didn’t have.

www.yelp.com

The Forking Truth is that I didn’t get a sandwich like this… (now I’m upset) ……(I also didn’t get as nice of a salad and I only got one pepper not two…WTFork.

Anywho-

My husband got a whopper of a plate. He tried the green chile pork shank ($18)

He received a mighty large Bam Bam Flintstone looking tender falling apart pork meat on a BIG bone with green Chile sauce two eggs, cotija cheese, piccolo’s de Gallo, cilantro, radish slices and what appear to be like house made tortillas staked in a neat little pan. It was good with a large amount of very tender meat but maybe a bit toned down on flavors today.

Service was good on my last two visits. Today I might have gotten a new server or maybe someone that might have had more tables than they could handle. Our meals took over 30 minutes to be served without an explanation. Refills weren’t offered. Check was dropped instead of asking if we wanted dessert. Server took a very unusually long time to pick up check. Dining here took around an hour and a half or more. (that is a very long time for day time service with a reservation. We only had two plates and no alcohol)

Previous dishes from Mowry and Cotton.

mushroom flat bread
salad
salmon
1/2 pheasant
Jidori Chicken Sandwich
lemon meringue
Smoked Brisket Sandwich
Apple Crumble
Apple Crumble

Mowry and Cotton at The Phoenician Resort and Spa Scottsdale AZ

www.MowryandCotton.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

Some Recipes that you can find here on The Forking Truth for Thanksgiving

Here are a bunch of recipes from The Forking Truth that you might want to try for Thanksgiving. Up above is for a Southwest Style Thanksgiving. It’s Guacamole Style Beets. (this recipe will go up Wednesday) Here are around 50 Forking recipes to inspire you.

Duchess Parnips
Blue Cheese Sriracha Butter Hasselback Mini Potatoes with Radish
Timbale
Tomato, Hibiscus, Onion and Roasted Lime Salad
Bread Leek Pudding
Festive Holiday Cranberry Sauce
Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries, Apples and Almond Dukkah
Thomas Keller’s Chocolate Bouchon made by me
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Chestnuts with Crisp Sage
Moroccan Inspired Carrots
Duchess Inspired Kabocha Squash
Braised Leeks with Onions Appleand Carrots in Apple Cider Veloute
Gordon Ramsey’s Clafoutis
Cranberry Sauce with Hibiscus
Sweet Potatoes with Cherry peppers, Figs, Green Onions and Balsamic Drizzle
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Pecans, Dates and some Brown Sugar
Traditional Stuffing and Rosemary Herb Stuffing
Fennel Fava Radish and Walnut Salad in Lemon Dijon Dressing
Italian Style Beans

Baby Eggplants stuffed with spicy Indian spiced onions, tomatoes, sprouts and cashews

Oven fried crispy turkey wings

Classic Boule
Citrus Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing and Spiced Almonds
Forking Great Blue-Cheese, Sriracha, Honey Radish Appetizer
Melon Salad with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Whipped Cream Cheese
Butternut Squash Cinnamon Bun
Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette inspired from FnB Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ
Twice Cooked Gilfeather Rutabaga inspired from FNB Restaurant
Crispy Turkey Skin
Pear Almond Cake
Acorn Squash with Cranberry Mango Habanero Sauce and Blue Cheese
Chanterelle Bread Stuffing
Duchess Style Stuffed Potatoes
Kabocha Squash Coconut Crust Pie
Hatch Chili and Roasted Red Pepper Challah Bread
Onion Rolls
Kobocha Squash Ice-Cream
Purple Sweet Potato Blackberry Pie with Coconut/Almond Crust
Brussels Sprouts Baba Ganoush
Sweet Potato Surprise Pie …..surprise it’s purple!
Duchess Potatoes (The Special Occasion Potato)
Cranberry Roselle Lime Sauce
Bouchon Bakery Mini Coffee Cake
Twisted Date Bread
Yellow Mango Frozen Confection
Kabocha Squash Cake with Drizzle and Chestnuts
Tunisian Inspired Carrots
Summer Vegetable Stuffed Peppers
Braised Beets, Pickled Golden Raisins, Spiced Walnuts and Mint
Forking BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!
South West Style Hatch Chile Corn Fritters
Sriracha Apricot Glazed Acorn Squash with Nectarines, Cherries and Almonds
Fancy Schmancy Deviled Eggs
One Ingredient Frozen Banana Confection with added cinnamon and crushed chocolate chips
Italian Style Slightly Spicy Cauliflower
Plum Pomegranate and Pine Nut Cake
Zippy but Delicious Corn Bread Stuffing
Moist Fresh Herb Turkey Stuffing
Turkey Stock
Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs
SousVide 140 degrees F with herbs salt and pepper and garlic confit

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce Recipe

These Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce are inspired by my trip to Meat The Ball in Scottsdale. Those meatballs were so FORKING DELICIOUS I tried to make my own and I did a pretty good job at a copy cat recipe. This recipe makes around 22 two ounce meatballs. So that means it will make around 11 servings. Adjust the recipe to what you need. I always make meatballs in large batches and freeze extra for latter. The sauce might thicken when it gets cold so you might need to thin it down some after chilling.

Ingredients for around 11 servings

1 cauliflower – break down into florets

1 lb peeled potato – dice

1/2 large sweet onion – small dice

non stick canola spray or a very small amount of sprayed canola oil (I went with spray because I thought the oil might make the cauliflower too wet but I think both will work)

5 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 serrano pepper – microplane, mince or slice paper thin on a mandolin

1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoon ginger-root – grated

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon gram masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons course sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup cashews – crushed

1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 egg – slightly beaten

1 cup oats

1/4 cup fresh cilantro – leaves and only the tender stems

1 lb butternut squash – already cooked and cut into cubes

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 Tablespoon ginger root – fresh grated

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon gram masala

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 serrano pepper – either mince, microplane or slice paper thin on a mandolin

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray with non stick spray or oil baking sheet(s).

The cauliflower goes on a baking sheet in a single layer and gets sprays with canola.

The potato goes on a baking sheet and also gets sprayed with canola.

The onions go on a baking sheet and get sprayed with canola.

Put the cauliflower on the middle rack and the onions and potato on the lower rack.

Timing will differ depending on cut, pan oven and other things but in my oven the onions were down in 40 minutes and the potato and cauliflower were down in 45 minutes. (the onions and cauliflower did turn nicely browned). Put to the side and start the sauce if you want them down at the same time or continue and skip a paragraph.

In a sauce pot add the butternut squash cubes and vegetable stock. Turn the heat up to medium high and use a stick blender and blend everything up till smooth. Add the coconut milk, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, 4 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, chili powder, 1 teaspoon gram marsala, paprika and one serrano pepper. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Let it go around 10 minutes and occasionally stir.

In a large container add the cauliflower, onion and potato and use a stick blender to mix up a little but not a lot. You want it chunky. Add the remaining – garlic, serrano pepper, ginger, gram masala, coriander, salt, black pepper, garbanzo bean flour, cashews, baking powder, panko, egg, oats and cilantro. MIX WELL.

Use a Tablespoon and make balls that are around 2 ounces each and place on baking sheet(s). They go in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes and then shut oven off and leave in another 5 minutes. Serve with sauce.

You and yours will be surprised! They really are flavorful and delicious with a good texture!

Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce

These are really delicious!

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Gorditas El Tio Mexican Food in Phoenix AZ

Gorditas El Tio is a casual Mexican restaurant located in a shopping center anchored by a Food City in Phoenix. They offer a wide variety of Mexican dishes at reasonable prices. English is the second language here so the food seems authentic style. The menu is quite large and they offer almost any Mexican dish that you can think of.

When you walk in you order at the counter and pick from the menu board. Then you pay and pick a table. you wait till your food is on the counter and pick it up yourself.

We pick a table.

We wait about 30 minutes for our order to be ready.

I got the Mojarra Frita ($11.99) (fried tilapia)

It came with rice, refried beans, avocado slices, some vegetables and a stack of tortillas (I picked corn).

The FORKING Truth is that the fish was over cooked today.

The fish is dry and crunchy and hard to eat.

Moving on.

My husband did much better with the Camarones a la Diabla $10.99 (shrimp in hot sauce)

He thought the sauce was tasty. He said the shrimp were slightly over cooked but not bad. He said some shrimp were cleaned and others weren’t. He wasn’t big on the refried beans…I didn’t eat mine.

He also added on a carnitas and a asada mini tacos ($1.99@)

They came double shelled (two tortillas like they do in Mexico and with lime wedges).

He thought the beef was better than the pork here.

Seems like you will do OK here as long as you skip the fried fish.

House sauces of green and hot red are available and do make the food more tasty.

That was my trip to Gorditas El Tio in Phoenix.

I haven’t found a website for Gorditas El Tio but they are on Facebook and participate on Door Dash.

The Forking Truth

Desert Island Eatery Phoenix AZ – Caribbean & Vegan Food – Worth a Fork! Strip Mall Gold!

Desert Island Eatery is located in North Phoenix in an older strip mall on Bell Road. It’s a Mother and Son team that serve Caribbean Food and do offer Vegan Options. This restaurant is impossible to see from the road because it’s behind a Taco Bell. This is really a take out restaurant. They only have three small tables in the dining area and all the food is served in disposable cardboard or aluminum pans. They are open 5pm-9pm Tuesdays – Saturdays.

This is basically the whole dining area. It’s small but is cozy and is filled with homey things. Soft Caribbean Music fills the air.

The young teen the son waits on us. Then we select from the menu.

We decide to start with the Lentil Balls ($5).

We received 5 lentil balls that are FORKING DELICIOUS! OMG YUM! They are like Caribbean Falafels. (but actually better than most falafels) They are dressed in a little guava drizzle and a little dab of jerk mayo. They are have a little kICK to them and are full of yumminess.

We shared the Tri Plate ($18). It was a BIG PAN of curry chicken, jerk chicken and Caribbean bbq chicken all on the bone and as my sides I picked yellow rice and cabbage.

Everything is prepared to perfection and everything is Forking Delicious! All the chicken is so tender it’s falling off the bones. All the chicken is also developed with delicious flavors. My favorites here are the curry chicken with exotic spices and the jerk balanced with spices and a little heat…….they are bold and interesting. Not a thing is wrong with the bbq but it does run sweet. Even the rice and cabbage are delicious and flavorful. This is two meals for me with my husband helping.

My husband ordered the Jerk Seafood Combo (shrimp and swai fish) Jamaican Jerk Style with rice and peas ($20).

Everything is prepared to perfection and everything is delicious!

The owner and her son were very attentive. I was impressed that her youthful son took such good care of us.

Desert Island Eatery is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

The Phoenix location is on Facebook.

The Tuscan location has a website.

www.DesertIslandEateryTucson.com

The Forking Truth

Leeks Stuffed with Apples and Onions with Carrots in Apple Cider Veloute – Inspired by The French Cooking Academy

I found some beautiful leeks and wanted to do something special with them so I searched the web and found an interesting video from The French Cooking Academy called Leeks two ways and one was in Apple Cider Veloute. I watched the video and I thought it seemed pretty easy and it also sounded tasty. The French Chef would be mad at me for changing up his recipe a bit but he did give me the idea for this dish so I have to give a special THANK YOU to The French Cooking Academy. I do note that the sauce will thicken when cold so for a reheat you will have to thin it down some with more apple cider and or heavy cream if you prefer.

Ingredients for around three servings

2 Leeks – greens removed, root removed, tough layer removed, split but not all the threw and cleaned – Bundle up with string so they don’t fall apart.

1 Tablespoon salt

This is the bundle after cooking

1 lb carrots – peeled if not organic or if desired. Cut them to a similar shape as the leeks.

2 Tablespoons canola oil

small red onion – sliced paper thin

1 apple – slice paper thin

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (plus more for re-heats)

2 Tablespoons cream cheese (must be a better brand like Arla that doesn’t have stabilizers or preservatives) (of course the real recipe uses heavy cream to your liking. I don’t usually have heavy cream in the house and that is why I used cream cheese for the creamy factor. (plus the 2 Tablespoons is much less fattening than a cup of heavy cream).

1 lemon (just the fresh squeezed juice)

pinch ground white pepper

fresh nutmeg – just a few grates

Directions

Slow boil the bundle of leeks with a good amount of salt till they are soft. At least 5 minutes. Remove leeks and let them cool to room temperature and set to the side.

Boil your carrots for about two minutes. Sauté carrots with canola oil till they brown some and set to the side.

Add apples and onions to pan and cook till onions have a slight brown color and set to side.

Clean fry pan and on medium high add the butter. Add the flour and whisk till smooth and bubbles. You want to cook the flour. Slowly add the apple cider and whisk. Let sauce cook till bubbles and reduce to simmer. Add white pepper and nutmeg.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice on all the vegetables and serve with sauce right away. You can stuff the leek with the onions and apple if you like.

Leeks with Onions Appleand Carrots in Apple Cider Veloute

A Special THANKS to The French Cooking Academy for inspiring me.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on Lay’s Roasted Chicken Wing Chips

I came across these Chinese Made Lay’s Potato Chips at one of the Asian Markets so I picked them up to try. The ingredients look safe to eat and I don’t think that there is any actual chicken in the chips.

I was surprised to see Sichuan Pepper as one of the ingredients.

Here is what the back of the bag looks like.

I open up the bag and take a sniff.

This bag isn’t too full.

It smells odd………something like instant soup.

I pour out some chips to try.

They have a powdery exterior and big deep ridges.

I taste one.

It does have a sort of roasted chicken kind of flavor but it is too sweet. It’s more sweet and salty. The chips in the picture are not spicy……But….If I taste a crumb from the bottom of the bag it taste different has more flavor and is spicy. The bottom of bag crumbs are more spicy and soupy tasting and the chips towards the top are milder with a more roasted chicken flavor. These are one of the few chips that make my hand smell. My hands smell like instant soup.

1/2 a Fork…Worth a try! You might like or love them…You might also think they suck!

The Chinese Lay’s Hot Pot Flavor and the cucumber flavors were much more interesting and maybe better than this roasted chicken wing flavor to me. I recommend trying those flavors before the roasted chicken wing flavor. It certainly isn’t bad…..but I wouldn’t try this one again.

Your opinion and experience may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth

Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries Apples and Almond Dukkah Recipe based on Food & Wine Red Cabbage Salad with Baked Cherries and Almond Dukkah

I came across the Food and Wine recipe called Red Cabbage with baked cherries and almond dukkah recipe. I thought it sounded delicious to me but I didn’t have cherries. I had strawberries so I made some changes as I was following the recipe. Like balsamic goes better with strawberries than sherry. I also changed the vinaigrette to make it tastier. I used Food and Wine’s almond dukkah recipe but left out the maple syrup because everything is sweet enough and I don’t think maple syrup belongs anyway. Made several other changes and reduced the recipes to make 4 servings instead of 8 or more servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1/4 of small red cabbage – finely shredded on a mandolin

12 strawberries – sliced in half

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon date syrup

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (dressing)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (dressing)

1 Tablespoon dijon (dressing)

1 Tablespoon date syrup (dressing)

1 apple – sliced thin

1 orange – just the fresh squeezed juice goes on apple slices

1/4 cup almonds – lightly crush

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 Tablespoon toasted salted sunflower seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Heat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place strawberry halves on a baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl combine the 1 Tablespoon balsamic with 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon date syrup and 1/4 teaspoons of salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour over strawberries. Put pan of strawberries in a pre-heated 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes. When done let them rest on the counter.

Shred up the cabbage if you haven’t already. Slice up apple. Put in a bowl and squeeze the fresh orange juice on it and set to the side.

Make dressing

In a small bowl add 2 Tablespoons balsamic, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon dijon, and one Tablespoon date syrup and mix well. By this time your strawberries are cool and there is reduced juice and other liquids that you should add to the dressing and mix well.

Make dukkah.

Almonds and fennel seeds go in the preheated 300 degree oven till fragrant around 8 minutes. Cumin seeds go on a sheet and in oven for around 1 minute (just to heat up). All this gets crushed up some together. Add the sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and paprika.

In a large bowl mixed the cabbage, apples and strawberries together. Serve with dressing when ready to eat and top with dukkah.

Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries, Apples and Almond Dukkah

Tasty and Pretty! A Special Thank You to Food and Wine Magazine for your Red Cabbage Salad with Baked Cherries Apples and Almond Dukkah Recipe. Without that I would not have thought up this.

The Forking Truth

Vic and Ola’s Tavola Italiana in Scottsdale AZ – Newly Opened

Vic and Ola’s Tavola Italiana is a small restaurant in North Scottsdale (DC Ranch) that serves Italian Style Food.

Pictured above are most of the indoor tables.

Reservations are necessary for a table indoors or on the patio.

If seating is available at the small bar you can sit there without a reservation.

We arrived very early and they were already very busy. We didn’t have a reservation so we sat at the bar on the indoor side because they were the only available seats to us. It’s a loud atmosphere. Not from music but everyone’s chatter.

Fleming’s Steakhouse is next door.

We started out by sharing the Happy Hour Roman Style Artichoke (Carciofi Ripieni ($8.50).

The all edible artichoke was dressed with bread crumbs, pecorino cheese, garlic, raisins and pine nuts. It was the tastiest artichoke that I had in recent memory.

We also shared the cacio e pepe (spaghetti, black pepper and pecorino) ($16.00) (it was accidentally served with the dinners)

The pasta was prepared to perfection. The dominate flavor was butter….I thought the pepper and cheese should be kicked up a notch for balance….

For my main I had the branzino ($28.00).

It was listed under large plates and yes it truly is a large plate and brought half home. The pan seared branzino was moist and flaky. On the side was tasty farro, butternut squash, red pepper, pumpkin seeds, figs and fine shreds of bitter radicchio. This plate was for the most part very good. It did arrive almost cold but the pasta and my husbands meal arrived piping hot so I didn’t complain. ( I don’t send things back….especially if it’s not an open kitchen….that sort of thing gets some cooks very upset and I’ve seen too many of them lose it. I also I didn’t want my husband’s meal to sit and get cold.)

My husbands main was the veal osso bucco ($36.00).

It wasn’t tough….but it wasn’t the most tender or most flavorful osso bocco. Overall it was OK. The spinach on the side was very good. The risotto was slightly under done and not very creamy or developed with flavors. But I do note that you almost will never get a great risotto out anywhere. I think the only great risotto I’ve ever had out was from Binkley’s.

The Roman Artichoke was Great! The Branzino was very good but the kitchen timing was off.

At the time of this posting (November 2019) Vic and Ola’s is a newly opened restaurant and may or may not be still working things out.

www.VicandOlas.com

The Forking Truth