Archive for June, 2009
June 30th, 2009, 2:57 pm by Jess Harter
Crocodile actually does taste a little like chicken. Ostrich and kangaroo, on the other hand, taste more like beef.
These are just some of the things I discovered at Down Under Wines, a small retail shop and wine bar almost hidden in a strip mall on the north side of Chandler Fashion Center.
 The front of the store is crowded with wood racks of wine from Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. In the back, the space decorated with boomerangs and Aboriginal prints opens up a bit to reveal several tables and a small bar.
Working behind the counter are gregarious co-owners Roger Carpenter and Phil Roberts (pictured). Shaven-head Carpenter looks like the big-game hunter in “Jurassic Park 2.” Roberts could be Jeff Spicoli’s long-lost uncle.
Both know their wines — Carpenter was a master sommelier in Sydney — and can suggest, for example, an excellent Australian Shiraz for under $20. In fact, most of the glasses on the wine list are under $10.
Down Under also sells Coopers, the only Australian beer available in Arizona. (Ask about Foster’s and Carpenter will bark, “It’s made in [expletive] Canada!”) The preservative-free craft beer ($3.75 per bottle) comes in five varieties.
The menu, mostly small dishes meant for noshing, is Australian-Asian fusion, meaning almost anything from chicken satay with black Forbidden rice ($8) to seafood lasagna with shrimp, whitefish, squid and octopus ($11.50).
The more exotic offerings, though, are some of the most popular at Down Under.
Topping the list are the crocodile potstickers ($8.50) filled with ground white meat and accompanied by a soy-ginger dipping sauce. Ostrich sliders (three for $12.50) with caramelized onions are chewier than their chicken equivalent.
 “Baybee Emu Wings” ($8), Down Under’s tongue-in-cheek name for a bowl of whole chicken wings, are grilled with a hint of caramelized Vegemite, a dark brown paste that’s the national condiment of Australia. They come just one way: Hot.
Kangaroo, grilled and marinated, hops into the picture on the kangaroo salad ($11.50). You also can get ‘roo on a baguette with horseradish as part of the Aussie Meat Sampler ($13, with two croc potstickers and an ostrich slider, pictured at right).
For those with a hearty appetite, the Aussie Mojo Meat Pie ($8), sort of a pot pie served with ketchup, salsa and corn chips, delivers 680 calories and a heart-threatening 40 grams of fat. But it’s worth it.
Of course, not everything on Down Under’s menu is so adventurous. A hummus duo ($8) pairs traditional and red pepper. You also can mix and match six kinds of bruschetta (any four for $10).
Delicious cheese plates ($12-$15) include fruit, nuts and crackers and are large enough for several people to share. There also are paninis and small flatbread pizzas.
Down Under Wines
Where: 3305 W. Chandler Blvd. (in front of Chandler Fashion Center)
Open: 11 a.m. to close Monday through Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Prices: Appetizers $8-$10, salads $6-$11.50, paninis $8, entrees $7.50-$11.50, desserts $5.
Info: (480) 705-7131 or downunderwinestore.com
(Photos by Ralph Freso, East Valley Tribune)
Posted in: Chandler • Down Under | Post a Comment »
June 30th, 2009, 8:52 am by Jess Harter
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has opened at San Tan Village in Gilbert, becoming the Colorado-based chain’s eighth East Valley location. To celebrate, the restaurant is donating 50 cents from every burger sold this week to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Posted in: Gilbert • Red Robin | Post a Comment »
June 29th, 2009, 9:44 pm by Jess Harter
Nearly three months after launching regular Espresso 101 classes, Liberty Market has unveiled its latest class, Pizza 101. The first session was held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today at the downtown Gilbert market.
David Traina, executive chef and co-owner of Liberty Market, addresses the half-dozen inaugural participants at the pizza counter. Each paid $10 for the two-hour class, which included their own pizza and beverages.
Liberty Market makes its wood-fired pizzas in a Renato oven that ranges from 600 degrees to nearly 1,000 degrees. The oven never goes cold. At night, the doors are closed and the embers glow until morning.
Traina regales the class with personal tales of oven maker Renato Riccio, an Italian immigrant who makes his famous ovens in Texas.
Pecan from right here in Arizona is the only wood used in the oven. One of its characteristics is it burns very evenly.
Off to the kitchen, where the class helps make a batch of pizza dough in Liberty’s refurbished 1934 Hobart 80-quart mixer. Some trivia: Liberty Market co-owner Joe Johnston’s grandfather invented this mixer.
Thirty pounds of freshly mixed pizza dough — made with just flour, water, salt and yeast — are placed into a clear container that will be placed in the walk-in cooler to rise overnight. Pizza cook Mike Mickelson pulls out a white plastic container of dough mixed the previous day for the class to use.
Traina demonstrates how to toss dough in the air. Fortunately, such moves are not necessary to make pizza, he says.
A class member gets instruction from Mickelson on how to stretch the dough into the proper shape and thickness.
Mickelson shows a class member how to check the dough for “window panes,” areas where the dough is thin enough to see light through. “The more sections you can see through the better,” Traina says.
A class member and Traina share a laugh.
Traina watches a class member ladle sauce onto her dough. Liberty Market’s sauce is made with San Marzano tomatoes (considered the world’s best for sauces), garlic, salt, pepper and basil.
Liberty Market does not cook its pizza sauce while making it because cooking it a second time in the oven would destroy its flavor.
Traina helps a class member put her pizza into the oven using a metal pizza peel. Pizzas are moved to various positions around the oven during the four or so minutes they take to cook.
Class members get straight A’s on their “final exams.” Then they eat them. Plus, each class member receives a pound of starter dough to take home.
Afterward, the inaugural Pizza 101 class and their instructors pose for a graduation photo.
For information on the future Pizza 101 classes, which will be held monthly, call (480) 892-1900 and leave your name and e-mail address. Or send the info in a direct message via Twitter to @libertymarket.
Posted in: Gilbert • Liberty Market | 3 Comments »
June 29th, 2009, 5:58 pm by Jess Harter
If you’re a member of Fox Restaurant Concepts‘ VIP club, you can get 25 percent off your bill (including alcohol) at most Fox restaurants Saturday.
Participating eateries are Blanco, Bloom, The Greene House, North in Scottsdale, Olive & Ivy, True Food Kitchen and all Sauce locations except Chandler.
To join the VIP club, which is free, go to foxrc.com and click on “ENews.” An e-mail will be sent out Thursday to registered users explaining how to get your discount.
Posted in: Valleywide | Post a Comment »
June 29th, 2009, 8:52 am by Jess Harter
Chick-fil-A restaurants across the Valley are celebrating breakfast this week by giving away a free menu item each morning until 10:30. Today, you can get a free order of three Chick-n-Minis.
The rest of the week’s giveaways: sausage biscuits on Tuesday, chicken breakfast burritos on Wednesday, chicken biscuits on Thursday and Chick-n-Minis again on Friday.
No other purchase is necessary, but there’s a limit of one item per person per day.
Posted in: Valleywide • Chick-fil-A | Post a Comment »
June 29th, 2009, 8:00 am by Jess Harter
Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4, but the lesser-known Independents Week — a Valley shopping holiday of sorts — starts today.
 The latter is an annual event, now in its seventh year, from Local First Arizona, a non-profit organization that promotes locally owned businesses. It runs through July 5.
By printing a “Golden Coupon” available on the group’s Web site, shoppers receive 20 percent off almost any purchase at more than 80 participating businesses. The coupon can be printed multiple times for purchases at multiple businesses.
Many of the participants are restaurants and food-related stores, ranging from eateries (such as Cowboy Ciao) to ice cream shops (such as Udder Delights) to retailers (such as Pop the Soda Shop).
The wide variety of non-restaurant businesses includes Changing Hands Bookstore, Phoenix Rock Gym, the Hotel Valley Ho, Hoodlum’s music store, the Heard Museum and Mood Swings Salon.
You can find the complete list of participating business and print coupons here.
Posted in: Valleywide | Post a Comment »
June 25th, 2009, 1:02 pm by Jess Harter
Two weeks ago, while driving home from work, I was involved in a minor traffic accident. A young woman in a Mazda sports car drove through a red light and into the side of my Chevy Tahoe. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the damage — to my full-size SUV, at least — was relatively minor. (The same couldn’t be said about her Mazda.)
When two Chandler police officers showed up to gather information and take statements, I struck up a conversation about their favorite restaurants. Call it an occupational hazard — I’m always asking people where they like to eat. Here’s where the officers, whose department is located in downtown Chandler, said they like to go:
 The Greek’s Grill: The heaping shawarma platter ($7.99 chicken, $8.99 beef) is the must-have entrée at this Mediterranean eatery. Lunch specials, available 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, include such selections as gyro sandwiches and chicken pitas (all $5.75) and come with a side of Greek fries. 610 N. Alma School Road, Chandler, (480) 855-7692.
Tokyo House: It’s not surprising law enforcement would uncover this obscure rice-bowl spot, which I think I’ve eaten at more than any other restaurant in Arizona over the past two decades. This strip-mall gem isn’t much to look at, but the teriyaki chicken bowls ($4.49 regular, $5.59 large) are among the best in the Valley. 2050 N. Alma School Road, Chandler, (480) 963-0015.
Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta: This friendly pizzeria, usually packed for lunch and dinner, is a neighborhood favorite and offers great lunch specials. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., get a one-item junior pizza and large fountain drink for just $3.99, or a two-item calzone (pictured) — as big as a partially deflated football — and drink for $5.99. 590 N. Alma School Road, Chandler, (480) 812-8433.
Murphy’s Law Irish Pub: When your shift ends after midnight, restaurant options are limited. Fortunately, the blackened chicken garlic pizza ($8.95) — actually on flatbread — is available until closing time at this Irish pub. A late-night special includes one of the small pizzas and two domestic drafts for $11.50. 58 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler, (480) 812-1588.
Benihana: This Japanese restaurant chain — where the chef’s skills are as much about entertainment as good-tasting meats and seafood — isn’t a regular stop in the officers’ meal rotation, but one of them said he had recently eaten at the Chandler Fashion Center location and liked it. 3025 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler, (480) 812-4701.
Posted in: Chandler • Benihana • Floridino's • Greek's Grill • Murphy's Law • Tokyo House | Post a Comment »
June 24th, 2009, 6:05 am by Jess Harter
At a time when burgers are trending more upscale — exotic meats, gourmet cheeses and fancy toppings — there’s something comforting about a good old-fashioned burger.
For the past decade, that’s exactly what the aptly named Giant Hamburgers has been serving.
The cramped strip-mall space on the southwest corner of Lindsay and Broadway roads in Mesa certainly is no-frills. There are six small booths, eight two-person tables and an eight-seat lunch counter.
The décor, such as it is, consists of a mirror, a clock and a couple of inexpensive prints.
The heart of Giant Hamburgers is a large flat-top grill that produces just about everything on menu, whose simplicity is documented on the wall behind the cash register. No table menus or table service here.
 The delicious burgers, which start at $4.25, are made with fresh meat — never frozen — and require two hands to handle. Mayo, mustard, lettuce, onion and tomato are the standard, but you can customize to your taste.
There’s no skimping: Cheeseburgers come with two slices of cheese (applied while the patty is cooking, making the cheese extra gooey); bacon cheeseburgers get three slices of bacon.
Fries ($1.50) — wonderfully well-done on the outside yet soft on the inside — are the only side option, unless you consider a bowl of chile ($2.35) a side dish.
Other lunch and dinner choices include a grilled chicken sandwich ($5), a grilled steak sandwich ($6.40), a grilled fish sandwich ($4.75) and a grilled cheese sandwich ($3.20).
No-nonsense breakfast combos start with one egg, hash browns, choice of meat and toast ($3.85) and go up in one-egg increments. Again, nothing fancy. Just basic and good.
 For dessert, nine varieties of homemade pies ($2.20 per slice, $11 per pie) range from apple to chocolate cream and are showcased in a case next to the register.
When he’s not working the cash register, friendly owner Don Horne (who almost named the place Horne’s Hamburgers) usually is bussing tables and chatting with diners.
From teenagers to retirees, Giant’s customers seem to enjoy the vibe. No one walks out the door without a genuine “Thanks for coming!” from at least one member of the staff.
Good old-fashioned food. Good old-fashioned prices. Good old-fashioned friendliness.
For me, those three things will never get old or go out of fashion.
Giant Hamburgers
Where: 2753 E. Broadway Road, Mesa (southwest corner of Broadway and Lindsay roads)
Open: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Prices: Burgers $4.25-$6.25, sandwiches $3.20-$6.40, sides $1.50-$3.20, breakfast combos $3.85-$7.95, pie $2.20-$2.95
Info: (480) 733-6542 or gianthamburgers.com
(Photos by Darryl Webb, East Valley Tribune)
Posted in: Mesa • Giant Hamburgers | 5 Comments »
June 23rd, 2009, 2:32 pm by Jess Harter
 Wow, everyone is jumping on the prix fixe bandwagon. Less than an hour after Canal announced it will offer a three-course, $25 prix fixe dinner menu this summer, high-end J&G Steakhouse (pictured) announced a three-course, $35 prix fixe menu of its own.
The Phoenician Resort restaurant’s deal, which is available 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day, includes choice of:
Appetizer
• Heart of Romaine Caesar salad;
• steamed shrimp salad with champagne vinaigrette;
• sweet pea soup
Entree:
• slow-baked salmon with rhubarb compote;
• lemon-pepper chicken steak;
• grilled Black Angus flat-iron steak and frites
Dessert:
• cheesecake with strawberry jam and rhubarb ice cream;
• warm chocolate cake with caramel ice cream
Info: (480) 214-8000.
Posted in: Scottsdale • J&G Steakhouse | Post a Comment »
June 23rd, 2009, 2:09 pm by Jess Harter
Scottsdale’s White Chocolate Grill won this week’s “grilled fish” category in the seemingly endless Ultimate Hometown Grill Off on the “Live with Regis and Kelly” TV show.
Owner/chef Bobby Fitzgerald (pictured above making a dessert at the restaurant) submitted a one-minute video of him and his 7-year-old daughter, Kate, grilling a simple piece salmon with a citrus-soy glaze.
In weekend voting on the syndicated TV show’s website, Fitzgerald’s video beat out four other finalists in the category. He will fly to New York and make the dish on Friday’s show, which airs at 10 a.m. on Channel 12.
At the end of summer, Fitzgerald will compete against the winners of several other categories for the overall Grill Off championship. The victor will be featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
White Chocolate Grill is located on the southwest corner of the Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road in north Scottsdale. Info: (480) 563-3377.
Two weeks ago, Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert was one of five finalists in the beef brisket category, but lost to Rudy’s BBQ and Catering from Sinton, Texas.
Posted in: Scottsdale • White Chocolate Grill | Post a Comment »
June 23rd, 2009, 12:26 pm by Jess Harter
If you’re into cooking, there’s a cool new website that just launched today. One of those “aggregators” that brings together related content in one place, Good Bite rounds up posts from some of the country’s most popular food bloggers.
The 10 spotlighted blogs include such sites as Simply Recipes, David Lebovitz and Smitten Kitchen.
Good Bite also has other features, such as a weekly panel discussion on a cooking topic. Recipes are accompanied by how-to videos for those whose kitchen skills are less than impressive (cough, cough).
Good Bite is already in my browser’s bookmarks. You also can follow it on Twitter at @goodbite.
Posted in: Valleywide • Web | 1 Comment »
June 23rd, 2009, 12:00 pm by Jess Harter
“The Next Food Network Star,” the cable channel’s culinary reality show, is casting for its 2010 season. Producers will hold their first-ever Valley casting call from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 8.
The auditions - open to “any chef, home cook, caterer or culinary enthusiast who might be interested in becoming the host of his or her own cooking show” - will take place at the Embassy Suites Phoenix-Scottsdale, 4415 E. Paradise Village Parkway, Phoenix.
You can get more audition info here.
Posted in: Phoenix • TV shows | Post a Comment »
June 23rd, 2009, 11:29 am by Jess Harter
 Canal, the fashion-centric restaurant at SouthBridge in Old Town Scottsdale, is launching a summer-long $25 prix fixe dinner menu on Wednesday.
Dinners get a choice of:
Salad:
• Blueberry & summer peach salad, wild rocket, candied pine nuts, champagne mint vinaigrette;
• “The BLT wedge” salad, bacon, iceburg lettuce, tomato, blue cheese dressing;
• Heirloom tomato and fresh mozzarella salad, super sweet corn, fresh basil, cracked pepper sherry vinaigrette
Entree:
• Pancetta-wrapped filet mignon, twice-baked Yukon gold potato, French beans, herb red wine reduction
• Pan-seared rainbow trout, sugar snap peas, French radishes, citrus salad
• Maine Lobster stuffed with crab, fingerling potatoes, asparagus, saffron leek crème
• Roasted chicken and exotic mushroom gnocchi, artichoke hearts, pecorino cheese
• The Canal veggie tower, marinated & grilled vegetables, balsamic tomato sauce
Dessert:
• Chocolate chiffon cheesecake, crème fraiche, raspberries
• Bananas foster bread pudding, salted caramel ice cream
Canal — which also has brought back its TV Dinner Tuesdays promotion, which offers modern updates ($19.95) on classic TV dinners, for the summer — starts dinner service at 6 p.m. daily. Info: (480) 949-9000.
Posted in: Scottsdale • Canal | Post a Comment »
June 23rd, 2009, 11:09 am by Jess Harter
 Old World Pizza Kitchen, an artisanal pizzeria that opened in Gilbert just last October (read my story), has closed its doors.
Located on Gilbert Road between Elliot and Warner roads, Old World was the first foray into the restaurant business by retired Brooklyn firefighter Jim Donnelly and his wife, Sue.
The high-end interior showcased Jim Donnelly’s paintings of firefighters.
While the pizzas were pretty good, Old World suffered from a poor location. Its country-ish JD’s Homestead strip mall runs perpendicular to busy Gilbert Road. You could drive by a hundred times without even knowing Old World was there, as many potential customers undoubtedly did.
It would have been interesting to see how Old World would have fared in a more high-profile location.
Posted in: Gilbert • Old World Pizza Kitchen | 5 Comments »
June 22nd, 2009, 5:46 pm by Jess Harter
SLo Foods Organic Café is scheduled to open in mid-July at The Borgata of Scottsdale. The restaurant, which will feature a patio facing the shopping center’s popular courtyard, will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Besides SLo Foods — its “SLo” apparently stands for “simply live organic” — other Borgata restaurants include Blanco Tacos + Tequila and J. Alexander’s.
Posted in: Scottsdale • SLo Foods Organic Cafe | Post a Comment »
June 22nd, 2009, 5:25 pm by Jess Harter
 If you’re in Tempe or Mesa on Tuesday, keep your eyes peeled for Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que trucks.
Five of the barbecue chain’s catering trucks will be cruising the streets of the two cities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. handing out free barbecue sandwiches, coupons for free wings and free bottles of barbecue sauce.
The offer is not available at Famous Dave’s restaurants.
Posted in: Mesa • Tempe • Famous Dave's | Post a Comment »
June 22nd, 2009, 5:09 pm by Jess Harter
 SanTan Brewing Co. holds its next monthly Tuesday Night Tasting on July 7. The four-course menu with beer pairings, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $25, includes:
• roasted beets and jicama salad with shredded papaya, paired with SanTan’s Sun Devil Ale;
• chilled green pea and mint soup, with Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard;
• venison roast and grilled yams, with SanTan’s Gordo Stout;
• Schnepf Farms peaches, with SanTan’s new Strawberry Wit (pictured).
The downtown Chandler brew pub’s popular TNT dinners always fill up quickly. Reservations: (480) 917-8700.
Posted in: Chandler • SanTan Brewing Co. | Post a Comment »
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