I made my way to my next stop and glanced at the thermometer in the car and this is what it read....
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| Early October! |
Oh well, I am in the desert!
I headed back to an area right near Chase Field, where I had been just a few hours before, into an industrial area to one of the strangest and most outrageous places I have ever been to, "The Duce". This place is part restaurant, part bar and totally crazy! I told one of the staff that it sort of reminded me of a "honky tonk" like Billy Bob's in Fort Worth and she told me that they just call it a "mosh-ga-nosh", whatever that is?
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| One Funky Joint |
There really isn't a front door, there are several wall openings that lead throughout the place. I entered in and wasn't greeted at all. Most of the staff was setting up and getting ready for what would be a very busy Friday night There were couches and tables and even a boxing ring and then I reached a pretty large bar and ordered a coke and asked how the place worked. The bartender directed me out the back door to an area where the food is ordered and bordered by picnic style tables and a 1950s kitchen with a TV showing reruns of "Leave It To Beaver"!
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| 1950s Kitchen showing "Leave It To Beaver" |
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| The Duce's Food Ordering area |
I went to the order food and asked the very friendly staff hostess about the menu and what they had made during the filming. I do remember that during the filming they showed some of the impromptu boxing matches that they hold amongst the patrons. She told me that they made on a dish that is the most popular item on the menu, so of course I had to order it. It was a Chicken Pot Pie baked in a Mason Jar! Mason Jars seem to be the most popular food and drink container throughout the place. This is really an outdoor venue, even on the inside there seemed to be no air conditioner but a lot of ceiling fans. I took an outdoor seat near the order area (they asked me what "alias" I wanted to use for my order and of course I used Guy, and showed her the book). After a few minutes the meal came and it was delicious. The jar was topped with a pie crust and the filling of chicken, vegetables and thick sauce was just right!
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| Mason Jar Chicken Pot Pie |
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| The delicious filling |
It was served piping hot, I could see why it was a favorite of the patrons. The price was very reasonable and the portion size was pretty good, too! As I finished and got ready to leave I had a hard time trying to get someone to sign the book! It seems that all of the staff became bashful, but finally the manager signed it and the hostess put a big red lipstick kiss next too his signature, that is definitely a first for my Triple D book!
I headed north out of the city back to Glendale to a place that is about 50 yards from Haus Murphy's, where I visited just the night before. "Il Piazza Al Forno" is a little bit of Italy in Glendale.
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| Il Piazza Al Forno in Glendale, Arizona |
This is not a huge place but has a semi-open kitchen that features a Brick Oven imported from Milan, Italy. They have a number of specialties but I couldn't decide between two meals that looked good to me. One was the Pesto on homemade Linguini, the other was Cheese Ravioli. I asked the very informative waiter what he recommended and he told me to try the Ravioli. The meal was served with a bread basket. There were about 6 large ravioli covered in a tomato cream sauce. I took a bite into the ravioli and I had a flashback to my childhood. My grandmother made homemade cheese ravioli and she made the best cheese filling. My first bit brought me back to that and I have eaten a lot of cheese ravioli in the years since and I have never had that taste since. I was able to talk with both the owner/chef and his wife and they seemed very moved when I told them about my grandmother's ravioli.
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| Cheese Ravioli and Tomato Cream sauce |
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| Il Piazza Al Forno's bread service |
I had the owners sign my book and off I went. Right next door was a comic book store and I only mention it because "The Big Bang Theory" is one of my favorite shows and as I passed by I peered in to see if Sheldon, Leonard, Wolowitz, and Raj were there, but alas they weren't!
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| The Green Lantern |
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| It's Superman - But no Sheldon! |
I was done for the day and headed back to the hotel to prepare for my last day in Phoenix and to try a few more places.
I got up and out at about 730 and headed almost due south of the airport and after about a 20 minute drive arrived at "La Taquito's Grill". It is located in a strip mall and there were a number of people in there when I arrived.
I headed up to the counter and ordered the Breakfast Quesadilla. As I waited for the meal, I noticed a lot of really cool Mexican art on the walls.
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| La Toquito's cool wall art |
My number was called and I got my food, which had been prepared for take-out, it seemed that even though they ask you if you want to eat it in, they prepare it to go except they put it on a tray. The Quesadilla was cut into about 8 pieces and each was filled with eggs, cheese, bacon and sausage along with peppers and jalapenos. It was very tasty and not too spicy, I really enjoyed it.
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| La Tosquito's Breakfast Quesadilla |
After getting the hostess to sign my book I headed out to a town about 25 minutes drive east called Gilbert. The place I went to was featured on an early season episode and is pretty unique place in it's own right; Welcome to "Joe's Farm Grill"! Joe's is on an actually fully working farm and really looks a lot like a drive-in building that has inside seating built in, they also feature a large grove of picnic tables under some trees to create a very pretty and inviting place.
I knew that I had to something that was grown on the farm. My friend, Tera, told me that her young daughter loved the Pancakes and Fruit, so I decided that was what I wanted. I was hoping to meet Tera, her husband and daughter at Joe's, but they had just left for a trip and we just missed, oh well, maybe next time!
Joe's is a very busy place and while I was there the line grew from moderately long to very long! They give you one of those pagers and it buzzes when your meal is ready. After about 15 minutes my buzzer went off and I went to get my meal. Four pancakes topped with Strawberries, Blackberries and Blueberries and whipped cream. The pancakes were good and the fruit was great. Knowing that the fruit was all local made it even better!
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| Joe's Pancakes and Fruit |
The whole place is very cool. Now, I don't write about the bathrooms very often, but these were pretty unique. The one I used seemed to be themed. There were two glass cases I the walls with a Barbie Doll in one and a G.I. Joe in the other, also there was a TV playing the old show from my youth, called "The Thunderbirds". It was a kids action show that featured marionettes! Brought back a lot of memories. It was so busy that I was unable to find anyone to sign my book, which was a disappointment! As I walked back to the car I saw a sign that I would definitely heed! I really liked this place and if I can I would like to get back and try one of their lunches!
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| Joe's Farm Grill Outdoor seating area |
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| No Problem, I am not touching the trees! |
After a break back at the hotel, I headed to lunch, just a few miles from the hotel in Tempe, right next to the campus of Arizona State University (ASU), home of the Sun Devils. "Curry Corner" is about a mile form the campus in a small strip mall and was doing a very busy lunch service. I was led to a table just underneath a TV and guess what was showing??? Yep, "Diner's Drive ins and Dives" was on. When the server came over I told him why I was there and showed him the book and pointed to the TV just above my head! He gave me the rundown and I chose the Tikal Tandoori Chicken that came with a side of Naan bread.
Tandoori Chicken looks like it would be very spicy, it is a fiery red color, but looks, in this case are deceiving. There is a very mild heat and the taste was delicious. The Naan was a perfect accompaniment. Naan is a flat bread that is served all over the Middle East and India. Many times he bread can be dry and crunchy, but not this time, it was warm and chewy.
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| Tandoori Chicken |
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| Naan Bread |
The prices here were extremely reasonable and the service was fast and friendly, if you like Indian food this is a very good place to try when you are in the Phoenix area. I asked to get my book signed and the server took me back into the kitchen to get the Owner/Chef to sign it. I love going into the kitchens and seeing the area where the "magic happens"! She was very gracious and I was very appreciative.
On the way back to the hotel I had to stop at the ASU book store to see if there were any cool shorts to buy. Although I didn't find any, I did enjoy some of the phrases on the shirts. Their symbol is Sparky the Sun Devil and his pitchfork. My favorite phrase was "Fear The Fork!"
My last stop was for dinner at a place in North Phoenix. I thought on a Saturday night it would be busy so I made sure I got there when it opened at 5p. In a small shopping center is a place that is putting out some very good Italian food, "Giuseppe's on 28th". It is a small place and I guess getting there early is the best bet because I was the only one there until shortly before I left.
I was seated at a small table and looked over the menu. Now this place was more expensive than many of the other places I had visited, but they are pretty much a nice dinner restaurant. I remembered that on the show the Chef and Owner spent a long time in Italy where he honed his culinary skills and also was a Cellist in the symphony there. His specialty is Pasta Bolognese, so I knew that I had to try it. The menu boasted that it is made with 7 types of meat and although it is a sauce, it is so thick it is almost like a spread.
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| Giuseppe's signature Pasta Bolognese |
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| Pasta and Bread |
It was very tasty and had real parmesan cheese on the table, which made it even better. The pasta was a thick noodle almost like linguine, I think I would have liked a thinner noodle, but that is just my taste, it is worth trying and I can see why it is his specialty. After having the chef sign my book, I headed out and back for a quick night before getting on an early fight back home. The flight home was pretty uneventful, especially after the nerve wracking flight out to Phoenix and I was disappointed not to have been able to get to Albuquerque, but all in all it was a great trip and my DDD count is now 379!
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