Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
Mobile food in Phoenix. Finally!
What’s Cracking Good — Food trucks
We have a food truck! A bona fide flippin’ food truck!
It seems like all the cool cities have some sort of mobile delicacy that roams around town. Seattle has a cart that sells organic foods. LA has a Korean taco truck. I saw an artisan ice cream truck multiple times while in Brooklyn.
Well now Phoenix has a truck of its own, this one serving…crepes!
Phoenix Truckin’ Good Food cooks up 2 kinds of fresh crepes from their mobile food stand (see menu). They have some set times and places — or you can follow them on Twitter to find out where they are — or where they’re heading.
Good egg award: Best meal under $5
Best meal under $5: BBQ Pork Sandwich and Chrysanthamum Tea with Boba @ Lee’s Sandwiches
I’ll gladly drive the 25 minutes to Chandler to get a Lee’s Sandwich. Delicious French bread baked in-house plus the combination of tangy pickled veggies, fresh cilantro, spicy jalepenos and sweet barbecued meat equals enjoyable sandwich.
Cool down the heat with some iced tea, made even better with some chewy gelatin balls. “Drinks aren’t supposed to be chewed!” says my sister of all boba teas. If that echos your sentiments, then you can get the tea sans balls…but I think they’re amazing.
According to Lee’s Website, the sandwich is only 340 calories — not a bad tally for something that feels nothing like a healthy lunch…and rings in for under $3.
Suggestion: As a sauce-y girl and like to put a touch of mayo on my sandwich for a little more
moisture — but it does add a few more calories and fat grams.
Lee’s Sandwiches
1901 W Warner Rd
Chandler, AZ 85224
(480) 855-1778
Open Daily 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Sweet + savory = delicious
What’s Cracking Good — Salt + sweet
I imagine my love of savory and sweet started when I first stuck a fry into a chocolate shake.
Then came Chubby Hubby (now called Hubby Hubby) ice cream and the Take 5 bar which made that genius move of mixing pretzels, peanut butter and chocolate.
This past holiday season I bought 8 boxes of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels for myself and friends.
So I was very exited to make my newest savory/sweet discovery: La Grande Orange’s chocolate chip cookies with salt.
Here are a few other sweet and salty combos:
1.) Lords of Salt Chocolate Sea Salt, 5.5-Ounce Jars (Pack of 4), $56.82
2.) Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel, $7.49/pound
3.) M&M Chocolate Covered Pretzel, $7
4.) Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel, $10.99
5.) Chocolate and Bacon Candy Bar, $8.99
6.) Salty Sweets, $14.36
La Grande Orange
4410 N. 40th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602) 840-7777
Postino’s $20 deal
What’s Cracking Good — Mondays & Tuesdays
A good reason to love Mondays & Tuesdays: $20 for a bottle of house wine and a board of bruschetta at both Postino locations after 8 p.m.
Put a nice glow on the beginning of the week with a good selection of wines and your choice of 4 bruschetta (view the menu) from a variety of of flavors; My favorite is Prosciutto with Figs & Marscapone.
Postino Central
5144 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
On the SW corner of Central and Colter
(602) 274-5144
Postino Arcadia
3939 E. Campbell Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
Just west of 40th Street facing Campbell
(602) 852-3939
Return of the adventure lunch: Karey’s Kitchen
“Do you still do adventure lunch?” my friend asked over drinks last night.
“It’s been awhile,” I replied.
Entirely too long, in fact. So today my husband and I tried the (relatively) new Filiipino/Mexican fusion restaurant, Karey’s Kitchen. The tiny spot sits on the corner of a strip mall at 40th Street and Thomas and consists of 3 tables and some seats along the wall.
The first thing we noticed post-entrance was the warmth. “Is this your first time?” asked the woman behind the counter and started fishing out marinated meats from several covered bins in front of her with toothpicks for us to taste. The first, Beef Caldereta was delicious and tender in a stew-like sauce. It was followed by Pork Adobo, which was also flavorful in a different, smokier way. The 2 women working behind the counter and in some cases, in the kitchen, chatted with a few of the other patrons like regulars.
Each day the restaurant has several specials which they serve with a side of white or fried rice. One item + rice is $5.50, 2 items is $5.99 and 3 is $6.99. We ordered our food (2 items each), which was ready in a matter of moments. Our meal was hearty and good, though not terribly spicy. The remedy, loads of interesting sauces: A banana sauce, which tastes a bit like sweet & sour, a sweet chili sauce, and a hot Tabasco/Sriracha blend.
There are other items on the menu as well: Egg rolls, burritos, sandwiches and noodles. They’ve recently opened for breakfast, serving omelettes and other egg dishes.
Karey’s Kitchen
4041 E. Thomas Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602) 955-2182
Follow them on Twitter
Order at the counter.
The small but cozy dining room.
The menu board showing the daily specials.
An array of sauces.
Vegetable Chop Suey and Chicken Sotanghon.
Pork Adobo and Chicken Curry.
Two Hippies can open a lot of restaurants
Yet another member of the Two Hippies family opened on Friday, this one located at 7th Street/Cave Creek/Dunlap area.
Like the other joints in the Two Hippies empire, this one will offer a variety of fare (pizza, tacos, hot dogs) at reasonable prices in an eclectic atmosphere.
Kabobs are indeed, Tasty
Visited Tasty Kabob for Sunday sandwiches over the weekend.
Fall lunches at The Farm Kitchen
So many reasons to lunch at The Farm Kitchen: It’s local, it’s delicious, you can walk your lunch off around The Farm and the chicken coups, and you can get desserts and cupcakes that look like this.
Read about the Grilled Chicken BLTDA sandwich on my Sandwich blog >>
Lunching to the Max
What’s Cracking Good — Lunchtime Pho
Maxim’s on 19th Avenue north of Osborn is really nothing to look at. The sign is faded, the concrete has degraded to gravel, but the magic is on the inside.
Actually, inside doesn’t LOOK much better. White tile floor, a bunch of tables with Sriracha and other condiments, and some photos of their dishes. Oh the dishes!
My husband is partial to the Pho Tai, or noodle soup with beef which comes with a heaping plate of herbs, bean sprouts, jalepenos and lime. I love the Vietnamese pancake made with bean sprouts, shrimp and pork. Both of us are crazy about the spring rolls (the friend ones) that come with lettuce and greens to wrap it all up.
Also a bonus, my husband and I usually leave Maxim’s full, with some leftovers and a bill of around $15.
Below is a seafood noodle soup made with rice noodles…
Farm food
I joined Maya’s Farm CSA and started picking up weekly fresh veggies, herbs, flowers and occasionally eggs at the Downtown farmer’s market.
Each week there’s a different selection, some of which might be on my normal shopping list, some which I’ve never cooked, and some which I’ve never heard of.
So far I’ve had some turnip success, had a radish or two I enjoyed…and many I’ve composted. I’ve gotten peppers, greens, potatoes, and last week picked an herb/vegetable which the woman at the booth claimed tasted great if you “just saute with butter and garlic.”
What doesn’t taste great when sauteed with butter and garlic?
Above is a sample of unused basil that eventually made it to my compost pile, before I realized I could dry it and store it.
I just got the form about joining the CSA for the winter season. I like the challenge…but I’m not sure I like the stress.
Maybe I’ll shop the market for my regulars and get a secret ingredient each week.
