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Eat at a Local Central Phoenix Restaurant Tonight: Here Are Some Options!

By | Local Phoenix, Local Restaurants | No Comments
The Halibut Sandwich

Windsor’s Halibut Sandwich

My friend Chris emailed me today asking if I’d recommend some fun local spots for dinner. I realized it would make a great post. Just getting out of the house for a date when you have kids is a challenge. Eating out on a budget and trying to find a new local restaurant to try is an accomplishment!

Not only does shopping locally yield delicious food and a unique sense of community, it can improve your local economy. According to Local First http://www.localfirst.com/why_local_first/, when we spend $100 locally, $68 stay in the state vs. $43 spent at big box or chain restaurants. We can make a huge improvement in our local economy by just spending our dollars here.

Of course, you don’t have to spend $100 to enjoy the benefits of eating local. Rob and I recently challenged ourselves to spend under $20 on a date – eating local food. And we did it! I promise to post how we did it soon.

We tend to gravitate toward the same spots in Central Phoenix, not only because they are local and we like the food but because after a while, we’ve discovered we feel a sense of community seeing the same people there. Phoenix is a pretty small town once you start eaten local.

Here are some great local spots you might consider if you’re looking for something to do tonight on your date.

Postino’s Wine Cafe – the Central location. On the West side of central just north of Camelback, it’s hip without being stuck up. Food is simple but flavorful and fresh. You’ll find bruschetta and wine, paninis and salads. Delicious beers on tap and of course, a full selection of wine. (see the name!) If you get dessert, try the salted caramel sunday. Oh.my.gosh.

Windsor – American-style food with a much fresher flavor. Owned by the same people who own Postinos. Great energy (fun!) and same great beer pitcher prices though usually different selections. One of my favorite meals is the grain salad with roasted beets. Also, the pulled pork sandwich. YUM! Here’s my Windsor review.

For dessert after Windsor – try Churn, the homemade Ice Cream spot right next door. They serve flavors like coconut lime, fresh blackberry and of course, the normal vanilla-chocolate etc. SO good. They also offer sundaes and ice cream sandwiches.

St. Francis is great for a little ‘fancier’ (and only slightly more expensive) dining experience. I reviewed them for breakfast one time but their dinners are fab too. I just always forget to take pics before digging into the food. Their food is also locally sourced, fairly healthy and delicious. Yummy drinks too.

Here’s the brunch review. Their architecture is cool too – try to get seated upstairs above the bar for a great view.

If you want to stop for coffee after dinner – try Lux just down the street. They’re south of Camelback on the west side of Central across from Central High. Delicious coffee – and the shop is always hoppin’ without feeling too busy. They serve food too and it’s delicious but the ambience is not as “restaurant-y” as the other spots.

I love all these local spots because not only do they tend to be delicious and locally sourced foods but made from scratch kind of places too.

This is a short, short list of your options in Phoenix. Other restaurants that come to mind are The Vig Uptown and Cibo (Oh my yes).

Don’t take my word for it. Venture out and try something new!

Remember if you’re eating in Central Phoenix, you’ll be parking valet. It’s worth the extra few bucks not to have your car towed because you parked in the wrong spot. Trust me on this.

And have a great night out! It’s getting cooolllllll!!

What are you favorite local spots in Phoenix?

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Windsor Restaurant Review

By | Local Restaurants | No Comments

Rob and I, like most parents we know, are on a budget. So, date nights when we actually go out for dinner are a special event.  When we do go out, we choose local restaurants.  We love meeting our neighbors and supporting the local economy. According to Local First Arizona, when we spend $100 at local businesses, $73 stays in the state. When we spend the same amount at a big box store, only $43 stays in state. It’s a painless way to invest in our own communites.

Don’t know any good local businesses? No problem! Over the next few months, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite local spots and introduce some friends who also love to shop local.

This week’s choice is Windsor Restaurant. Here are some of my favorite things about this restaurant.

Food: Craig DeMarco, owner of Postinos, opened Windsor earlier this year. So you know right off the bat that the service and the food are top notch. I’m always impressed with the servers at both Postinos and Windsor (and that’s saying a lot). They are friendly and efficient without ever making you feel rushed. The menu includes a variety of foods from burgers, salads and chicken sandwiches to a halibut sandwich and the porkwich  (Ahhhh….mouthwatering!).

The Halibut Sandwich

The Halibut Sandwich. My friend ate this the other night. My pregnant taste buds weren’t in the mood for fish but she loved it!

My favorite dish at Windsor is the grain salad, which sports a panoply of cooked grains like quinoa, pearled barley and kamut as well as veggies like carrots, beets and squash, topped with ricotta and an orange dressing. I fantasize about this salad when I haven’t been in a while.

The grain salad. This is a half portion. My friend and I split it. Never liked beets till I tasted this!

If you’re into spirits, they have a full bar and offer happy hour daily from 11-5. Cocktails or pitchers of beer are only $5.

My friend ordered the No. 11 – gin, blackberry and lemon. It looked very refreshing. Isn’t that fresh blackberry beautiful?

Local sources: As much as possible, Windsor sources their ingredients from locally owned businesses. Suppliers include Willie ItuleMJ Bread & Avalon gourmet, Mount Hope (spices) and Tenderbelly. Tenderbelly recently moved their processing operation from AZ to Iowa due to supply needs but they still get a thumbs up from me because they only use hogs that have been raised on good food and no antibiotics.

Kid friendly: When the weather is cool enough to sit on the patio, I’d say this restaurant is “older” children friendly (no booster seats or high chairs). The menu includes small hamburgers and little corn dog poppers. We actually took Destructo Girl (2yo) when they first opened this spring and while they were super sweet about accommodating her, they aren’t actually set up for small people. Thankfully, we were outside and she spent her spare moments dancing out of the way. Kids who can sit quietly in their own chairs (5 & up) are fine. That’s ok with us. We like going there for dates anyway. Still, the staff gets five stars from me for being so cool about it.

Elegant bar seating

Ambience: Windsor relies on the combination of exposed brick, retro style lights and dark wood to create a cool, upscale winebar.

Have some fun picking out some old favorites.

I know it might be hard to imagine right now (if the heat has fried your brain like it has mine) but most of the year, sitting on the patio is a lovely experience. The greenery and strings of white lights give Windor’s enclosed patio a comfortable, relaxed feel. And, they have misters! I love the touches of wood surrounding the seating area.

Cool patio seating            

Parking: Windsor is on Central and has limited parking so, like Postinos, they offer valet. It’s really the easiest option so bring a few extra bucks and save yourself a ticket. There’s no parking in the neighborhood.

Bonus: If you have room for dessert, stroll next door to Churn, the attached ice cream shop. They have delicious homemade style ice cream and even offer ice cream sandwiches. More on them in another post.

That’s it for today. Windsor is located on the southeast corner of Oregon and Central just a bit north of Camelback. If you’re going out this weekend, try some great local food and meet a few of your neighbors.

                  Phoenix, AZ 85013

http://windsoraz.com 
Windsor on Urbanspoon

Barrio Cafe Review

By | Local Restaurants | No Comments

This weekend, Robert and I were thrilled to have a babysitter on a Saturday night, a rare ocurrence since he works on Sundays. Once I’d styled my hair (no ponytail!), put on makeup and found a shirt that didn’t have toddler fingerprints on it, we made our escape. We drove away laughing at the game my sister had our girls enthralled in – a practice Easter egg hunt with pinecones. Then, it occurred to us that we had no idea where we wanted to eat. So, we Yelped and came up with the Barrio Cafe. What an incredible choice that turned out to be!

We arrived at Barrio and had to circle the block twice before we could find a parking spot – and we chose the street just to the north so that we could walk a bit. The restaurant is located in a strip of stores along 16th street just south of Thomas. When we arrived around 6:45 pm to put our names in for a table for two, the manager told us the wait would be around an hour. It was a beautiful evening so we parked ourselves on the patio and enjoyed the cool breeze. With us were a lot of other people who were clearly enthused about the coming dinner and unperturbed by the wait – or the view of the laundrymat across the street. After all, it is the “Barrio” Cafe.

In just over an hour, we found ourselves sitting at a table with a great view of guitarist and vocalist Gustavo Angeles and awaiting the creations of Barrio’s James Beard nominated chef, Silvana Salcido Esparza. As we sat there with our stomachs growling at the delicious fragrances wafting from the kitchen, we checked out our surroundings. The restaurant is small in a cozy sort of way and decorated like a neighborhood place – with Virgin Mary candles on the tables and awards framed on the wall.

There were so many delicious looking options on the menu, we had a hard time deciding what we wanted to eat. Robert chose the Torta de Pollo Jaiba, chicken breast seasoned with spiced hollandaise style sauce and topped with crab, avocado and Oaxacan cheese. Since it was a torta, it was on a soft artisan roll and came with steak fries and chipotle ketchup. Doesn’t it look good? His grin after the first bite confirmed that he was happy with his choice.

Um, we’d already devoured a lot of the steak fries before the pic!

I, on the other hand, wanted a real taco. So I went with Tacos de Cochinitapibil, slow roasted pork tacos after the Mayan tradition flavored with sour orange and served with salsa and queso fresco. As our waiter put it in front of me, I knew I’d picked the winner of the evening. The scent that reached my nose was the one that had been tempting me all evening. I squeezed a bit of the floral-fragranced lime on my taco, took a bite and found myself in Mexico.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

Ok. That’s an exaggeration. I didn’t actually go to Mexico but I might have brushed the border.

Listen. I have had a lot of Mexican food in my life. Not only did I grow up in a Mexican church where I enjoyed the cooking skills of the amazing mamas there (and ate beans with every breakfast!), I have been on quite a few trips to Mexico and enjoyed the best of the taco stands there. My mama made homemade tamales every year at Christmas when we were growing up.

But this taco, my friends, is nothing like anything I’ve ever tasted before now. The pork, cooked to a melting tenderness, was perfectly seasoned. The white corn tortillas tasted like they’d just been made. Unlike typical Mexican food joints that smother their dishes in cheese to disguise the lack of flavor, the addition of queso fresco to this dish simply provided a creamy contrast to the sour orange, spices and salsa. And, there was just enough heat. In short, it is one of the best meals I’ve eaten out in a long, long time.

Sadly, I had promised to give two of my tacos to Robert in exchange for part of his sandwich. And, I’m a woman of my word so I did – hoping he’d say he preferred his food. Just my luck, he fell in love with the taco too. I ate some of his sandwich but saved the rest for him. It was very good and in truth, if I hadn’t already tasted the taco, I probably would have loved it. But, the flavors weren’t as distinct as those of the tacos and it was a bit too creamy for my taste buds that night.

When we finished, our waiter did his best to entice us with dessert options but we were truly so full, we simply had no room for it. And, since we’d promised my sister we’d be home at a decent hour, we headed to the exit. I just had to take a picture of the bar there. Apparently they have over 100 tequilas. I believe it, don’t you?

As we were leaving, Barrio’s manager, Richard asked us where we’d be dining this coming Thursday, April 28, 2011. Apparently that day, Barrio is participating in Dining Out for Life, a fundraiser supported by local restaurants that raises money for the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, Arizona’s largest non-profit AIDS service organization. They are donating 100% of their proceeds from lunch that day, served from 11a-5pm. So, if you want to get a taste of Barrio’s incredible food and support a local non-profit, here’s your chance.

While there are some pricey items on the menu, there are plenty of wallet friendly options. So, head on down and support this local restaurant. It’s worth the wait and it definitely beats Applebees. Does anyone really still eat there with options like these?

Barrio Cafe
2814 N 16th Street

 
Barrio Cafe on Urbanspoon