Four Peaks Brewery

After an extended hiatus from blogging I finally feel as though I can get back to posting semi-regularly. One of the most unfortunate things about law school for me was that it greatly diminished my desire to read or write for pleasure. There was so much involving the written word by assignment that when I did come across a bit of free time I found other ways to spend it (such as curling into a fetal position and rocking slowly back and forth, or cursing myself for not having chosen a university in a state with a coastline). It seems only right that my first post after finishing the first year of law school would be about the restaurant I went to in order to celebrate said accomplishment.

When choosing a place for my fellow survivors and I to toast to our success, my major requirement was that it served alcohol. For the entire year I'd been hearing about how great Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe is, and had even been to the hostess' stand one night after a softball game (but left after we found out it would be an hour long wait for a group our size - note: they don't take reservations). In particular I was excited to try their peach flavored beer. Ever since drinking the Raspberry Blonde at Brutopia in Montreal I've been a big fan of fruit flavored beer. When done well it can be incredibly smooth and delicious without the sickly sweetness you might fear from such a creation. Four Peaks does not disappoint in this respect, but I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself.

Because they don't take reservations and we would be a party of 8 on a Saturday night, J and I showed up about 45 minutes before our group's meeting time to secure a table. The weather was quite nice and the inside of the restaurant is notoriously loud, so I requested to be seated outside on their large patio. We waited about 35-40 minutes before being seated. The service was quite exceptional, especially considering how busy it always is. Our server was friendly and efficient, and seemed very adept at accommodating larger parties.

The menu is pretty extensive, and contains a typical selection of bar food in addition to a few more gourmet-sounding options. However, the quality of the food is completely atypical of standard bar fare. Without the additional draw of tasty craft beer Four Peaks would still be able to stand on its food alone. Since I had heard excellent reviews about their burgers, I decided to order the Mushroom Swiss Burger (with a garden burger instead of the beef patty). Members of our group who had been to Four Peaks before insisted that I choose the beer battered fries as my side, though you have the option of pasta or garden salad. And, of course, I ordered a tall glass of the Arizona Peach Ale.

I could probably spend the rest of this post raving about those french fries. There was absolutely no negative quality to them - no soggy, flaccid, over-salted nastiness. The batter is heavenly...so crispy and golden brown, but not at all greasy. I'm not exaggerating when I say these are the best french fries I have ever had. The burger was also excellent, with a tasty bun, well seasoned veggie patty (the traditional kind that actually tastes good, not the hippie version with chunks of random vegetables), and crisp lettuce. Veggie burgers are one of those things that it pisses me off when restaurants mess them up, since it's so easy to get it right by keeping these things in mind:

1. I'm not a vegetarian because I like vegetables. So don't assume that the more vegetables you can throw in a blender the more I will enjoy your frankenstein patty. Some shit just doesn't go together.

2. If you don't actually know how to make a good tasting vegetarian patty in your restaurant, just buy frozen Morningstar, Boca, or Garden Burger patties. It's cheaper and tastier than trying to pretend you know WTF to do with tempeh.

3. You have even less excuse for the bun to be soggy, because there's no fat or juices seeping out of a veggie patty.


Anyway, the food was delicious, the beer was refreshing, and the prices were reasonable (under $20 a person including food, beer, and tip). I will definitely be going back to Four Peaks Brewery, and I highly recommend it to drinkers and mormons alike. Next time I go I want to try their Oatmeal Stout Shake, a grown-up version of the root beer float. If you'd like to check out their menu, it can be found here.

Chodang Tofu & BBQ

Because I know that the friends willing to take pity on me and read this blog are mostly omnivorous, I want to emphasize right now that this post is not a criticism of the restaurant. We chose to eat at Chodang because we kept seeing it pop up as a great place for Korean food in various newspaper articles. The friend that accompanied J and I to Chodang Tofu & BBQ found her meat dish to be really enjoyable. I thought the atmosphere of the restaurant was great…I just wasn’t that thrilled with my food. 

So, to start, the highlights of the restaurant. It’s located inside a dingy-looking building in a rather unappealing area of Chandler. However, once we entered the restaurant I was taken aback by how clean and nice everything was. The inside is much larger than you’d think, and the table tops are granite. The décor is pretty simple and tasteful. The menu isn’t huge but offers a pretty wide variety of options. There are soups, Korean bbq dishes, noodles, rice dishes, dumplings, and cold noodle plates. Our server was extremely patient and kind in suggesting a few options for someone who eats seafood but not meat, and explaining the ingredients of some of the dishes. Ultimately I settled on trying the Tofu Noodle Soup, which also contained shrimp, oyster, and clam. J ordered the squid. 

Our table was served six small side dishes filled with various items such as apples, seaweed, kimchee, and spicy radishes. It was fun to try a little bit of everything (I love places like this where you have to use chopsticks; the only other utensil provided was a soup spoon). The apples had a dressing that was sort of reminiscent of a waldorf salad, and the seaweed was surprisingly tasty.

The soup was brought over on a small cart in a stone bowl, still bubbling. The server asked if I would like the egg in my soup – he had raw eggs on the cart, ready to crack open into the soup upon request. Although usually more adventurous, I declined – the idea just didn’t really appeal at the time. The broth of the soup was really tasty. I had chosen ‘mild to medium’ as my spice level, and I think they erred on the side of mild. Next time if I had the same thing I would get it a little spicier. The tofu was very soft and silky. Normally I don’t enjoy tofu cooked this way at all (I like when the outside is crispy, like in pf chang’s version of ma po tofu) but it worked in the soup. I was also given a side of rice, and I really enjoyed pouring the broth over the rice and eating it that way. 

I’ve only been eating seafood for about a year now. Before that, I was a strict vegetarian for over 10 years. As a result, I don’t eat seafood often and I’m pretty picky about how it’s served. For example, I feel a bit put off by shrimp that hasn’t been peeled or deveined – which is how the shrimp in my soup was served. This probably contributed more than it should have to my lack of enthusiasm about the meal. 

The food was very filling and hearty. I would definitely be willing to go back and try something else, and I would like to hear from someone how the BBQ dishes are. Ultimately though, for me, this restaurant ended up in the category of ‘places that are probably fantastic for meat eaters.’

T.C. Eggington's - K's post

Let me start by saying that I am not a breakfast person. This doesn’t mean I’m not a breakfast food person, I just can’t stomach the thought of eating it before 11am. If you see me eating before then, chances are I haven’t been to bed yet.

But breakfast food, as a genre, can be incredibly delicious and satisfying. Hashbrowns, for example, are one of my favorite foods. Back in Michigan I lived by the Original Pancake House (NOT to be confused with the grossness that is ihop). They made delicious pancakes served with a side of thick house-made whipped cream. My best friend and I would order a side of banana slices with our pancakes and smother them with the cream. Mmm…pancakes…

Part of the problem with finding a great breakfast place I can frequent is that most awesome breakfast restaurants only serve breakfast, and therefore close before weekend sloths like myself can make it. So when J and I were craving breakfast food for lunch this Saturday, I was skeptical that we’d be able to find a decent place. After throwing around some ideas and looking up different options on the interwebs we settled on trying a place in Mesa called T.C. Eggington’s.

We’d looked at the menu and found it pretty extensive. Plus there were a lot of literary puns, so J was enthralled. They stay open until 2:30 and serve breakfast (all hours) and lunch (after 11am), so we made it with plenty of time to spare.

The restaurant was located on the end of what I’d describe as an upscale strip mall. It didn’t look particularly fabulous from the outside, but the parking lot around the restaurant was packed and we could see people waiting outside for their table to be ready. I’m a pretty patient person, but J is not, so it was good to hear the hostess’ estimate of 7-10 minutes. I don’t think we waited more than 4 or 5, and I was damn impressed considered how busy the place seemed. The waitstaff seemed pretty great at facilitating quick turn over without rushing people.

I liked how our table was set up. We were seated at a table for four, which already puts me in a good mood. Can I just say that I hate two person tables at restaurants? They’re so cramped and it means I have to put my purse on the floor. Not to mention J is 6’4” so his knees constantly knock into mine if we get a tiny table. Anyway, happiness about the big table aside – the table was set with a carafe containing ice water, which I think is nice for the customer and good for the server in a busy place, since they don’t have to be going back and forth to fill your water glasses for you. Our waitress was friendly and peppy, and gave us a good spiel on request about the restaurant’s most popular menu items. I ordered an iced tea, which was a bit pricey at $2.25 (I normally just drink water or booze at restaurants, but J will ALWAYS get a coke – he think it’s cheap to just drink water…and, um, yeah, it is cheap, that’s kind of the point!) but they served a whole carafe of it in addition to my glass, so there’s none of that ‘charging you for refills’ bullshit.

I was pretty torn about what to order. I wanted to go for the vegetarian eggs benedict but figured I should try something a little more creative – I found the perfect compromise with the crab stuffed pastry. Pastry shells filled with artichoke hearts and crab, then topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, served with little roasted potato squares and a watermelon slice. It was really outstanding. The pastry shells were cooked perfectly, and provided a great chewy texture contrast to the soft egg & crab. I was surprised to see artichoke hearts as an ingredient, but whoever made that recipe clearly knew what they were doing. The artichoke provided the perfect acidity to help balance out the extreme richness of the rest of the food. And as far as richness is concerned, this meal was the Bill Gates of breakfasts…I wasn’t able to finish (also partly due to the large portion size) but it was worth the side effects. I’ve been walking around with an engorged stomach for the rest of the day and eight hours later I still can’t even contemplate eating dinner…not a bad result for $8.95. Speaking of – I can’t remember the last time I had a meal with crab in it that was less than $10, and this dish had a really generous portion of it. Quality crab, too, second only to the stuff I had in Baltimore.

We ordered an English muffin on the side, and that was really well done also. Maybe a bit too much butter for my tastes, but it was toasted perfectly and did a great job of mopping up hollandaise/egg sauce.

With drinks, two dishes, an English muffin, and a side of two eggs, we paid just under $27 (not including tip).

Oh – and this place did something no other place has EVER done for me before…after we had paid the check, our waitress asked if we would like a refill of our drinks “to go.” She brought out a coke and an iced tea in two Styrofoam cups for us to take home! That’s pretty awesome.

All in all, I will definitely be back. I want to try some more of their breakfast items, as well as their lunch menu. If you’re interested in more info about the restaurant, check out their website: www.tcegg.com

Now, I have to go shampoo the dog. While I was out playing tennis to work off some hollandaise, Ouzo pulled down the trash and chewed on a canister of paprika…dyeing his front paws and face orange in the process. /sigh

About the blog

When we go out to a restaurant, I expect to be able to try a little piece of whatever you order. This habit used to irritate my father when I was a kid, but I think he’s finally accepted that it’s not me trying to be rude or suffering from buyer’s remorse – I just think that part of the fun of eating out is trying different things. I love new restaurants and new cities, and my recent move to Phoenix allows me to explore both.

I am a food lover, not a food critic. I’m also not a food snob – not only would that be unrealistic on a college student’s budget, but I also don’t think that food has to be fancy or expensive to be delicious. Nor does it have to be complicated. My favorite dish in the world has but 5 ingredients and costs less than $5 to make.

I think trying a new recipe at home is just as exciting as going out to eat. I am very lucky to live with a superb chef, so hopefully J will contribute posts about dishes he makes. We’ve gotten into a pattern of using our paychecks in the first week to go out to eat, cook great meals, and generally live like kings…then we survive on ramen and tuna helper for the last few days before payday. It’s not exactly a responsible pattern, but you only get to be young once.

My purpose in writing this blog is twofold: first, I hope that readers will enjoy the anecdotes about adventures in trying new meals and places. I’m sure parts of my life will interject itself into the stories for your shock and amusement. Second, for my friends (or people who stumble across the blog) who live in the Phoenix area, I hope you will be inspired to try some of places I write about. I find websites like yelp or urbanspoon to be incredibly unhelpful ways to find new restaurants for 3 reasons:

1) They don’t really cater to people with dietary restrictions. J and I are pescetarians (we eat some seafood but are otherwise vegetarian), so finding a well-reviewed restaurant and then realizing that everyone went there for the delicious steak is not terribly helpful and is often misleading.

2) I don’t trust the opinions of strangers when it comes to food. They are often overcritical, snotty, and give poor reviews for silly reasons (based on things like perceived slights from busy servers). Or, they seem far too easy to please. Many of them are not my peers, and are rating based on factors like kid-friendliness. Additionally, most of the reviews aren’t very descriptive – at least not when it comes to the things I’m interested in knowing.

3) I don’t like the sorting system.

So, if you love food enough to read about it I hope you will enjoy my blog. I welcome your comments and thank you for your time J

Enjoy!

-K

P.S. In case you’re wondering about the title of the blog…J loves puns and refused to contribute to the site unless he could name it. The name is a reference to the prickly pear cactus, and he and I are the prickly pair…har har.