The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Phoenix’

Brewing Up a SanTan Brewing Company Burger

Beauty.

Where I come from, microbreweries are known to have good food. But, as I have learned, many parts of the country (perhaps all except Oregon?) are much newer to the micro or craft brewery concept and have focused much more on the beer than the food. Arizona, though, while new to the union and pretty new to brewing seems to have struck the right chord. Perhaps it’s because there are so many damn people here from Michigan, but whatever the case I was eager to get myself a non-media meal at SanTan Brewing Company ( you can check out the media one here).

Meat Piles at Porkopolis

But why the pickles?

Some BBQ places have a reputation that precedes them. Others, you just kind of drive by a bunch and decide it’s time to pay a visit. Porkopolis in Scottsdale is the latter, and I finally decided to pay that visit. I was greeted by possibly the friendliest waiter a BBQ restaurant has ever seen and the scent of smoke and meat juices.

The Tower of Babbo

So round.

You probably wouldn’t expect Phoenix to be the most Italian of cities. After all, there is not Little Italy and the Mafia is more of an East Coast thing. Yet, Phoenix definitely has some homegrown Italian favorites and Babbo is one of these. Babbo invited me out to its Scottsdale location for a hosted dinner and I took them up on the chance to check it out.

Up North and Still Near at Local Bistro

Don’t bother me, I’m local.

Scottsdale goes on forever. I mean, like, you drive north and north and north and you think you’re in Flagstaff but you’r still not even at the end of Scottsdale. Somewhere up there is Local Bistro, which recently was named one of the 25 Best Burgers in Phoenix. Thus, while the menu had some intriguing options, I knew the burger had to be mine.

Heading to Cali at Aioli Burger

Cali cali!

Sometimes burgers build up a reputation. Whether by winning awards or word of mouth, it happens. This happened to Aioli Burger in both ways. Yeah, it won some burger battles, but also people told me about it and that doesn’t happen as much in Phoenix as it did in LA and Pittsburgh, so I figured it had to be real. Plus, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I got a taste of Aioli Burger at the Scottsdale Culinary Fest earlier this year. Basically, the hype was real.

Mexican Fries at Armando’s

What lies beneath?

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.

Humbly Eating at The Arrogant Butcher

Not yo nachos.

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.

Crossing States at Haymaker

It’s like Buffalo and Texas together.

Goodyear is really far away when you live in Scottsdale. Like, it feels like it’s in an entirely different state. Like, when you drive there you feel like you may as well be driving to Los Angeles. So, I figured if I was going there I might as well make an afternoon of it and grab lunch as well. Thus, I found myself at Haymaker, which is like a family friendly sports bar that almost feels like a chain, but isn’t.

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