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 were up in Scottsdale for dance class & decided to eat on our way home. We stopped @ STAX which is in between Camelback Rd and Stetson Dr on Scottsdale Rd. This was during the 6th game of the Suns 1st playoff series & the place was packed! Didn't wait much longer than 5 mins for a table though.
Stax is a very clean "BAR TYPE" restaurant. They offer bench seating, bar seating, & outdoor seating for nice weather days/nights. They serve smaller "SLIDER" type burgers & sandwiches.
Above is the AHI TUNA & PB&J. Both are AMAZING & the value is 10 out of 10 for both! The AHI is $6.00 & the PB&J is $3.00. I could order one of each for lunch & be content. This time out was different. I had 2 AHI, 1 Lamb $5.00, 2 Henry Weinhart Cream Sodas $2.50 each, 1 SWAI (white fish) $5.00. I'd go without the Swai & Lamb next time & recommend the Turkey $5, Beef $5, or PB&J.
The basket of TOTS $4.00 was really good! The Aiolis (Thousand Island type dressing was home made) were tasty & were great on their HOT crispy tots. The basket is large & can surely be shared with 4 adults. My recommendation however would be the Queso Can Carne $4.00 &/or the Spinach & Artichoke w/ chips $4.00. BOTH ARE AMAZING!
Turkey $5.00 & Grilled Chicken Stax-Wich $5.00. Turkey is a 10 out of 10 with it's infused spinach, feta cheese, yellow red bell peppers topped with melted provolone cheese, grilled pineapple, fresh guacamole and pico de gallo on bun. . The chicken was a 6 out of 10 with peppers & grilled golf ball type of chicken.
This is the white fish above. A bit dry & not nearly as flavorful as other STAX items. If you've been here many times try it, if going for the 1st time I'd recommend going w/ something else to taste the "True Stax Experience"
This is the LAMB: Colorado lamb topped with feta cheese, grape tomatoes sitting on a bed of fresh tabbouleh on bun. I'll pass on this one next time as well.
SERVICE: 10 out of 10. Exactly what you'd expect from a place like this. You're not going to have an empty water glass, you'll be asked about your next order every 5-10 minutes, & they'll take good care of you as they have for us multiple times.
VALUE: 5 out of 10 during dinner time 10 out of 10 during happy hour time. The dinner bill was $60.00 but if we had gone during happy hour it would've been almost $35.00. I'd recommend going from 3-6pm sometime & enjoying the atmosphere.
COMFORT: 8 out of 10. Good place to relax, for kids it's a bit tight if it's packed (another reason to go during happy hour) & you're carrying 2 kids w/ ya. If you're going w/ a date &/or a few adults it's a good place to go enjoy a game on TV, drink, happy hour, &/or some filling food.
RECOMMENDATION: GO DURING HAPPY HOUR! We've been to Stax 5-10 times. By ourselves, with kids, friends, out of towners, etc. Everyone likes it but the value is far greater between the hours of 3-6pm. You can also enjoy the venue to yourself usually. Great service, good venue, location is tough to beat for anyone located in Maricopa county, & the 1 of a kind food is FUN & DIFFERENT.
Between the hours of 3-6pm I'd give STAX an: A
During dinner time I'd give it a: B-
