If you’re of the opinion there are no good restaurants in Queen Creek — certainly none to justify a journey to the far southeast edges of the Valley — The Deli just may change your mind.

The four-month-old restaurant is a Slow Food lover’s paradise, showcasing locally produced ingredients in an array of delicious  sandwiches, pizzas and dinner entrees.

The Deli roasts its own meats. It makes its own mozzarella, its own mayo, its own ranch dressing, its own ice cream, its own … well, you get the idea.

• Slideshow: See more photos of The Deli in Queen Creek

Read the rest of this entry »

The Apple Dumpling Café invites East Valley residents to enter the third annual apple cooking contest at its SanTan Apple Festival on Nov. 8. Any dish with apples — from appetizers to desserts — are eligible, but they must be made from scratch.

Get an entry application from Sue Bailey at the Apple Dumpling Café location at 23706 S. Power Road, Queen Creek, or call Bailey at (480) 279-3879.

You also can contact Pam Jackson at (480) 518-7284 or apple.fest@skippingstars.com.

There is a $25 entry fee. The application deadline is Nov. 3. Info: appledumplingcafe.com.

Move over, pumpkins and peaches. There’s a new type of produce making its debut at Schnepf Farms this weekend: Grapes.

But owners Mark and Carrie Schnepf won’t be growing grapes on their 300-acre farm in Queen Creek. They’ll be serving them in the form of wine.

Last November, the Schnepfs opened Fresh from the Farm, a rustic restaurant. On Friday, the couple will unveil a 12-foot bar offering wine and beer on the restaurant’s front patio.

It’s the latest venture for the Schnepfs, who supplement their working farm’s income by hosting seasonal festivals, concerts, weddings and educational tours.

“The patio is surrounded by herb gardens and has a nice misting system,” Carrie Schnepf says. “We’ll have live acoustic music. It’s a very country bar.”

To start, the patio bar will be open 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays — the only days the restaurant is open for dinner during the summer — for what Schnepf calls “the relaxing hour.”

• Read my November 2007 story on Fresh from the Farm

Read the rest of this entry »

Queen Creek Olive Mill returns to its fall hours this week, starting Tuesday.

The mill will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays for tours and shopping.

Del Piero, the mill’s restaurant, will be open for breakfast and lunch until 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 3:30 p.m. Sundays.

The mill, located on Combs Road just east of Rittenhouse Road, offers 30-minute tours for $5. Products for sale include olives, olive oil, honey, pecans, pistachios and artisan breads.

Info: (480) 888-9290.

• Check out the Queek Creek Olive Mill’s website

Nearly a month after taking down its “Opening May 17th” banner, Hickory Ridge BBQ finally opened its doors Saturday on the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads in Queen Creek.

The Texas-style barbecue joint takes its name, in part, from owner Kevin Ridge (pictured below with his wife, Laura), who ran a catering business in California before moving to the East Valley two years ago.

Ridge’s strip-mall space is mostly designed for takeout and catering. A long, gray counter runs the width of the shallow storefront. A couple of small tables can accommodate, maybe, 10 people.

The décor underwhelms. A few star-shaped accent pieces and a piece of needlework reading “Today’s menu: Take it or leave it” hang on the dull yellow walls. The menu is written on the back wall.

What Hickory Ridge lacks in amenities, though, it tries to make up with a tempting lineup of smoked meats, Southern-style sides and desserts.

Sandwiches, served on cornmeal-dusted buns, are good-sized. The pulled pork version ($5.95) has very tender meat, while sliced beef brisket ($5.95) has a smokier flavor.

But the highlight of both sandwiches — and the real star at Hickory Ridge — is the barbecue sauce, which is thick, sweet, tangy and delicious.

Other meats are a mixed bag. St. Louis-style ribs ($11.45 half rack, $19.85 full rack) are under-cooked and a little tough, but they’re fairly meaty and have a pleasant flavor, thanks in great part to the sauce.

The sauce also comes to the rescue of smoked chicken ($8.85), which is slightly on the dry side. Hot links ($8.85), sliced lengthwise, have a spiciness that gradually builds without overpowering.

Sandwiches and lunch entrees include choice of side and bread, while dinners include an additional side. Options include barbecue beans, collard greens, potato salad, macaroni salad and cornbread muffins, all serviceable if unremarkable.

Service is friendly, but a work in progress. The counter person has to ask for help several times while punching my order into the computer. I get cornbread instead of the dinner roll I request. Worst of all, the small sweet potato pie ($2.35) I order for dessert is forgotten.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t drive across the East Valley — past Joe’s and Waldo’s and Cooper’s — for Hickory Ridge’s barbecue. But I’ll definitely stop in again when I’m in the area.

HICKORY RIDGE BBQ
Where: 21805 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek (northeast corner of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads)
Open: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Prices: Sandwiches $5.95, lunch combos $$5.95-$8.95, dinner combos $8.85-$19.85, sides $1.65-$4.45, desserts $2.35.
Info: (480) 987-3995 or hickoryridgebbq.com.

First Taste reviews are based on initial visits to new East Valley restaurants. Full reviews are written after multiple visits, usually over a period of several weeks, after the restaurant has been open at least a couple months.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is celebrating its new restaurant at Rittenhouse and Ellsworth Loop roads in Queen Creek by giving away burritos from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the soon-to-open location.

It will be the chain’s 15th restaurant in the East Valley.

The Queen Creek location officially will open Friday, when free T-shirts will be handed out and the first 100 customers who buy a burrito after 3 p.m. will get a certificate for a free one.

Info: (480) 987-2239 or chipotle.com.

Queen Creek Olive Mill, which traditionally closes for the summer, is staying open this year with weekend-only hours for tours and its restaurant.

Starting Friday, the family-owned business will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

The public can take self-guided tours and sample olives. Visitors also can purchase flavored olive oils, tapenades and stuffed olives, as well as locally produced honey, pistachios, pecans and artisan breads.

The mill’s restaurant, del Piero, offers a full breakfast and lunch menu. During the summer, guests will receive a dollar off any breakfast between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

The mill, 25062 S. Meridian Road, will resume its Tuesday-through-Sunday schedule Aug. 18.

Info: (480) 888-9290 or queencreekolivemill.com.

Quick – how many Paradise Bakery & Cafe stores are in the Valley? On Monday, it’ll be 33 as the Scottsdale-based chain opens its first Queen Creek restaurant.

The new 4,500-square-foot restaurant, 21202 S. Ellsworth Loop Road, will have Paradise’s traditional menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods. It also will offer free Wi-Fi access.

Info: (480) 751-6170 or paradisebakery.com.

It’s hard to figure out Cravings by Gecko Grill, a strip-mall Mexican restaurant that is approaching its one-year anniversary on the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads in Queen Creek.

The first time I step inside, I’m surprised by the swanky décor. With inlaid stone tile floors, polished faux granite tables and punched copper ceiling panels, it seems very much at odds with the nearby farmland.

And there are more surprises when you open the menu, such as a pork chile poblano ($9.25) stuffed with meat that’s been simmered in fruits and spices, grilled in a light egg batter and topped with a pecan cream sauce.

Let me check my bearings again. This is Queen Creek, the edge-of-the-Valley town best known for its peach festivals and olive mill?

Read the rest of this entry »

Schnepf Farms‘ final orchard dinner of the season takes place Saturday, May 10. Fewer than 40 tickets remain for the 100-person dinner, which will be prepared by chef Eddie Matney, who’s about to open his new restaurant, Eddie’s House, in Scottsdale.

The four-times-a-year event, which always has sold out, takes place in the peach orchard of Mark and Carrie Schnepf’s Queen Creek farm (pictured above) and has featured a who’s who of Valley chefs, such as Robert McGrath, Aaron May, Vincent Guerithault and Beau MacMillan.

The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m., and the price is $70 per person, which includes food, wine, tax and gratuity. (Next fall, the price will go up to $90). Dress is “farm casual,” so think jeans or linen shorts. Info: (480) 987-3100.

Mark Schnepf stands in the roadside shack where his family sold vegetables in the 1960s and shakes his head at the steady stream of vehicles on Rittenhouse Road.

“This is now the main road to Johnson Ranch and all the development down there,” he says. “Well, at least it’s bringing a lot more people to the farm.”

Schnepf Farms, a 300-acre parcel in Queen Creek, has been worked by three generations of the Schnepf family. As waves of new homes have washed away neighboring farms, Schnepf’s operation has evolved to survive.

The farm still grows vegetables — including broccoli, cauliflower, beets, corn, turnips and sweet peas — and has Arizona’s largest peach orchard.

Since the early ’90s, however, Mark and his wife, Carrie, have supplemented the farm’s income by hosting seasonal festivals that draw as many as 18,000 people a day, as well as outdoor concerts, haunted houses, wedding receptions and educational tours.

Visitors will find a small railroad, an amusement park, a petting zoo, the state’s oldest still-running carousel, several historic buildings, a small museum and, most recently, the addition of a resident deer herd.

And today, the Schnepfs launch their latest attraction: A full-service restaurant called Fresh From the Farm, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Wednesdays through Sundays.

The restaurant takes over the historic vegetable stand, which had been used in recent years as a country store and bakery. Nate Brown, a banquet cook at The Phoenician resort, has been hired to oversee the kitchen.

The menu, which Carrie Schnepf describes as “good, old-fashioned home cooking,” includes family-recipe comfort foods such as meatloaf (pictured at right), chicken pot pie, biscuits and gravy and, of course, lots of fresh vegetables.

Prices haven’t been finalized, but the most expensive entrée will be less than $20, she says.

Inspiration for the restaurant came from the Schnepfs’ annual trips to the French countryside.

“We wanted to re-create some of that French country feel,” says Mark Schnepf. “Not with the cuisine, but with the décor.”

Rustic chairs and tables with bright country-motif tableclothes provide indoor seating for about 40 people. A small patio can hold another 30. Beyond that, there’s 300 acres for more outdoor tables if the demand is there.

“We’re already a seasonal venue,” he says. “We want to create reasons for people to come year-round.

“We want to create a special place.”

>> Fresh From the Farm, 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek, is open 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. (480) 987-3100.

Move over olive mills and corn mazes, Queen Creek has a new attraction: Its first sushi bar. Sushi Creek, a trendy looking, 2,300-square-foot eatery that seats about 80, recently opened on the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads.

“This community is growing so much,” says Sushi Creek manager Rich Spillane, 26. “It’s basically supply and demand. There’s nothing like this out here.”

The restaurant’s decor features dark wood furniture, a long bar and dramatic lighting. Nigiri and sashimi range from $3.50 to $10. Sushi rolls are $3 to $10.

Queen Creek diners looking for more traditional fare can choose from an “I Hate Sushi” menu that includes steak, pasta and burgers. “About 65 percent of our sales have been sushi,” Spillane says.

During happy hour — 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday — domestic beers are $1.50 and well drinks $2.50. Although normally closed Mondays, Sushi Creek is open for “Monday Night Football” games and offers an a non-sushi tailgate buffet.

Sushi Creek, 21805 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, is open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Info: (480) 677-4333.

Queen Creek’s Schnepf Farms has been growing vegetables for decades. Starting this month, it’ll also be serving them.

“Our farm used to be a destination — someplace you’d make a special trip for an event like one of our festivals — and it didn’t seem smart to open a restaurant,” says Carrie Schnepf, who owns the farm with her husband, Mark. “Now that Queen Creek has grown up, people are driving by the farm on a regular basis. And we feel there’s nothing out here that serves fresh, country food.”

So the Schnepfs are launching the farm’s first full-scale restaurant, called Fresh From the Farm, which will celebrate its grand opening Nov. 1. The restaurant will be in the original farm stand where vegetables were sold in the ’70s. Schnepf says it’ll have a French country village decor and seat 80 to 100 people inside, plus another 80 to 100 outside during cooler months.

The menu will offer “farm country food” — featuring the farm’s broccoli, cauliflower, beets, turnips and sweet peas — for breakfast, lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.

The Schnepfs also want to experiment with a fine-dining experience, so they’re starting a series of chef’s dinners that will be held in the middle of their peach orchard, the largest in the state. “Five years ago, I saw a picture in a magazine,” Schnepf says. “I think it was an apple orchard. It was in another state, but I thought, ‘This is something we could do on the farm.’”

At the first dinner, Sept. 22, two of the Valley’s most acclaimed chefs, Robert McGrath (formerly of Roaring Fork) and Aaron May (Sol y Sombra), will create a special four-course menu. “They’ve promised to come up with some exciting farm-fresh dishes that they’ve never served at their restaurants,” Schnepf says.

The dinner costs $70 per person, which includes wine, tax and tip. Dress is “farm casual,” which means jeans or shorts. Additional chef dinners are planned for November, March and April. For more information or to make reservations, call (480) 987-3100.

Del Piero, the new Mediterranean cafe at Queen Creek Olive Mill, will reopen Tuesday after being closed for the summer. The restaurant, 25062 S. Meridian Road, debuted early this year at the working olive farm and mill. It offers breakfast and lunch on a patio or at picnic tables in the grove. Menu items include pastries, sandwiches and salads. Hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Info: (480) 888-9290.