Defalco’s Italian Grocery

Defalco's Italian Grocery

2334 N Scottsdale Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Defalco's reminds me of many Italian deli's in New York. Racks of Italian foods that are often hard to find, and a long line to get waited on.

The sandwiches are food of the Gods. Well stuffed with premium ingredients, some are so big that they consist of more food than many third world countries eat in a month! Their hot sandwiches evoke wonderful memories of sandwiches eaten many years ago in New York, and the wonderful aromas made my stomach rumble in anticipation of the food it was soon to receive.

If you find that a sandwich is too much to eat, you can get a half sandwich for a few dollars less. Several selections on the menu are vegetarian, including an excellent eggplant parmigiana and an outstanding grilled portobello mushroom sandwich with goat cheese.

For those from back east, they serve a terrific sausage, pepper and onion sandwich which will bring back memories of places long gone. They also have sausage and meatball sandwiches that i was hard pressed to try and finish. However, leave room for dessert. Traditional Cannelloni,  Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Napoleons - all wonderful. Of course, its even better with a cup of cappuccino or espresso or a latte to help wash it all down.

Lest I forget, they also have a selection of calzones as well as pizza's and pasta's.

They stock a wonderful assortment of Italian food stuffs ranging from olive oils to boxed pastas along with an excellent wine section. In addition, Defalco's produces some of it's own pastas as well as it's own homemade sausages.

While there is not an abundance of tables, you can eat on the premises if you wish. Defalco's is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. so you can eat lunch or dinner there. Be prepared for portions that are large - in fact many of them could easily be split between 2 people.

To be honest, nothing about Defalco's is cheap, but then again, you are getting premium ingredients in large quantities for that premium price.

Other than it is hard to find parking and the sometimes a long line one has to wait in to get service I can't really find anything to complain about. Good food, good service worth waiting for, and good attitudes all add up to a solid 4 star rating.

Crazy Chicken & Crab - CLOSED

Crazy Chicken & Crab - CLOSED
1825 W Chandler Blvd
Chandler, AZ 85224
                                                                       
I and two companions arrived promptly at six for dinner, and entered a mostly empty restaurant. We were seated immediately and ordered assorted soft drinks.

We all started off with the egg rolls ($2.99), which were provided with a dipping sauce of sweet chile, a usual Thai ingredient and not at all Korean. I must say that none of us were impressed by the egg rolls. They were properly cooked, but were lacking in flavor.

Next, companion #1 ordered the calamari ($7.99). This was a high point of the meal. Done in a fashion I had not seen before, they were long strips of thicker calamari (perhaps cut from the tubes of larger ones?), lightly breaded and lightly fried. I'm not sure just how they were cooked, but they were perhaps the most tender calamari I have ever eaten. It was served with a mayonnaise based spiced dipping sauce that was nicely complementary to it.

Companion #2 ordered the sweet and spicy chicken ($9.99) along with the egg fried rice ($3.99). She pronounce the rice to be excellent.

Companion #1 made the mistake of ordering the shrimp for $12. For the price, companion got 8 shrimp that when the head and tail were removed were no more than a U-30. Fortunately, I had ordered a bowl of egg fried rice to share with companion and that became most of companions meal.

For myself, I ordered 1/2 garlic soy sauce chicken ($9.99) and 1/2 sweet and spicy chicken ($9.99). The garlic chicken was acceptable though the only dark meat I could find was a single drum stick. The sweet and spicy chicken was so drowned in sauce as to be almost inedible.

True Korean fried chicken is an experience that you never forget. The chicken pieces are given a light coating of either cornstarch or rice starch and are then deep fried. Allowed to rest and cool, the chicken is then deep fried a second time, which removes any fat from under the skin and makes it super crispy. Unfortunately, this is not the case here.

The chicken is chopped into relatively small pieces, then battered and fried. With so much batter on it, the sauces coat the entire piece of chicken and becomes overpowering. I took a doggy bag of the sweet and spicy chicken home, and rinsed it in the sink to remove most of the sauce. Tomorrow I will briefly refry the chicken and put an acceptable Korean sauce on it.

Companion #2 ordered Mochi for dessert. Since mochi is Japanese, I was a bit surprised to find it on the menu. Based on the flavors available and based on looks and taste, I was quite sure the mochi came from Mekong Market or LeeLee's.

Inspection of the restroom was a very unpleasant affair, as the aroma made it impossible to stay in there for any amount of time.

Service was fair though a few things were not correctly served. I would have expected much better food for a bill of $54.90 plus tip.

2 stars for service and appetizers.

Habbouz Tunisian Cuisine - CLOSED

Habbouz Tunisian Cuisine - CLOSED
7816 N. 27th Avenue
Phoenix

Sometimes we come across a gem in the rough, and this is Habbouz.

Companion and I arrived for a 5:45 dinner and were promptly seated. The rough part of this restaurant is that it is sparsely decorated and looks more like a little nook than a restaurant. It is located in a strip mall with a number of other ethnic places.

Companion started with a soft drink, and I ordered hot tea. The tea came in a small cup with a number of mint leaves in it. Not being the biggest fan of mint in the world, on a personal level I didn’t care for the tea, and it was removed from our bill at the end.

The menu has a fair number of lamb dishes on it. Deciding on what to eat from such a delicious looking menu was difficult, but we both settled on the lamb shank. When places offer lamb shanks I usually order them as cooking them properly takes lots of time and seasoning them properly takes a good hand. With the exception of the lamb shanks which must be cooked in advance, everything else on the menu is cooked upon ordering. While this might take a little extra time, it is well worth it.

In short order, two beautiful plates of lamb shank were placed in front of us. The shank was nestled in a bed of what was perhaps the best couscous I have ever eaten. Also on the plate was a small salad with green olives in it that were wonderful. On the side, was a serviette of sauce to slather on the lamb and couscous. To say that this was delicious would be an understatement. The restaurant uses very little silverware, and gives patrons plastic ware to eat with. In truth, this is the real test of whether the meat is tender or not, as plastic is known for breaking on tough meat.

Touching the meat with the plastic fork resulted in it almost falling off the bone. Rich with flavor it was truly succulent. Some like their couscous dry, and some prefer it with more sauce on it. I ate it both ways and can honestly say it was wonderful either way you ate it. The portions on the plate were so large I was unable to finish the food. Companion took a doggy bag home.

We had an assortment of dessert items including some truly wonderful baklava that again, is made on the premises and was similar, yet different from any I had ever eaten before.

Companion also ordered a second meal just to take home for the next day. I noted that on the menu they sell merguez sausage. For those not familiar with this, it is a lamb sausage that is nice and spicy. Not with heat, but with flavor. It does have a small amount of berber seasoning in it which gives it just a tiny bit of heat. I ordered a portion of it to take home and it was excellent the next day.

Were this food to be served in any fancier place, it would be packed with patrons and would be a top pick for any food critic.

4 stars for friendly, excellent service, wonderful food, and a wonderful experience. I highly recommend this place.