Noshtopia Phoenix

Nice: Lux Coffee Has Fresh Fruit

Most people would not think that fresh fruit at a coffee place is a big deal but really it is. When I saw these bowls of fresh fruit at Lux Coffee Bar, it was truly exciting and I'll tell you why. 

See, as a professional blogger, I spend a great deal of time at coffee places because it's my office outside the house. The food at coffee places tends to be standard dessert fare like biscotti, muffins, cookies, rice kripsy treats, or cupcakes...basically anything that is loaded with sugar.

 

Some coffee places will carry boxed salads, pretzels, sweetened nuts, bagels, or crackers. If the place has a kitchen, you'll see soup, salad, and sandwiches. But rarely, do you ever see simple bowls of fresh fruit.

You'd think that fresh fruit would be simple and easy to sell. The fruit is a nice option for those who want sweet but not a dessert type thing. If I had a coffee shop, you'd be seeing fruit all over the place. In fact, I'd probably throw in some vegetables like carrots and hummus.

I think it's really cool that Lux Coffee has the fresh fruit so they get a thumbs up in my book. Plus, they are next door to Pane Bianco which has some cool foods that are so cool that every time I've been there they run out of the thing I want. One day, I'll actually get to eat food at Bianco...it's almost become a private joke now.

I do wish that Lux carried milks other than cow or soy. When I'm there, you'll be seeing me with a plain iced coffee or just a cup of black coffee.

As a fun side note, I thought these owl salt shakers were really cute. I just had to snap a picture of them.

 

Note: All photos taken with an iPhone 3GS

Awesome Thai Shrimp Lunch Special at Cherry Blossom Noodle Cafe

 

Since I moved here to Phoenix seven months ago, seafood honestly has not been the greatest of experiences. However, I won't be so tough because I was incredibly spoiled by living in the Bay Area.

Well, some of that seafood experience changed last week when I had the most amazing shrimp. I had lunch with @bmok at Cherry Blossom Noodle Cafe as we talked photography and our Ignite 7 presentations. We started off with edamame because I always have to get my bean fix on.

 

I got the lunch special that had salmon, California rolls, and their Thai Shrimp which gets the Steph three letters...OMG!

 

The shrimp is very lightly breaded and has a light Thai sauce on top. But amazingly, the shrimp itself was very tender and juicy, and did not taste shrimpy...if that makes any sense. Oh how I loved this Thai Shrimp at Cherry Blossom. 

The lighting was a bit dark in the place, but I was able to get a semi-decent shot of the lunch special and shrimp so you can see what it looks like. I'm telling you this shrimp was heavenly so do try it if they have it on the menu that day!

Let's Just Drool At Olive & Ivy

 

My fellow Aries gal @kammiek and I lunched at Olive & Ivy, and besides being so fun to hang around, she is my Fox Restaurants partner in crime. We've dined at True Food Kitchen, Culinary Dropout, and now Olive & Ivy. Perhaps, we'll just do the whole tour, which sounds really fun! If Sam Fox ever decides to open restaurants in the Bay Area, he will make a mint. Yeah, it's a formula but it's an excellent one.

But back to food and fabulousness. Above is the White Sangria, and it is really refreshing. There is a red version as well, but I like the while because it has lychee and blood orange in it, two of my favorite fruits.

Let me start and say that if you are one to skip the bread basket, make an exception here at Olive & Ivy and try a piece of their foccacia bread with the most amazing pesto dip. Really, this dip and bread is worth an extra mile on the treadmill.

 

The first appetizer we got was, the Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates because I was so fascinated by the idea of bacon and dates. These puppies are tasty. The red sauce on the side is a bit ketchupy but I won't hold that against them.

The second appetizer was a bit of a mishmosh to make it vegetarian and Steph friendly. I aked them to take the Prosciutto di Parma Bruschetta appetizer, and eliminate the Prosciutto, and replace the Crescenza Cheese with goat cheese. On the bread was fig preserves and arugula. I really dug this Bruschetta!

For lunch, Kammie got the Wild Arugula salad which I passed on taking a picture of for some reason. I don't even know why as it was a beautiful salad. Then, we got the Sweet Potato Cannelloni with Brussels Sprouts, Tangerines & Pearl Onions and split it in two. 

The pasta looks like any other pasta dish, but the second you take a bite into the Cannelloni and get a taste of the sweet potato middle...three letters...OMG! There was some dairy mixed in there with the sweet potato which I paid for later on, but it was worth it.

Since I was already on a dairy roll, we got the Angel Food Cake dessert, and what I thought was interesting was how they creme brulee charred the cake.

 

And lastly, the designer in me just had to point out their cool coffee cups. There is no handle, and it's clear so, it almost looks like your coffee is just floating above the table.

 

The decor in Olive & Ivy is very stylish as is all the Fox Restaurants, but Culinary Dropout still gets my 5 stars for design. I do like the open kitchen they have in there.

 

Oh and there is a market on the side, so you can pop in and get some quick eats and perhaps a scoop of yummy gelato! Do visit Olive & Ivy, it's a delicious time.

 

Note: all photos taken with an iPhone 3GS

Culinary Dropout: Wonderland of Design

 

Normally when I talk about restaurants, I focus on the food. But for Culinary Dropout, I am going to focus on the decor and atmosphere because wow! I was so blown away.

Before I get more into the decor, let me spend a brief moment on the food.

I'll be honest up front and say that I thought the food was okay, and I say this because I've been spoiled by my other Fox Restaurant Concepts favorites like True Food, Greene House, and Olive and Ivy. People may argue with me on Culinary Dropouts food compared to those three, but I speak too as someone who eats mostly vegan with a little meat, and CD is pretty nil on vegan options. In CD's menu, there are plenty of fancy bar foods plus meat dishes, I will say that.

The one dish that I did enjoy that was a special of the day was the beets. I don't remember what they did with the beets but I have lingering memories of its goodness so that's what matters. They should make the beets a regular thing.

The other touch I really enjoyed is how the wine comes out in these glass carafes and they have these beautifully designed tags on them. The designer in me was so impressed with that detail because good design anywhere involves attention to even the smallest of details. Whoever, was responsible for the overall look and feel of everything in Culinary Dropout did an amazing job.

 

So, let's get back to the decor because the place is so cool looking that I can overlook the food. I just like hanging out in there in the big comfy Alice in Wonderland type chairs. The energy in the place is hip without feeling too hipster, if that makes sense especially since the place is also smack dab in the middle of "the scene" in Scottsdale. Coming from Northern California, I'm tickled by how pockets of Scottsdale are very LA. Nor-cal and So-cal are two entirely different planets in my book.

I don't know who Fox Restaurant Concepts hired to decorate and style the place but the designer in me was really impressed with the combination of patterns, materials, and colors. There were so many strong patterns, colors, and textures in that place that in other hands it could have quickly gone, "what were you thinking?" with Carson Kressley in the background making his ick face. These designers here are truly talented and have an amazing eye.

Let's go on a little tour shall we...The second you walk in the door at the host stand you are greeted with a visual stylish candyland. On the left side is this huge open bar area where you can hang out and enjoy appies and drinks, or you can eat at a table. All the tables have huge cushy chairs.

 

The feature I loved the most in the place are the huge chandeliers. Those things are absolutely stunning without being too girlie or garish. Chandeliers just remind me of Barbie houses in Texas. Okay sorry, a bit of my mean girl just slipped out. Look at these things. I couldn't stop staring at them.

 

The kitchen is open to the floor and the entire wall is a vibrant purple with swirly patterns. Again, a combo like that can easily go South but here it works well.

 

In one of the open table areas near the front door, the tables and chairs are different. Again, there is a whole lot of action going on with colors, patterns, and textures. Usually in interior design, you will see a consistency in materials but in Culinary Dropout they are able to mix velvet, leather, and wood, with swirls and stripes, and with bold colors. Again, it takes amazing talent to make these busy combos work well together.

 

In the back from the entrance, where we sat is the stage where a band will play at night. I loved how they had the old B&W pictures of legendary musicians like the Boss. He looked so young back then.

 

So, there you have just a few shots of the inside of Culinary Dropout, and you can see why it was a visual heaven for me. One day, I would really love to meet the designers who made the place such a stunning place to hang out. Again, mucho kudos to their design genius.

If I can add in my two cents into the suggestion box, Culinary Dropout please work on adding more vegetarian/vegan options to the menu...just saying!

 

Note: all photos taken with an iPhone 3GS

Picazzo's Gluten-Free, Cheeseless Pepperdew Veggie Pizza

 
 

Friend Jess is gluten-free and she suggested that we try one of her favorite places in town to try gluten-free pizza, Picazzo's Organic Italian Kitchen. I hear "organic" and allergy-friendly food, and so of course, I immediately want to try it out. Picazzo's is also a chain so there are multiple locations. We went to the one in Paradise Valley.

I am not gluten-free but I am gluten-light because I find that when I eat less gluten, I feel lighter. I will never give up on pasta because I love it so, but there are pastas I've tried made from other flours like spelt, quinoa, and rice flour that are tasty.

But back to pizza. Picazzo's has this really cool lunch menu where you can get a slice of pizza, regular or gluten-free crust, with either soup or salad. It's a great deal except for people like me because the pizza is pre-made and has mozzarella on it which I can't have because of the cow milk allergy.

So, in order to try the gluten-free pizza crust without cheese, I have to order a medium size pizza which was about $19.00. Yeah, a bit of a wallet ouchie. They cannot make a small pizza with the gluten-free dough which I didn't ask why, I just accepted and paid.

Indeed, the pizza is a bit on the pricey side, however, if you cannot have gluten and you want pizza, then you will pay it. I recommend that you go with a couple friends if you order the gluten-free pizza because even a medium will serve 3 people plenty.

Some of the Whole Foods in town will serve vegan pizza by the slice (but on a regular crust), and the one in Scottsdale, I know for sure, will serve individual about 6" diameter size gluten-free pizzas made from rice flour. Awhile back I custom ordered a gluten-free vegan cheese pizza with pineapple, olives, and sausage on it. Next time, I'll get cheeseless because the vegan cheese was kinda ick.

 

 

The gluten-free Picazzo's pizza comes thin crust and the crust itself is hard, like almost cracker hard which threw my off a bit. In fact, in the picture, you can see that the crust crumbles some. The Whole Foods rice flour crust is a bit softer and closer to regular wheat crust although, yes, you can still tell the difference from wheat.

What really excited me about the Picazzo pizza ingredient list is that they have Pepperdews which are one of my favorite antipasto eats. You almost never see Pepperdews in a pizza place so I give Picazzo's 5 stars for that added touch.

I ordered the Vegetarian pizza with the Pepperdews instead of mozzarella. I really liked Picazzo's organic heirloom tomato pizza sauce. It's a bit on the sweet and tangy side and I love that combo.

The overall experience of Picazzo's gluten-free cheeseless pizza was okay. I really enjoyed the flavor of the pizza fixings, just not the crust itself because it was too hard for me. With gluten-free crusts hardness is always going to be a challenge, but I've had softer crust so I know it can be done.

On the upside, Picazzo's does have a plethora of other signature crusts which I would like to try particularly the organic whole grain crust made of quinoa, amarath, wheat germ, bulgar wheat, flax seed meal, pshyllum husks, rolled oats, fennell seed, ginger powder, seaweed kelp and sea salt. That lineup sounds like a total Noshtopia thing.

Picazzo's also has a whole lineup of pasta dishes and salads, so next time I go I'd like to try a pasta dish. The Avocado Delish and Butternut Squash ravioli with fresh vegetables (minus the cream sauce) sounds really tasty.

Have you tried Picazzo's gluten-free pizzas? What did you think?

P.S. In the women's bathroom, they have mouthwash, so if you're on a date and ate some garlic, no need to worry, Picazzo's got ya' covered in case that smoochie might happen!

 

Tea Lite Cafe: Pho And Bun That Remind Me Of The Bay Area

I live in North Scottsdale, and I love it up here because the vibe reminds me of the Bay Area, but...and no offense but I'm being for realz....there are like hardly no Asian restaurants or Asian people for that matter here. Sometimes, I feel like an anomaly...never in a bad way, almost like a pearl in an oyster which I'm going to look at in a positive way :)

The Asian food pickings pretty much go to the extent of Panda Express which is like the McDonald's of Asian cuisine. I'm sure there is more selection out here, I'm being a bit sarcastic, but when compared to the Bay Area wherest I came, well you can imagine what runs through my mind.

Thanks to Yelp, I joyfully found Tea Lite Cafe up here in the Nordale, and I love the place as the food reminded me of Vietnamese places back in the Bay Area.

 

When friend Huong came to visit, I took her there and we started off with some fried egg rolls for appetizer as I was having a major craving for something crunchy and salty. Something new I learned is that you can make an egg roll burrito with the lettuce leafs, carrots, and cucumbers that come on the side.

 

I got my tried and true favorite Pho with chicken and rice noodles. I love pouring black bean sauce the soup. There is something about Pho that is just warm magic.

 

Huong got the Bun with egg rolls over rice noodles. It was a fabulous time, and I am soooooo happy that Tea Lite Cafe is here in my hood!

Giuseppe's on 28th Is Good Italian Fun

 

Probably one of the best food experiences including great food, company, and environment, I've had thus far in my short time in Phoenix involved girlfriends @haveawonderful, @jawaani, and @wisdomsoul over at Giuseppe's on 28th. The woman behind the counter, who forgive me I forgot her name, was quite the hoot. @wisdomsoul guessed that she was a biker chick at one point, and sure enough, we asked, and she was. Cool!

Hanging over on the wall is a huge picture of Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives to memorialize his visit to Guisseppe's. Again, another cool in my book because I like Guy. He doesn't eat the healthiest, but he is entertaining.

 

Let's get to the food. @haveawonderful got the penne with a cream sauce and walnuts.

 

@jawaani got the Bolognese Ragu which has 6 different meats in it, and boy howdie, that dish sure was meaty.

 

@wisdomsoul got the Penne al Salmone which has Guisseppe's own cured and smoked salmon tossed with asparagus and a rich cream sauce.

 

I started with the Lentil soup which was very warming in my tummy...

 

...and then your basic Rigatoni with meat sauce. As the dish is plentiful, I enjoyed half at lunch and the other half the next for lunch and it was still good.

 

Since it was my birthday recently, we got a slice of the Tiramisu to celebrate, and the lady behind the counter along with some of the cooks in the open kitchen, sang me happy birthday. It was so fun! I will tell you that this Tiramisu is basically decadence on a plate. Thank goodness there were four of us sharing the dessert.

 

This smiley woman sitting at the next table who could be my grandmother, came by, patted me on the shoulder and said happy birthday on her way out. She was so sweet. This is one reason I love Phoenix. People are so friendly!

Note: all photos taken with an iPhone 3GS

Baiz Falafels And Ginormous Tubs Of Tahini

I met @bmok over at Baiz Market to eat lunch at Al-Hana restaurant which occupies a small corner of the market and is basically a hole in the wall type place. I'm all for hole in the wall places as long as the food is good, and here, the food we had was indeed delish.

But first, I have to show you this because I have never seen anything like it. Here are 40lb tubs of Tahini. Yes, 40lbs of Tahini! These tubs remind me of industrial tubs of paint. In most stores, you see small 8oz sizes of Tahini but at Baiz they got these ginormous containers to 4lb bottles. I've never seen so much Tahini in my life. Have you?

 

Speaking of Tahini, we start off with a baba ganoush appetizer. It's creamy and hummus-like.

 

For lunch, both Bryan and I get the Falafel sandwich. It's a great deal for $2.99. I got a mango nectar drink to go along with my sandwich. The Falafel sandwich is best with the hot sauce they got there. Without the hot sauce, the sandwich is a bit on the bland side...at least to me.

Next time I go back to Baiz, I'd like to try one of the kabob plates. Watching them cook all that food in the open kitchen was quite fascinating.

Two Things You'll Find At Sola Coffee Bar You Won't Find At Most Places

 

One of my favorite places to get coffee, blog, or just hang out with cool people is Sola Coffee Bar in the Old Town area of Scottsdale.

There are two things about Sola which I found unique. The first is that Sola is a non-profit. Oh yeah! After employee pay and rent, bills, etc, the profits go to a designated charity for the month. For April, the charity was Pray for Kate. There are only a few paid employees and the rest are volunteers who donate time. I think that is very cool...barista for a good cause.

This place has a cool arty warm decor. There is free WiFi. There are original pieces of art on the wall from local artists. In fact, if you are a local artist do speak to them as they are always looking for new talent to showcase.

 

There are a couple comfy couches and neat ceiling fans with big wide tables to sit at that remind me of art school. And big thumbs up, there are electrical plugs everywhere because they know who loves them baby. *us people of the web*

 

The second thing I find fascinating about Sola and the thing I love most about this Coffee Bar which some will appreciate but many would never even blink an eye at because most people are concerned more about the coffee beans is the fact that Sola is one of the few coffee places in all of Phoenix metro that serve three other milk choices besides cow and soy. Oh yes!

Sola also offers rice, coconut, and almond milk. *doing the happy jig* 

 

So, if you want to try something different, you're vegan, soy-free, or are dairy-free because of allergies, intolerances, or other health reasons, Sola can make you coffee drinks that you will enjoy while you listen to music on vinyl....yes records like on a record player.

 

The drink I order most often is an Agave Latte with rice milk. Sola also has a special dark chocolate mix made by Monin that is dairy-free and gluten-free so they can make a true vegan mocha. It's a bit pricey for a coffee drink, but if you want a genuine vegan mocha then it's worth the price. Sola also carries Straus organic barista cow milk which is the first organic milk made just for coffee.

So there you have it, good coffee, good vibe, and good cause. You can see why I go there often. If you see me blogging at Sola, do say hello. I love to meet my readers!

Note: all pics taken with an iPhone 3GS

Calistro From Farm to Fork And Most Amazing Rice Pudding

 

The concept of farm to fork is not a new one, and perhaps even cliche, but with me it doesn't get old because I enjoy supporting places that buy primarily local and make most of their foods from scratch.

Calistro California Bistro up in North Scottsdale is one of those places, and I was intrigued to try out the place because one, being from California I wanted to see just how "California" they were and two they had some organic dishes on the lunch menu and you know me, I see the word "organic" and I gotta try it out...I'm a push-over that way. I found the place when I did a search on Yelp for "healthy restaurants" in North Scottsdale.

I meet friend @josephranseth there as he's visiting from Canada. I walk into Calistro and right away I love the decor. My inner architect comes out. The place is wide open, modern, and airy. One design feature I thought was really cool was how they took the bar wall and backed each of those little cubicles where you see the bottles of alcohol with a frosted glass so that on the other side of the wall which creates the hallway to the bathrooms, you see a cool reflection of the colorful bottles.

Here's the front of the bar wall...

 

....and here's one of the cubicles on the back. Cool huh?

 

Okay, now onto the food. As I mentioned before, Calistro buys virtually all its food from local farms and food vendors, and they make about 90% of their items in-house. Something like sandwich rolls they'll get from a vendor. For appetizer, Joseph gets the Falafel bites. I tried one and they were soft and not too spicy. When I say spicy, I don't mean spicy hot, I mean spicy in that sometimes falafels can have too much spice used in them. I liked these bites.

I got the Beet Salad which came with organic beets, fresh orange, fennel pollen, and a farmer's cheese which was a goat/cow mix. I didn't get the cheese, and actually I thought the salad was better without it.

 
For main course, Joseph got the Calistro Tacos which came with tuna, tomato salad, vegetable slaw, pickled shallots, and white corn tortillas. He ate every single taco so I'm assuming that meant yummy.

 

I got a side of the chicken meatballs. I know that's not really a main course, and between the salad and meatballs it was kind of a chick meal, but that's okay. That just means there is more room for dessert and we'll get to that divineness in a second.

Here's the chicken meatballs made with chicken breast, prosciutto, and organic tomato sauce. I nixed the parmesan. Normally, I like prosciutto but for some reason it wasn't jiving with the chicken in this meatball. But it wasn't bad, I still ate all the meatballs and shared with Joseph.

 

But now, let's talk about dessert - a dairy-free rice pudding made with coconut, a seasonal fruit which on my day was pear, pistachio and Saigon cinnamon. First, I totally squeal in delight because seeing "dairy-free" on any dessert menu you almost never see. Typically for dessert, if I get any, is sorbet because that's basically the only thing most places will make without dairy or eggs.

To sum up this rice pudding in 3 letters: OMG!

From now on, I think instead of giving something 5 stars, I'll give it an OMG! which means not just good but something that makes Stephanie's palate sing with glee, and Calistro's rice pudding made me blissfully happy. I recently gave Essence Bakery's macarons an OMG!

The people at Calistro were very nice and the service was excellent. Their menu is ripe with choices for those who are health conscious or have the food allergies like yours truly. I'll definitely go back to try dinner because the dinner menu looks good...and there's more rice pudding!

Note: all photos taken with an iPhone 3GS