Noshtopia

Local Awesomeness: The 10 Best Things I Ate in Phoenix in 2010

Note: All photos in this post were taken with my iPhone 3GS

2010 marked my first full year as a Phoenix, Arizona resident. I moved to Phoenix from the San Francisco Bay Area and many people wonder why I'd leave an area so rich in culture, food, and diversity to a place that is perceived as a poster child for your basic land of suburban chain restaurants. What kind of bounty in fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood could one have in the desert versus the lushness of the California coast and farm land?

Well actually, there are plenty of wonderful things to eat out here, and yeah, Phoenix is no Bay Area, so I won't even compare the two, but Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the US, and the food scene here is still growing.

I was thrilled to learn that there are some well known Bay Area chefs who have places out here in the Valley of the Sun. Oh yes! Michael Minna has Bourbon Steak in the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, and owners Amy and Kevin Binkley have Binkley's Restaurant and Cafe Bink to delight noshers with their very creative flair. Chef Kevin worked under Thomas Keller, chef/owner of The French Laundry.

I haven't eaten at Bourbon Steak, Binkley's, or Bink Cafe yet, but they are definitely on the "must do" for 2011.

Some of the best artisan ice cream you will find anywhere is Sweet Republic. These two ladies left the Bay Area for Phoenix metro as well for better opportunities, and they most certainly found it here! If I whip out my magic ball, I see Sweet Republic going national one day. Yes, their ice cream is that good, and can not only be found in their shop, and mobile ice cream truck, but at all the local Whole Foods markets. In 2009, Bon Appetit named Sweet Republic as one of the 10 best ice cream shops in the US.

So, in 2010, in no particular order, here are the 10 best things I ate here in Phoenix. Note: This list is not a "Best of Phoenix" just the best things I ate in 2010 at places I visited this year. I haven't been to every restaurant in Phoenix yet...pacing myself here! There are plenty more awesome foods and in 2011, I plan on venturing to even more new spots.

Rice Pudding at Calistro Bistro: What is amazing about this dessert is that it is dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free and tastes amazing! Because of my dairy & egg allergies, desserts at restaurants for me are usually a choice of sorbet or sorbet. I was thrilled to find this rice pudding!

BBQ Pit Beans at Joe's Real BBQ: I have driven all the way from NorDale where I live down to Gilbert (about 35 miles) just to get these beans. What I find fascinating about these beans is that there are lima beans in there along with your usual suspect beans and nice chunks of ham. I also dig that the sauce is on the sweet side. These are magical beans I tell you.

Gnocchi in lobster sauce with sun-dried tomato, basil, and garlic shrimp at Talavera at Four Seasons Scottsdale: I voted this dish as the best at the food show, "Phoenix Cooks." Technically, I shouldn't be eating this dish because it has dairy in it, but I was so intrigued by the ingredients, that I took one bite and ended up eating a small bowl of it. Luckily, I didn't feel too sick afterward which I take as a good sign.

I recommended Talavera during Arizona Restaurant Week 2010, and besides the fabulous food, Executive Chef Mel and his team are just the nicest people. This Gnocchi is not a regular on the menu, but if you ask for it specifically, they will make it. Just mention, "It's the gnocchi you made at Phoenix Cooks."

Pernil Asado at Fuego Bistro: Fuego is a hidden gem in Phoenix. When you pull up to the place, you almost think you're in the wrong area, but this spot is a must! I was blown away by their pork dish because it tastes like how they make shredded pork in Hawaii. To be honest, mainlanders have a rough time doing pork Hawaiian style, but Fuego does a pretty darn awesome job of it. Their Pernil Asado is marinated for 24 hours and slow roasted for 7 hours. And the people there, again, some of the nicest folks I've met in town.

Ceviche at Deseo at The Westin Kierland: If you have Westin points you want to use, definitely come to Phoenix for a relaxing weekend and stay at the Westin Kierland just so you can eat at Deseo and feast on their ceviche. At dinner, you have six ceviche dishes to choose from, and in their muddle bar, you can enjoy some of the most fabulous mojitos I've ever had. I'm telling you, you will be a very pleased. I'm that confident!

For the most part, seafood was pretty underwhelming to me here in Phoenix, but again, I have a really high bar as I'm used to seafood in the Bay Area, but Deseo blows that underwhelm out of the water....literally. I never knew fish could taste like this. Chef Douglas Rodriquez who appeared on Top Chef Masters and has a cookbook just about ceviche, "The Great Ceviche Book," is the inspiration behind all the ceviche dishes at Deseo.

Red Quinoa Salad at St. Francis: Quinoa and Kale are two of my favorite power foods, and you don't see these ingredients that often in restaurants. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to see Quinoa on a menu, and this Quinoa dish is a smash hit. The St. Francis Quinoa is also a great intro for those who have never tried Quinoa before and are curious to try it.

Tie - Bison Chili and Chocolate Pudding at True Food Kitchen: If I had to pick just one restaurant I love in Phoenix it would be True Food Kitchen based on Dr. Andrew Weil's anti-inflammation diet. I consider TFK my 3rd home, and a model for a restaurant I'd like to open one day. Two dishes that are beyond belief are the bison chili, and the chocolate pudding which is vegan and soy-free. The pudding is basically just almond milk and cocoa, and is thick and creamy, and every time I have recommended it, people give me that OMG look. Yeah, it's that fabulous.

The bison chili is not a regular menu item and it currently only appears as a soup of the day on occasion. I would seriously start a campaign to get this bison chili as a regular lunch item because it NEEDS to be. The bison chili coupled with the TFK signature kale salad is unbelievable.

Gambas Al Ajillo at Tapas Papa Frita: I wish I had a better photo of these shrimp because they deserve the spotlight. Now, this dish is just basically garlic, shrimp, and white wine but they must have some other magical ingredient in there because after taking one bite of this shrimp, my mouth was in heaven. In fact, I was in heaven. Coupled with a champagne Sangria, you cannot go wrong at Tapas Papa Frita which features Spanish tapas. They have outdoor seating which I highly recommend if you go when the sun is setting. It's very romantic.

Sweet Potato Tater Tots at West Addison Tavern in DC Ranch: Two of my favorite things in food sweet potato and tater tots in one. Touchdown! Yes, my inner 3rd grader still cannot get enough of the tater tots and luckily Whole Foods makes organic tots. I have never in my life seen a sweet potato tater tot and so yes, I was doing the cabbage patch upon finding these SP tots.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas at Whole Foods Chandler: I found these enchiladas in the hot food bar at the Whole Foods in Chandler and holey cow! What I loved most was that there was practically no cheese in this enchilada which frankly wasn't missed, and the use of all kinds of vibrant veggies. I give the chef kudos for creativity and amazing flavor. I have only seen the enchiladas a few times, but being that it's Whole Foods who loves to please their customers, I have no doubt that if asked, they would make these enchiladas.

And there you have the 10 best noshiest things I ate in Phoenix in 2010, my first year as a resident. If you have any recommendations, please do let me know. Happy New Year!

 

Ending 2010 With This Yummy Green Smoothie With Basil and Coconut Water

Today is the last day of 2010, so I decided to start the morning off with a Scottsdale Green Smoothie from the Whole Foods juice bar. This Smoothie has spinach, basil leaf, mango, cucumber, pineapple and coconut water.

I really like the basil in the Smoothie. You get just a hint of the herb. Also, coconut water is always a winner in my book. Yum!

Healthy Lunch Idea: Warm Bowl of Chili

During these cold winter days, doesn't a warm bowl of chili sound comforting? It does to me, so today's healthy lunch idea is chili because chili is also packed with protein and fiber from meat and beans, or just beans for veggie versions.

In this photo, we have a bowl of buffalo meat chili with a dollop of honey greek yogurt. The greek yogurt is a nice alternative to sour cream plus the honey adds a slight sweet to the chili. I also use So Delicious Vanilla yogurt as a vegan sour cream alternative.

The wonderful thing about chili is that you can get or make all kinds of varieties from vegan and vegetarian to meat-lover. Here's a Verde Shiitake Chili I made with leftover turkey.

Around the Noshosphere: 5 Noshy Ways To Eat Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes, and it is a dish that can be prepared with all kinds of variety, and can be made with meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan. Butternut squash is one of my favorite risottos.

From tasty bloggers around the noshosphere including mouth-watering photos, here are 5 delicious ways to eat risotto.

• Rise and Shine: Breakfast risotto with almond milk, poached figs and citrus. Inspired by a Joe Bastianich recipe. [Lunchbox Bunch]

• Lunchy or brunchy: Creamy risotto with roasted tomatoberries & pesto. [Eden Kitchen]

• Love the veggie garnish: Zucchini ribbon risotto with chiffonade fresh basil. [What's Gaby Cooking]

• Using quinoa instead of rice for more protein: Baby artichoke heart quinoa risotto with shrimp and Meyer lemon pesto. [Closet Cooking]

• Goes good with bubbly champagne: Butternut squash risotto with shallots and pancetta. [Ezra Poundcake]

What's one of your favorite ways to cook risotto?

 

 

Healthy Lunch Idea: Shiitake Mushroom & Tofu Lettuce Wraps

For a Meatless Monday healthy lunch idea, try some vegetarian lettuce wraps like these Shiitake mushroom and tofu wraps. PF Chang's has a vegetarian lettuce wrap with tofu.

For a raw version, here is a recipe from the food blog Taste Buddies for lettuce wraps with avocado, tomato and sesame seeds with a nama shoyu dipping sauce.

Merry Christmas Noshers!

My faux boyfriend Dean Martin and I would like to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas!

Happy holidays and chow vibrantly :-D

Healthy Lunch Idea: Crab Louie Salad

This is one of the best Crab Louie salads I have ever had in my life. This salad was made at the Beach Chalet in San Francisco and they call their version Louis instead of Louie.

What I loved about this salad is how it is a bit deconstructed on a plate versus a bowl, the portion size is on the smaller side for one person versus enoguh for two, and there is a nice hunk of crab meat. Also, Beach Chalet uses romaine over ice burg lettuce, and I think romaine is far more interesting.

This salad consists of dungeness crab, romaine lettuce, capers, tomatoes, avocado, and 1000 Island dressing. Where the salad can quickly get fattening is with the dressing. Two tablespoons of 1000 Island dressing can have 140 calories and 13g of fat.

Use dressing sparingly versus drowning the salad in 1000 Island. Instead of the 1000 Island you can also just squeeze some lemon juice on your salad with some salt and pepper.

Some of the health benefits of crab include:

• One serving of crab has 15g of protein
• One 4oz serving has less than 2g of fat
• High in Omega-3s
• Low in mercury
• A good source of zinc and copper

Dig in and enjoy!

Tried Something New: Elk Burger

Last week, I tried Bison meat for the first time in this Bison chili. This week, I was visiting Prescott, Arizona with some friends and we stopped by for lunch at the Raven Cafe. I was curious to see on the menu an open-faced Elk burger on rye so I tried it out.

Elk is the second largest member of the deer family. Because elk is not a large-scale farm meat, it is typically free-range, and free of hormones and additives

The Elk burger was tasty! If no one had told me, I would have thought I was eating regular beef...although the elk burger did have a slight gamey taste to it but not too bad.

As you can see the burger was covered in gravy and onions which can make anything taste better, but I scraped off as much of the gravy as I could to get to the meat. I'd like to try an experiment and make a bison and elk meatloaf.

Some of the health benefits of elk meat include:

• High protein: One 3 oz. portion has 94 calories with 19.5 g of protein
• Low fat: One 3 oz. portion has 1.2 g of fat
• Contains more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat than beef
• Elk also has a higher iron and zinc content than beef and pork

With the elk meat, I found it cool to discover a new leaner alternative to beef. Try out elk meat and let me know what you think!

If you have any elk recipes, do let me know too.

Power Soup: Kale, Sorrel, Italian Turkey Sausage Soup

One of the beautiful things about living in Phoenix is that we've been having 75 degree temps during this Winter. While the rest of the nation is wrapped in parkas and scarves, we're wearing short sleeved shirts and capris like it's Spring.

I went to The Simple Farm for their new Tuesday farmer's market, and Lylah gifted me with some fresh sorrel and arugula. Since it is technically winter, I thought making a soup with the sorrel would be befitting.

I've never had sorrel before and thought it would be fun to try this green also known as "sour grass" which is member of the rhubarb family and commonly used in France. Sorrel looks like spinach. To me, the sorrel tastes more like a tangy herb.

I found this cool vegan Sorrel-Kale soup recipe on the blog Oops It's Vegan, and based my soup recipe on their recipe.

I will throw in a disclaimer with this soup. Sorrel has a sour taste, and arugula has a bitter taste so combine the two and this soup will have a strong green flavor to it. Next time, I make this soup, I would use spinach instead of the arugula to tame down the bitter. I really like the strong peppery taste of arugula, but it is not for everyone. The lemon does help cut down the bitter taste.

However, arugula is nutrient packed, and it has one of the highest ANDI scores of food. Combined with the protein from the turkey sausage, I would call this recipe a power soup.

I also used mushroom broth instead of vegetable stock because I don't like celery, and most veggie stock is made with celery. Also, I thought it would be fun to do something different, and use the mushroom instead of the vegetable stock.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 tbsp Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread
• 1/2 sweet onion chopped
• 1 medium potato chopped into cubes
• 2 cups chopped fresh sorrel
• 2 cups fresh arugula
• 1 mild turkey Italian sausage diced
• 1/2 lemon
• 3-1/2 cups organic mushroom broth. I used Pacific Natural Foods brand.
• Salt & pepper to taste

Let's get cooking:

• Melt the Earth Balance in a medium pot and add the onions and potatoes with some salt and pepper to taste. Saute the onion and potato until the onion gets soft.

• Add in the diced Italian sausage meat with the onion and potato, and cook until the sausage is browned.

• Toss in the sorrel and arugula and saute for about a minute.

• Add in the mushroom broth. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.

• Remove the pot from the hot plate, and squeeze in the juice from the half lemon. Mix well.

Wait for soup to cool down, and serve warm. Enjoy!

5 Noshy Things You Can Eat With Peanut Butter

Sometimes peanut butter gets a bad rap for being a junk food, and it can be if the butter is filled with high fructose corn syrup, excess salt, and additives.

However, organic or all natural peanut butter which is basically just peanuts and some salt can be a non-animal source of protein and a good source of healthful monounsaturated fats. Here are some more health benefits of peanuts.

From around around the noshosphere including mouth-watering photos, here are some healthy noshy things you can eat with peanut butter:

• Good morning: Hot oatmeal with chia seeds and banana. Topped with blueberries, coconut and peanut butter. [Back to Her Roots]

• Kid friendly: Apple sandwiches with granola, chocolate chips, and peanut butter...no wheat. [Whole Foods blog]

• Snackage: Sticky Nut Bars with mixed nuts, dates, peanut butter and dried fruit. No sugar added! [Green Kitchen Stories]

• Smoothie time: Protein-packed kale, chocolate, peanut butter smoothie...vegan. [Never Home Maker]

• Dinner: Peanut butter soba noodles with broccoli...vegan and gluten-free. [The Copycat Cook]

What do you like eating with peanut butter?