3821 E Baseline Rd
Ste J-140
Gilbert, AZ 85234
This is one of the most unusual and wonderful deli's that I have had the pleasure of eating at. Let's start with the food. Almost everything is made in house. Even the pastrami and corned beef are made in house. One of the things that I enjoyed the most is that the food, while very tasty, is not over seasoned. This means that you will not get heartburn from an over seasoned pastrami.
The two chef's are both fully trained and create some of the fantastic flavors that their food has. Example - they have created their own white BBQ sauce. (Welcome to Alabama!) The sauce is fantastic and I only which they would bottle and sell it because I would be buying it by the gallon.
I had the pastrami on rye, which was a huge sandwich with mustard and a pickle and chips. It was so good! I would have liked to bring half of it home, but to be honest I finished the entire thing at the table.
Companion ordered a salad that easily could have fed 2 people. It came in a huge bowl and there was so much that the left over was taken home and made a full meal.
Their drink assortment has the usual variety along with some drinks that I have never seen before.
Their bakers work at night producing some wonderful fresh baked goods. I had a huge apple pie cookie that was absolutely delicious. Companion had the biggest chocolate chip cookie I have ever seen, and it too, was delicious.
They also have a small selection of full sized pies. I purchased a lemon chess pie (which I have not seen in many years) that was taken home and was perfect with a homemade crust.
Perhaps one of the very nicest things about this business is that they support those who are on the autism spectrum by hiring them. Fully 80% of the staff are in some way developmentally disabled and and their smiles and willingness to chat if asked is refreshing and may bring tears to your eyes.
The location is on the back side of a mall and not the easiest to find, but is well worth the energy to hunt it down.
The staff keeps it immaculately clean and is very friendly and helpful.
The restaurant has only been open for about 10 months and already has a nice following. I don't usually ask this, but if you are in the neighborhood please patronize this restaurant which is trying so hard to help these people have a job. I know I will be.
5 stars for excellent food, excellent service, and wonderful people trying as hard as they can to help each other.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Spinelli's Pizza
420 S Mill Ave
Tempe, AZ 85281
This is a preliminary review of Spinelli's Pizzeria in that it only involves their delivery service and items ordered online for delivery to the house. To be fair, this restaurant will be reviewed again in person at a future time and the rating may change at that time.
One of the things that attracted me to this restaurant is that they will deliver until the wee hours of the morning. They don't shut down until 5 a.m.
The best cheesesteaks I have eaten are in Philly, so I ordered a Cheesesteak Stromboli for myself and a regular Cheesesteak Sandwich for companion.
The cheesesteak sandwich is served on a roll imported from Philly, and can be had with a choice of 3 different cheeses. Veggies are optional but not charged for.
The Stromboli reminds me of a calzone in that the fillings are inside of a stretched piece of pizza dough. Again, veggies are optional but available at no additional charge.
At $10.50 for a normal Stromboli and $19.50 for a large, the prices seemed a bit steep, but a good sandwich or Stromboli can be worth the money.
I ordered our sandwiches, keeping in mind that the restaurant posts that delivery takes between 45 minutes and an hour. Two hours later our food had not yet arrived. I called the restaurant to inquire about our order and they said it would be ready to sent to us in about thirty minutes. Almost three hours went by before our order came. Not exactly one hour service, and the food was lukewarm. Putting it in the oven for about 15 minutes helped immeasurably with the flavor.
The sandwiches were of fair size and quality, but in my opinion nothing special. Perhaps eating in the restaurant will reveal a different experience.
I must admit I was not very impressed by the service or the quality of the sandwiches. I can't remember ever having take out take three hours to arrive. We felt that $33.83 for 2 sandwiches delivered to the house was a bit steep.
2 Stars for delivering until 5 a.m.
Tempe, AZ 85281
This is a preliminary review of Spinelli's Pizzeria in that it only involves their delivery service and items ordered online for delivery to the house. To be fair, this restaurant will be reviewed again in person at a future time and the rating may change at that time.
One of the things that attracted me to this restaurant is that they will deliver until the wee hours of the morning. They don't shut down until 5 a.m.
The best cheesesteaks I have eaten are in Philly, so I ordered a Cheesesteak Stromboli for myself and a regular Cheesesteak Sandwich for companion.
The cheesesteak sandwich is served on a roll imported from Philly, and can be had with a choice of 3 different cheeses. Veggies are optional but not charged for.
The Stromboli reminds me of a calzone in that the fillings are inside of a stretched piece of pizza dough. Again, veggies are optional but available at no additional charge.
At $10.50 for a normal Stromboli and $19.50 for a large, the prices seemed a bit steep, but a good sandwich or Stromboli can be worth the money.
I ordered our sandwiches, keeping in mind that the restaurant posts that delivery takes between 45 minutes and an hour. Two hours later our food had not yet arrived. I called the restaurant to inquire about our order and they said it would be ready to sent to us in about thirty minutes. Almost three hours went by before our order came. Not exactly one hour service, and the food was lukewarm. Putting it in the oven for about 15 minutes helped immeasurably with the flavor.
The sandwiches were of fair size and quality, but in my opinion nothing special. Perhaps eating in the restaurant will reveal a different experience.
I must admit I was not very impressed by the service or the quality of the sandwiches. I can't remember ever having take out take three hours to arrive. We felt that $33.83 for 2 sandwiches delivered to the house was a bit steep.
2 Stars for delivering until 5 a.m.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Rodizio Grill
Taking advantage of Arizona Restaurant Week, we went to the Rodizio Grill in Mesa. We were a few minutes early for a 6:00 reservation, so we sat outside on a bench while they got our table ready for us. Restaurant week is an opportunity to dine at reduced prices at local restaurants. While our price was $33 for each person, which is about the normal price for a meal, they added at no cost an alcoholic beverage or complimentary house special soft drink as well as dessert at no extra cost.
For those who have never had Rodizio, it is a Brazilian style dinner. It starts off with an unlimited very nice salad bar which was stocked with some very different salads as well as some hot dishes. Available were items like Beef Stroganoff, Feijoada (traditional Brazilian stew), Mozzarella salad, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato salad, and lots more. However, if you fill up on the salad bar you will not have room left for the main attraction, the "Meats".
Among the meats served were - Picanha Top Sirloin (A lean, juicy cut of beef with a mild and sophisticated flavor), Bife Com Alho (Tender steak basted in garlic seasonings), Maminha Seasoned Tri Tip Sirloin, Miolo da Paleta (Beef Center Cut Skirt Steak), Whole Sirloin, Frango Com Bacon
(Lean, juicy chicken breast wrapped in bacon), Frango Agri-Doce (Sweet and spicy chicken), Sobre Coxa (Marinated & Seasoned Chicken), Coração (Grilled tender chicken hearts), Linguiça, (Brazilian sausage), Lombo Com Queijo (A tender cut of pork, served with parmesan cheese- and bacon, Presunto (Ham), Cordeiro (Boneless leg of Lamb), as well as others that I cannot recall.
On your table is a small rectangular block with one end painted green and the other end painted red. When the green end is up it mean you want more food, and gauchos will circulate in your area with food on long swords and large knives. They will cut off as much meat as you wish each time one of them comes by. There were so many of them in the area that we had to turn our block to red for a while until we could finish what was already on our plates. Then we turned the block back to green and the Gaucho's started coming around with more meat. Because of the way the meat is cooked, you can ask for any degree of doneness and it will usually be available.
The steak with garlic was particularly memorable as was the chicken wrapped in bacon, the ham, and the lamb. We all had seconds and or thirds of these meats, plus the regular portions of the other meats.
The only way to properly describe this restaurant is as a Carnivore's Delight. One of our party was a true carnivore and probably ate several pounds of meat.
When you lay your block sideways on the table it signifies that you are ready for dessert.
Dings - only one - there are two types of waiters and waitresses on the floor. The meat waiters, who did a terrific job of keeping our plates well stocked, and the service waitresses. Our service waitress was a disaster waiting to happen. She made our meal drag on because she could not be found and was so very slow.
Bathrooms were nice and clean and properly stocked.
3 stars for cleanliness and quality of food.
For those who have never had Rodizio, it is a Brazilian style dinner. It starts off with an unlimited very nice salad bar which was stocked with some very different salads as well as some hot dishes. Available were items like Beef Stroganoff, Feijoada (traditional Brazilian stew), Mozzarella salad, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato salad, and lots more. However, if you fill up on the salad bar you will not have room left for the main attraction, the "Meats".
Among the meats served were - Picanha Top Sirloin (A lean, juicy cut of beef with a mild and sophisticated flavor), Bife Com Alho (Tender steak basted in garlic seasonings), Maminha Seasoned Tri Tip Sirloin, Miolo da Paleta (Beef Center Cut Skirt Steak), Whole Sirloin, Frango Com Bacon
(Lean, juicy chicken breast wrapped in bacon), Frango Agri-Doce (Sweet and spicy chicken), Sobre Coxa (Marinated & Seasoned Chicken), Coração (Grilled tender chicken hearts), Linguiça, (Brazilian sausage), Lombo Com Queijo (A tender cut of pork, served with parmesan cheese- and bacon, Presunto (Ham), Cordeiro (Boneless leg of Lamb), as well as others that I cannot recall.
On your table is a small rectangular block with one end painted green and the other end painted red. When the green end is up it mean you want more food, and gauchos will circulate in your area with food on long swords and large knives. They will cut off as much meat as you wish each time one of them comes by. There were so many of them in the area that we had to turn our block to red for a while until we could finish what was already on our plates. Then we turned the block back to green and the Gaucho's started coming around with more meat. Because of the way the meat is cooked, you can ask for any degree of doneness and it will usually be available.
The steak with garlic was particularly memorable as was the chicken wrapped in bacon, the ham, and the lamb. We all had seconds and or thirds of these meats, plus the regular portions of the other meats.
The only way to properly describe this restaurant is as a Carnivore's Delight. One of our party was a true carnivore and probably ate several pounds of meat.
When you lay your block sideways on the table it signifies that you are ready for dessert.
Dings - only one - there are two types of waiters and waitresses on the floor. The meat waiters, who did a terrific job of keeping our plates well stocked, and the service waitresses. Our service waitress was a disaster waiting to happen. She made our meal drag on because she could not be found and was so very slow.
Bathrooms were nice and clean and properly stocked.
3 stars for cleanliness and quality of food.
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