The new Tempe Marketplace has quickly become the hot spot for not only shopping but dining as well. In this appreciation we here at Explore Arizona Foods have targeted a few restaurants at the Tempe Marketplace. First was Dave & Busters, now its Lucille’s BBQ.

Lucille’s BBQ is simply what it sounds like, a BBQ, however slightly upgraded. The restaurant is brand new and its easy to see the time and detail that went into building and decorating the place. Some may call it tacky but I see no problem in it. After all is the look of the joint really going to affect the taste of their food? I think not.

I decided to go with the BBQ chicken sandwich for lunch. I wasn’t really in the mood for ribs however I knew I wanted to try the BBQ sauce, as I have heard that it was delicious. The sandwich, a grilled breast of chicken smothered in BBQ sauce with melted cheddar cheese, baby lettuces and spicy onion straws on a soft potato bun, was superb. The BBQ was decent but nothing I would brag about. The potato bun was indeed soft, just as I like. It irritates me when I am consistently served sandwich in rock hard buns questioning how old the bread is. The only thing I would knock Lucille’s for is their serving size. My sandwich was good but rather small for the price. The ribs, from what a fellow diner has told me, is the same story.

All in all I would go back. While the food seems a little over priced, it was good. I see Lucille’s as being a place I don’t dine at regulary but a place I stop at to mix things up a little. Final grade: B+

Lucille herself battered the catfish for my po’ boy…way back in 1942. I swear she must have considering the drab appearance and below average attempt for what I consider a great and famous sandwich.

Perhaps I am to blame, seeing how I ordered a fish sandwich at a barbecue joint. But I wanted a fish sandwich, and Lucille…who opened her first BBQ joint in Long Beach? (You know…that famous city for BBQ!) failed to deliver. I am not a fan of cornmeal based batter, and this was the worst I’ve ever had. It was completely absent of any spice, let alone a hay penny’s worth of pepper…I had to ask for tobasco, rather, I had to ask for tobasco twice, in order to refrain from jamming my fork through my left eyeball(this is my good one.)

The service was atrocious! The wait time unbearable!

The ambience was fair to good, I enjoyed the backwoods, country home feel.

The sides that accompanied my Gore’ Boy, slaw and tater salad were decent.

The menu was of typical BBQ fashion…Ribs, Tri-tip and chicken, overly priced and the lunch menu’s decision to publish they were going to give me less food for a BBQ plate, than they would for dinner, was the main reason I ordered a sammy’ off of the regular menu…dumb move Lucille…your sandwiches gotta go!

I’ve heard that the BBQ is good, too bad for me, I’m never going back!

Lucille’s is a new barbecue place which appeared in that maze we call Tempe Marketplace. They’ve got the location (close to both ASU and plenty of new development) They’ve got a look. They’ve got the promise of live blues performances. But do they have the food?

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Today we opted for BBQ for our lunch adventure, and found ourselves traveling again to the new Tempe Marketplace and Lucille’s BBQ. Now, not that I have ever had Lucille’s BBQ before, I was no stranger to the BBQ sauce itself. I have a friend who lives in Kansas City, the Kansas side, who has shipped me this delicious sauce before, raving about the flavor. After using it myself, I have to agree, one of the best sauces I have ever had.

With that being said, I have to end the praise there.

We arrived as a staggard party, some of us already there and ordering drinks as I sat. I opted for the sweet tea, having had traditional sweet tea before to compare it with. Waiting for the drinks to be served, we looked over the menu and could not help also looking over the decor of the restaurant. I was actually hard to stay focused, there was just so much to see, and the delicious smell, WOW!!

When our server arrived with the drinks, he served them and then did a weird thing; he explained about how all the servers are available for our needs, and we are more than welcome to ask another server for assistance if we cannot locate him. I find that odd. I would have assumed that if I can’t find my current server and when I find another to ask for assistance, that they will be able to either help me or locate my truant server, and that’s just it. I did not realize that this was something that needed explanation or was something to ‘boast’ about. So that set me off a little.

My tea came with a sprig of fresh mint in it, and that added a nice hint. I sipped it as I decided on the Texas Brisket sandwich with coleslaw and fries. The server mentioned that the slaw was prepared with almonds which I could not refuse. While going over the menu, I did notice the prices were a little on the high side but I decided that if the portions were of a decent size then it would be justified.

As we waited for our orders, we noticed that a couple that were seated near us were just being served. The size of their meals put my concerns to rest. Their plates looked piled high with food, at least from my vantage point. We did start to notice that the time was starting to pass, and we had not seen our server in a while, nor had we seen others. I thought it odd that after mentioning it to us, the server would made sure that either he or others would be around in view. What became concerning, my tea was almost finished and it was well over 20 minutes since we had ordered.

Finally the food had arrived, at least most of it. One of our party had ordered the soup, but was not served it at the same time the rest of the dished showed up. I didn’t realize that soup took so long to prepare, and other members of our dining crew became sarcastic as well. When the server returned to check to see how everything was, we had to request the soup, which he admitted that he had forgotten. He then hastily brought out a bowl even though the order was for a cup. He also apologized profusely, but by that point the damage was done.

I dove into my sandwich and slaw, which were delish in flavor. The brisket was however a tad dry and I did have to add the BBQ sauce to it which was on the table. The fries were unexpectedly good, being of the battered and string variety, but very light. The overall portion size was perfect for a lunch item, and I was able to finish it off, but I think after looking at my fellow co-worker’s plates, I was the only one really happy with my order. Our leader ordered the lunch styled ribs, and I have to admit, there was not much to that plate.

Overall, I liked the food, but it was not as great as I had hoped. I did like the sauce and the flavor, but was turned off with the service too much to really want to come back. I think I’ll stick to cooking my own and just raving about the BBQ sauce that I continue to have shipped in.

For lunch yesterday we ordered a few pizza’s from the Bellagio Pizzeria. I’m not exactly sure why its called a “pizzeria” when it seems as if they focus more on the Greek, pita style of dining. Nonetheless they do offer pizza and calzones.

We got two pizzas each slightly different than the other. One, a general pepperoni and mushroom pizza on a hand tossed crust, and the other, a ham, pineapple, and tomato pizza on a thin crust.

The first pizza, pepperoni and mushroom, was pretty decent. The dough and crust were rather soft, something you don’t see very often in a pizza these days. Accompanied by some ranch the crush was almost better than the pizza itself.

The second pizza, ham, pineapple, and tomato, was slightly different. To be completely honest I’ve never had a “Hawaiian” style pizza before so this being my first I had no idea what to expect. The whole idea of putting pineapple on a pizza seems a little odd to me. I enjoy pineapple but on a pizza, I don’t know. Over all the pizza was ok. The crust was slight burnt so I found my self trying to avoid it. As far as the pineapples go, I wouldn’t order it again however if it was preferred by someone else I wouldn’t mind sharing a pizza.

In concussion the pizza was average. Its been a while since I’ve really had a pizza that pleased me, perhaps the last time I was in Chicago. Most pizza, in my eyes, falls into the category of mediocre or below. The Bellagio Pizzeria was a prime example of this mediocrity.

Busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest…The consensus among the brethren was to order in a few slices from a local Italian joint, just down the road.

I’m trying to figure out if Bellagio’s Pizzeria is really an Italian inspired resteraunt or a poser. Reason being is they also “specialize” in Mediterranean cuisine…well, I guess Italy is on the Mediterranean coast!

Needless to say, we ordered two pizzas…pepperoni and mushroom on a hand tossed crust and a Hawaiian inspired thin crust with pineapple. To sum it up swiftly, nearly as quickly as I engulfed the pie slices because of my insatiable appetite, these pizzas were strictly DECENT! C

The tomato sauce went mild with little tang, spices and herbs were lightly sprinkled on the mushroom/pepp…fair coverage of toppings…best thing, since I consider myself somewhat health conscious; this was one of the least greasy slices I’ve had in a very long time…

Yeah, I’m upgrading these slices to a C+…don’t get your panties in a bunch!

Friday, Oct. 19 2007

Undoubtedly catered toward the “college crowd,” Dave & Buster’s located in the Tempe Marketplace, offers a full menu, beers, spirits and a football field sized arcade (Can they sway the Saturday night Xbox live market?).

A Pistol Pete’s Pizza on steroids, D & B’s food menu has a certain diversity…typical bar appetizers(which go half-off reverse happy hour), lunch time specialties consisting of sandwiches, soups and mixed salads, and a higher end dinner menu with steaks and ribs.

Arriving during lunch hour, I naturally selected the lunch menu’s grilled roast beef sandwich laced with havarti cheese on panini, pressed and served with french fries. The sandwich obviously served hot, is lost in translation, as the havarti cheese overpowered the roast and plain panini. It needed some bite with a mild cheese, such as a pepperjack or provolone with spice.

Overall, the warehouse sized Dave and Buster’s drop-topped with 2 bars(HINT: when crowded at the front entrance, head a 100 yards west to the rear bar), a plethora of HDTV’s and full blown arcade is destined for frequent hang outs of 18-30 year old kids at heart. The amenities, attractive bar maids, blonde servers and decent food force me to grade this establishment as a B.

Above average Dave and Buster!

Dave and Buster’s. It sounds like you’d see a balding man with a ill-trained Labrador Retriever running the place. Actually, it’s one of the restaurants that’s appeared at the new Tempe Marketplace.

First Impressions

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Today we visited Tempe’s latest shopping mecca complete with a Dave and Busters Entertainment Center. Commonly referred to as D&B’s, Dave and Busters in basically a massive indoor video game center and entertainment park for adults. And by massive, I mean GIGANTIC!

Anyway, since we were there for lunch, I decided to try the BBQ burger, topped with Jack Daniel’s signature bar-b-que sauce. As we waited for the food, we snacked on hot wings and chips and queso. Neither one of the appetizers is really worth mentioning, since the flavors were average at best.

The service was great, I must admit, and our waitress made sure my ice-tea was never close to empty. Also, one of our party accidentally tipped over a glass of water, and the staff was close at hand to help clean up. With that said, the folks who make D&B’s their job is what makes the place worth visiting, not the food.

When my burger arrived, it looked nice and normal. The fries were typical burger fries, nothing special. The burger tasted good, but one thing worth saying, it must have been the sloppiest burger I have ever eaten. I’m not sure if it was the sauce or the grease from the meat and cheese, but no matter what I did, the back end of the burger kept sliding out of the bun, and then the sauce ended up on my plate, fingers, but at least not in my lap.

Overall, D&B’s is not really a place I would try to end up at. This is the kind of place for parents to take their kids to and let them run rampant while the adults enjoy some conversation over drinks and palatable food. Just make sure you can supply the little ones with at least $100 each for video games, otherwise they will be back at the table bugging everyone in a few minutes.

To day we piled in for lunch at Dave and Busters located at the new Tempe Marketplace in Tempe, AZ. I’ve been to other Dave and Busters so I knew what I was walking into before my arrival. Dave and Busters is comparable to Game Works or to put it simply a Chuck E Cheese for adults. The venue offers a huge assortment of games, basically the size of a warehouse, as well as a bar and restaurant.

To start off the Tempe Marketplace is a little confusing. It took us a few minutes driving around to even find Dave and Busters. Then once we found the place it took us a few minutes to find parking. The area is more orientated to shopping than dinning, or so it seemed. None the less, the place and its surroundings were inviting or maybe I was intrigued by something new in the area.

By the time I got to our table my party had already ordered some chips and cheese. One of my fellow diners told me that he was unimpressed by the cheese and quote they said “I’ve had better cheese.” I figured I better try the chips out for my own review and to my delight I didn’t think the cheese was half bad. Not something I would make a meal out of but over all a good appetizer for a medium sized group. For lunch I ordered the Parmesan Chicken Alfredo. The dish comes with two Parmesan crusted breasts served over linguine in an Alfredo sauce. I was extremely pleased with my meal. The chicken was cooked basically perfectly and the Parmesan crust wasn’t too much or over whelming but just right. The pasta wasn’t drown in Alfredo sauce and tasted delicious. When combining the chicken and the pasta I have a full meal and wasn’t let down one bit.

The service at Dave and Busters was really decent as well. Our waitress was consistent with refills and checking in on us, to pick up any finished plates or to clean up a drink we carelessly spilled. Over all I plan on going back and maybe next time I’ll check out the variety of games they offer.