Traveling for work can sometimes take you to big cities with tons of food. And sometimes it can take you to places like Idaho Falls, Idaho. It’s a place with a surprising amount of options considering the airport only has three gates, but, I mean, still. So on my first night there I went straight to a restaurant within a hotel, which is usually not a good plan, but I had read good things. It was called Bee’s Knees.

I took a look at the menu and immediately knew it was my kind of place. I kicked things off with Bacon Cheesy Fries. After all, I figured I needed potatoes in Idaho more than anything else. This was a wise choice, as the fries weren’t just topped with cheese, they were loaded with the stuff and then clearly spent some time in the oven to ensure it would all kinds of melty. The house-made bacon bits were also a nice touch and the cilantro ranch was easily the best sauce to dip in.

For my meal, I went with the Jalapeno and Cream Cheese Stuffed Burger. In addition to those stuffings, it was also topped with cheddar and brown sugared bacon. It came with a choice of a side, and lettuce, tomato, onion and a side pickle. By my waitress’s recommendation, I opted for the mac and cheese, opted out of all that other stuff and then attempted to order my burger medium rare. Unfortunately, I was told that Bee’s Knees doesn’t cook the burgers to order. This was disappointing to hear, but I figured it would still be good.

It arrived and I’m not sure I had ever seen such an attractive burger. It was loaded with cheese and bacon so much so that I couldn’t even see the meat in there. The mac and cheese looked pretty nice, too, with a pretty char on it. I dug into the burger and it was…well…tough. The meat was simply overcooked, and there wasn’t enough cream cheese stuffed inside to make up for that. And frankly it’s a shame, because everything else about the burger was fantastic. But, I mean, you gotta the core right.

That mac and cheese, however, kicked ass. It was creamy shells and cheese, and just what I needed to accompany a burger, especially one that fell short of my expectations.

So, maybe Bee’s Knees is not a burger place. They sure know how to make food look pretty, but only the sides really lived up to expectations.

The Phoenix area is wealthy in greasy Mexican fast food. These places generally have drive-through and are open 24/7. Moreover, they quite simply make the world a better place. Take Armando’s in Deer Valley, for example. I was hankering for something good on the way to northern Arizona, and Armando’s stood out like a shiny beacon calling for me.

Thus, I ordered the Carne Asada Fries and was pleased to find that these were fit for an unvegan – simply topped with carne asada, guacamole and a shredded cheese blend. The order came with a couple different salsas to choose from as well. I dug in and was met with pure carne asada fry bliss. The fries were crispy, the asada was mostly pretty good and the guacamole had a few chunks of onion here and there, but they were few and far between. Maybe I could complain that the cheese could have been meltier, but look at how beautiful this dish was.

And the best part? It was super cheap! Only $5 and change for food that will fill you up and only keep you coming back for more because the food is like crack, not because you’re still hungry. People can talk all they want about up and coming restaurants and places that require an hour-long wait, but give me fries like these from Armando’s almost any day instead and I will be a happy man.

Some were household names with tons of locations around the Valley of the Sun, like Grimaldi’s and Zoe’s, but others seemed a bit more special and I sought them out (along with some booze, of course).

The Italiano – Aioli Burger

I’d been hearing murmurings of how great this place was for a while now, and its victory at Burger Battle 2018 further cemented my desire to get there. This burger wasn’t perfect, nor would I expect it to be in such a situation, but the combination of mozzarella, bacon, basil garlic aioli, balsamic reduction and a discarded tomato made me more eager to seek out the real deal.

Mac Daddy – Tom’s BBQ

Is it proper to describe mac and cheese as wet in a bad way? Because that’s how I felt about the Mac Daddy, which is mac and cheese topped with pulled pork and BBQ sauce. Perhaps the measurements went awry in the kitchen, because a dish like this is very hard to mess up. Yet, it was underwhelming, leaving me thinking I should have hit up another spot in the BBQ region.

Carne Asada Fries – SuperFarm SuperTruck

This is a truck that knows how to make fries. The fries themselves were perfectly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, as well as seasoned to perfection. The beef was more ground than steak, but seasoned well, and the cilantro, cheese and sauce all acted in harmony with one another. The lime juice didn’t hurt either. These were easily my booze-free highlight of the festival.

Jollybeez Wings – Good Fortune Kitchen

What can I say? I’m a sucker for Filipino food. And while I can’t say I’ve ever had wings at an actual Jollibee, I have had balut and that should pretty much prepare me for anything. That said, the wing here was pretty good, and while there may have been a little too much focus on the corn and slaw? surrounding the wing, I was definitely a fan of the crispiness, meatiness, moistness and peanut sauce.

Unfortunately, one man can only eat so much. I left the Scottsdale Culinary Festival with not just a full stomach, but also a heart full of hope for the food scene in Phoenix. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like thing are bad in any way, but the variety I saw in places like Good Fortune Kitchen tells me that better foods are yet to come.

In my mind, you can’t have a good microbrewery without good food. It just can’t work. Therefore, I headed to Arizona Wilderness in Gilbert, a brewery with a rustic theme getting a lot of regional traction, to see if it could churn out food on par with the its beer reputation. But of course, I had to start of off with a beer before diving into the menu.

From the food side of the menu, Arizona Wilderness is known for its fries. Thus, we kicked things off with an order of When Pigs Fly Fries, fried in duck fat and topped with pulled pork and wilderness beer cheese. These were nothing short of savory deliciousness. They were not only packed with great flavor, but the toppings were plentiful. I would say that I was left wanting more, but in fact I was more interested in perhaps ordering more fries.

But I didn’t. I instead waited patiently for my burger. That burger was the After the Hike Burger (rustic, right?) and was topped with white cheddar, pork belly, bacon, avocado, a fried egg, an onion ring and LTO. I ordered without the LTO and stuck with the chips instead of upgrading to fries because I already had an ungodly amount of fries inside me. The burger was a thing of love, and certainly the kind of burger you would want to eat after a hike (or before it). Assuming, of course, that you don’t have to cook it yourself over an open flame because ain’t nobody got the energy for that. Thus, it’s good that Arizona Wilderness doesn’t make you cook your own food.

The chips, though, were really not great. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but they were just…vapid. It’s possible that they simply paled in comparison to the fries, but I am confident that they simply weren’t great.

In all, Arizona Wilderness was a pretty fantastic microbrewery. The beers were great, the fries were more than great and the burger was solid and meaty. Next time I find myself in the real wilderness, I may be wishing I was hanging in a brewery in Gilbert instead.

It is a very rare occasion in which I make a meal out of fries. It is even more rare that this happens at a Greek restaurant. Yet, when Pitta Souvli in Chandler offered up a special called Chipotle Gorgonzola Cheese Gyro Fries, I couldn’t resist. There was just one problem: nowhere in the description of the fries were tomatoes mentioned. And yet, as you can tell by the picture to the left, there were obviously tomatoes involved.

Fortunately, the tomatoes were all piled on top and they don’t leave too much of a residue, so when I removed them I could eat in peace.

And what peace it was. These fries were freaking delicious. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong with combining the delicious slices of gyros with spicy chipotle pepper flavor, a couple of cheeses and a base of fries. Moreover, these fries were so loaded that I was physically incapable of finishing them all.

Pitta Souvli knew exactly what to do with these fries, but it’s probably important to recognize that they aren’t a part of the regular menu and were a special on this day. Hopefully after reading such a glowing review, Pitta Souvli will realize these fries need to be a part of the regular menu, albeit without those goddamn tomatoes.

I grew up spoiled when it came to Greek food. I mean, Detroit even has a Greektown and I’m not sure you can say the same for any other city anywhere. Recently, though, I found myself picking up some Greek food from Saba’s Mediterranean Kitchen in Phoenix and and was intrigued not just by the classic stuff, but by the unique twists I found there.

It was the Spicy Buffalo Pita that really sold me, though. I opted to fill the pita with gyros for my meat, which also included feta cheese and house made buffalo sauce. Perhaps most importantly it included nothing else – as in no veggies. I also got the Spicy Feta Fries on the side, which were like the sandwich, but with fries instead.

The result was everything it needed to be. The gyros themselves were delicious, tasting like pretty much all other gyros, but also nice and juicy. Most importantly, the buffalo sauce and feta added a delicious dimension that I had never previously eaten with gyros before. It was spicy, but also flavorful. And then there was the feta to cool things off and bring the pita back down to earth.

The same went for the fries which, again, were just the exact same feta and buffalo sauce from the pita, but on fries. There’s not much more to be said for them aside from, well, there is no such thing as too much buffalo and feta (obviously unless the food was doused in a way that would have made it all soggy).

I definitely want to get back to Saba’s to try something more along the traditional Hellenic route, but for now I can say I am quite happy with the results of combining the culinary delights of the forerunner of Western civilization and the Rust Belt.

There’s something about state fairs that brings out the best America has to offer in terms of food creativity. Screw molecular gastronomy, I want to know what the latest in fried, bacon-wrapped and Flaming Hot Cheetos is in the world. And while the Arizona State Fair isn’t known as well as some others, there was still room for some interesting bites. One thing I didn’t bite, by the way, was a turkey leg, because, well, booooring.

Indian Fry Bread with Garlic, Mozzarella and Bacon

Indian Fry Bread is not something that existed where I grew up in Michigan. In the Southwest, it has a complicated and sad history, but it is remarkably similar to Elephant Ears. And this fry bread was flakey and not overly oily. That is, of course, until I topped it with garlic, mozzarella and bacon (because they were out of the maple required for maple bacon fry bread). It has an intense oregano hit to it as well, and despite the call to eat it like a taco, I found the pizza route to be a whole lot easier.

Flaming Hot Cheetos and Cheese Fries

I don’t know if it’s just the beautiful fluorescent red color or the actual flavor, but Flaming Hot Cheetos have become a remarkable new coating trend. These fries, which are also covered in nacho cheese, may not be the best use of Flaming Hot Cheetos, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say they delivered on their promise. Plus, unlike some other Flaming Hot Cheetos dishes I’ve seen, they at least had the composure to crush them up first.

Fried Cheesecake

Fried Oreos and Twinkies are in the rear view mirror. A newcomer to the fried dessert world (at least to me) is the fried cheesecake. The batter was pretty typical, the powdered sugar entirely unnecessary and the stick a failure (the cheesecake came right off). And while the first few bites were delicious and gooey, the thickest part was actual still kind of cold. Being cheesecake, this meant it was still delicious, but it meant that there was still much to do to ensure that Fried Cheesecake becomes a fair staple.

I find it important to note here that these were literally the only things I was capable of eating and even with that said, I couldn’t finish any of them. This is not because I couldn’t. And also not because I didn’t want to. But this was because I didn’t want to die. I mean I recognize that this is an inevitable fact of life, yet, the Arizona State Fair is not how I want to go down. Maybe at the Minnesota State Fair next year, though…

EDIT: This location is a goner, but you can still find Coney Grills in Tempe and Phoenix.

My wise wife once said, “You can take the man out of Detroit, but you can’t take the Detroit out of the man.” When I was living in LA, one of the most exciting things to happen was the opening of Coney Dog, a Detroit-style chili dog spot. Due to probably a number of circumstances, that business failed. In Phoenix, however, a spot called Detroit Coney Grill seems to have made all the right decisions because it now has THREE locations in the area. And for some reason the Tempe location closes at 7:00, so I made my way out to Mesa to try it out for myself.

I found it in the Superstition Springs Center, which is a mall, because everything here is a mall. But unexpectedly it was part of a food court and not a sit down dining situation like most coneys in the Detroit area.  Nonetheless, the menu had everything Detroiter could ask for. I went for my usual, a loose burger, a coney dog and a side of cheese fries. I ordered the burger and dog without mustard and onions because they are stupid, and looked forward to seeing how the chili would turn out.

Everything came out in perfect order. The loose burger was fully loaded with ground beef way beyond expectations, and the chili on it was as good as I could have hoped. The coney dog was strangely easy to eat with my hands, as opposed to with a fork and knife, but that was nothing to complain about. After all, the dog was snappy and while I can’t confirm if it was actually Koegel’s hot dog, it served its purpose just fine. Finally, the cheese fries were above and beyond my expectations. Detroit Coney Grill nailed the chunkiness of the cheese that is somehow the trademark of cheese fries at coneys around Detroit.

As you can probably tell, the Detroit Coney Grill made me a happy man. Probably what I loved best was that they kept things simple. There was no attempt to re-imagine items or put a spin on classics. This place excelled in its simplistic execution and is a whole lot cheaper and easier to get to than a flight to Detroit.

Restaurants come and restaurants go. But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a restaurant come and go as fast as TLT in Pasadena’s Playhouse District. Fortunately, there was almost no delay in replacing it with The Stand, a burger concept that already had a few locations around LA and Orange County. The burger options were pretty unique and at a reasonable price, so I had a hard time choosing.

But I ended up getting the French Onion Soup Burger. This comes topped with gruyere cheese, fried onions and red wine onions in a parmesan crusted bun with some onion soup au jus for dipping. I ordered mine medium rare and without the red wine onions because they sounded terrible. I also had a side of fire fries (loaded with their wing spice and a side of blue cheese dressing) because clearly a stack of fried onions on my burger would not be enough.

Everything about the food was delicious. From the amount of crispiness in the onions to the meltiness in the cheese to the fieriness in the fries. And as I ate, I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting a gourmet burger experience at a fast-casual price. Sure, the patty may not have been as thick as some of the gourmet spots, but I’ve also had my fair share of annoying un-filling gourmet burgers out there. Most importantly, interesting toppings that seem to be well-balanced at The Stand are not just limited to the French Onion Soup, but to a variety of options, including a rotation of specials.

As you can tell, I was a fan of The Stand and wouldn’t be surprised at all if it continued to expand its mini Southern Californian empire.

Did you know that May is Burger Month? Well, in all my burgerness it slipped me by, but fortunately Burger City Grill was there to remind me and to invite me out to try a burger, fries and a drink. I decided to take them up on the offer and headed to the location in Downey to see what Burger City Grill was all about.

What I found was a fast casual sort of burger spot along the lines of a Smashburger, Hook Burger and Burger Lounge (sorry, but Shake Shack is in a class of its own). There were some interesting takes on burgers, fries and the required milkshakes and beers. After much thought, I chose the Miami Spice Burger and Sloppy Fries.

I’m not exactly sure how the burger was linked to Miami, but it came topped with bacon, cherry pepper relish, red onion, BCG Spread and a choice of cheese. I chose gouda because it is by far the best cheese in the world and has to be chosen when available, but also because it was recommended. I ordered without the red onion, but figured I would give the pepper relish a try because I am nothing if not daring. It turned out to be a pretty tasty burger. Being fast casual it wasn’t cooked to a medium rare like I would have preferred, but it was definitely plenty juicy. As for the cherry pepper relish, I actually didn’t mind it. I won’t say it added anything to the burger, but it also didn’t destroy the flavors of beef, cheese, bacon (which was perfectly crispy) and bun, which is more than I can say for just about any other veggie.

The Sloppy Fries were simply chili cheese fries, with the cheese being cheddar and the chili being all meat. It was unique in the sense that it was both dry and wet at the same time (you’ll have to taste it to understand) and was less salty than a lot of chilis. Most importantly, the fries themselves tasted more fresh than fast food, which was certainly welcome in a meal like this.

In all, I thought Burger City Grill had a nice take on the fast casual burger restaurant and the three locations now operating are evidence that the concept works. Plus, any burger spot serving up gouda as an option is always going to be a winner in my book.