Well, we headed out again tonight to try something new. After picking up the old man @ Colter & 16th st we drove west on Missouri & enjoyed the cool upper 70's weather driving w/ the sunroof open & the windows down. Jack Johnson type of music was the only thing missing while en route to dinner.
On the SW Corner of Central & Colter sits a place called POSTINO CENTRAL. Known for the modern/retro atmosphere, on tap wine, & tasty food. We pulled up, handed the keys off to the complementary valet attendant, & walked in. There was an inside table available with no wait so we took it.
As we were walking in we noticed the bruschetta on all the tables so of course we had to order some. For $12.75 you get 4 pieces & can choose 4 different options if you'd like. We had (in order) FRESH MOZZARELLA W/ TOMATO & BASIL, WARM ARTICHOKE SPREAD, WHITE BEAN W/ CHOPPED TOMATO, & SALAMI W/ PESTO.
This was a PHantastic treat to PHlick your taste buds into a euphoric state. WOW!
The atmosphere was very chic. The wait staff was casual. The venue was PHenomenal on all levels. Their menu offers meals that would be considered "LITE" for dinner but it's okay if you're feeling like taking a night off from your usual "Meat & Tatters" type of dinner. You can choose any 2 items from a soup, salad, or 1/2 sandwich together for $9.50.
I ordered the 1/2 sandwich "9-IRON" (hickory smoked bacon, layered w/ grilled chicken, fresh burrata mozzarella, lettuce, beefsteak tomato & dijonnaise on ciabatta) w/ a side "RASPBERRY CHICKEN" salad (organic chicken salad w/ pecans, apples, gorgonzola & mayo w/ raspberry vinaigrette & a bed of fresh greens. 9-10 in taste & value!
The wife went with the "SELECT TWO" as well. 1/2 sandwich was the "TURKEY" (smoked turkey, vine ripe tomatoes, provolone, fresh greens & house made pesto) w/ the "MEDITERRANEAN" salad (crisp romaine w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, yellow pepers, olives & feta cheese w/ tzatziki dressing)... Yes, I said TZATZIKI dressing...
The old man did the 9-Iron w/ no cheese & the "Soup of the moment" which was broccoli cheddar. YES, I was surprised to hear him order this soup as we all know he doesn't eat many veggies but he said the soup was wonderPHul & ate it all. Up to this point of the meal our water glasses were pretty much always full, the PHood was served nice & warm (if meant to be) & we were pleasantly pleased with the entire experience as we said we'd surely come again.
Our waiter recommended the "CHOCOLATE BOUCHON" desert $6.00 which is a hot chocolate sauce filled cake with vanilla bean ice cream. Once this arrived our minds were "BLOWN!!!!" This surpasses anything I've ever had @ Morton's, Cheescake Factory, or Godiva. It was a rich dark chocolate, grainy cake, the ice cream tasted fresh & crisp, when mixed together you almost have a PHantasy PHeel to your being. I may order 3 of these for dinner next time & bring my own 1/2 gallon of WHOLE MILK to drink with them...
I thought I'd throw this pic in as well. How often are you looking for a place to put your gum when you start eating @ a restaurant?
ME? ALL THE TIME!
We found this in the sugar packet holder (I use sugar packets 99% of the time for my gum) & just thought it was unique as we had never seen anything like it.
Comfort was a 8 out of 10: we were in the middle of the main room, good spacing of the tables, & nice ambiance. The table was 25% too small for 5 people to be sitting around (keep in mind we have a 7 month old & an almost 3yr old) but we made due.
Value was a 8 out of 10: $9.50 for a 1/2 sandwich & side salad is good but total of $60.00 for 3 people who don't drink is mediocre. They do have quality ingredients & a great venue to enjoy on a wonderful April Day in THE PHX!
Service was a 8 out of 10: due to the relaxed feel it almost felt like they may have forgot about us a few times. The water glasses are about 8 ounces & w/ the ice it's about 3 sips or so until it's empty. This requires a lot of effort from the staff to keep the H2O flowing! I'm sure it's not the only place that chooses appearance over function for things like water cups but it was a minor issue for us water drinkers.
24 out of 30 total = B-
Recommendation: I'd highly recommend this place if you're in the N.Central part of mid-town PHX. It's going to take 90-120 minutes to enjoy your experience so don't be in an hurry & if possible go without kids, there's not much room to post them up & parts of the venue are attractive to a 3yr old like a playground would be.
GO, ENJOY, EAT GOOD PHOOD @ Postino on Central Ave...
Just a short walk from our new place is a place called "COOPER'STOWN". On the SE corner of 1st st & Jackson is a warehouse looking spot that serves up some of the craziest foods known to sports bar regulars.
We had to get out & enjoy the weather today so we packed up the kids & started walking. Right when we walked in ALICE COOPER greeted us with his crazy life size poster of himself.
The second we sat down we were asked about our drinks & if we'd like some wings, we ordered 10 MAPLE-GARLIC wings & a couple of waters due to our walk in the desert heat. I will tell you, these wings are THE BEST WINGS EVER (to date) that I've tasted. The outside is crispy, the sauce is one of a kind, & the size of the wings are large! I ate 8 of the 10 & handed the greens to the wife.
We also ordered the sliders w/ fries. These 6 sliders are incredible. The grilled onions, pickles, w/ provalone cheese, on some type of sweet hawaiian roll/bread? WOW! The beer battered fries are crispy, tasty, & perfect in the mixture of left over MapleGarlic sauce from the wings.
If you're ever downtown PRE/POST any event @ CHASE FIELD or US AIRWAYS CENTER I'd recommend this place to anyone. Other things that I know are good also: Anything BBQ, The 22 inch "Big Unit" hot dog, the Turkey Club, Cole Slaw (side item), and fries are all good.
The value of food for price is: 8 out of 10
The service was good: 7 out of 10
Comfort is great: 9 out of 10
TOTAL GRADE: 24 out of 30 = MONEY SPOT FOR SURE!
Around 620pm this evening we thought that "CHICKEN & WAFFLES" sounded fantastic!
LoLo's is just south of downtown PHX & with DBAX traffic only about 5 minutes away from our house. NW Corner of Central Ave & Yuma St.
When we arrived we had a parking spot right outside the door, no meter parking here. We unpacked the kids & walked into a warm "Southern Greeting" hostess asking us how many. We said 3 adults & 2 kids, the hostess said: "Sit anywhere ya like" so we found a 4 top table over to the left side & sat. About 5 minutes later we were handed our menus & asked for our "JAR OF DRANK" order; we also gave them our food order as well.
They offer Sweet tea, homemade lemonade, soda, & Kool-Aid on tap. "The Red" is so sugary you wonder if a diabetic attack is going to hit you after your 2nd sip; exactly what a "KID" or "29 YR OLD KID" loves! Unlimited refills & big jars as glasses: $2.50.
The wife ordered 2 side items: a chicken breast $4.00 & Home fries $3.50. The home fries have red & green peppers along with onions diced & sauteed on top of them. VERY TASTY!
I ordered the #3 LoLo's ($11.00) which comes w/ 3 pieces of chicken & 2 waffles. I prefer dark meat so I asked for 3 thighs & 2 extra sides of (BOILING HOT & FREE) syrup. I poured the syrup on my waffles while allowing the chicken to soak up the extra on my plate. As soon as I tasted the mix of fried chicken & maple syrup I thought I had died & gone to heaven! I will tell ya I was STUFFED to the max after my gallon of Kool-Aid, 3 thighs, & 2 waffles but that meal was...
For lack of a better phrase...
SOME SEXY PHOOD!
The "OLD MAN" ordered the "LoLo's Famous Soul PHOOD Platter" ($13.00) which comes with either 3 pieces of fried chicken or 2 pieces of catfish w/ your choice of 2 sides (Waffle & 2 over easy eggs w/ cheese & onion) & cornbread; oh, don't forget the extra side of chicken gravy. The old man chose the catfish & was raving from the 1st bite to the last "Plate Lick"; plate looked like it had just been washed it was so clean.
Service was good: 7 out of 10
I did get up & refill my own drink once without anyone asking to fill it for me. There was NO WAIT AT ALL & we had our food in less than 15 minutes after sitting down. The staff was friendly, helpful, & Larry "LoLo" White was in great spirits as always!
PHood was AMAZING: 9 out of 10
The taste of that fried chicken is unlike anything I've ever tasted in THE PHX! Waffles are good, similar to Waffle House, the HOT HOT HOT syrup is wonderful & makes it far better the the WaHo. The dranks are an old-fashion energy drink w/ double the sugar you'd expect...
I'll keep ordering every single time as well.
I love it!
Comfort was good: 7 out of 10
Older table & chairs no big deal, a little cramped but it's worth it for the PHood.
We had a highchair for our 7month old & everything worked out good.
Over all grade: 23-30 & highly recommended!
I WILL BE BACK, MAYBE WEEKLY!
;)
I woke up this morning around 9am to my wife saying we should go try MATT'S BIG BREAKFAST. We had never been there & I thought it was a cool idea so we packed up the kids & headed off. We live only about 5 minutes away from MATT'S but I met a few people who had driven in from Buckeye & Mesa just to eat there. They too were frusterated w/ the wait & the lack of order the "Hostest" used running "The List" in which you write your name & keep your fingers crossed that you'll be called accordingly.
Sitting on the NE corner of 1st st & McKinley MATT'S isn't exactly "BIG". It's a small older house (700-1100 sq ft w/ seating for 20-30 maybe) that has been turned into a restaurant. Parking is not vast by any means, there is a parking lot to the east but only fits 10-15 cars, I'm willing to bet 1/3 of them are people who work there or live in the hotel to the north. Just make sure to take quarters to pay for meter parking, you are downtown after all. Also keep in mind ASU DOWNTOWN does have classes close by so some of the meters fill up quickly as well.
AFTER WAITING 65 MINUTES outside w/ a 2.5yr old & a 7 month old ($1.50 on the meter per hour) we had our name called. We thought, YA, ABOUT TIME! Little did we know we had waited for a "2 TOP" & it was directly behind the front door. KEEP IN MIND WE HAD 2 KIDS WITH US AS WELL. We were off to a painful start so far.
We ordered right when we sat down, feeling frustrated from our wait. We ordered the "GRIDDLECAKES" $6.00 with 2 oz of maple syrup ($1.50 per extra syrup which you'll need @ least 1 more due to the fluffy cakes) w/ a side of bacon $2.50 & hash-browns $2.00 & the "CHOP & CHICK" $8.00. For the money the PHood was decent, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. The service was mediocre I'd give it a 5 out of 10 (after all they were slammed & getting people in & out like it was their job). Comfort would be a 2-10 for the 2-top table & being hit in the back of my chair every time someone opened the door.
Recommendation: If you are single or couple that have plenty of time to just sit around give it a whirl, if you're in a hurry &/or live far away from downtown PHX I'd say stick w/ the local breakfast joint you already have.
"Organic" is tasty but in my opinion not worth 2hrs out of my day!
TOTAL OVER ALL GRADE: C-
We will not go back unless we for some reason have NO WAIT & a table that seats our party accordingly...
After living in Scottsdale for almost a year it made me realize how many different unique "Hole in the wall" &/or "One of a kind"type restaurants there are in Phoenix; after all, we were driving back to PHX almost daily to eat.
Now I'm not saying there are bad places in Scottsdale, there are many that are great, but we like to eat @ fun, family friendly, spots that are not "chain" type restaurants.
We now live walking distance to the Diamondbacks stadium & eat out 5-10 times a week.
I'm a normal chump, nothing special, who likes to eat good phood & enjoys a good experience.
I run an insurance agency as a full time gig & thought it would be fun to help others online the way I do over texts &/or in person taking them to the actual venues to eat.
Why does my opinion matter?
Frankly, it doesn't, all I can say is I like good phood for a good price with good service, a nice spot is cool also if it's an add-on; I would much rather eat fantastic phood in an outhouse than eat lack luster phood @ a 5 star venue.
I will mention, I do not get paid for this, nor do I get free food for doing this, I'm not tainted by a popular name as a food critic.
You'll get it straight as I see it, no corrupt views here, just plain, honest, reviews of places to eat in our beloved town, THE PHX.
I hope you enjoy all my future posts, if not, let me know what ya think; also feel free to tell me of other places to try. I'm 6'7 255 for a reason: I LIKE PHOOOOOOOOOOOD! ;)
