In my latest edition of Fox Restaurants, I went to The Arrogant Butcher in Downtown Phoenix. It’s kind of like a steakhouse, but it also has a lot of the food that you can find at other Fox Restaurants, which is either great or meh depending on how you feel about variety and creativity. So, we started off with a couple of appetizers before getting into the meat of the meal.

First came the Smoked Carnitas Nachos, which were exactly what they sound like. They were solid, but definitely the kind of nachos you expect at a semi-upscale place like The Arrogant Butcher as opposed to the sports bar-style nachos that I typically prefer. We also had the House Soft Pretzels and Provolone Fondue, which was fondu-licious. I mean it’s really hard to go wrong with dipping stuff in cheese and Fox Restaurants are damn good at recreating this dish over and over again.

As for the meal, I decided to forego steak and went with the Prime Rib French Dip. I always find this to be a great alternative at steak spots when I don’t want a full on steak because they still use the delicious cuts of beef to put it together. Unfortunately, this was not such a dip. The slices of beef were overcooked to the point where it almost tasted like I was eating a cheesesteak instead of a French Dip. Of course, I love me some cheesesteaks, but I also prefer them at cheesesteak prices and this was certainly not.

So perhaps The Arrogant Butcher is simply a place to get a steak, but if that’s the case isn’t it a bit arrogant to offer other inferior options?

Tex-Mex is its own category of food. It seems weird because it gives the impression that Texans just somehow bastardized real Mexican food and had the audacity to put Tex before the Mex, but when you remember that Texas was once a part of Mexico, it begins to lose its weirdness. There is probably no place in the state of Texas where the former Mexican history is at the forefront of thought than in San Antonio, home of the Alamo (remember it). And in San Antonio is Mi Tierra, an old school Tex-Mex place with a full on panaderia to boot.

Although it was late at night (and still a couple hours from being considered morning) I was feeling breakfast for some reason. Thus, I ordered the chilaquiles, which I like to think of as breakfast nachos. These came with pork in a thick red sauce, along with red chips, eggs, cheese and beans. I was very excited to dig into them, but within the first few bites I was simply disappointed.

I couldn’t point to any particular reason why I was disappointed. All the ingredients were there, but there just didn’t seem to be anything to them. It was like they just didn’t want to be there, and thus I didn’t really want to eat them. If I could point to anything, it might be that there was a very high egg to everything else ratio.

I’m sure Mi Tierra does other things better than they do chilaquiles, but since that’s all I ate, it’s really all I can go off of. Plus, I can’t imagine there are a ton of other 24 hour spots in San Antonio and when you look at it through that lens you could do a whole lot worse.

Salt. It’s a substance that inherently makes other substances taste better. Sow. It’s lady pig that, well, tastes good regardless. Combine the two and you have Salty Sow, a gastropub in Phoenix looking to bring some very gastropubby fare, drawing upon all sorts of classic American food, to the desert.

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So we began with a taste of the south. Namely in the form of Stone Ground White Corn Cheese Grits. The cheese was cheddar and it was some of the strongest I’ve ever tasted in grits – in the best of ways. Moreover, these grits were not runny, but also not dried out. So, again, delicious.

Then there were the Green Chile Pork Stew Nachos special, which was there regular green chile pork stew on top of nacho chips along with all the expected nacho toppings. Once again, the Salty Sow nailed it with a great ratio of toppings to chips, plus the stew was packed with flavor and a punch of spice.

Finally, for my main course I went with the French Dip-Roasted Rare on the recommendation of my waiter over the burger. When it arrived it was undoubtedly rare, but surprisingly small. I’ve come to expect such sandwiches on a baguette at the minimum, but this was on a small brioche bun. Regardless, it was packed with plenty of meat. The au jus was perfect, as was the horseradish sauce. The only thing I really could have asked for was to have the meat distributed over a larger bun like, you know, a normal french dip. And I only say that because it can be tough to bite through rare meat like this, and also because the brioche bun just didn’t feel right with a sandwich like this.

I should also mention that the sandwich came with a side of fries, which at the Salty Sow, means Duck Fat Fries. They were undoubtedly some great fries, but they did not go overboard with the duck fat itself. If you’re not into duck fat this is a great thing, but if you really dig the stuff, you may have been disappointed. As for me, since they were just a side I had no complaints, but if I had ordered them as an appetizer I would have cared more about the lack of quack.

And because our waiter was awesome and loved our table so much he treated us to dessert. And no, he had no idea I was such an important food blogger. Best of all, he picked the Bananas Foster Beignets, which are what we probably would have picked if we were going for our own. Essentially, this was slices of banana fried in a doughnut-esque batter, topped with syrup and honey, with ice cream. So, yeah, it was a fantastic way to end the meal.

Salty Sow did an amazing job with all of the non-entree food, but I can’t help but think that the french dip could have tweaked a few things to take it to the next level. Regardless, it’s a place I wouldn’t hesitate to return to.

Sometimes you go to a Mexican seafood spot to get seafood. And sometimes, despite it being the middle of the afternoon, you go for breakfast. It wasn’t exactly the plan, but when I entered Baja Mar in Monrovia, I just couldn’t get my eyes off of the chilaquiles. Thus, I forewent shrimp and fish tacos for those delicious breakfast nachos.

Now, I’m not sure if chilaquiles are generally considered a breakfast food, but in America, when you throw an egg on something it almost automatically becomes breakfast. Egg on a pizza? Breakfast pizza. Egg on a burger? Breakfast burger. Eggs on nachos? Chilaquiles.

This variety came with sides of cheesey refried beans and rice that were just big as the main course. The chilaquiles were doused in an enchilada-esque sauce, cheese, scrambled eggs and…well shit…onions. I hadn’t been expecting these, but did my best to avoid them. It was a valiant effort, but a lot of work for mid-afternoon breakfast. The chips were of the variety you normally get at such corner Mexican spots and I did appreciate the salsa bar. It almost made up for the onions.

I wouldn’t necessarily turn Baja Mar into my regular Mexican haunt, but if I lived in the neighborhood I’d be pretty happy with the results.

As I’ve said many times around these parts, I have very little need for seafood in my life. Thus, when a decision was made to pay a visit to Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach, I was relieved to find out that there were not only a few more terrestrial options, but that they looked so good that I had a hard time deciding.

I am as a fish lover as Jimmy John Shark.  But I wound up picking the Chilaquiles, which seemed to be a weekend brunch special. They included some pork shoulder, “red eye” salsa and scrambled eggs. These were all on “Diana’s” corn tortillas, which is a name that meant literally nothing to me. Yet, when the chilaquiles arrived I could see I was in for a treat (aside from a few stray onions). What I didn’t see, however, was a very tiny hair that my wife caught for me. We informed the waitress and the whole of the staff couldn’t have been nicer about the experience. Soon enough I was presented with a fresh bowl and dug in.

I should note that there were some tiny sliced jalapeños, cilantro and Mexican cheese as pleasant surprises to balance out the onions, which I had immediately removed. After that, these chilaquiles were incredible. Whoever Diana is, she knows how to make great tortilla chips that can withstand the weight of other delicious foods. Also, the pork shoulder was tender and flavorful without overwhelming everything else on the plate.

But wait, there’s more! Not only did FWD comp my breakfast nachos, they also offered a dessert on the house. I don’t always eat dessert, but when I do it’s almost always fruity. We chose the Key Lime Pie and didn’t regret this choice for one moment. Not only was it the prettiest Key Lime Pie I had ever seen, it had the right amount of balance between tart and sweet.

If the chilaquiles and key lime pie are any indication of how FWD does the rest of their land food, I could easily see myself walking through their doors again. Plus, everyone else loved the crap out of their seafood, so I guess you can’t go wrong.

Before basketball on Tuesdays I usually need to grab a bite to eat. For some people, this is a cramp-inducing process. I, on the other hand, cramp up while playing if I don’t eat enough. With that in mind, I went to Taqueria Juanito’s No. 1 in Balboa Park with my fellow baller and rather than order a couple little tacos, I got pretty much the biggest thing on the menu. It was their nachos, and came loaded with cheese, refried beans, a couple of salsas, cilantro and a meat of my choosing. I chose carne asada and pretty soon went to town on those nachos.

There was one issue, however, that I had to take on first. Radishes. That’s right, those beastly roots adorned a corner of my nachos and I had to swipe them away. After this was accomplished, I was free to eat and the eating was good. There was more than enough topping to spread around the nachos, so I didn’t have to fear for naked nacho chips. The chips themselves could have been a bit thicker to withstand the onslaught of beans that rendered them droopy, but overall I was happy with the composition of the nachos. As nachos at little Mexican places go, those from Taqueria Juanito’s No. 1 don’t compare to Cinco de Mayo in Culver City, but they are certainly nothing to complain about.

In the grand explosion of gourmet food trucks, tacos have found themselves mixed with all sorts of craziness, from Korean BBQ to fish and grapes to kung pao chicken. Yet, in all this food truck excitement, the bastard cousin/side dish of the taco has been left behind. Yeah, I’m talking ’bout Shaft…err…nachos. But along came The Nacho Truck to remedy this sad predicament. Before this truck arrived at my office, I knew nothing of it, so my expectations were pretty low. Yet, as someone who doesn’t keep nearly enough track of food happenings in LA anymore, it is certainly possible that The Nacho Truck had simply flown/driven under my radar.

So what did these guys have to offer? For one, they had your classic gameday nachos, but with a certain gourmet look to them. They called these Friday night lights, with chili, something they called the best cheese sauce ever and jalapenos. They threw in a few more interesting twists to ordinary nachos and even had a caveat on the menu encouraging substitutions. God bless creativity. But for me, creativity wasn’t necessary as The Nacho Truck had dreamed up a set of nachos most meat blogworthy.

Called The Flyover State, this nacho concoction consisted of BBQ baked beans, chili, bacon, chipotle corn, tillamook cheddar, blue cheese crumbles and BBQ ranch sauce. It weighed in a bit heavy at 9 bucks, so I was hoping these nachos would be as hearty as they sounded. But after choosing what I wanted, I still had to order and this took a solid 10 minutes. Not because of a line, but because the nacho crew was diligently putting together nachos for other patrons. Finally, I got my order in, waited another good 10 minutes and found myself looking at some wondrous nachos.

Clearly, they took their time with each order, yet I couldn’t help feeling there weren’t enough actual nachos. Until I started eating. I quickly discovered these nachos were plenty filling and plenty amazing. Rather than using corn, The Nacho Truck uses flour for their chips and the results are spectacular. I am definitely a convert, because these chips were not only tasty, but withstood the sauciness of the nachos to remain crunchy through and through. As for the toppings, I have to say I was a bit disappointed to find bits of peppers mixed into the debris. Fortunately, the flavors of bacon and beans were wildly overpowering and the peppers were hardly heard from. In fact, the flavors of the meal were almost too overpowering on the salty level. I actually wouldn’t have minded a bit less topping and a bit more chip to provide more balance. It was pretty much the opposite of what usually happens with nachos, when you are stuck eating plain chips in the end.

Yet, the power of the meat prevailed and made me damn happy this truck had made its way to the area of my working. The 9 bucks definitely provided a meal to fill me up and I would not pass up The Nacho Truck if a similar opportunity presented itself once again. Look out, tacos, the nachos are ready to do battle.

Although I grew up in Michigan, I can’t remember ever setting foot in Grosse Pointe. I guess it was just too far outside the bubble of Farmington Hills/West Bloomfield. Fortunately, my buddy decided to marry a Grosse Point native, giving me my first chance to see what food was like on the other side of Detroit. We headed to the nice little downtown area of Grosse Point and got ourselves a table at the Village Grille.

I started off with a huge mug of Labatt Blue and took a gander at the menu. As I was perusing all the delicious-looking options, the waitress brought out a huge platter that looked pizza on top of nachos. Pizza Nachos! Someone had ordered them for the whole table, and I was happy to eat the things. Putting pizza ingredients on tortilla chips is such a genius concept, I’m amazed I haven’t seen them elsewhere. After downing this delicious blend of Mexican and Italian cultures, I was ready to order something a little smaller than what I had been eying earlier.

All of the food I saw was priced quite reasonably, so I knew that even if I ordered more than I could eat, I wouldn’t feel slighted. I chose the Bacon Cheese Burger ($5.25) and a side of fries ($1.50). The menu didn’t make any mention of having any other toppings on the burger, so I hoped it would simply be bacon, cheese and burger. Of course, this was not meant to be. When my burger came, it was open faced and I saw no trace of vegetables except the cole slaw exiled to a tiny cup. But when I lifted up the top half of the bun, I found some frightening veggies hiding below. There were pickles, lettuce and tomatoes, but since they were hanging out below the bun, they did not taint my experience. I freed the bun from its veggie captors and brought it over to the good, meaty side.

The burger was really quite delicious. The cheese was basic American, but it really worked on this burger. The beef itself could have been a bit juicier, but the real centerpiece of the burger was the bacon. It was thick, crispy, smoky, salty and pretty much melted in my mouth. About 3/4 of the way through the burger, I was stuffed, but the bacon was so good that I at least finished that part. The fries were pretty good and worked well with the burger, but were pretty unnecessary after the pizza nachos. The Village Grille was a great little bar/grill and I left quite content. And come on, pizza nachos! Genius!

Finding a happy hour around town on a Sunday afternoon isn’t the easiest thing to do. You would think bars would be itching to get customers to come in for a post-Mass drink, but we had a to call a good four or five bars to find ourselves a nice happy hour with a combination of food and drinks. The bar we finally landed on was Q’s Billiard Club in West LA. Their happy hour involved $10 pitchers (of any beer) and half-off appetizers. It all sounded perfect for a fun little hockey-watching Sunday.

It was pretty empty when we arrived, and we found ourselves a booth next to a huge TV. Their food menu had some good options, but I decided I needed to get some booze in me before switching over to the munchies. They had some pretty decent beers on tap, like Stella, Newcastle, and Blue Moon. We started with some Stella and by the time the first pitcher was empty, I was ready to order myself some wings. They had a couple different sauces, but I went with their buffalo and then continues drinking away as I waited for my wings.

They came out on a vile bed of lettuce, but luckily these were some broad leaves and not the shredded sort that could easily ruin any meaty meal. They came with some celery, which the menu had stated, but I had forgotten to order without. This also wasn’t a big deal, since celery is one of those vegetables that is easy to avoid even if it comes in contact with your food. The wings were nice and a crispy and the sauce was pretty good as well. They weren’t too tame, but could’ve used a little more spice. Also, they were kind of small and only drummies. I like drummies, but come on guys, mix in the rest of the wing with those things.

After taking down the wings and downing some more beer, I got it into my head that I was still hungry. I was wrong, of course, but this didn’t stop me from ordering up some nachos. These came with black beans, cheese, guacamole, jalapenos, salsa and the meat of my choosing. Before picking out the most important part of this course, I asked what kind of salsa it was and when the waitress told me it was like pico de gallo, I asked for it without. Then I chose some steak.

I ended up being pretty disappointed by the nachos. Although you don’t want nachos to get soggy, these went the complete opposite direction. They were as dry as the Sahara and the steak was more overcooked than a dead baby in a microwave (finally, a dead baby joke!). It wasn’t burnt, but it was as close as you can get to burning without getting some sort of char. Plus, the nachos committed the worst sin of nachos there is. There wasn’t enough cheese to spread throughout all of the nachos. There are few things worse than getting down to the lower layer of chips and finding nothing to put on these chips. I was glad I was already pretty full from the wings, or else I would have been an unhappy unvegan.

So for a great deal for a Sunday happy hour, I definitely recommend paying Q’s a visit. The place is huge, had great drink specials and some pretty good wings. Just don’t expect much from the nachos.

The final true meal in Costa Rica (without counting the continental breakfast where a scorpion fell from the ceiling onto my girlfriend) was at another restaurant in Monteverde called La Bohemia. This restaurant was another pretty fancy one and felt good after a long day of walking on bridges in the rain forest.

To start off the meal, we ordered some nachos. When they came, they were like no nachos I had ever seen before. They were large, round chips, with beans, cheese meat, tomatoes, jalapenos and sour cream stacked on top. I suppose they would’ve been a lot cleaner than regular nachos if I didn’t have to wipe the tomatoes off of them before eating. After the wiping, though, the chips were really good.

For my main course, I ordered the breaded and fried chicken. It sounded a lot like

chicken fingers, which frightened me a bit (not because I don’t like chicken fingers, just because I didn’t want chicken fingers to be my last meal in Costa Rica), but luckily when it came out, the breading was more like chicken schnitzel. And it was delicious. The breading was nice and crispy while the chicken inside was juicy and tender. La Bohemia is definitely worth a stop for a good meal in tiny tiny Monteverde.