Fujiya Market

Fujiya Market

1335 W University Dr
Ste 5
Tempe, AZ 85281

Fujiya Market is a small hidden gem for those looking for Japanese groceries and or snack foods. They have a remarkable selection of items that one would usually find in a small corner market in Tokyo. 

I was looking for cream melon soda, and even though they did not stock it they were more than willing to order a case for me which came in in less than a week.

They have wonderful homemade bento boxes that you can take home and warm up or take with you to any place that has a microwave. The bento boxes are really delicious and well made. Paired with a cold soft drink from their large selection or a cold Kirin or Sapporo and you have a wonderful lunch or light dinner. 

They also carry a nice selection of snacks as well as a small selection of accessories that one would find in a similar type store in Japan. 

There is also an area with table and chairs where you can heat up your selection and eat it on the premises.

For the person looking for Japanese foods and snacks this is the ideal place,

3 Stars

The Keg

The Keg

23 S. McClintock Drive

Tempe, AZ  85281

It was birthday time, and we decided to try The Keg for our dinner. The Keg has a birthday club which I highly recommend, as one dinner is free for the night. In honesty, it is only the main course that is free, with all side dishes and entrees additional cost.

We started off with cocktails - I ordered a chocolate martini and companion ordered a brandy alexander. Both cocktails were full measure and properly made. The barkeep definitely knows how to make a good cocktail and not skimp.

Next came appetizers. I ordered escargot with mushroom caps and companion ordered calamari with ginger sauce and feta sauce. Both appetizers were excellent and I could not resist dipping a piece of the fresh warm bread into the sauce. I'm not sure they would have to wash the plate after that!

Next was the main course. Companion ordered the 14 oz prime rib and pronounced it the best ever. It was served with asparagus and a side of mushrooms. The meat was so tender that companion could have eaten it with a spoon.

My main course was the 20 oz bone in rib steak, which is supposed to be the king of steaks. It was well seasoned. Unfortunately, mine was the joker of steaks. Filled with streaks of sinew that were virtually impossible to cut through or chew. I ordered a side of bearnaise sauce which came in a little metal pitcher that could hold about 2 oz and which was filled with about 1 oz of a very poor, tasteless bearnaise sauce totally devoid of any tarragon taste or champagne vinegar. My side dish was pencil asparagus that were properly cooked though no hollandaise sauce was offered with it, and a pile of limp, flaccid green beans that I'm sure saw a better life the day before.

As befitting a restaurant with a bill over $100, the place was spotless as was the bathroom. Service was paced and not rushed.

This is a mixed review in that one meal was outstanding and the other was poor to be generous. I have eaten USDA good steaks that were more tender than what was served to me. If I were the inspector for USDA I'd grade the steak as utility grade it was so poor. The manager came over and inquired about my steak, which I was busily trying to saw through. When I told him how poor it was he said he would come back and check on it, but he never came back and I have taken the remains home in the hope that a truly sharp knife will allow me to cut it up and feed it to my dogs. This is not meant to be an exaggeration nor a put down of the restaurant, but a plea that they either change their purveyor or inspect their meat more thoroughly. It was a very disappointing birthday.

3 stars for cleanliness, service, and some parts of the meal
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Beaver Choice

Beaver Choice

745 W Baseline Rd

Mesa, AZ 85210

Five of us along with a three year old visited the restaurant on a Thursday night to take advantage of the all you can eat pierogi offer. Having written reviews for many years, this restaurant presented me with a number of dilemmas in evaluating it.

The food represents a number of disparate countries including Germany, Sweden, Poland and Canada. While the food was tasty, the choices on the menu often led to confusion in ordering, with customers wanting to change around a lot of dishes to suit their tastes. Fortunately, we had an excellent waitress who did her best to keep everyone happy.

I ordered the all you can eat Pierogis, which comes with soup and salad. The salad is in a bowl on a table at the end of the room, and is quite ordinary. The dressing is in two squirt bottles that sit in a bowl of ice. The dressing is quite tasty, but the seasonings in it blocked the spout, and then suddenly shot out of the bottle drenching the salad.

Next, was the soup. It was kept in an electric kettle with a broken lid. The soup was a traditional European style borscht which had a chicken broth base, cabbage and thick sliced beets. It was an excellent soup, though I would have preferred that the beets were cut up a lot smaller and thinner.

What should have been the high point of my dinner was a bunch of gummy, thick dough pierogi’s in a selection of only 4 types. When I inquired about the selection since they advertise all you can eat, I was told that they only put out 4 types because they can’t keep up with the demand. In the hour and a half that I was there, I never once observed the pans of pierogi’s get low enough that they had to be refilled.

Companion had the Skomakarlada (Swedish Shoebox) which had a nice gravy and several nice medallions but which was buried under a huge mass of mashed potatoes. Companion had asked them to put some extra mushrooms on the plate, and was charged $1.75 for the mushrooms that none of us could find.

Another companion had the Hunter Schnitzel, which was a nice sized portion and came with two salads and a huge portion of mashed potatoes with gravy. A heavy plate to say the least.

One of our companions was a vegetarian and wanted the pierogi special, but was unable to eat the soup portion owing to its base of chicken broth.

The high point of the meal was the desserts. I had the Lingonberry Ice Cream which was excellent and the best part of my meal. A number of others in our party ordered the same thing after they saw mine. Companion had the Lemon Fluff, which was a beautifully done and excellent tasting meringue.

The bill was presented and I gave my Amex card. Their web site says that they accept it. I was asked by our waitress to use a different card because Amex charges them 1% more than the other cards. When I refused, they told me they would charge me 5% more on the bill to cover my using Amex. This is the height of being cheap! Never in all my days reviewing restaurants have I ever been subjected to something like this. I have had places say that they don’t accept Amex, and that is their privilege, but to add on a charge that isn’t even close to what they get charged smacks of a place that is worried about every little dime and is worried about possibly closing.

I cannot in all honesty give this restaurant the rating that it should deserve. The food was very good, and the service was adequate, but the place was more than half empty, poorly decorated, and did not want to take a credit card that they clearly accept.

2 stars for quality of food and service.

First Watch

First Watch

1665 S. Dobson Road

Mesa, AZ

I had just returned from a trip to Orlando, Florida where I was introduced to First Watch. Coming back to the Phoenix area I wanted to see if the quality of the food was the same or if it varied with each location.

Companion and I arrived at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast. First Watch serves breakfast and lunch at all times that it is open.

Our waiter arrived with a bottomless pot of good coffee to start the meal. We were handed menus and were not rushed to make our selections. I ordered eggs benedict florentine and companion ordered the bacado omelet with avocado. We both ordered a muffin on the side.

My eggs were perfectly poached sitting on a bed of spinach, tomato and avocado. Cutting into the egg provided a small waterfall of yolk pouring over the other items.

Companion had bacon, avocado, and Monterey Jack on homemade whole grain bread topped with sour cream and pico de gallo. Portions were so large that companion was not able to finish the plate, and I barely was able to finish mine.

For me, picking a perfect avocado is an exercise in futility, and mine usually have a few spots that are less than perfect. I don’t know what their secret is, but they go through tons of avocados and everyone is perfect!

Each location makes all of its food from scratch, which includes baked goods. Their muffins are most likely made somewhere in heaven and should not be missed. Cut in half and slathered with real butter it is a real treat.

Service could be better, but cleanliness is spot on and food prep cannot be beat.

3 stars for now with the possibility of a 4^th on the next review.

Koreatown

Koreatown

1832 W Broadway Rd.

Mesa, AZ 85202

This is the “new kid on the block” and I wanted to see if it lived up to all the hype I had heard about it. Companion and I went for lunch, as we both are very fond of Korean food. On entering, we noticed quite a few people eating their lunch there – hopefully a good sign of food to come.

We were seated quickly, and given menus. Our server explained that they had only been open for several weeks and that many of the recipes were from the owner’s family.

After ordering soft drinks, we placed an order for dac bulgagi, which is a variant on the regular bulgagi in that it is made with chicken instead of beef. While we were waiting we were brought about ten banchan or appetizers that we could either snack on then or eat with the meal. We did a bit of snacking and saved the rest for the meal.

The banchan was excellent, and particular kudos for the kimchi, which is made in house. I could have easily finished several portions of it.

In due time, the main course arrived – a large platter heaping with steaming hot dac bulgagi. I’ve eaten this dish in many places and this was some of the best I have had the pleasure of eating. The sauce was obviously homemade.

It was hard to finish the pile of chicken, but we made a valiant effort and in the end took a small box with us.

The owner visited our table to check on us and to let us know that these were his family’s recipes. While we did not have room to eat another bite, the flavor and quality of the food will encourage me to visit again and try some other dishes.

4 stars for good service, good food, and cleanliness.

Christopher's and Crush Lounge - CLOSED

Christopher’s and Crush Lounge

2502 E Camelback Rd. Suite #102

Phoenix, AZ 85016

As part of Phoenix Restaurant Week 2016, this restaurant was one of several chosen to be reviewed. Companion and I arrived at 5:30 with reservations and were immediately seated. During this week, participating restaurants serve a prix fixe menu, and those who don’t get to eat in some of the more pricey venues get to enjoy them at lower prices.

Our waiter was immediately at our table and introduced himself. I explained that we were there to try the special menu and we were handed both the special menu as well as the regular menu and the rather large spirit list.

We started with cocktails – myself with a Beefeater extra dry martini with a double olive and companion with a pink squirrel. We were a bit surprised at being told that the bar did not have all the ingredients for the pink squirrel, and that it also did not have a blender. Yet, by doing some judicious substituting and some excellent shaking, they were able to come up with a very close substitute for the pink squirrel.

Next, we ordered appetizers. Companion had a large diver scallop, properly seared and perfectly cooked and served with tiny ravioli’s in an excellent sauce. I ordered the cassolette of mushrooms with port sauce. This was a mélange of wild mushrooms including a very young king mushroom in an almost sweet port sauce that was anything but overwhelming and allowed the essence of the mushrooms to come through. I appreciated that the mushrooms were not overcooked and still had good texture.

For the main courses, companion had a very tender petite fillet served over gratin potatoes that had just enough cheese to give flavor without overwhelming the potato. It was interesting that the potatoes were sliced paper thin, were properly cooked, yet still had texture. My main course was the breast of duck with sherry sauce. Duck should be cooked rare or medium rare, and I was not disappointed. The sauce was excellent as was the bed of baby asparagus the duck was served on. A nugget of roasted garlic provided a perfect counterpoint to some of the flavors.

Christopher’s is noted for some of its desserts, and we were not disappointed. Companion had a lemon tarte with berry sauce. The plate also had the base of a tuile covered in a lemon/lime foam that was outstanding and easily cleaned the palate. For myself, I had the gateau marjolaine which had some of the most decadent fudge on it that I have ever eaten, along with a deep chocolate glace sitting on the same tuile unfolded with I believe walnuts underneath it. A sprinkling of fresh berries finished the plate.

An excellent pot of French Press coffee finished off the meal.

As is expected in a restaurant of this caliber, service is polished and cleanliness is on point. Companion only had one complaint and that was with the continuous water to wash hands in the restroom. Companion felt that it was impossible to open a door without it having been touched before by someone who use the restroom first and had not yet washed their hands.

5 stars for excellent service, excellent food, cleanliness and atmosphere.

Chambers Meat Company

Delivery only at this time - Opening a shop in downtown Phoenix shortly

This isn't a restaurant, so why am I reviewing it you may ask. This is one of the only sources of Mutton available off the reservations, and one of the only sources in the entire U.S.

I ordered a Leg of Mutton and a Slab of Ribs. Due to a small mix up, the order was delivered the next day instead of on a Friday, but with a new business, some small problems are bound to crop up. They take most credit cards including Amex.

The Leg weighed at least 5 pounds, and looked very nice. It came wrapped in white butcher paper, which was another minor problem. Since the Mutton arrived in the evening, it was placed in the refrigerator till the next morning. Unfortunately, the paper had bled through and then stuck to the meat. A bit of washing removed all the paper, but I have suggested that they look into a different type of wrapping which will not leak.

After the leg was washed up, I vacuum packed it and placed it in the freezer for a later time when I have enough people to eat it. We were only 5, and it could easily have fed 8.

Next were the ribs. Another small mistake here because only 1/2 slab was delivered instead of the full slab. Contacting the owner resulted in an email apologizing and letting me know it would be made up on the next order.

The ribs were of a nice size, and had the chine bone removed as I had asked for. This results in an easy to cut rack. It was seasoned the night before cooking with onion powder and garlic powder only. I have a weakness for lamb with garlic.

I cooked the ribs in my smoker without smoke at 275 degrees for an hour and a half. Taking the ribs off the smoker, I was greeted by a wonderful aroma. Cutting the ribs apart in the kitchen was a breeze, and I could not resist having a taste. I should point out that other than in the U.K., I have never been able to obtain or eat Mutton, so this was going to be an experience.

The ribs were flavorful and tender, having been cooked to medium rare. The meat is slightly more to the tooth than lamb ribs, but not by a whole lot more. We all agreed that the flavor was excellent and the only thing left was a nice sized pile of bones.

One of my companions renamed the ribs as lambsicles, as they have a long bone with meat on it when ends up in a small chop. These would be great to informally nibble on while watching a game or even playing one. Served with a bit of Patak chutney and some hot mustard and this is a real winner.

4 stars until they get a storefront at which time I will re-review them.