Benihana

3025 W Chandler Blvd
Chandler, AZ 85226

Our reservation was for 6:30 and was honored on time. The restaurant was full and was very noisy. Our table was in the very back and we were told that it was not a table that is usually used. We found the area temperature to be quite cold and asked to have it turned up. After a while a somewhat disheveled manager with his tie in all directions except the correct one showed up and said he turned the temp up.

 

Orders were taken and that was the last we saw of our wait person for some time. He eventually showed up and told us that he had to check out another table which took a long time. Salads were brought, all exactly the same with a dollop of unidentifiable dressing on top and the bottom swimming in water.

After an unknown span of time, the show started, with the first thing being that our cook forgot to bring eggs and had to ask for someone to bring them to him. 

Appetizers were brought from the kitchn for those who ordered them. I ordered the soft shell crab, and it was nicely cooked though the dipping sauce could have used a bit of thought in its preparation. Companion ordered gyoza's, which showed up just at the same time as the main course. The other companions ordered tempura and sushi all of which arrived at the exact same time requiring the rest of us to move our plates over to make room for the burgeoning load of dishes.]

There did not seem to be any order or direction to how the meals were cooked. It appeared that the cooking of the chicken fried rice was of great importance while main courses waited. The cook tried too chat with us but the place was so noisy that it was often difficult to hear what he had to say. Two of the people at our table should not have been allowed in according to the "official" dress code of Benihana. The man came to the table in a sweat shirt and pants and the lady insisted on playing loud games on her phone. If your going to have rules than enforce them of get rid of them.

My main course was the spicy shrimp. They were nicely cooked and came with 2 pieces of pepper and that is all. The rice which I had ordered never came and was never served.

Companion ordered the Steak Yakisoba, and was the last to be served at the table. It wasn't even started cooking until everyone else was served.

After the entire table of 8 was finished our cook served an appetizer as well as a pile of onions and mushrooms to everyone. It seemed a bit out of order, since we were all mostly finished eating and the appetizer shows up!

Finally, we were offered dessert of ice cream or sherbert. This was one of the highlights of the meal.

Inspection of the bathrooms showed them to be badly in need of attention and cleaning. Sanitation at our table left a bit to be desired as plates were not bussed until there were piles of them.

To say that I was disappointed in the dinner is putting it mildly. This was a birthday celebration which turned into a partial disaster. When I spend $240 for dinner for 4 I expect a lot better than I got.

2 stars and that's all.

Koreatown - 3rd Review

Koreatown
1832 W Broadway Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85202

I am so happy to report that Koreatown has done a complete turn around as well as an all new interior. It is now set up for Korean BBQ with tables being able to cook their own food. The decor is outstanding, and the food has improved so very much.

Companion and I came to eat Korean Fried Chicken, and were not in the slightest disappointed. A large pile of succulent, crackling fried chicken pieces perfectly cooked. We ordered half with garlic and half with gochujang and were not in the slightest disappointed. Wonderful flavors assailed our taste buds. 

Our banchan was up to usual standards with the Daikon as usual being terrific as well as the Kimchi. New items have been added to the banchan and were a welcome invitation to nibble.

Our drinks were not on the menu, but were produced upon our asking - Barley and Corn water, which is wonderful with the rest of the meal.

Our meal was excellent and of course, we will be returning to try the new BBQ menu. The owner informs me that they are bringing on a third chef and will be redoing the menu, removing non popular items and perhaps offering some new items as well.

The place was spotless, well lit, and well ventilated so that the smoke from the BBQ was removed immediately.

The turnaround is so complete that I have re-evaluated my thoughts and am taking them back up to 5 stars for the best Korean Fried Chicken I have ever eaten. 

Great food, Great Cleanliness, Pleasant people. 

Highly Recommended

The Keg - 2nd Review

The Keg - 2nd Review

23 S. McClintock Drive

Tempe, AZ  85281

The Keg was last reviewed by me on 12/22/2016. My review at that time was mixed with the service being good and the food review being mixed.

I returned to The Keg on 12/20/2021 and reviewed it again. In all honesty, I can't say I saw any improvement and if anything, it has gone downhill.

We were seated immediately and our waitress came over after a bit of time and gave her introduction. We informed her that this was a birthday celebration to which she gave a perfunctory nod and promptly forgot about it.

Companion and I ordered the garlic shrimp to start. It was served in an escargot dish and had more cheese than any other seasoning on it. On the plus side it arrived still sizzling on the plate.

We next both ordered the bone in rib steak, which is usually noted for its fine flavor and texture. The steak would pass as USDA grade good, but certainly not choice. The seasoning was spot on, mne was served blue, and not close to rare as I had ordered it.

We also ordered the cream corn for two, which had excellent flavor and a little spice from chile's. My personal preference would have been a thicker sauce or a bit less of it, however, that is my personal preference. Unfortunately, it came with the appetizer and had to be sent back to be remade for the main dish. I am not sure if it was actually remade or was reheated and served again.

My dish came with fresh vegetables, which unlike the last time I visited were a vast improvement in flavor and freshness.

Unfortunately, our waitress was in dire need of training. I had to call the manager over to clear the table because no one else would clear it. Our waitress came to our table and said she would get us refills, but it was late in the meal before they showed up.

Next was dessert, or lack thereof. Companion ordered the Billy Miner Pie, which is a signature dessert of The Keg chain. The waitress came back and told us that they were out of their signature dessert. I ordered carrot cake. The waitress came back and told us that they were out of carrot cake. In frustration, I asked what they did have and was offered creme brulee. The creme brulee was properly made, but would have been so much nicer with the addition of some berries as many high end restaurants serve theirs.Alas, no berries were to be found.

We asked for our check, and the first one to arrive was $159.00. When it was questioned, the waitress took it to the manager who took off the two desserts. Next, we reminded her that this was a birthday and back again to the manager to take off the cost of one dinner. After perusing the new bill, we found that the rib steak which is on the menu for $45.00 was marked up to $54.00. There was no notice on the menu or from the waitress that the price of the steak was higher even though it was on the menu at a lower price. Yet another trip to the manager reduced the price of the steaks to $45.00. Final bill was $87.56.

Dings - First and foremost our waitress Destiny should not be allowed to wait on customers. In all my years as a critic I have never had such poor service.

Second, the restaurant needs to find a new meat purveyor. Either they are trying to pass off lower grade steaks as high end, or the meat purveyor is not giving them what they think they are getting.

Cudos - Unlike many other steak houses they give you a real steak knife (not serrated) to cut your meat with. Unfortunately, the steak knife is placed on the butter plate and the butter knife is with the fork and spoon.

3 stars bordering on 2 stars

Chen's Noodle House

1043 E Lemon St

Tempe, AZ 85281

Companion and I had a yearning for real szechuan food and we selected this restaurant. A small place almost hidden and in the middle of housing for Arizona State University.

We were seated immediately and the first thing I noticed was that we were the only yuán yǎn (round eye) people in the place. This is a good thing because if asian people are eating here the food must be good.

It was time to start ordering. We ordered duck in house sauce Shanghai style to start. It was spiced with 5 spice powder and while I liked it companion thought it had too much 5 spice on it.  Next came real kung pao chicken made with real Szechwan pepper. As my tongue became numb I found myself truly enjoying this dish along with guizhou pickled chili fried rice. It was delicious and reminded me of food I ate in China.

Next were chicken skewers and lamb skewers which were scalding hot but quite tasty. We followed this up with Chinese cured pork belly with garlic. Thin succulent pieces of pork mixed with leeks, onions, green peppers and garlic. We both loved this dish. 

Last was home style tofu. Triangles of extra firm tofu in a house sauce. This was the only dish that we both rated as fair. We agreed we would have preferred a bit more flavor in it, though the texture was quite nice.

They also have a number of American style Chinese dishes available, but why would someone come to an authentic Szechuan restaurant to eat American Chinese food?

The lady who served out table was wonderful and made helpful suggestions. While the place may be small, it was friendly and comfortable and our server kept coming back to check on us to see if there was anything else we needed. 

While most people won't order all that we did (since I'm writing about the place), the prices are reasonable and fair.

5 stars for outstanding food, cleanliness and comfort.

Bell' Italia Pizzeria

4909 E Chandler Blvd
Phoenix, Az  85048

This evening I ate at Bell' Italia Pizza on Chandler Blvd. It's a tiny place with huge flavors. 

First, they brought out homemade bread with a dish of olive oil and balsamic with a touch of fresh pepper. I could have easily made a meal just out of the bread. Chewy with great texture we finished off 2 baskets of it.

Companion ordered the small Supreme Pizza. When it came, it was loaded with toppings.

For myself, I wanted to try the clam pizza but I also wanted a main course. The wait person brought me a single slice of the pizza and the rest was put in a box to take home. The crust was a true New York style crust and the pizza was loaded with little chubby clams and garlic.

My main course was Linguine with Clam Sauce, and it was unusual in that instead of the usual chopped canned clams this was made with  whole baby clams and lots of garlic.

People kept coming in for take out orders and one was a huge 24" pizza that could have fed a small army. 

Dessert was mini cannoli and light as a feather Tiramisu, both of which were wonderful.

If you are in the area give them a try. You won't regret it.

5 stars for excellent food, and nice atmosphere..

RigaToni's

 1850 E Warner Rd.
 Tempe, AZ 85284

Rigatoni's is part of a nationwide chain of Italian style restaurants catering to the family style dinner.

The restaurant is crowded, noisy, and seems to do a large business in take out.

Companion and I arrived for dinner at 6:15 without a reservation, and had to wait for 30 minutes to be seated. This was our mistake, as we usually have reservations, but were unaware of how full the restaurant would be.

After a full 30 minute wait, we were seated. The hard surfaces in the dining room reflect all the chatter at the tables forcing most people to shout at each other instead of having a quiet conversation.

Our waiter showed up after a wait of 17 minutes and asked about drinks. Companion asked for a drink that the bar had no knowledge of (Caesar) and eventually settled for a glass of water. I had a glass of tea that was decent.

15 minutes later our waiter arrived with our drinks, salad, and bread. The bread was nice, but when he was asked for balsamic vinegar it arrived 12 minutes later after the bread was cold and mostly gone. The salad, he assured us was very special. I can only guess that his idea of special and mine were entirely different. The salad had an almost sawdust texture which I attribute to the crab that was put in it. It would have been lovely had it been even back fin crab, but this was picked crab of the lowest quality.

As I perused the menu I noticed the Seafood Special of the Day. Our waiter did not seem to know much about it and scurried off to learn more. After some time he returned to announce that the Seafood Special was not on the menu nor had it been for some time, yet there it was, in black and white.

Returning to the menu, I selected the Seafood Bake. Had I taken the time to really look at the ingredients, I would not have selected it since it contained the same crab that was in the salad, in the same sawdust like texture. Companion ordered the Pasta Jambalya. Apparently someone can't spell Jambalaya or they didn't want to mislead people into thinking this was a real jambalaya.

Our food arrived in record time. My Seafood Bake I am sure, never saw even the door of the oven much less the inside. The number of shrimp was very nice, but I have still not figured out how one shrimp could be overcooked to the point of almost falling apart and the others were cooked properly. As for the newburg sauce it was supposed to be cooked in, it was close to non-existent and what little there was had little or no flavor.

Companions Jambalya. had some excellent andouille sausage that had real bite to it along with shrimp and chicken. Once again, the cream sauce that was supposed to accompany it was sadly almost missing.

Dessert was supposed to be apple bread pudding, but sadly, there were no apples to be found and the blob of ersatz whipped cream quickly melted onto the plate causing the pudding to swim in it.

While I would like to be generous in my evaluation, poor service, food that is advertised but not available and food that is not properly prepared forces my hand.

2 stars.

Chuck's Butcher Block Meats

6606 E McKellips Rd
Ste 104 
Mesa, AZ 85215

While I normally only review restaurants, I could not in good conscience not review this establishment.

I was making Bistecca alla Fiorentina, which requires a huge porterhouse to make it correctly. Restaurants usually use a rather small porterhouse in the area of a pound and a half. I was looking for something a bit more of the same size used in Florence, Italy. While we don't have their breed of cattle here, we do have some nice angus beef. Calling all around the Phoenix area for the cut I wanted, I only found 2 places that  had what I wanted and that could have it for me while I waited. Settling on Chuck's was an excellent choice. My "small" porterhouse was about 4.5 pounds and about 3.5 inches thick. Best of all, it was prime beef, nicely marbled and cleaned of bone dust and excess fat particles. I also tried some other items from the shop, notably smoked pork chops and chile sausages, but I digress.

As a person who has quite literally eaten my way around the world, I've certainly developed a palate for quality beef, and this cut was right up there with the best. Seasoned with nothing more than Maldon Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper, the meat was lovingly caressed with beautiful extra virgin olive oil and allowed to rest for 12 hours. At the appointed time, this mammoth piece of beef was removed from the fridge and allowed to come to room temperature. 

The beef was cooked on an open fire at high heat for 10 minutes on the first side, 8 minutes on the flip side, and 5 minutes on the bone side. After a rest of 5 minutes, the beef was sliced. 

Magnificent, tender slices of fillet and strip steak adorned the platter showing off their beautiful rare to crusty coloration.  Served with roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted shallots, and some lovely bearnaise sauce this was a meal fit for a king. 

The beef barely needed to be chewed, as it fairly melted in my mouth. Washed down with a nice Lambrusco, it was excellent. While this is a bit on the costly side, it was well worth it. Not only did it make a wonderful dinner, but it will again, and probably also make some nice lunches.

My review is 5 stars for quality, service, and cleanliness of the premises. 

Highly Recommended!