Tia Carmen is a high quality contemporary and sort of southwest restaurant located in the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in North Phoenix Arizona. The kitchen is led by Michelin Star Chef, restauranteur, and Bravo Top Chef Master Chef Angelo Sosa.
Angelo Sosaentrance insideinside
The 2022 Tia Carmen Beautiful Life New Year’s Eve 2022 Dinner cost $135 per person and was 4 courses. They did offer an optional Beau Joie Champagne parings for $85.
First course for most people was seafood orchestra
This was beau soliel oysters dressed with garden grape mignonette + cara cara sabayon + oscietra caviar, nantucket bay scallops enrobed in fresh cara cara juice, hoja santa + cara cara koshu; king crab, salsa macha + yuzu & lemon aioli + hibiscus leaf.
A vegetarian alternative was offered. With the same sauces on amazing grapes, pineapple and jicama.
Next was pumpkin chawanmushi
It was a kabacha squash filled with steamed squash & shiitake mushroom custard + squash caramel + shaved black truffle
The main course was a mesquite grilled wagyu Denver steak.
All the steaks were seared and were rare- medium rare….almost blue in the center.
They came adorned with tepary bean aged mole negra + bone marrow croquettes + manchego cheese + shaved black truffle……Really amazing…….To amazing to even discribe.
Finished by an astonishing dessert flight garnished with incredible herbs grown by restaurant.
beet macarons
beet macaronsbeet macarons
kumquat + cara cara carrot sorbet
goat cheese gel +chestnut mousse on hazelnut sable
cucumber + rosemary tarts
chocolate-aged mole negro bon bon
Every Plate was FORKING FANTABULOUS !!!! This was the best dinner I had in 2022 and I’ve been to Michelin Star and Michelin Guide Restaurants.
This is a collection of SOME of the better dishes that I have tried in Metro Phoenix Arizona from restaurants and food trucks in no particular order. I’m not mentioning stuff like a very good steak from Confluence or a perfectly prepared sea bass from Tarbell’s because that is predictable and expected. These are dishes that you might not know about. I haven’t been everywhere in Metro Phoenix and I haven’t tasted everything out there. This is a sampling of random better dishes. This also is mostly photos of the dish and name and address of restaurant. I tried to write as little as possible so you can fly threw the long list.
Up above is the bufalina pizza from Fabio On Fire. We have many great pizzas in Metro Phoenix but this bufalina stands out. There are several other dishes at Fabio’s that are also worth mentioning but we have a lot of food to get to here so I will cut it with Fabio’s Strawberry Gelato because it really is the best in all the land.
Fabio On Fire 8275 W Lake Pleasant PKWAY Peoria
Some of the other better dishes were-
Aloo Tikki Choley
Namaste Indian Restaurant 20851 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale
Nan Zhou – Hand Drawn Noodle House 111 S. Dobson Rd Mesa
The seared Hawiian Tuna Soba Salad
Wren & Wolf – 2 N Central Ave PHX
Chill King Chinese Food 4721 W Olive Ave Glendale
First & Last 1001 N 3RD Ave PHX
Pollo Asado (Chicken a little over and a little under….. but unusually great flavors)
Bacanora 1301 NW Grand Ave PHX
Confluence 36889 N Tom Darlington Dr Carefree (Confluence is a high quality restaurant that offers many superb detailed dishes and amazing desserts)
Mifan Claypot Kitchen 1616 N Central Ave PHX
Tortas CM 13971 N 59TH AVE Glendalr
Mrs Whites Golden Rule 808 E Jefferson St PHX
Collins Bros Chophouse 8220 N Hayden RD Scottsdale (This might be available at most if not all of the Collins Restaurants)
Honest to God this Pain Au Chocolat was maybe not as pretty but was much better tasting than the Pain Au Chocolat I tried from Dominique Ansel (Some consider best pastry chef in USA)
JL Patisserie 7342 E Shea BLVD Scottsdale
With Traditional sauce
Chick-A-Dee 49 W Thomas Rd PHX
Chula Seafood Greyhawk 20581 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale (Available at all Chula locations)
The Gladly 2201 E Camelback Rd PHX
Biryani Pot PHX 4030 E Bell Rd PHX
Red Ginger Food Truck – Good luck finding them – I found them once at Food Truck Friday West in Glendale.
Bro Bro’s BBQ Food Truck – Serving Phoenix
The Louisiana Hot Chicken Sandwich – Screaming Hot Chicken Food Truck – Serving Phoenix (This is part of Mingo’s Louisiana Kitchen Family)
The Chicken Potstickers
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery 2340 West Bell Rd PHX
Buffalo Chicken Plate (He told us that this wasn’t enough from a smaller chicken and told us to come back for the rest….He was very generous. That is why two photos)
Que Chevere Food Truck (They do have a brick and morter Restaurant in Mesa too)
Everything is very good from Alzohour Market. But the stuffed grape leaves (on right) and the baklava really are the best that I have tried anywhere.
Alzohour Market 7814 N 27TH AVE PHX
The A.G. Burger – 8oz USDA Prime ground in house tenderloin burger topped with a prime rib and more.
The Arrowhead Grill 8280 W Union Hills Dr Glendale
This next one is one of my husband’s two picks.
The Volcano Pork
The Craftsman 20469 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale
My husband’s other pick.
Braised Veal Osso Buco (weekend only)
The Italian Daughter 23655 N Scottsdale RD Scottsdale
This year was a great year for Tia Carmen. I tasted many better dishes there this year. It’s very hard to narrow down to only two dishes. I picked the lunch fish torta sandwich because it deserves to be a top sandwich of metro Phoenix….It’s a YUM-Dinger that is crazy flavorful and different. (pictured below)
Maybe the one dish of the year that I tasted that was the most amazing was the Tuna Crudo from Tia Carmen. It’s a dish that can make your heart skip a beat and is worth driving across town to try.
Tuna Crudu
Tia Carmen 5350 E Marriott Dr PHX
These were just SOME of the better dishes that I tried in Metro Phoenix 2022.
Dining out with dogs in Metro Phoenix is just a “FLUFF” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He was elderly and came down with aggressive cancer. He couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of his 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat.
In Phoenix the weather is an issue. I don’t take them out when the temperature is above 90 degrees F or only up to 90 F in shade. I am aware that most food and drink can be harmful or toxic to dogs. (You should get “safe” and “foods to avoid” lists for dogs from your veterinarian) Usually only lean meat without sauce might be a safe bet. When you take your dog(s) to dine with you at a restaurant you need to know that not all patios are dog friendly….You need to see a sign or call and ask if it’s ok to bring your furry friend(s). When you and your dog(s) dine out you must keep your dog(s) close to your side. You also should respect the restaurant and not let your dog sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
We went to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery. They are a Pho-Free Vietnamese Restaurant. They offer around a dozen different banh mi baguette sandwiches, rice plates, noodle salad bowls, boba, and MORE!
Today I got the curry chicken with rice. It’s a very large portion. The dogs enjoy helping me with the chicken.
The dogs also enjoy helping my husband with his grilled pork rice plate.
“We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery”
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We were on our way to Pad Thai Cafe in Glendale for take out and dining out in the nearby park.
It started raining so we didn’t dine out………Too bad but at least the dogs got a car ride. Even the next day it rained….So unusual for Phoenix. But the Take Out was good and we’d order these dishes again from Pad Thai Cafe.
The dogs enjoyed some chicken from the Pad King (It was very gingery in a good way).
They also enjoyed some beef from the Pad Prik King.
Pad Thai Cafe 18425 N 51st AVE Glendale AZ
623-213-7297
www.PadThaiAZ.com
All of a sudden it got cold for here to sit outside for long……so we took the dogs out to our local Culver’s for a butter cheese burger.
You can clearly see my bigger dog is smiling. She’s so happy to be at Culver’s that she swats my smaller dog out of her way so she can see the Culver’s action.
Then we drive around to the Culver’s patio and crack open their butter cheese burger for them. I do have to say that these burgers are always nicely caramelized.
We give them around a third of the burger without the bun. The rest of the burger we give them as treats over the next two days.
They always enjoy a butter cheese burger from Culver’s.
Culver’s
8330 W Deer Valley Rd Peoria AZ
623-792-8957
www.Culvers.com
It was still pretty cold outside but we made it to Phila-Deli in Glendale. They are a local sandwich and cheesesteak casual eatery.
The tuna hoagies are pretty good here but not so great to give the dogs.
tuna hoagie
So we got the dogs a child’s chicken finger meal.
Both dogs enjoyed the chicken fingers and we ate some of their fries.
My husband tried the new southwest cheese steak.
It’s extra steak meat, pepper jack cheese, onions, green bell peppers, chipotle peppers, and hatch chiles. I heard that it was pretty good!
The dogs enjoyed the chicken fingers today.
“We enjoy going to Phila-Deli”)
Phila-Deli
20219 N59th Ave Glendale AZ
623- 376-9333
www.PhilaDeliAZ.com
That was dining out with dogs in Metro Phoenix for December 2022. Thanks so much for reading. Have a Happy New Year and we hope to see you next month!
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Bigs is an American Casual Comfort Food and Sports Bar kind of place with two locations. The original location is in California and the one I went to is in Peoria Arizona. It’s in the entertainment and sports area called P83.
It’s a sports bar so there are a lot of big screen TVs inside and a lot of high top community tables.
inside on a non-sports day
We sat at one of the few traditional tables on the patio.
We started out by sharing the mac ‘n’ cheese balls.
mac ‘n’ cheese balls
They are deep fried panko coated white truffle mac ‘n’ cheese that sit in what they call Asian zing and chipotle ranch. The balls are fried very nicely and don’t seem greasy at all. The inside is strange.
inside
They are made with chopped up pasta. The strangest part is that they don’t even taste like cheese. To me they taste more of butter than cheese. They aren’t terrible but don’t taste like what I was expecting. Neither of us cared for the Asian zing sauce. I thought the chipotle sort of overpowered everything in the ball but it was ok that way.
For my main I had the seared ahi quinoa salad.
seared ahi quinoa salad
It’s a very large salad with mixed very fluffy greens, thin slices of avocado, crispy cucumber, tomatoes, little bits of quinoa, cajun seared ahi tuna, and honey ginger vinaigrette. Everything seems fresh! It all taste good. But there are so many greens…enough for two big salads.
My husband tried the chili verde plate.
chili verde plate
It’s a big bowl of slow cooked pork in tomatillo sauce with neutral rice, refried beans, and tortillas. It’s different…..There is a lot of pork that is cooked nicely. The tomatillo sauce is good but kind of plain…..They do have a variety of condiments that can be added. The tortillas were nicely heated but we received flour instead of the corn tortillas ordered.
Call Her Martina is a small modern Mexican Bar and Restaurant located near the Scottsdale Waterfront and is basically across the street from the Scottsdale Fashion Mall in Scottsdale Arizona. They offer an all day menu with some appetizers that you don’t come across very often like ribeye chicharron guacamole, mini street elotes, and charcoal ribeye aguachile with chicharron. They also offer salads, tuna ceviche, tacos, tostadas, and entrees like charred octopus with squid ink risotto, a short rib, ribeye, and a wagyu beef burger. Besides the all day menu they also offer a brunch menu.
It’s festive and formal looking inside.
They start you off with complimentary tostadas and a trio of salsas (charred tomato, tomatillo, and chipotle)
complimentary toastadas and salsas
We started out by splitting the salad called beets in a cloud.
beets in a cloud – garlic goat cheese, beets, arugula, lemon zest, caramelized pecans
Nice light starter.
My husband made a better meal decision than me and had the cochinita cazuela.
cohinita cazuela – braised pork, pickled red onions, raw onions, cilantro, cabbage, frijoles with corn tortillas
The pork was braised nice. You can eat it like fajitas. It did need a little zip from the salsas.
I ordered the tuna fresco tostada.
tuna fresco tostada – tuna, salsa negra, suppose to have smashed avocado but mine didn’t, capers, crispy leeks
I guess you order the tuna fresco tostada when you are not hungry. I didn’t remember that this was suppose to contain smashed avocado or I would have said something to my waiter……So they made me the EXTRA LIGHT version of the tuna fresco tostada withOUT avocado. To be honest it does taste good with the creamy mayo, crispy leeks and salsa negra…….But there isn’t much to it. The salsa negra is also very thin but spicy and kinda like a vinaigrette. It’s the wet stuff on the plate. It was under the fish soaking into the tostada making it soggy. It probably works out better if they give you avocado.
That TRULY was a little taste of Call Her Martina in Scottsdale AZ
A long time ago in a land far away someone invented candy sticks to make noisy children shut the FORK up for when they are in church. It was also written that some German dude got the idea to put a little religion into the candy sticks by adding a Shepard’s hook.
Some time has passed and someone else got the idea to add hyssop flavor to the candy canes because hyssop was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Maybe nobody wanted child sacrifice on their hands so they stopped adding hyssop to the candy canes. But maybe they changed to peppermint flavor because peppermint was cheaper?
Then they added the White Stripes.
Or was it the red stripes? Symbolizing the blood of Christ?
Maybe you noticed that candy canes often anything that’s NOT peppermint flavored?
Brisket flavored candy canes
Butter flavored candy canes
Sour cream and onion flavored candy canes
Kale flavored candy canes
Pickle flavor candy canes
Mac & cheese flavored candy canes
Sardine flavored candy canes
www.mcphee.com
Hotdog flavored candy canes
It doesn’t really matter WTFORK flavor that the candy cane is……If it’s in the mouth the kid with SHUT THE FORK UP!
This was a little bit of what happened to the Christmas Candy Cane.
Strawberry AguachileAvocado Wasabi Slaw with Furikake and Bonito Flakes Rye Rolls and home made mustardHumane Society Vegan Carrot Lox on home made mini bagelMoroccan Style Turkey Meatballs with Harissa Vinaigrette Pistachio PestoRoasted Vegetables with Poppy Seed Black Garlic Kalamata Olive Condiment and Urfa Peppered Feta Cheese Roasted Broccoli and Onions with Tomato Butter and Crushed Taralli Crackers Roast Cauliflower & Carrots with Pickled Onions, Smoked Cheese Sauce & Toasted Nuts EASY FORKING Delicious Acorn Squash with Mostarda & Taleggio Cheese Side Dish Baked Corn Patty with Sofrito Frosting, Pachamanca sauce, Huancaina sauce, Achiote oil and Sherry Soaked FigsCitrus and Beet Aguachile Cold SoupKombu Roast Chicken with Acorn Squash and RadishesSpice Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots with DatesPistou Sauce (Original Style) Japanese Style Potato Salad with Ramen Eggs and Bonito Flakes Potato String Wrapped Mexican Style Tuna Stuffed Peppers Potato Topped Peruvian Style Turkey Meatloafs with Onion Salsa Spiced Custard Filled Acorn Squash with Maple Bourbon WalnutsChocolate-Hazelnut Crostata Middle Eastern Mac & Cheese with Za’atar Pesto & Crisp Onions Pretzel BunsItalian Inspired Carrots Spinach Cheese Potato Pie with Seeded CrustPotato Cannoli Roasted Broccoli with Orange Aioli and Almonds Ful Mesdames with Malawach Style flat BreadSake Butter Scorched Cauliflower with Yuzu Marmalade Soy Butter Sauce Vietnamese Inspired Turkey Meatballs in home made Vietnamese style Turkey Soup
That was part 2 of the 2022 recipes on The Forking Truth
Eggplant Wrapped Baked ZitiSpicy Asian Inspired Eggplant Cheesy Corn Pasta Corn Pasta Pie Fig, Ricotta, Beet Relish, topped Caraway, Parmesan Potato Tuile Chipotle Lime Butter Green Beans with Black Beans and Pickled Reed Onions Okonomiyaki Style Baked Cabbage Cakes with Tofu Mustard and Black Garlic Sauce Morita Chili Salsa and Radish Pico de Gallo Tomatillo Salsa (suggested serve)5 Spice Turkey Meatball Stuffed Cabbage Mexican Flavored Meatballs with Guajillo Tomato Sauce Perilla Leaf Thai Style Treats with Tamarind SauceRoast BeefCalabrian Chile Brown Butter Pasta and Creamy Leeks Parsnips two ways with whipped Carrots Tomatillo Avocado Salsa Recipe FORKING Crispy Breaded EggplantSweet Potato Ravioli with Beet Puree Harissa Hasselback Zucchini with Dukkah & zucchini white bean dip Healthy Delicious Quick Kimchi Potato Salad Beets with Orange, Mint, Cheddar Cheese, and Salsa MachaRoasted Carrots in Honey Miso Butter with Roasted Spiced Carrot Peanut Crumbs Tomato and bean salad with home made Italian Chili CrispItalian Chili CrispFeta Stuffed Corn Cakes with Beet-Apple SaladBraised and Crispy Leeks with Tarator Sauce & Date Brown Butter beef osso buco Miso Sake Blistered Shishito Peppers with Ginger-Miso Sweet PeasGrilled Pickled Carrots with Charmoula and Almonds Lions Mane Mushroom faux Crab CakeJerk Chicken Thigh Braised Cabbage & Carrot Strawberry AguachileBeet Pudding with Yuzu Cream
Just Some of the Recipes from 2022 on The Forking Truth Part 1
I had a cauliflower that I had to use and I wanted to do something new with it. I just typed into my computer BEST CAULIFLOWER RECIPE. I saw a few list of cauliflower recipes and one of them was chef Scott Hallsworth’s Scortched Cauliflower Recipe. It’s a very easy recipe with very few ingredients….When I got done roasting the cauliflower I still had a lot of DELICIOUS sake butter on my sheet tray.
So I got the idea in my head to USE THE FORKING GREAT BUTTER SAUCE and add yuzu marmalade and a little bit of soy sauce.
Chef Scott Hallsworth uses just 40ml dark soy sauce mixed with 20ml yuzu salted juice over the cauliflower. You do what you want.
Ingredients for around two servings
1/2 a large cauliflower – cut into florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons sake
1 pinch sea salt
4 oz unsalted butter – melted
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 Tablespoons yuzu marmalade
1/4 cup scallions – sliced thin or use chives
Directions
Set oven to 500 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl toss the cauliflower with the butter, oil, sake, and salt. Spread out the cauliflower florets in an even layer on a sheet pan (one with sides). Leave in till golden and charred. (in my oven this took 30 minutes)
Pour the extra sake butter from your sheet pan with the cauliflowers into a small mixing bowl and add the yuzu marmalade and the soy sauce. Serve the sauce either over or under the cauliflowers and top with thin cut scallions or chives.
Sake Butter Scorched Cauliflower with Yuzu Marmalade Soy Butter Sauce
ENJOY!!!!!
A Special THANKS!!!!!! To Chef Scott Hallsworth for sharing his FORKING GREAT Recipe so I could come up with what I got here.
That Place Subs and Salads is a neighborhood Gangster themed casual sandwich and salad restaurant located in North Peoria Arizona. They serve most subs or hoagies on what they call French Rolls (8 inch) but also offer choices of wheat, marble rye, spinach tortilla, and lettuce wrapped. They offer sandwiches named after gangsters.
inside
A few of the sandwiches have names like The Capone, The Gambino, The Siegle, The Lansky, and The Gotti. Some of the gangsters are pictured below.
inside
It’s extra casual. You order at the counter, pay, and they run your order to you.
I tried a small Italian Beef with added giardiniera.
Small Italian Beef with added giardiniera
This is very spicy and might be too spicy for some people with the giardiniera. But it is delicious with really great flavors. It comes with some au jus that is very good. The roast beef is very tender…I like the taste of this very much. I’m just not a fan of the bread…..because it is that Arizona style squishy bread that most sandwich shops use…….Never had this type of bread until I moved to Arizona so I call it Arizona style squishy bread. ….BUT it still taste really great even with the Arizona squishy bread.
My husband tried the Castello (Castello was from the Luciano crime family…….He was a crime boss that survived several assassination attempts.) *******(ham, mortadella, capicola, Genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, garlic mayo (left off because my husband doesn’t do mayo), and Italian dressing).
I heard it was a tasty sandwich. My husband said he’d come back and eat either of these sandwiches again.
Some sandwiches cost more but most run only around $10.49 (subject to change because that is very cheap these days)
