Restaurant Review: Pete’s Fish and Chips (Mesa Main St. Location)

So, I reviewed Pete’s as being the best fried fish you can get. I have a caveat. It’s the best in Tempe. We went to Pete’s for lunch in Mesa and it just wasn’t the same. The Fish was ok, but the shrimp and onion rings weren’t good at all. Both the flavor and texture were different.  What’s worse is that we were introducing a coworker who had never been to the delicious chain. I was SO bummed. It was also lame to be able to look in the pickup window and see the giant freezer full of packaged fish. I mean I guess I knew, sort of, but really? I still love the Tempe locale and will be going there to get my fix, but Mesa (as it so often does) fails to impress and I shall therefore not return.

Pete's Warning

Rings N Justice's Nails, yo

Super Special (called something else in Mesa)

Restaurant Review: Green

Last weekend before going out to see some good music, we stopped in at Green for a date night dinner out. Green is an excellent local restaurant in South Scottsdale, and it is completely vegetarian. We go pretty often, but I thought I would take a moment for a proper review.

This is a hip joint. There are always a bunch of cool kids hanging out and eating delicious vegetarian eats. There’s a neat indie local, sustainable vibe going on that helps make the whole environment so slick.

First of all, always check the board for specials (it’s above the cash register so you can’t miss it). The specials are a great opportunity to get some neat food and some of my Green faves have been from there. Next, be aware that you have to wait in line to order, get a number, and food will be brought to your table. Beverages are self serve either via a cup or getting a specialty soda out of the cooler on your way to the register.

As for appetizers, I am a huge fan of the Artichoke Gratine and the Spicy Buffalo Wings – that’s right wings. Through the magic of science, technology, and hippie ingenuity, we have the pleasures of fake meats. And at Green they are the best. Period. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it to date, but I am allergic to chicken. Since I only found this out a couple of years ago, and at the time I was eating the sweet bird probably twice a day, I miss it. I particularly miss it when it’s drenched in Buffalo sauce.

Green, however, manages to make an excellent Buffalo Chicken meal, whether it be wings or the “G” Sandwich (Buffalo Chicken sandwich) (I prefer it with the veggie ranch over the veggie mayo as I think that mayo is gross). Simply delicious. I think that various Asian noodle dishes are good, though not always for me, but the Oricciette pasta is always a winner. If offered a side, go for the Thyme fries. They are super skinny (sacrilege) but delicious. When we went, we got the wings and I paired it with a Balsamic Picnic Salad (small, no figs). It’s a great meal for going out because it’s light and gives you lots of great energy.

So basically, everything we have had here is good, if not great, if not phenomenal. The only thing we haven’t liked is the pizza. Soy cheese is an acquired taste that we just don’t have, but you might, so proceed as desired. The meat is fantastic here, but the cheeses are not my bag – I just love real cheese too much.

While I didn’t that day, I usually end the meal with a Tsoynami. They’re huge, wicked excellent soy blizzards. I have had everything from birthday cake to tiramisu to strawberry shortcake. Get one.

Plus, how can you not love a restaurant that does this. Love it. Even Muad’ Dib would approve.

Green to the Right

Green Up Above

Numbero 21 esta aqui

Restaurant Review: Bosa Donuts

After hearing much about the acclaimed Bosa Donuts, Brendan and I decided to splurge and try them. We stopped in on our way to work. Set in a location that was a Taco Bell in its previous incarnation, it may look a little unassuming, but its very worth the step inside.

Let me give it to you straight: this place is AWESOME. Open 5a – 10p and a full 24 hours (with the drive thru) you can get your donut on anytime you feel like it. Already a win.

Then, the donuts themselves taste crazy fresh, and are very light and airy. Translation = they don’t make you feel like you ate a brick of sugar. They almost make me think of chinese fried bread I used to eat in my youth. The selection of donuts is lovely and they have some fritters and cinnamon swirls for those that aren’t into sprinkles or chocolate glazed. I loved that they had some fun new flavors like strawberry glazed and coconut in a variety of styles.

The prices were great, and we were about to get a whole dozen and donut holes for the office without taking out a small loan. Everyone at work loved them and I think that there was a consensus that this is the new shop in town.

Really, the donuts are fantastic and they seem to be a small local chain (2 locations) which is much more desirable to me than a megacorp (and the equivalent of a +5 bonus on their check). Most important, though, everything is delicious and I can’t wait to go back. Mmmmm…Donuts!

Ext. Donut Shop. Morning.

Rosa likes Bosa

Donut Box Detail

Donut Shop. Int. Morning.

The Case

Dining Area

Their Donuts

Mmm..mini bits of fried dough!

10/12: Donuts for the office

Brendan's Boston Creme

Rosa's Chocolate Glazed Raised!

Restaurant Review: India’s Grill

With coupon in hand, we decided to try India’s Grill in Mesa. I’ll be honest and say that I have not always the biggest fan of Indian food. I just haven’t had a lot of great experiences and all the “faves” of whatever group I’m eating with seem to be things I’m not too into. That said, the day before, our class was on Indian cooking, and we got to taste some spices and learn a little bit about how things are made. It sort or wet my palette for Indian food and I was excited to try this. This place isn’t too far from my office, and the location used to be a sort of upscale Mexican food joint, but we hadn’t tried it since it became India’s Grill.

The meal began with them bringing us a sort of cracker thing (which the internets inform me is called Papadum) with some delicious sauces. I was particularly keen on the green one as it was full of mint, which I love. Next came some Vegetable Pakora appetizers that were fried vegetable kind-of dumpling balls. They came with a sort of sweet (almost) barbeque-like sauce that I enjoyed a great deal.

For my entree I decided on the Lamb Korma (against the protestations of my Vegetarian husband) and thought it was delicious. I’ll be honest and say that I think this meal sort of made me come around on Indian food. I think as long as I can order something that sounds good (as opposed to dealing with a buffet or specials only situation) I’ll like it more. The garlic naan was good, though I could have easily gone for more . I will point out that each entree comes with a rice, which is nice as that is not always the case at Indian restaurants.

Finally, I will point out that service was a little bit sloppy. My chai took a really long time to get, and my friend got the wrong dish (chicken tikka, not chicken tikka masala). They were, however, not bent about us having a coupon and very accommodating otherwise, including offering to fix the dish they got wrong and apologies about the late beverages, so bigons.

All in all I would definitely return and was happy with our meal. Try it and see what you think.

The Menu

Yummy Crackers with Dips

Ben making a difficult decision

Veggie Fried Goodness

Le Chai