Chompie’s has built a significant reputation in the Phoenix area as its most successful New York style-deli. They have at least three locations, including two in Scottsdale, and one in the shadow of the large power station beside the ASU campus. The latter restaurant was where we visited this Friday.

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If you are looking for a New York style deli, look no further, this is the place.

But there are some things to think about than just the food. Pricing is a little high, and the parking is non-existent, at least on Fridays at lunch time.

Starting Out

We were seated once we arrived, that was nice. It made up for the trek from the far corners of the parking lot that is shared with a neighboring business. On Fridays, apparently it is a very popular eatery, so timing is needed to get there a little early, saving the hike. But no less, there was available seating for five, and a plate of Kosher Dills awaited us on the table.

The waitress was prompt in taking our drink orders. I chose iced-tea, upon recommendation from a fellow diner, that the Coke is to be avoided, due to a watery taste.

Perusing the menu is alone itself a daunting task. They have so much to offer. This was of course hindered due to the rubber-necking that I was doing as other patrons’ food was carried by for delivery to the hungry masses. And it all looked and smelled great! Of course made choosing my weapon of choice much harder that I had anticipated.

Upon the arrival of the drinks, I ordered the hot pastrami sandwich on rye with a side of coleslaw, a personal favorite and traditional NY deli meal. The noticable thing about my order is that even though the sandwich comes in a full or half order, different pricing of course, I was not asked which I would like. I was really hungry, had my mind set on the full order, and was hoping that was apparent to the waitress. I just kept my fingers crossed.

As the orders were taken and prepared, we enjoyed light conversation while munching on the dills. Even though the restaurant was almost filled with patrons, it was not too loud, but maybe that is just because was had a nice nook in the corner.

The food was served just a few minutes later, that was quick. The waitress must have read my mind too closley, this sandwich looked like it could eat me! The steaming pile of meat dwarfed the fresh deli style rye, and oversaw the side dish of coleslaw. Although a little nervous, I wrapped both hands around one of the halve, and hefted it up for a bite. It was delicious to say nothing less! The meat was excellent and juicy, but not too much, therefor not creating soggy bread. After indulging in a few wholesome bite, I went for the coleslaw. A very traditional style recipe made an excellent mate to the sandwich.

Upon completion of my meal, I leaned back and enjoyed the company. We did discuss the pricing of the food. Some found it a little expensive, $10 for a sandwich, but I promptly reminded them of the enormous size. A couple of things that I have learned from past experiences; you get what you pay for, and the more you get, the more you pay. I for one, have no qualms with this, if the food and service are good, I don’t mind paying for that. But it is when you are rushed by the staff to turn a table, but you have no real reason to rush, since the meal was small and tasteless, that’s what gets me.

Overall rating:

Great NY deli style food worth the money. Good Arizona service worth the visit. After a meal like that, I didn’t mine the long walk back to the car, but that could be something to be considered by the management and owners.

First Impressions

We arrived at Crackers & Co. on Greenfield Rd. at about 1PM. The lunch crowd was clearing out, but the restaurant was still fairly busy. We did not have to wait for a table.

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Crackers & Co. is a nice cafe that offers a decent variety of salads, sandwiches, soups, and burgers. As we arrived we were promptly seated as the lunch crowd had already passed. From my first impression the restaurant looked nice and seemed to have a good food. They have even won two awards from azcentral.com for the best dessert and best breakfast.

I ordered the Californian deli sandwich which came with smoked chicken breast, California avocados, Monterey Jack cheese, tomato slices, alfalfa sprouts, sweet red onion, and seasoned mayo served on toasted whole wheat bread. All together the sandwich was fantastic. The most stand out part were the avocados. They were delicious and tastefully very fresh. The sandwich was of decent portion and didn’t leave much room for the French fries. This is alright as I wasn’t too impressed with the fries. It seems like good French fries are harder to come across these days…

Our service was good and in fact maybe too good. The waitress consistently was stopping by to fill up drinks that weren’t even nearly half empty. She was also very talkative and at times created a few odd situations. However she did a decent job and I appreciated the refills.

One thing I was disappointed about was the hours. They are only open daily from 7 AM to 2:30 PM. I understand that they are more of a breakfast facility however I imagine that there has to be some sort of profit margin if they would have extended hours. Maybe they could even perhaps add to there menu to accommodate dinner.

All in all I was satisfied and wouldn’t mind going back some time soon in the near future. There deli sandwich was fantastic and I’m curious as to how there award winning breakfast is. Something I plan to look into.

A very nicely styled Mexican resturaunt, now what about the food?

When we pulled up to the restaurant at about eleven in the late morning, it almost felt like I had been transported back in time. If you put your back to the parking lot, you would be looking at a Southwestern styled hacienda, pink stucco, wrought iron gate, the works. You really get the feeling of authenticity just from the look of the place.

Unfortunately, that is where the commendations end, this was a trip for the view only.

Upon our arrival, we were asked to wait another 10-15 minutes or so, even though one of our party had arrived about 15 minutes ahead of us just to reserve a table. The parking lot was not near full, so I just wondered what the delay could have been. I would have thought for sure that the management would have staffed accordingly for a Friday afternoon lunch rush, but that’s just my optimistic thinking maybe.

Finally we were seated. The interior styling is just as the outside, authentic to the hilt. The funiture and wall decorations to give the feel must have been expensive, and the result was worth it.

But…. When we were seated, all eight of us, there was just 2 medium-sized bowls of tortilla chips waiting for us, accompanied by only 4 small bowls of salsa. I figured that they may have taken us for not that hungry after the wait. We quickly asked for another couple of orders of chips and salsa from the hostess, before she had the chance to run.

As I looked over the menu, I did notice a lack of traditional dishes. While not a limited selection, there were just as many American options as there were Mexican choices. They also offer a lunch style menu where I decided upon the pork burro (burrito), served with beans and rice. The options for the topping were limited to enchilada style or not, that was it. There was no offering for smothered or topped with green/red chili as I am used to. Also, the beans are pinto, and I am a fan of the black bean. Along with my lunch I ordered a ice-tea, for I am not a real fan of soda, however they do serve bottled Coke.

As we waited for the orders to arrive, we munched on the chips and salsa. There were two types of salsa, a traditional red and a green, which seemed a little sweet for my salsa tastes. I stuck with the red, even with the lack of “hot”, at least it tasted good. The food was served shortly, which was a nice surprise.

So I delved into my burro which was a typical burrito of decent size. The rice and beans were also traditional, not being of either great or less than quality, therefor not really worth mentioning.

I finished the burrito feeling as if I still had the desire to eat Mexican, so I knew that my needs had been less than met. But overall, it was not a bad meal, just not worth going into great detail over.

I look at each dining experience like this; will I actually make it a point to go here again or not. Rosa’s looked like they had a decent dinner menu, but I don’t think I would make it an actual destination for a meal in my future. But with that being said, it was not a bad experience, just not a memorable one.

Tia Rosa’s, on McKellips just east of Lindsay in Mesa, is actually two restaurants on the same lot: A small taqueria offering take-out and about a dozen tables, and the more conventional “Rancho” sit-down restaurant.

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Today we all ran out for lunch at Rancho de Tia Rosa. It is a nice clean looking restaurant that offers a bold southwestern atmosphere all throughout. Upon arrival you are given two choices - one, to eat at a small take out shack on the corner of the parking lot or two, to head into the main restaurant for a traditional sit down style meal. We chose the more traditional style restaurant and our group of eight went it.

Once seated at our table our drink orders were taken and we were left with chips and salsa to indulge on while the waiter took care of our drinks. I couldn’t comment on the chips and salsa because I didn’t have any but from what I could tell they were good. So much in fact that our group eat through two baskets and asked for a third. The drinks came, I choose Coke and to my surprise it came in a glass bottle. I’ve always been a fan of glass bottled soda and enjoyed this Coke.

The restaurant offers a large menu of decent Mexican style dishes but I took to the lunch specials. I order the chicken rolled tacos, as did Jack. The chicken rolled tacos, in a set of three, came with Spanish rice, refried beans, and guacamole. The tacos them self were rather hard and crunchy, more so than I would have liked. The rice was of satisfactory and the beans were decent however a little runny. Altogether it was a ok dish and typical of what you would find on a lunch special menu.

Overall the experience was decent and worth going back. Next time I might suggest going back at a later time and perhaps taking a look at the dinner menu. They definitely have the style and potential of a fabulous facility I would just like to see them take it to that next level in their lunch offerings.