In the search for the best Mexican food in the valley my girlfriend Abbe and I recently tried Carbajal’s on Baseline road between Ellsworth and Crimson. I thought the place was named after the boxer Michael Carbajal with all the celebrity restaurants popping up here in the valley - but apparently its been in business for over 15 years and seems unrelated.
The restaurant is tucked into a small plaza on the corner of Crismon and Baseline that is also host to a Basha’s. From the outside it looks like a small take out only place, but there is a small dining area as well. The menu is moderately priced for Mexican food and the service is pretty good. They offer fairly standard fare for the genre but everything I’ve tried so far has been excellent. The portions tend to be on the small side (especially for a giant gringo like me) but everything is infused with great flavor and an authentic taste. I recommend the fajitas although many reviews suggest the rellenos. Overall I recommend it.
Today the web op crew went to Floridino’s on Gilbert & Guadalupe Rd on the Mesa - Gilbert line. Floridino’s (or alternately Floridema’s?) is a small family owned italian restaurant on the northeast corner. Its in the same plaza as Global Bike’s for any cycling enthusiasts. We walked in unannounce with our ridiculous party of 11 and they had no problem accomodating us. Our server was competent and friendly.
The menu was small but very reasonably priced. They basically offer pizza, pasta, salads and sandwiches. I ordered the chicken parm pasta lunch special. They had all of our orders ready in a reasonable timeframe and my pasta was surprisingly good. It was smothered in a layer of mozarella cheese and came with a fresh baked flat bread that was delicious. The chicken was ok and definitely worth the $6.50 they charged. All in all I would say that Floridino;s was a pretty good experience. Its a good place to take a family, although probably on the casual side for bringing a date.
I recently moved into a new condo near Ellsworth and Baseline and the first order of business was finding a local mexican joint to get take out from. Nearby there are a few options- Carbajal’s on Crismon and Baseline, Filibertos in a strip mall somewhere on Guadalupe, and Rudy’s Burritos on the Southwest corner of Ellsworth and Baseline.
I have now eaten at Rudy’s three times and can say without a doubt that their burritos are the best in Mesa, if not the entire east valley. I am your typical Carne Asada fan being a big meat eater. Rudy’s Carne Asada burrito comes with a few enhancements. First off, they use some sort of lettuce or collard green in the outside layer of the tortilla. Then they use what seems like the unpasteurized cheese that you only find in Mexican places. Third there is a layer of refried beans, then rounded out with delicious carne asada. Not the Filibertos - tastes like it was just boiled - carne asada, but meat that actually has some flavor to it. No burrito is finished without a generous helping of salsa and Rudy’s fresh salsa doesn’t disappoint. I have only tried the red salsa but it is easily my favorite of any burrito shop in the valley.
My one criticism is my girlfriend ordered chicken fajitas there and frankly they weren’t nearly as good as the burritos. Either way, the burritos are delicious and at a place named “Rudy’s Burritos”, you should order the burritos.
Last Friday we went to Sassy C’s on McKellips & Val Vista in Mesa for lunch. Sassy C’s is located in the Citrus Heights - a local citrus stand that has been around longer than I’ve been here. The place has the look of a typical citrus stand in the valley so to be honest I wasn’t expecting much from the food. We walked in and the place is sparcely furnished and has the look of a startup restaurant. The menu however looked pretty gourmet considering the surroundings. I ordered the Turkey w/ cranberry aioli & havarti cheese on crusty baguette bread w/ lettuce tomato & onion. Our food came very quickly considering we arrived with easily twelve hungry people. The bread was very fresh, the cranberry aioli was good and overall the sandwich beat my expectations. The proprietors were very friendly and obviously took pride in their creations. My only advice for them would be to upgrade their atmosphere, which I bet they will after they become a little more successful. I would highly recommend having them cater your event as the food is outstanding even if the atmosphere there is a little lacking.
Last week we got our first request for a review from a restaurant, Jason’s Deli. In September we visited Jason’s Deli on Stapley and Baseline in Mesa. Katherine East who works for both the Ahwatukee (which I eat at frequently) and North Scottsdale location read our post and asked us to review their catering services! To be honest we were all pretty surprised someone asked us to review their food as we give mostly negative reviews on the majority of places we visit. Oddly enough we all liked Jason’s Deli for both its good food and value proposition.
Katherine came by the old Web-Op offices (or as we call it “the pigeon sanctuary”) and brought over a full spread. There were a variety of croissant sandwiches, fresh baked brownies, cookies, delicious potato/pasta salads. The croissants (croissandwiches?) were delicious, the brownies delicious, and the cookies were spectacular. My favorite part of the whole meal was the tomato based pasta salad with mozzarella? (I never actually saw a menu so I’m guessing) As far as catering goes - the food was lighter, healthier, and better tasting than average. If you are planning a company luncheon or other event which requires catering I highly recommend Jason’s Deli’s.
I recently had dinner with my girlfriend at Cantina Laredo in San Tan Village in Gilbert Arizona and we were both thoroughly impressed. The atmosphere was subdued and the lighting was perfect. One of my pet peeves with restaurants here in the valley is how bright they typically keep their lighting. I go to restaurants to eat, not to tan. We arrived around 8pm and there wasn’t any wait. The hostess took us to a booth in the center which was well designed for privacy. Our server (forgot his name) was very helpful yet managed to stay out of our way. On his advice we ordered the fresh guacamole which he prepared immediately table side.
The guacamole was excellent and paired perfectly with their house salsa. If you go there I would highly recommend the guacamole. We munched on chips, guacamole and salsa and Abbe ordered a Casa Rita, their house margarita.
I don’t really drink so I didn’t taste it, but Abbe thought it was very good. We proceeded to order our entrees. I had the Camaron Poblano Asado, a poblano pepper stuffed with shrimp, mushrooms, onions and monterrey jack cheese, wrapped in carne asada. Abbe had Chilean sea bass. Our entrees arrived in a very timely fashion, and mine was good. The steak was a little bit tough, but the flavor overall was very good. We were both very happy with our orders. So far I think this is the best upscale Mexican restaurant we have been to in the valley.
Saturday night I was with my girlfriend looking for a place to eat within walking distance from the Hilton on Drinkwater. We walked down to Stingray on Scottsdale Rd and the wait looked ridiculous. I remembered seeing a new Sushi place right across the street from the Hilton so we walked back and checked it out. “Pearl” is fairly small but comfortable. The weather outside was beautiful, one of the last days here in Arizona when you can actually stand to be outside so we opted to be seated on the patio. The hostess was friendly and seated us right away. Instantly you could tell the place was new. Our server came to the table and asked us whether we’d been there before. We replied no and were given the 30 second sales pitch. We ordered drinks and browsed the menu which has a few interesting items. Instead of opting for the normal boring sushi we routinely order we tried the “Captain Crunch” which is basically a sweet potato version of california roll (but much better) and the “Tiki Torch” which frankly I wouldn’t recommend. We didn’t sample all that much food at the restaurant but my girlfriend loved her strawberry-kiwi martini and my impression of the place was very positive and we left thinking we would definitely go back.
P.S. I can’t help but mention that their website is AWFUL. (Pearl if you’re reading this get help!)
Today the crew at web-op all went to Pita Jungle to belatedly celebrate Allie’s (sic) birthday. I have a few Syrian friends so I’ve eaten my share of tabouleh in the past and I’ve been to the location near Rural and Apache Trail. When I first walked in my first thought was the Mesa location is much cleaner and brighter than I remember near ASU. As you have almost certainly read here, Ali is a vegan so we are probably going to run out of ideas for places to eat where she can actually order something pretty quickly but Pita Jungle was the obvious choice. Pita Jungle had a fairly small menu and I wasn’t feeling very adventurous so I ordered a Falafel Pita that was modestly priced at $4.50. The falafel wasn’t bad and I’d say the food is pretty similar to the ASU location. The waitstaff were EXCELLENT and I rarely feel that way about restaurant service. The place has a very casual atmosphere which made it all the more surprising. After my last lunch out with web-op at California Pizza Kitchen on Val Vista and Baseline I was starting to wonder if any restaurant in the valley realized they were part of the hospitality industry. The servers at Pita Jungle, however, are very competent.
