When in Phoenix

Just back from Arizona and the conclusion of our big trial and tribulation. One of the only redeeming factors about the stress, agony, and 20 hour workdays that come with long court cases in far off places is the opportunity to explore a new city's food scene. Because really, and perhaps a little sadly, when all you're doing is shuttling from work to bed and back again, food becomes the highlight of your day.

As suburban-centric as Phoenix is, there are some fabulous food spots (gasp) close to downtown. Here are some of our favorites that made repeat appearances in the mealtime rotation:
Switch
2603 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 264-2295

All the food here is rich and delish, good comfort food for us road weary attorneys. Think ham & gouda crepes and chicken pot pie galletes. Cool modern atmosphere so we didn't feel embarassed taking our expert witnesses there. Try the happy hour (3-6pm) for $3 vodka-spiked Italian soda spritzers. Just the thing on a 110-degree day. Eesh.

Fez
3815 N Central Ave # B
Phoenix, AZ 85012
(602) 287-8700

Mediterranean / Morrocan meets EZ's. Apparently the same owners as Switch, and it shows. A perfect pickmeup was the cinnamon dusted sweet potato fries with a pomegranate cabernet. Also enjoyed the fez salad on more than one occasion.

The Wild Thaiger
2631 N Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Lame name, I know, but they surprised us good. I could not get over the fresh lemon basil in the grapao - I had to fend off all the neighboring forks that kept darting over into my plate.

Barrio Cafe
2814 N. 16th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006

I saved the best for last - Comida Chingona!! We celebrated the end of our first week of trial with two pitchers of Barrio Cafe's special margaritas. What an intimate, artsy, sexy little place, perfect for a first date. I was shocked by the prices until I tasted the food. Now those were some $20 enchiladas.

Until next time, Buen Provecho!
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DeWese's Tip Top Cafe

2814 Fredericksburg Road
(210) 732-0191
Open Tuesday to Sunday at 11am, Closed Mondays
On the Menu

As a little girl, whenever I would visit my abuela's little house in Mercedes, Texas, deep in the Rio Grande Valley, there was something very comforting about how everything was always the same. The same little yard with the aloe bush and a forked tree in the front perfect for climbing. The sight of my abuelita in her little bata house dress, eternally at the stove turning tortillas on her comal (which I use to this day in my kitchen). The same smells of chopped onion and bright cilantro and refried frijoles wafting about her small two bedroom home. It was everything ordinary in the most extraordinary way.

That's kind of how I feel about DeWeese's Tip Top Cafe. The place is over fifty years old and probably looks the same way it did when it was opened with its wood paneling, mounted deer heads, and floral curtains. But it's these same sights and sounds that great you when you walk in that make you feel at home. And they're also what enhance a menu full of Texas all-stars.

This past weeked my honey and I met my parents for Sunday lunch at the Tip Top. We started with a towered plate of fat onion rings, which arrived hot with a perfectly golden, crispy crust. They were a sight to behold. I need to start taking pictures.

I was torn between the cheeseburger and the chicken-fried steak, but dear old dad ended the agony and graciously offered to order the latter so that we could split them. The burger bun was lightly buttered, just like the rolls. The chicken fried steak was hot with a crispy crust that was not at all sogged with grease.

Incidentally, service was tops, excuse the pun. I never had a cold coffee cup and we sat, put our orders in, and had our food right away, despite the full house.

For dessert we settled on a slice of chocolate pie and the cherry cobbler. The pie was a let down. The meringue had a rusty taste to it, and the chocolate filling was slimy with a chalky taste. The cobbler, on the other hand, stole the show - equal parts tart, juicy berry and thick, chewy crust. The syrup had a tart sweetness, too. A perfect end to a perfect lunch at home.

Until next time, Buen Provecho!

FINAL WORD: San Antonio institution perfect for a quick bite or lunch after church.
PANZA RATING: A
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Picante Grill

(210) 822-3797
3810 Broadway

Due to travel and hectic work schedules, my honey and I ate Easter lunch with my parents at a restaurant this year (instead of the usual honeybaked ham at home). To avoid crowds, we opted for our tried and true Picante Grill. The Poso Family has done a remarkable job with this little gem on Broadway. Over the years, they have expanded space and staff, while maintaining reasonable prices and a lovely sense of family hospitality and intimacy.


Creative mexican food in San Antonio is rare - more often than not, mexican food here translates to standard "Tex-Mex." To keep the menu lively and innovative, Sra. Poso regularly travels to her home state in interior Mexico every year, bringing back new recipes from the likes of Yucatán, Puebla, Veracrúz, and Oaxaca. Never to be missed is Sra. Poso’s renowned chile en nogada, or a baked chile stuffed with roasted fruit infused pork and a walnut sauce bejeweled with pomegranate seeds. It is a must-have when it’s available. Yesterday’s winners were the cabrito (stewed baby goat) and tacos de pescado (fish tacos). The cabrito had been stewed in its light tomato sauce so perfectly that I barely had to chew it - it was heaven wedged in Picante's thick corn tortillas with chopped cilantro. The fish tacos were large (fish tacos in town tend to be small and more loaded with cabbage or coleslaw then fish) and baked, not fried, in a red chili sauce (pasillas perhaps?) - a superior choice for bringing out the fresh, clean flavor of the white fish.

My honey had the pork in achiote sauce. Because Picante Grill has a cochinita pibíl (slow roasted pork) that is a family favorite, I had high hopes and quickly reached over to stab at the pork when it arrived. I was immediately disappointed - the sauce was overwhelmed with the licorice flavor of anise. The paella was also a let down. The seafood was delicious - very juicy, not rubbery and undercooked, but I couldn't taste any saffron in the rice.

As always, our waiter was friendly and attentive. I also noticed that someone had taken some time with the presentation of our dishes. They looked beautiful, all carefully arranged and garnished. I guess it's that's loving attention to detail that keeps us going back to Picante Grill.

Until next time, Buen Provecho!

FINAL WORD: Creative dishes transported by attentive service, family atmosphere
PANZA RATING: A-
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Lisa's

Lisa's Mexican Restaurant
(210) 433-2531
815 Bandera Road


Remember that sitcom Cheers? My honey and I grew up with that show, so perhaps it was embedded in our psyche that we had to find a neighborhood spot where "everybody knows your name." When Lisa's moved from their old location to Bandera, mere blocks from our house near Woodlawn Lake, we couldn't wait to try it out. And we weren't disappointed! We have dined in on at least five separate occasions, including lunch, breakfast, and late dinner (post-9pm). The food and service are terrific. If you are looking for a solid place to take a large group at the last minute, this is it.


My favorite meal is the shrimp nachos, because Lisa's never overcooks their shrimp - they are large, plump, and perfectly pink. My honey and I recently ordered the parilla for two. For $20 we got a huge platter of beef and shrimp fajitas, with corn tortillas that arrived warm. The guacamole that came as a side was homemade, you can tell by the larger size chunks of avocado in there.

This brings me to one of the best things about the food at Lisa's - the charro beans. The fajitas come with a little cup on the side. Tex Mex comfort food at its finest! The smell and the taste of the warm bean broth were right on - I felt like I was tasting my abuelita's frijoles again, que Dios le bendiga. I was spooning it in like soup and savoring every slurp.

Another must have at Lisa's is the michelada. For those of you who don't live in Texas, or do live in Texas except under a rock, micheladas are like Bloody Marys but with Mexican beer instead of vodka. It's hard to make a michelada properly, because without the perfect mix of beer, tomato juice (or clamato), and the right splashes of hot sauce and fresh lime juice, really what you are going to end up with is the way your beer tastes the morning after you drank too much of it. Not good. Lisa's has one of the best micheladas in the City. Plus they serve it in a cold glass with a salted rim. Mama I'm home.

The icing on the cake at Lisa's is that everyone is so darn friendly. Ode to a place where the water glasses are never low and the panza is never empty.

Until next time, Buen Provecho!

FINAL WORD: Modern family spot with authentic Tex Mex, consistently exceptional service.
PANZA RATING: A-
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Ciao La Vanderia

(210) 822-3990
226 East Olmos Drive

Look, I'm an easy girl to please on date nights, but when my honey told me he made reservations at an italian restaurant for Valentine's Day, I was a little meh. Italian on Valentine's? "How cliche" said I to my obnoxious little foodie self.


Oh ye of little faith. I brightened as we pulled up to the charming little Ciao La Vanderia in the gorgeous, woodsy part of the Olmos Park neighborhood. Noticeable absence of the cheesy white and red table cloths so typical of so-called "authentic" italian eateries? Check. Intimate, sleek, yet non-pretentious atmosphere? Check. Old laundry machine and dryer vent pipes? Check. Wait, what? Oh yeah, the place used to be a washateria. Tongue-in-cheek. Cute. I dig it.

Upon entering Ciao, my honey swelled with pride when we noticed the mayor of Saytown dining with his wife in a romantic little corner. We assumed that this was a reflection of my honey's impeccable taste in date night venues. Can he pick 'em or what? I have to say, we were excited about this new little find.


The Valentines menu was a fixed 3-courses with 2 or 3 choices for each course. We started with a mascarpone stuffed mozzarella and rabbit ravioli. The mozzarella was drizzled with olive oil and flavored with vibrant fresh basil, sea salt and fresh black pepper. Perfect seasoning, and the first bite was bliss. Same with the ravioli. Even though my honey and I plate swap regularly, he glared a bit when I honed in on the ravioli, swirling the juicy bits of pasta wrapped rabbit in the light brown sauce.

Both dishes were incredibly fresh. The mozzarella is made in house, and I would be shocked if the the pasta was not also homemade - it had that perfect, chewy a dente texture. The anti-Olive Garden if you will. To be honest, I can't remember what my honey had for my main course, but I was so inspired by the ravioli appetizer, I subsequently ordered the roasted rabbit entree. It came on a bed of pureed potatoes, in a perfect portion.

As spot on as the food was, the service was lacking.

We had reservation, but we still had to wait for about fifteen minutes at the front desk for our table sans bar or waiting area. So there we stood, trying to keep our little glasses of house wine from spilling as we were jostled by the bustling wait staff while everyone stared at us. Awkward.

We were seated, and waited some more. We didn't see a waiter for a while. When he finally came by, he asked for our orders even though we didn't have menus. I began to wonder how you say "annoyed" in Italian. It would have been nice to pair a good bottle of wine with such a wonderful feast. But we were never offered a wine list...or even a second glass of wine. Boo. We plan to give Ciao a second chance, and hope we are able to chalk it up to a wayward waiter. I'll report back.

Until next time, Buen Provecho!

FINAL WORD: Way above par cuisine for Saytown, but we felt neglected!
PANZA RATING: B+
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