Confluence is a small casual upscale restaurant that serves elevated modern cuisine. There is seating inside,  bar seating and outside on the patio with mountain views.

This time they started us out with a fresh baked Tomato Roll and Chèvre Cheese.

The roll was hot fluffy and moist and flavored with sweet tomatoes. When I added the tangy melting chèvre it reminded me of cream of tomato soup.

An interesting starter of a Roasted Peach, Cocoa, Epoisses (French soft pungent cheese), mint, pecans and honey. Different flavors. The rich epoisses cheese is particularly delicious with the peach. Who knew?

My husband had a starter called the Herb Roasted Lobster Mushroom.

His starter was more complex. It was made of an herb roasted lobster mushroom, gnocchi, sopressata, tomato, garlic herb oil, chimichurri and developed pork broth.

For dinner I had the Monk Fish.

Monk fish is a more difficult unforgiving fish to prepare but this one was indeed tender and moist. Not only was the monk fish masterfully prepared the flavors on the plate were exciting  together. Somehow it’s like a wave of different flavors that harmonize…..There’s a mild delicious curry flavor and it marries with sweet butternut squash and picks up tang from the labne. You just want to keep digging in and tasting the different layers of flavors. Also get little sweet pops from the sugar snap peas. It’s a really spectacular plate!

My husband went with the Two Wash Ranch Guinea Hen.

It was a pan roasted moist breast, tender confit legs, caramelized figs, chanterelles and creamy rich full flavored parmesan risotto. What’s not to like here?

We were both full but couldn’t leave without dessert.

Insert angels singing here….

This mixed fruit granite was as light as……..the heavens.

The granite had the texture of fresh fallen snow and was wonderfully refreshing. It was as dazzling in taste as it looks. It’s not too sweet but little pops of different delicate light fruits in fruity snow, a little basil and just a small amount of short bread cookies for a little texture. I loved it!

If you read my reviews you know I just have to tell The Forking Truth.

Service was efficient as we got what we needed in a timely manner. The front of the house  owner just let us be and we were mostly left alone. (to be fair maybe that is because on my last visit I asked for a dish they wrote was a special on their Facebook page that they didn’t have because it didn’t come in…………) We poured our own wine. Nobody explained the food to us….I also did think it was odd that they sat us and the one only other table right next to us. A little space would have been nice because they did have the room and one woman at the only other table in the restaurant smack next to us wore very strong perfume that burned our eyes. However the food at Confluence was so innovative, superb and just down-right-Forking Phenomenal!

My third visit to Confluence and each visit was Worth a Fork! ……The food was actually more than a Fork…..A Whole Bunch OF FORKS!!!!!

Now this was the best dinner I had this year in Metro Phoenix.

Worth a bunch of Forks!

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

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

Here are plates from my past visits.

The Forking Truth

The Tavern in Phoenix Arizona is a casual high end tavern that offers the highest quality bar grub, the best wines and more. The Chef and Owner is the Famous to Arizona Chef Mark Tarbell. Not only is he a highly decorated chef he also is a Wine Expert, Skier, Pilot, Dancer and Musician. Chef Tarbell has been featured in numerous publications and TV shows that include the Talk and Food Network’s Iron Chef American where Chef Tarbell defeated an Iron Chef and Won the cooking battle. He has three businesses in central Phoenix in the Camelback Corridor. There is his high end restaurant Tarbell’s, his wine store called The Wine Store and his casual tavern called The Tavern.

The Tavern is comfortable man’s cave with a stylish woody interior, a guitar lined brick wall and a Rock and Roll Atmosphere. The recommended libation is made as clear as the crystal clear Wine Glasses that are set on the tables……incase you didn’t know Wine is highly recommended here. Some of the wines are phenomenal off the charts and there isn’t a fee to purchase a bottle next door and enjoy it in the tavern.

The guitars of well known Gods of rock and roll adorn the walls. It’s no surprise that classic rock fills the air here.

On this wall are guitars from Bob Weir, Billy Joel, Alice Cooper and Nils Lofgren….There are other guitars on other walls as well and also guitars in The Wine Store. Outstanding bottles of wine are art features and embellish the walls. It’s full of Champagne wishes and Caviar Dreams here baby………..

From most seats you can sneak a peek into The Wine Store.

Today I went with the Grilled Scottish Salmon Sandwich (listed under burgers).

I received a Nobel Bread Bun stuffed with the Best Piece of Salmon I had in a very long time. This salmon was so fresh tasting and just melted in my mouth like butter. The salmon also had a nice sear on it and was topped with a tomato jam that complimented the salmon very well. The sandwich contained two types of lettuce, fresh sliced seedless cucumbers and a dill laced creme fraiche sauce.

We also shared a plate of Thick “Frites St” Fries.

These Fries are REALLY GREAT! They are like no other. They had a thin shattering crisp exterior that was almost like potato chip encasing a fluffy moist interior that had a great potato taste. The portion of the fries is also very large…I’d say it’s about four portions. On the side is a tasty Sriracha Spiked Ketchup.

My husband enjoyed the Green Chile Pork Stew with Tomatilla Salsa, Cotija Cheese, Cilantro and Tortilla Chips.

But he enjoyed the Stew more with those really great fries than the Chips.

I really enjoyed my visit to The Tavern.

I have to say The Tavern is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

I don’t usually write prices but remember quality comes with a price.

I also NOTE prices are subject to CHANGE.

Grilled Scottish Salmon Sandwich $19.00

Fries $9.00

Pork Stew $!9.00

www.TarbellsTavern.com

The Forking Truth

Ghost Ranch Restaurant is a full service restaurant located in Tempe Arizona just past the Ikea and serves Modern Southwest Foods. The decor is bright and rich in Southwest style. There’s big glass garage doors all around that let in lots of bright light during the day. There’s terra-cotta hanging fixtures, naugahyde covered chairs, large roomy tables, a wooden ceiling and a lively looking colorful bar in the center of the restaurant.

We started with the Chips, Salsa and Guacamole Appetizer.

We received two kinds of chips that seemed free of grease and were lightly salted. The guacamole was very fresh tasting, chunky and nicely seasoned. It was difficult for me to eat the green salsa because it was acidic tasting past my comfort zone…..However the red salsa was delicious and taste like it was made with dried chile pods.

I was torn between a few dishes and my server steered me to the Steamed Chile Relleno. He said the other dishes weren’t as special and the Chile Relleno involved more technique.

I received two (impossible to find) Chimayo Chile peppers. Stuffed with Mushroom Duxells (reduced mushrooms, stems, onions, butter). The Chile Peppers rest on a bed of chile enhanced goat cheese sauce and were adorned with raw leek salad. The flavors were spot on with a nice warm gentle yummy heat. All the flavors were harmonious. I was impressed how they got the chile so dry……usually roasted chile peppers keep leaking liquid forever. The chile held the duxelles in like a blanket. I LOVED the dish but you know me if you read my reviews…..I have to tell The Forking Truth………The one thing that should change about this dish would be the leek salad…..flavor-wise it was delicious but it was so tough it was almost impossible to eat….maybe either fried  leeks or a different vegetable would work better.

My husband had the Chile Colorado Braised Pork Chimayo Chile.

It’s a make your own Taco Plate with hand made tortillas on the side.

He said he enjoyed every thing and every thing was well seasoned. He also said his plate was a little short on  pico for his tacos and he wished the tortillas were warmed slightly.

We decided to try the Burnt Banana for dessert.

This was a plate of cold sliced bananas, with a little crumble, caramel, pop corn and creamy ice cream. I don’t know why this dessert is called Burnt Banana..?

www.GhostRanchAZ.com

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

The Forking Truth

Casa Corazon is a casual Mexican Restaurant located in Phoenix AZ. There are many other other Mexican Restaurants along this road so I was expecting that this newly opened Mexican Restaurant would be special and it is! They have two entrances and one is slightly awkward. You can use the front door but the side door might be closer to the lot that you parked in. You might find that you walked into the kitchen. Then someone greets you and tells you to pick a table in the dining room.

The dining room is very open and airy with lots of natural light coming in from the large windows. There’s exposed brick, attractive wooden ceilings, a couple of interesting frescos and clean new crisp furniture.

They started us out with a colorful dish of complimentary hot tortilla chips and a bacon-ee bean dip. We were instructed to visit the Sala Bar and help ourselves so we did!

Plenty of salsas….what to pick?

I went with Pineapple, Chipotle and Jalapeño.

I really liked the Pineapple…..It was full of Pineapple and Chilies Flavors. The Chipotle tasted the I way I expected a smokey Chipotle Salsa would taste so it was good too. The Jalapeño was creamy and super mild…….It was the mildest of the salsas…..but it was good just super mild.

My Taco Platter Arrives.

I receive three single shell extremely fresh made tacos that are all generously stuffed. Up top is chicken, middle of the plate is arrachera (marinated skirt steak) and a grilled marlin taco. They gave us a yellow citrus to enhance the tacos….. lemon….or yellow lime (they have yellow limes in Mexico). The chicken taco needs a dab of salsa so I add Pineapple salsa to the chicken taco. It works…that is kind of fun. Where else can you eat a Pineapple Salsa Chicken Taco?  The next one I try is the Skirt Steak……I try some before I sauce it. WOW! This one is flavorful and very tender…….It’s much more flavorful than the chicken taco was. This one doesn’t really need salsa but I added a small amount of Chipotle salsa to it. I saved the Marlin Taco for last……Good thing because the Marlin Taco was the most flavorful and spiciest of the tacos…..It was really good! The Marlin Taco differed from the other tacos and was grilled. The fish was also grilled and was a little smoky. They grilled the fish till juicy along with seasoning and spicy peppers. It was yummy-licious! My plate also came with rice and beans. The rice tasted like it was fresh made and seemed buttery. It was also studded with a few vegetables. The Black Beans tasted just made and were sweet and creamy the way beans are when you cook them from dried.

My husband had an Enchilada Plate of Chicken, Cheese and Beef.

If the sauce looks a little bright and red to you that might be because you are looking at Corazon BEET and Chile Sauce and also red and green traditional sauces. I was too busy with my plate to try the enchiladas but I heard they were very good.

Our waitress was so cheerful and helpful. We both thought she must be an owner but she wasn’t. She was a  really great server!

That was my First Taste at Casa Corazon.

I’d say Casa Corazon is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.CasaCorazonRestaurant.com

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

The Forking Truth