We woke up today & needed to go to the post office to mail away my niece's 2nd birthday gift: here's a shout out to our lil 2yr old, J.Snow! Since we were up around 7th ave & Indian School we decided to head north a few hundred yards & hit up TWO HIPPIES BREAKFAST JOINT!
I went with the pomegranate flavored lemonade $3. This thing is amazing! They use the old fashion ice that is small & crunchy. The drink is wonderful & highly recommended! I wish they did a refill on these, it goes by way too quick for me...
The wife ordered a Breakfast Bowl which comes with 3 scrambled hippie eggs, has browns, & 2 halves of homemade toast $6 & they allow you to choose 6 toppings as well for your bowl/scramble. She went with the feta cheese, onion, tomato,
After she ordered I was flabbergasted by the offer for an egg scramble for $6 so I went for it also. I decided to go a bit different w/ my 6 toppings of choice however: Onion, Roasted Garlic, Provolone Cheese, Chorizo, Bacon, & Sausage! THE BEST EGG SCRAMBLE I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE! Garlic with Provolone & Chorizo? I thought I had died & gone to hippie heaven for sure... The taters were nondescript but the bread with butter & jam was fabulous & will be hit up time & time again!
Before concluding our order we noticed something called the "HOT JAM SANDWICH" $5 & thought it sounded good so we went for it. It's a stuffed french toast type of contraption; has apricot spread with some type of sweet cream cheese in the middle than grilled like french toast. They give you some powered sugar on top, some butter to spread on top, & some maple syrup so you've got all the bases covered. If you're wondering if we used all the stuff they gave us the answer is an obvious YES! We each had about half & had once again thought we had died & gone to TWO HIPPIE HEAVEN this time! Talk about a "WOW JOINT" this was far out FoSho... Who usually has desert with their breakfast? I guess we're now "That Couple", why not, right? We're soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo groovy after all...
VENUE & LOCATION: 10 out of 10. Fun spot, old dining room feel, tables & chairs are straight out of a dump pile but that's their M.O. here. They have the most random junk all over the walls, comic books, 30yr old posters, advertising gimmicks, etc. Some of it is quite funny actually, where they found it I couldn't even begin to wonder! Location is just north of Indian School on 7th ave on the Melrose curve. I've driven by this strip mall hundreds of times not noticing anything in there but now will be back to enjoy it almost weekly!
VALUE & SERVICE: 8 out of 10. I'd say the PHood for the money was good. The way the PHood tasted & got us full was great! The over all bill was $22.78 for 2 adults & 2 bird eating type kids... We had 1 soda can $1. We had a lemonade $3. We had our loaded toast sandwich $5 & we had 2 egg bowls $6 each. It was a lot of PHood for sure, for the money not bad at all. Service wasn't anything special, felt a little rushed while ordering as it was packed, long line, & didn't know what we wanted to order. Asked the guy up front to help us & he was kind but definitely in a bit of a hurry. Great Value! Decent/Good Service.
COMFORT: 9 out of 10. If you're a 1 or 2 it's going to be a 10. If you've got kids such as we do it'll be fun maneuvering yourself around some of the decorations inside. It was nice since we grabbed the back table & had plenty of room, once we sat down of course. Like I said earlier, the seats, tables, booths, etc. were either given to them for free or salvaged from a 10yr old salvage yard. Not knocking it, just mentioning it so you know it's not going to be like "Good Egg" or any other upper end restaurant you may like eating at. The PHood is served HOT & on plastic plates, you eat with plastic utensils. Not a big deal, like I said, it's the M.O. there, but do be careful when getting PHood from counter & taking to your table, it's HOT & plastic plates don't insulate much.
OVER ALL: A+ for breakfast! Comfortable, well priced, perfect location as it's not in a supermarket parking lot or way too small like Matt's lame breakfast. I'll take out of town visitors here for sure & I'd order my egg scramble again & again! Maybe YOU order my scramble & tell me how it tasted... LEAVE A COMMENT & TELL ME WHAT YOU ATE HERE! Hope ya love tha grooooooovey JOINT! ;)
So we have a few favorites that are not exactly hole in the walls but still tastes like grandma cooked it back on the ranch. We went to Scottsdale & let the lil'gurl run around the Fashion Square Mall for a bit. Z-Tejas was our choice a few nights ago! The wife wanted a strawberry pina colada extra blended $5. This was fantastic. It tasted correct & was decent size for the price! They offer tons of different drink options to choose from so we were very happy to enjoy some good stuff!
Z-Tejas offers free cornbread after you order your meal. They serve it piping hot in the tin, w/ knife, & honey butter. I always ask for an extra honey butter side because it's so dang good & I don't like cornbread unless it's moist! This is wonderful & they'll give you a 2nd one if you ask, so make sure you do... ;)
The wife went with the Jerk Chicken Salad Mixed greens tossed with sesame-ginger dressing and topped with jerk chicken strips, Roma tomatoes, crispy tortilla strips and feta cheese $11.59. This is one of our favorite salads in this world! It's light enough where you don't feel like you've got to "Roll Out" of the restaurant but it's also filling enough so you don't have to get a snack on your way home either. The greens they use are super fresh, crispy, & a perfect mix with the chicken. The feta is not overwhelming & goes very well with the sesame-ginger dressing they offer!
I decided on the Z’ Burger 8 oz. burger served with lettuce, red onion, tomato and jalapeño mayonnaise. 9.49 w/ cheese .50. The fries I chose were the 1/2 sweet potato 1/2 Z'fries as the side. The bun they use is some type of a Hawaiian sweet bread bun & is truly phenomenal every time I've eaten the "Z'Burger" and with cheese added might be one of the best burgers for the money around! I highly recommend this if you're craving a burger & are around the Scottsdale mall.
VENUE & LOCATION: 10 out of 10. Located in the mall & being a brand new (7yrs old or so but very clean) type of restaurant allows me to give a 10 out of 10 here! Valet your car by Crate & Barrel, walk across the street there, in the doors, & get a table @ Z-TEJAS! Enough said!
VALUE & SERVICE: 9 out of 10. The wait staff is very friendly, offer refills often, & the PHood was served with good timing. Value is great considering what you'd pay in Scottsdale at another spot for the same type of PHood! Give it a try, the menu is vast & worth a shot!
COMFORT: 9 out of 10. We had a stroller w/ us as we always do @ the mall & they took good care of us allowing us to put it aside. They also took care of us with 5 people, 2 of which needed highchairs. The dining room is spacious & clean! The tables are correct size & chairs are new & comfortable. This was a very comfortable experience for sure!
OVERALL: A+ Great service, Great PHood, Great experience! Give it a whirl & you won't be disappointed!
We spent 9 days in San Diego & have missed reviewing our local restaurants. I found myself absolutely craving one of my old weekly stops so I decided to take the family for a fun late lunch. We drove over to The Capital Grille located @ the Biltmore Fashion Park & parked in the front spot right by the valet.
Our lil'gurl had to take a picture with her crackers that was served as soon as we sat down. They also serve piping hot rolls as well in the same basket. These crackers are huge & entertaining for the kids, if in fact you even take kids to The Capital Grille...
As I have done about 25 times I went with my usual Ribeye Steak Sandwich with Caramelized Onions and Havarti w/ cream spinach as my side $18. I absolutely crave this sandwich & find myself often driving over to the "Grille" just to quench the craving! The roll is soft but pointed in taste, the onions are caramelized perfectly, & the steak is easily a $20 steak as a dinner entree later in the evening! The wife has never once tried cream spinach at other venues such as Ruth's Chris or Morton's but did @ the "Grille" & absolutely loved it! My kids loved it also & it was fun to watch a 3yr old & an 8 month old eat it.
The wife went with The Grille’s Signature Cheeseburger with Truffle Fries A Blend of Chopped Sirloin, Smoked Bacon and Sweet Onions $16. Amazing in every way for sure! The burger is one of a kind with all it offers & the fries offer many different type of tastes. The burger was cooked perfectly & the kids loved sharing with mom on this plate as well...
The fries are covered in spices & oils & are so very tasty. They'll also give you any type of "DIP" you desire, we went with a few, fry sauce, honey mustard, & some type of sweet & sour mix they offer. Give this a try sometime, it's wonderful...!
VENUE & LOCATION: 10 out of 10. Venue is a white tablecloth type of spot, very "Frank Sinatra" type of place; It's great! Parking is now paid parking but they'll validate it for you if needed. I choose to park in my "Secret spot" where I don't have to walk far nor pay for parking, we'll keep this my lil'secret for now however...
VALUE & SERVICE: 8 out of 10. If you're looking for the dollar menu this is not the place. However if you're looking for a "Presidential type lunch" this is certainly an option for sure! The service is a 10 out of 10 but the $50 lunch is sometimes too pricey for what you get. I'm not complaining as I love this place but it is sometimes costly & may feel like the value isn't exactly always there...
COMFORT: 10 out of 10. I usually sit at the bar if I'm alone, I can talk w/ other businessmen, watch ESPN, & get refills quickly by the gal who usually is always there bar-tending. If I'm with a party I usually pick table #2 in the bar area but over by the windows. It's very private & gives you great room to spread out. I love either location & would gladly choose these 2 spots over a normal table in the main room. I've never been uncomfortable while dining @ "The Grille"...
OVERALL: A+ Amazing PHilling PHood, tip top service, & amazing location for those who live downtown, in Central/South Scottsdale, or Arcadia. This is one of my favorite places, even though it's not a hole in the wall, in the entire country! ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT & WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE & EVERYONE!!!
The old man offered to take us out for some tasty yet affordable PHood the other night so we al decided on TEXAZ GRILL. On the NE corner of 16th St. & Bethany Home is (what looks like) a 100yr old strip mall of shops. TEXAZ is located on the corner of the little mall & famous for it's eclectic wall coverings, quality food, & affordable prices.
With each of our meals we got a salad. They have a house dressing that is mustard vinaigrette & a very good ranch as well. These salads are fresh! They use good lettuce, not wilted "Give Away Lettuce" like other restaurants that offer a complementary salad with your meal.
The wife ordered the chicken kabob Four chicken breast fillets skewered with mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, tomato and a little seasoned salt with mash patatoes w/ gravy $12. The chicken is so PHlavorPHul & juicy, the veggies are crispy & PHresh! If I were going for lunch I'd get this meal almost every time myself, it's a good amount of PHood, fresh, & filling.
I decided to go with the BBQ SPECIAL with 3 BBQ ribs, 3 slices of brisket, & 1 hot link; it also had mashed potatoes w/ gravy $16. I only ate half of this meal but but it was delicious! The BBQ sauce was homemade & incredible. A little watery compared to store bought BBQ sauce but the flavor was on point! The meat on the ribs was soft, fell off the bone, & tasted great, especially dipped in the sauce. The brisket was a bit over cooked & stiff. The hot link was certainly spicy! It was the 2nd best thing on the plate after the ribs. I also love the gravy @ TEXAZ! I usually get an extra side of it $1 to have w/ the potatoes & this time was no different, I did split the side with the old man for his taters also...
The old man is famous for ordering things while he's out that he wouldn't normally make or eat @ home. He did the FRIED catfish $12 & loved it! It's been coined the BEST CATFISH IN THE VALLEY up til now from the old man. It was light & flaky in all the right ways. The amount was enough to eat 1/2 there & take 1/2 home. Make sure if you order this you use the lemon squeeze they give you, it's not the same without it! What a great plate here, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PRICE!
VENUE & LOCATION: 9 out of 10. A 1 of a kind type of hole in the wall. The location is very easy to access from all areas, the venue has stuff on the walls that has been there for over 20yrs, the venue is old but fun to look at! Parking isn't exactly a strong suit nor is the waiting area if you've got a long wait. If it's not packed it's not a big deal, if it's packed you'll know before you park. There is only 15-20 parking spots in the entire strip mall.
VALUE & SERVICE: 10 out of 10!!!! The PHood is worthy of double the costs, it's fresh, hot when served, marinaded wonderfully, filling, & just flat out good! The service is friendly & good! I don't normally give a 10 out of 10 but this was deserving of a 10!
COMFORT: 9 out of 10. If being surounded by cluttered walls & good PHood isn't your thing than TEXAZ isn't your place. If you like PHood that would be cooked @ some type of ranch cookout in TEXAS or ARIZONA than this is the 1st place you need to go to in PHOENIX! The seats & booths are older than the word "TEXAZ" & are nothing special, the small dining room is really tight but you'll get over it & understand the PHood is worth the lack of true comfort here!
OVER ALL: "A" Gotta go to TEXAZ if you want a good fresh dinner for a good price!
GIVE IT A SHOT BUT PLEASE DON'T TELL EVERYONE, WE DON'T WANT TOO MANY PEOPLE EATING THERE & MAKING OUR WAIT TOO LONG!
http://texazgrill.com/
We were really craving some solid hole in the wall Mexican PHood so we headed up to the SW corner of McDowell & 16th street & went to La Cocina Mexican Food Restaurant.
When we walked in we were greeted with by 2 friendly ladies who walked us through the menu, which has pictures on it so you know what you're ordering, & were pleased to see that they had Apple Soda as well!
We requested some chips & helped ourselves to their salsa bar w/ sliced cucumbers. One of the ladies also made us some of their "Special Salsa" (black bowl) which was tasty & mild. The chips were so hot when they were served & after adding some salt were PHabulous!
The wife ordered the 5 tacos for $5 special. They're mini tacos with double corn tortillas. These had good quality chicken with good seasoning. They were served warm & had some onion mix on them as well. The wife said she'd certainly get these again & was impressed with how filling they were (3.5 of them) with out being overwhelmingly stuffed. It was a relatively lite dinner she said...
I went with the Pastor Plate $6.95, served with rice, beans (w/ cheese), pico, guacamole, & a few PHlour tortillas. The marinade was great & I was impressed with my own little tacos w/ the beans, pico, guac, & meat... It was wonderPHul PHood PHor sure, especially for the price!
VENUE & LOCATION: 8 out of 10. It was very clean, a little older in decor (but after all you're not going to a place like this for decor), & the building was spacious inside. The location is great, especially if you're coming from the north, west, or south. If you're coming from the east valley you'll have to get off on the 51, then McDowell or get up to 7th st & back track to the SW corner of McDowell & 16th st.
VALUE & SERVICE: 9 out of 10. As good as you'd need for a place like this. The ladies went above & beyond for us. Helped us through our orders, made us some special salsa, brought our PHood to us (rather than calling our order up), cleaned our table, etc. Value was good as well, This type of PHood in Scottsdale @ a nicer place could have been $25+ total. I'd give them an A on V&S for sure!
COMFORT: 8 out of 10. Not the most secure area necessarily, nothing to be afraid of either. The inside was spacious but fast food feeling, which it kinda sorta is I guess... Still very good, just explaining what we noticed here.
OVER ALL: A-
Good PHood.
Good Location.
Good spot to hit up, monthly perhaps!
We picked up the old man @ the 51 & Camelback to go to dinner. We went to a local hole in the wall (not yet reviewed on here) & it had a 30-45 minute wait for our party. We were not in the mood to wait so we drove 10 feet north on 16th st & pulled into "THE VIG UPTOWN" & handed off the car to their free valet. The Vig is a very interesting, dental office building look alike, on the NE corner of Beth.Home & 16th st. It was packed because the Sun's game & had about a 15 minute wait. Rather than wait we went in the back, played some botche ball, & ordered some PHood @ their "Hang Out Area".
We decided to get the guacamole appetizer w/ the roasted tomato salsa $8.00. The chips are fresh, thin, & salty; all a good thing! The salsa is thin, spicy, dense in flavor, & lite. The guac had tomato's, onions, & some other spices that made it very delicious; it was also very refreshing on a 90 degree day & hit the spot as an appetizer. 
The old man went with the Love Me Tenderloin. It's a bistro tenderloin, grilled to your order, sliced and served with red onion marmalade, cheesy dauphinoise potatoes, asparagus and wild mushroom sauce $16.00. The potatoes were heaven! The meat was cooked medium rare & delicious with the mushroom sauce soaked into it. Very nice plate here!
The wife went with the Good Korma cauli ower, carrots, green beans, peas, potatoes, red peppers, onions, paneer cheese and cashews in a creamy coconut-curry sauce with basmati rice and grilled naan bread $12.00. I was put off by this myself but it just wasn't for me. The wife loved it, ate 1/2 of it because of the amount of PHood, & said it was fantastic! PHor the price it was top grade she says. I did have a taste of the curry sauce to see how it tasted, it had a very deep curry taste, many layers of curry & well done.
I went with the Carne Asada on a Potato Pancake sliced carne asada on a potato pancake with guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, cotija cheese and roasted tomato-garlic sauce $15.00. I was very intrigued by this on the menu but once it was served I was a bit perplexed. The sauce is overwhelming & having just eaten a guacamole appetizer I was "GUAC'D OUT". The potato pancake was different, somewhat cool when served, & had interesting texture and taste. The carne asada was tasty but served somewhat cool. I wouldn't get this plate again personally but apparently it's a popular re-order by people who frequent The Vig.
VENUE & LOCATION: 10 out of 10. The building is awesome! The boche ball was a fun babysitter for our 3yr old while we waited for our PHood & design is better than most any place in PHOENIX! Location is tough to beat being just 1/2 mile off the 51 & just north of Bethany Home.
VALUE & SERVICE: 7 out of 10. The service wasn't bad but wasn't exactly superb. 3 adults ate w/ 2 drinks & 1 appetizer for $70. It's better than some regarding the price but for what we received & the quality of PHood I'd give it a C-.
COMFORT: 8 out of 10. For being a busy night it was fine. We had to settle with a couch & coffee table in their lounge area. It was fairly relaxing since we didn't need a formal table & chairs. The rest of the venue looked very comfortable & I'd look to get a booth if you're trying to watch a game in the main dining room.
OVER ALL: B+ The Vig has good PHood, medium prices, cool feel to the venue & a relaxed wait staff that makes you feel unrushed & comfortable. I'll go back again but would order what the old man got, stick with a burger, or one of their interesting sandwiches. Give it a try, go on a date there sometime, or catch a game @ their bar.
Been sick for a few days & decided to go out & enjoy some quality pizza @ the 20th st & Highland NYPD (New York Pizza Dept.) We pulled into the parking lot which is overwhelmingly busy due to FRY's grocery store & dropped the wife off to get a table. She walked in & was placed into a corner booth right away. We placed our order & got our drinks all within five minutes of walking in.
We ordered their honey BBQ wings, all wings. This sauce they use here is the best honey BBQ around, it's sweet, spicy, & tart all at the same time. It's a very dense sauce & is wonderful on these wings. The wings have a crispy skin that is crunchy in all the right areas & with ranch mixed in these wings will take you for a very enjoyable ride!
The pizza here is the BEST PIZZA IN ALL OF PHOENIX! We ordered a Pepperoni & cheese pizza. It was served extremely hot, the cheese was gooey in all the right ways, & the dough is different than any type of pizza dough in the valley.
We just did pizza & wings, & it was wonderful, filling, & priced well.
After tax & tip we got out of there for around $24.00 & had 1/2 of the pizza to take home w/ us.
VENUE & LOCATION: 9 out of 10. Right by FRY's makes the parking sometimes pretty hectic & the bathrooms are a little "Gas Station Like" with the age & lack of cleanliness. I'd still give it a 9 due to how easy it was to get in & out, being 1 minute off the AZ51, & the NYC decor inside the dining room.
VALUE & SERVICE: 10 out of 10. Our waitress was wonderful, she was always on top of our drinks, asking about the quality of our PHood, & making sure we were good the entire time. The value is A+ with regards to getting what you pay for here. The pizza is 100 times better than any mainstream big name pizza spot & if you're only ordering pepperoni like us also offers better taste that the small swanky pizza spots. They do offer a bunch of different flavors of pizza but I've found the pepperoni to be my absolute favorite pizza of all time!
COMFORT: 8 out of 10. It's a bit tight in there, they probably have 1-2 too many tables in the main room. The tables are a bit small for all the PHood but it's not really that big of a deal.
Over all: A+ if PHood is all you care about A- if you need a tip top restaurant experience.
I'D GO ON THE RECORD FOR SAYING IT'S THE BEST PIZZA IN ALL OF PHOENIX; GIVE IT A TRY WHEN YOU WANT SOME PIZZA & WINGS!
The old man & I were on baby duty the other night & decided to go to a "Chain" burger joint that feels & certainly tastes like a hole in the wall type place we all love. On the SW corner of Camelback & 20th st sits SMASHBURGER!
The lil'gurl got a kids meal $3.99 which comes w/ regular fries, good size cheeseburger w/ no produce, & a small drink. More than enough food for our 3yr old princess!
The old man got the 1/3 pound SMASHBURGER w/ no cheese $4.99. He thoroughly enjoyed it & said it was one of the better burgers he had tasted in a while.
I decided to stuff myself (regretted this decision later) & ordered the 1/2 pound Classic Smashburger $5.99 w/ cheese & the Smashfries w/ olive oil, garlic, rosemary, & other herbs as they say. The fries are fantastic & the burger is very good as well. Smashburger is a fast PHood type of place, walk in, order, pick a table & sit down. Once your order is done it's coming to your table by one of their runners. I know this is gross but some type of sewer is leaking out front or perhaps a trashcan is spilling over because it's terribly smelly outside. Besides that major issue the experience was very enjoyable. Fast service, good PHood, decent prices for what you get, & a good location in central PHoenix.
VALUE & SERVICE: 9 out of 10.
The service was fantastic & exactly what you'd expect from a place like this. 10 times better than any other fast PHood type place but value maybe is a few bucks from being a 10 out of 10. The fries were $1.79 w/ a purchase of a sandwich & $2.79 without a sandwich purchase. Both are overly fair amounts but I found a chicken option to the sandwiches @ $7.00 a bit steep, $4.00 milkshakes, $7.00 jack in the box type salads.
Still 9 out of 10 is good for them!
COMFORT: 7 out of 10.
The smell outside alone should take this down to a 3 out of 10 but I'm going to be fair to these guys. The inside is exactly what you'd expect. Normal tables & chairs along w/ a few padded benches through out & a soda fountain for free self served refills.
VENUE & LOCATION: 9 out of 10.
Camelback & 20th st. Brand new restaurant. Nothing amazing with design or incredible construction w/ regards to the building, but then again, it's SMASHBURGER, what did you expect?
RECOMMENDATION: If you've played out your "IN & OUT" card Smashburger is a solid burger alternitive. I wouldn't go here if I was craving a salad or 5 star service but I would recommend giving it a try the next time you're over by LAST CHANCE or the BILTMORE AREA!
B+
So I went to check the mail & the PHX MAGIZINE was sent to me, well, long story short they had some spread about the HILLSIDE SPOT in Ahwatukee & all it's success & loyal followers. The pictures were of some amazing PHood & I decided that second that we were going to be eating there that night! So we took the 20 min drive from downtown PHX to Ahwatukee which is a suburb on the south side of south mountain (the one w/ all the red lights blinking in PHX for those who know it by that & live out of town) & known as a decent part of town but for years has been a restaurant black hole due to many trying but failing to succeed down there.
We arrived & were surprised by the fact it was in a stip mall, by the pictures we thought we may have another St. Francis or Postino's on our hands, not the case. We put in our name for a 4 top table. We waited 25 minutes & wondered why there were 5-8 vacant tables inside but we were not being seated. Once we were finally sat the lights inside shut off & it was pitch black, yes, completely dark! Could not read the menu or see what I was grabbing on the table for about 4-5 minutes. They finally turned the lights back on & I ordered some "Homemade Lemonade" which was very tart but tasty. Reminded me a lot of Chick-Fil-a lemonade. We ordered a lemonade for the lil'gurl & she didn't take a 2nd sip, too tart for her but we were charged for both @ a $3.50 premium.
The guacamole appetizer was delicious. Had some type of pineapple, tomato, cheese, mix. The chips were stale to begin with but actually got use to them. For $7.00 I'd say with fresher chips I'd order this again.
I wanted to try something I couldn't make @ home or find anywhere else so I went with the Croque Monsieur Open face French hot sandwich prepared w/ rustic French Bread, Bèchamel (it’s like a white gravy), sliced Ham, Gruyere Cheese. Served w/ hand cut fries & I also added (at no extra cost) an over easy egg to the top of it. This was certainly a one of a kind type dish. It's served on 2 french bread rolls & cut in half, than laid on their sides, the meat & Bechamel is added than baked. Very crispy, dense, warm, & interesting. If you're looking for something different & filling this is a great $8.00 option.
The wife got her usual side of fries $3.00, which are world famous (claimed by restaurant) because they're never frozen. Comparable but more salty than In & Out fresh fries.
The wife got the Tunisian Grilled Vegetable Salad a combination of Kale, Spinach, Tomato, Vegetables, & Olives. Served w/ a simple vinaigrette. $8.00. Had some interesting persuasions with the Kale & spinach along w/ the vinaigrette. A one of a kind salad you can only get @ the HILLSIDE SPOT.
Our lil'gurl went with the $3.00 butter sauce pasta which was served with nothing else. With the fries she shared w/ her momma & her lemonade we got out of here for about $9.00 for her portion of PHood. Somewhat a disappointment with regards to the kid menu, not very deluxe considering the type of "SPOT" we were at.
OK, NOW THE PHUN PART! The sole reason I wanted to eat here so bad was the picture in PHX MAG of the apple pie alla-mode. When we sat down for dinner I mentioned to the waitress we were very excited to try the apple pie. She mentioned they were out of Vanilla ice cream & wouldn't be serving apple pie with out it. Long story short, after I talked w/ the manager, he gave us a slice to go, & STILL CHARGED ME FULL PRICE FOR THE APPLE PIE NON-ALLA-MODE! Let's just say that when I handed him the card about being reviewed by us he almost fell on the PHloor. I told him exactly what I tell every place, "We'll give you another chance because tonight was a debacle", he looked & me in relief. I still have to review it the way I see it however.
VENUE & LOCATION: 5 out of 10.
The inside was cool, nice firepit out side, but in a stip mall & in Ahwatukee. If you live down there you're loving this location but for the rest of the valley it's tucked in behind south mountain & not worth the drive.
VALUE & SERVICE: 2 out of 10.
They ran out of ice cream, the server was having an obvious bad 1st night working there, the hostess was running around like a Beverly Hills Blondie chicken with her head cutoff. They have the hostess stand smack dab in the middle of the "SPOT" & it's confusing as to which door you go into & who you talk to to get a table. It took us 20 minutes too long to get a table, especially since there were empty tables the entire time we were waiting. The PHood was good but the fact that I paid almost 10 bucks for my daughter's lack luster PHood is irritating. I can take her to Ruth's Chris for $13.95 & she can eat prime Fillet Mignon for crying out loud! No big deal, ;-) Not much offered on the service side of things as the manager mentioned to me he had to hire a bunch of people & then fire them, about 3 seperate times. I'm sure it's tough to find good people to work but if that's the case find a professional serving crew or don't offer a waiter type experience; have people order @ the counter & have the PHood ran out to the table. SIMPLE AS THAT!
COMFORT: 7 out of 10.
Once we finally got our table & the lights were turned on it was fine. We had our own corner booth & it worked out well for us.
RECOMMENDATION:
I will go back but only because I'm a man of my word & I told the floor manager / partner that we'd give him another chance. As of now I can't recommend going here unless you live in the store next door & have a free PHood coupon for any item on the menu.
D- total grade for 1st visit: 2nd visit review to come down the road...
Hopefully they're still in business...
On the NE corner of 12st & Mohave in Downtown Phoenix you'll find one of the best Mexican PHood spots around. Do not go here for a PHancy meal. Do not go here for amazing service. Do not go here for anything other than PHantastic Mexican Phood because that's exactly all they offer!
When I walked into Carolina's today I was greeted by about 20 people waiting for their PHood in the main lobby area. They have an extensive menu on the wall (looks like it's been there since day one in the 1970's) & it all looks amazing! I got a drink with my order & enjoyed the Manzanita Apple Soda you only find once in a blue moon here in the states.
Notice & enjoy the styraphome everything is served in. Like I said, not the venue for a trendy night out. The wife ordered the Combo #8 $4.95 which consists of 2 cheese enchiladas, lettuce, re-fried beans, & Mexican rice. The sauce on top of the enchiladas was mediocre & the cheese was hard to notice with the extensive flavors & spice from the dark sauce. The rice & beans were fantastic but not worth even an 8 minute drive from our townhouse. The wife will be ordering something different next time she goes here.
This is the Manzanitta apple soda, you can get can's @ Wal-Mart & some Mexican markets but other than that it's almost impossible to find. When I saw it on tap I was ecstatic & drank an entire cup of it before the PHood came out. This is enough reason for me to go back monthly & experiment on dishes until I find one I love more than life itself.
I went with the Combo #6 which offers Chorizo, potatoes, rice, beans, lettuce, & one of the "Best tortillas in town" that is the size the skin of a regulation basketball. I made 3 seperate suto burrittos out of my massive tortilla & goodies on my platter. The "On Tap Hot Sauce" is also very good & highly recommended to those who like that type of stuff. For the costs, this plate was tough to beat. If I ordered again I'd request extra meat as it was pretty lite in this dish, the potatoes were a bit dry & lacked the presence of cheese on top of it.
VENUE & LOCATION: 5 out of 10. Let's be honest, if this was a different type of place it would be a 0 out of 10. The building is a year or two from being condemned & torn down. The neighborhood is sketchy at best & this is during the 1pm lunch hour. I give them the benefit of the doubt because @ this point it's almost their M.O. to have a hole in the wall x's 1000 curb appeal.
VALUE & SERVICE: 10 out of 10. When you can go stuff yourself for $12.02 & have unlimited refills on the soda you've found yourself a winner. Everything on the menu is priced below market value & looks tasty (peeking on other people's plates) as anything. Service was as good as you'd expect. They take your order @ the counter, make your PHood in the kitchen (which you can see) & hand it to you about 10 minutes later. Other than that you're serving yourself.
COMFORT: 7 out of 10. As long as you don't mind eating in a main dinning room straight out of Chihuahua Mexico you'll be fine. If you're worried about safety outside the restaurant, cleanliness, interior design, &/or age of the table this place may not be your spot. I'm not worried about much & enjoyed every bit of my authentic experience @Carolina's Mexican PHood "The best tortillas in town" just south of Downtown PHX!
RECOMMENDATION: Give it a try, it's $5.00 a plate for crying out loud! Pre Dbax or Suns game drive down 7th st a mile & go east on Mohave. Keep your opinions to yourself & enjoy some authentic Mexican phood!
B- until we find something worth dying PHor!
