Sunday, August 14, 2011

Good Eats in Arizona

It's Friday night, and Jamie and I just had a hot date with the 3-mile track.  Yes, my friends, it's that serious.  I recently spent a week with my aunts in Phoenix/Sedona, and we had some good eats and cool treats.  And now I have some serious chunk, compliments to the junk.  The trip was tons of fun, and I'm already looking forward to the next fun-cation. :) 

Some of these pictures are with my camera, and some of them are with my phone...I tried not to embarrass Kay and June at every meal by pulling out my ginormous-paparazzi camera and drawing attention to our party.  They think I might have missed my calling as a food critic.  The one thing that is certain, is that those two (with help from YELP) know the places to go and the things to order.   

We had a hard time narrowing down our favorite dishes, but here are the meals that made the list...


Forget the narrowing down, this was my favorite dish: Pollo Fundido from El Encanto Dos.  The meal as a whole was not the best--for example, after one bite of this dish, I regretted giving any stomach space away to the mediocre chips and salsa--but the dish itself was to die for.  If you've never had Pollo Fundido, it's a tortilla filled to the brim with chicken and chilies, deep fried, and smothered in a rich and creamy cheese-sauce.  And if you ever visit this restaurant in Phoenix, order it! 

Twice, we went out for brunch.  Our first stop was Postino, a wine bar that serves brunch on the weekends.  For our starter, we ordered a sampling of four different types of bruschetta.

The one on the left is a warm artichoke spread, then burrata, bacon, arugula and tomato, roasted peppers with goat cheese, and brie and apples with fig spread.  


Each one was absolutely delectable.  


 I will definitely be trying these out at home. 


And if I ever make it back to Postino, I will only order bruschetta so that I can try every single combination available on the menu. 


We also had a B.E.L.T.  (B.E.L.T. = B.L.T. + Egg)  Unfortunately for my love-handles, it was also delicious.


Our next brunch was at U.S. Egg.  They are known for their Protein Pancakes and Hot Skillets.  As you can see, I had the full experience.



Are you full yet?  We were....

On our way to Sedona, we stopped in Jerome for a meal at Quince.  This was probably our all-around favorite meal.  


The New Mexican Cheeseburger: A perfectly cooked burger with green chilies and chipotle-mayo.   

And Fish Tacos with Mango-Jalapeno Pico de Gallo, which were every bit as good as they look.


Pomegranate seeds were mixed into the guacamole (along with black beans and corn)...and sprinkled on top to make it look so purty--this is another something that I will definitely be trying at home.   

And when in Sedona, we received numerous recommendations for Elote


The Elote was the best part.  Elote=fire roasted corn with spicy mayo, lime & cotija cheese.  YUM! 


 Guacamole


I ordered Carne Asada.


June ordered Smoked Pork Cheeks....it's okay, you can giggle! :)


And Kay ordered Lamb Adobo.  

You can see that each dish was absolutely beautiful, and good; but again, the Elote was the best part of the meal.  Some of the flavors in the main dishes were so strong that we, with our critical taste-buds, felt like they were competing with one another.  We're still waiting on the call to judge Top-Chef Masters.  Until then....

...you can trust us.  We like to eat. 

The Wildflower Bread Company was a Panera-type restaurant in Sedona.  We packed these sandwiches in a cooler and took them on a hike up a mountain.  


 Turkey Breast and Brie


Roast Beef and Gorgonzola


My sandwich won most original.  It was the Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich, with fresh mozzarella, fig confit, tomato, arugula, fennel and Balsamic Vinaigrette on Herb Focaccia. 

And June thought I was nutso, but when I saw IN-N-OUT burger, I begged them to stop.  After all, ordering off of the secret menu was on my bucket list... 


Kay and June ordered boring old burgers.  I ordered mine Animal Style....oh yeah.  Check, and check! 


And that, my friends, is just about all that I can stomach right now.  I hope you enjoyed the pics, and possibly gained some culinary inspiration.  I can't wait to experiment  with the ideas that I gained...but for now, I must focus on the weight that I gained.  It's time for This Little Piggy to quit blogging and get back to P90X and Detox Tea.

3 comments:

  1. Yum! We had fish tacos with fresh pineapple & avocado salsa for lunch today.
    I think I gained 10 lbs just looking at your pictures! :) Love, Mom

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  2. Zelda, you already are a food critic!!!! This is an amazing blog! I want to do it all over again - as soon as my pants fit. However, disappointed that there is no mention of sprinkles - or is that our little secret? Afraid pudding in the mix might rock your world? June

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  3. Glad Laramie had a fun time with Kay & June gaining all that weight! Now she's back here and all she'll cook is health food :( I think I just had a dinner of squash with nuts and twigs mixed in! ~Jamie

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