- [Announcer] And now an Arizona PBS Original Production.

- I'm Chef Mark Tarbell, welcome to Check Please!

Arizona, the show where Arizona residents recommend their favorite restaurants.

Coming up we have three guests who are passionate about their picks.

They've dined at all three and are ready to share their reviews with each other and with you right here on Check Please!

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(upbeat bright music) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to Check Please!

In this episode, we're visiting places that span the globe in flavors.

Before we go dining let's meet our guests.

Sharon Waldie is a tour guide who loves to share her knowledge of Arizona.

She also loves to cook Moroccan food, but when she takes a night off from the kitchen, she enjoys meeting her friends for a night of good food and fun.

Our next guest is Peter Royers.

He's a retired IT guy who once worked with Walt Disney.

He loves going out to eat with his wife and trying new places.

But up first, Isabel Garibay left her job as a social worker to raise her children.

She and her family love to travel and are looking forward to visiting Paris for the first time.

Her pick is a family owned restaurant in Ahwatukee.

This is Taste of Thai.

(upbeat music) - At Taste of Thai we are focusing on serving the food from all over Thailand.

Thai food is very different than Chinese food, Korean or Japanese.

You will find that many dishes, come with combination of sweet, sour, a little salty, creamy, or even spicy and Thai food doesn't have to be spicy, but we can adjust that into the level that you would like.

We can do from none to as spicy as you like.

(upbeat bright music) We are focusing on fresh ingredients and we also trying to... We not afraid of introducing the fusion dishes like bacon fried rice.

We have a lot of vegetarians options, so you can get any dishes with tofu or just vegetable or without meat.

(upbeat bright music) Thai food is... Food is really important in Thai culture.

When we have a guest coming to a house, the first question we ask is, have you eaten yet, or what would you like to eat?

So we want our customer to enjoy the food as much as we do and we hope that they will have a memorable experience with us.

- So Isabel, why Taste of Thai and what brought you there?

- I really enjoy spicy food being Mexican.

So I've tried Thai food in many places and they're pretty good for the most part, but this place was near our home so I told my husband, let's go try this place that's down the street from where we live.

And we were very, very surprised at how delicious it was so it's definitely a family favorite of ours.

Any time we have family visiting, it's a place we like to go and enjoy.

- What did you eat as appetizers when you went this time?

- This time I got the spring rolls.

- Okay.

- Yeah, so they're- - [Mark] Crunchy.

- They're crispy.

- Delicate.

- They're delicate, crispy.

They're very flavorful and the little dipping sauce that they have that goes with it is delicious too.

- What dipping sauce did they have?

- It's like a sweet and kind of sour sauce.

I'm not exactly sure what's in it, but it's delicious.

- I think a little vinegar, a little sugar.

- Probably.

- Well, Peter, what'd you think when you first walked in?

- Well, actually it's a storefront, but I have known to be good food at places like that.

And there weren't too many people.

I think a lot of people get takeout, but we loved it.

Sat down, got a table right away and no reservation required.

And it smelled so good when we walked in and the counter has a great wood front to it.

And I knew I was gonna be in a place where we would some nice food.

- So what did you have first?

- Well, we had an appetizer also and I had the pot stickers and that's my favorite.

- So what was your entree, Peter?

- [Peter] It was Rama favorite and they had me with the peanut.

It had peanut crushed on top and lots of vegetables and chicken and it was really, really delicious.

- [Mark] Like a stir fry?

- [Peter] Yes.

- Awesome.

- Sharon, what did you think of Taste of Thai?

What'd you eat first?

- I talked my friend that came with me, Janice, into ordering the green papaya salad- - [Isabel] Ooh.

- [Mark] Ooh.

- [Sharon] which she had never had before.

It was fabulous.

- [Mark] What was fabulous about it?

- The green... Oh, the salad.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- [Sharon] The only negative was there was a wedge of cabbage on the plate.

And I asked the waitress, what is the cabbage for?

She said, "To roll the salad in."

So we tried that, but it didn't compliment the green papayas.

- It's so funny that you found that to be...

I actually loved it.

It was really, really crispy and flavorful.

And everyone's telling me, cabbage is good for you now.

So I ate it anyway.

But I agree, that papaya salad was delicious.

- [Sharon] Oh, the papaya salad was superb.

- What did you have for an entree?

- I had the green curry with shrimp and in that Curry, they had eggplant and it was quartered and it had bamboo shoots in it.

It was very, very good, except I didn't care for that eggplant.

It needed to be cooked a little bit more.

It was a little crispy.

- Isabel, entrees.

- I got the bacon fried rice and I ordered it spicy.

Like I said, I enjoy spicy food.

So it's a very hearty dish, I guess.

It's not light.

I mean, sometimes you eat so much because it's so good you can't stop eating it, but I really enjoy the bacon that they put.

It's really small pieces and it's like crisp to perfection, but I love how they slice the vegetables in it.

Like the slices of the carrot is so nice to eat as you're eating the rice.

It's not something I usually would've expected 'cause typically most places they'll just dice it really small, but how they prepare it there, it just goes so well with it.

- So you can identify the vegetables- - Yes.

- in their fried rice.

- That's cool.

- Yes.

- And bacon fried rice, yummy.

Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon.

(Isabel laughing) So Sharon, how about dessert?

- No dessert.

Oh, are you kidding?

The bowls are huge and there was only two of us and we both had things to take home.

- So good portions?

- Good portions and presented nicely.

- Cool.

- Waitress was nice.

- Awesome, very kind, I thought, everyone there.

- Yeah, very, very nice.

- Peter, you had dessert.

- We did, it was the coconut ice cream and only bad part about that is I had to share it with my wife.

It was really good.

- Isabel, did you have dessert?

- No, I didn't.

Unfortunately- - Too full?

- I was too full, yeah.

- If you want to try Taste of Thai it's located just east of 40th street in Warner in Ahwatukee.

An average meal will cost about $18 and they do take reservations.

(upbeat bright music) Up next to is Peter's pick.

An Italian restaurant in Glendale, offering wood fired pizzas and recipes inspired by the owner's Italian born mother.

This is Bottega Ristorante.

- Bottega was founded with the intention of creating a local, family-owned, neighborhood restaurant that features authentic Italian cuisine from homemade pastas, fresh pastas to a authentic neapolitan wood fire pizza to our sauces and our salads.

One of the things that we say all the time, and probably a tag slogan of ours, is you get to experience Italy without the plane ride across the Atlantic.

We have two patios to choose from, a nice indoor and outdoor bar, live music.

It's a cool vibe that appeals to just about any age.

The West Valley is an amazing area.

So our goal was to be able to create something that they could go to and call it their little neighborhood gem without having to travel east.

Because that's the biggest thing that we hear all the time from West Valley residents is there's never anything here that is not chain or that it's not good.

I was born in Milano.

How it inspires me is food is almost religious to any Italian, including myself.

How that has inspired Bottega is to bring a little bit of a taste to that authentic, Italian cuisine.

So we serve authentic neapolitan wood fire pizza that is certified by the Neapolitan Verace Pizza Association.

What makes that different from other pizzas is the preparation of the dough to the cooking method, which is our wood fire, high temperature, typically between 750 and 900 degrees and then the type of wood that we burn.

The finished product is typically a crispy, fluffy crust that's very airy with a, like a molten wet center that's very traditional to the neapolitan pizza.

You know, good food takes a little bit of time so if you're eating at Bottega, bring time and bring patience and bring an appetite.

I want you to feel like you're coming to my house.

When you're here, you're treated like family.

- So Peter, this is your pick.

Tell me what you had for an appetizer and why you picked this restaurant.

- Okay, we had polenta and that's my wife's favorite, but I usually don't get an appetizer unless it's salad, but we shared that.

- Is there a tomato sauce with it?

Is it crispy polenta?

- [Peter] No.

- It's just crispy polenta.

- It had a little olive oil on it and it was crispy and then I wanted to get my usual there 'cause I've been there several times and we had mushroom with a...

I don't know if it's a penne or... - [Mark] Ziti or a penne, yeah.

- Yeah, but that with some vegetables and in a mushroom sauce, a light mushroom sauce.

- [Mark] So it was it creamy-based mushroom sauce?

- [Peter] Yeah.

- [Mark] Oh, so it was really rich and... - Rich and very good and usually I can't finish it, but I think this time I did.

- You did?

Good for you, Peter.

I'm proud of you, all right.

Isabel, so what did you think of Peter's pick?

- It was nice.

I'm very picky with my pizza restaurants and pasta restaurants.

I've been Italy many times, so I kind of a good idea of what it should taste like.

And I was pleasantly surprised.

We actually got a margarita pizza for an appetizer to share with my friends.

- [Mark] Thin crust.

It was stretchy.

- [Isabel] Thin.

Thin, it had the perfect amount of bite to it.

It wasn't overly crispy.

It wasn't soggy.

It was just that right middle, you know, doneness that's supposed to be.

- You are a foodie 'cause you said it had a bite.

- [Isabel] Yes.

- Yes, I like that.

- [Isabel] It's perfect and the mozzarella that it had, it was delicious.

The perfect amount of basil, the sauce wasn't overly powerful, I guess.

- [Mark] And it wasn't goopy.

- [Isabel] No, no.

And it wasn't sweet either 'cause I don't prefer them to be very sweet.

So it was just the right amount of tang to it.

It was really enjoyable.

Everybody that ate with me enjoyed it.

They really liked it, yeah.

- Little secret about the pizza.

He met that guy on vacation in Italy this summer.

He had a pizzeria that was struggling during COVID in Salerno and convinced him to come work for him.

- Oh, maybe that's why it was so... - A little tip there.

- Maybe that's why it was so delicious.

- Yeah, he's a genius.

And pizza are amazing.

So what did you have for an entree?

- I got the salsiccia pasta.

So it was like kind of...

I'm not really sure what type of pasta it was.

I don't wanna mispronounce it, but it was like elongated and then it had a creamy red sauce with Italian sausage.

It was hearty.

It felt like a warm hug.

It was really, really good.

I shared some with my friends so they could try it and they all said it was delicious too.

- All right, Sharon, you drove- - I drove- - to Bottega Ristorante.

- and I drove.

(all laughing) I took my neighbors with me, Ron and Nancy.

Ron happens to be of Italian heritage.

So I was looking forward to this and the ambiance is quite nice.

It's the very pretty in there.

My neighbors ordered so much food.

- [Mark] What'd you order to start?

What'd you order?

- What did I order?

Well, I started with the mistas and it was presented quite nicely.

It was in a tilted bowl and it had a balsamic vinegarette.

The vinegarette was not remarkable at all.

Was a balsamic.

- [Mark] So what Balsamic vinegarette do you like and how is this different?

- [Sharon] I like a balsamic that is older and it's a little bit sweeter.

- So a little sweeter.

Okay, a little more rich and sweeter.

A little more viscosity.

- [Sharon] Right.

- Okay, I get it.

- [Sharon] Exactly.

- Because that's a stylistic thing because you know, balsamic comes in all kinds of different ages and some have higher acidity and some have higher sugar content.

- [Sharon] Right.

- Okay, so that helps.

That helps.

- My main entree was the gnocchi with gorgonzola.

Superb.

- So tell me... Gnocchi, I'm a passionate about it, but everyone has their own preference.

Some people like it with little chew and I would say bite to it.

I like it like pillows of air.

- It was soft.

It was probably the best gnocchi I've ever had.

- [Mark] Oh, my gosh.

- And I like gnocchi in gorgonzola or pesto but not in the red sauce.

To me, Tomatoes and potatoes don't really- - Tomatoes and potatoes.

- Yeah, don't really go together.

- What did you cap it off with for dessert?

- I didn't get dessert.

I was filled with gnocchi.

It was extremely filling and it was rich because of the gorgonzola sauce.

- Peter, this is your place.

So tell us a little bit more about... You've been there a number of times- - I have.

- so give us a walkthrough.

- The patio is really it for me.

And I eat outside a lot.

I love it.

It's a quiet walkway through between shops so it's not real busy and you get great service out there.

And in the winter they have great heat lamps, but it's very large.

And when we were there they had entertainment.

They had a guitar player.

And it sounded like James Taylor.

- [Mark] Whoa.

- Yeah, it was really nice.

- [Mark] That's cool.

- And so it's a romantic place with good food.

And the first time I went there, Nick, we were there late and he said, how would you like to have the tiramisu for dessert and his treat?

And he gave us a large piece of tiramisu and we're embarrassed to say, we nearly ate the whole thing.

- Don't be embarrassed.

I'm proud to say that I ate my whole thing and I don't eat dessert.

There was one really nice touch and I don't know if you all experienced this, but did you get some limoncello as a little- - Oh, I was driving.

- Oh, yes I was too so I didn't taste it, but my guest did.

And I did a little bit of a, you know, like a dip in a spoon 'cause I was driving, but stunning.

He makes it himself.

- [Sharon] Oh, wow.

- And he puts a little bit of heavy cream in it.

I mean I've never had anything like it.

- Oh, wow.

- It was a great little thank you.

I was blown away.

I mean, it is a bit of a drive if you don't live on the west side, but wow.

The food was tight and Nick was great.

- [Sharon] Definitely.

- [Isabel] Yeah, it was worth a drive for.

- Yeah, any more tips for you for going there?

- I would definitely recommend it for like... Like you said, like a little date night would nice.

They had live music when we were there as well so that was nice.

It was really relaxing.

Yeah, it was really enjoyable.

- I felt it was very warm and intentional.

You could really feel the presence of the owner and you could feel that there was really some integrity and thoughtfulness behind it, in my humble opinion.

- I got really excited when I walked in and I saw a. pizza oven and that's when I was like, okay, this is the place.

Like, we're in the right place.

We're in the right place, yeah.

- [Mark] And a wood fired one.

- If you want to go try Bottega Ristorante it's located off of 59th avenue in Utopia in Glendale.

An average meal will cost about $30 and they do take reservations.

(upbeat bright music) Our last restaurant is Sharon's choice located in the heart of Old Town, Scottsdale.

This restaurant serves up modern Latin cuisine along with a variety of tequilas and mescals.

This is The Mission, Old Town.

(upbeat music) - We opened The Mission about 14 years ago here in Scottsdale with the idea of doing a few dishes, you know, from Latin America that maybe didn't exist here in the valley.

And as the design started to come together, it really looked like an old, you know, Spanish mission in here.

It just happens to be next to the oldest mission church in Scottsdale.

I think when you walk in, there's an instant kind of relaxation.

It is a little dark, but we've got a Himalayan salt brick wall that surrounds the kitchen and sets off this kind of Ember, like this warm feeling across the room.

And I think that instantly makes people kind of relax.

And now with that being said, it's a pretty busy restaurant.

There's some hustle and bustle.

So chillies are kind of the backbone of the restaurant.

We probably use about 35 different chilies from fresh to dried to jars of some purees.

Our guacamole here is made table-side kind of giving it one of those, like you have to have it when you come type menu items.

We have about 12 ingredients in there besides just the avocado.

You can kind pick and choose.

It accounts for about 20% of our total gross sales for the year is guacamole.

So I grew up in Scottsdale and lived here my whole life.

I wanted to provide something for the community that didn't exist here.

Kind of going, like traveling without having to leave the city of Scottsdale.

You come in with the expectation of, let's say what Southwest cuisine is or Mexican food is.

My goal is to kind of crush those expectations, and go wait a second.

This looks just like something I've had before, but whoa, this tastes totally different.

This is not what I expected.

- So Sharon, you brought us this restaurant.

Why do you like it?

- Why do I like it?

I've always recommended The Mission to the groups I have when I'm on tour.

The ambiance is great.

They always are consistently good.

You can rely on them serving you a great meal.

- What did you have as an appetizer?

What did you eat there?

- Well, my companion chose the guacamole and I chose one of my favorite dishes.

There is the street corn.

- So explain that, 'cause that's done a number of different ways.

Was it classic, traditional?

- This was classic, yes, because there was the lime juice in it.

There was a little bit of the jalepeno maybe, and then the cotija on top of it, but I always like to have a special item that goes with the rest of my dinner and that's the huitlacoche crema.

- [Mark] Yes.

So you added that onto it.

- [Sharon] I added a little side dish of that.

- What is huitalcoche?

- Huitlacoche is a very interesting delicacy from Mexico.

It's actually the top of an ear of corn, the fungus that grows on there.

And I know that in Mexico they actually grow corn to harvest that.

- Yes, it's a delicacy and a treat and also a little bit rare.

- Yeah, it's very rare.

So when you find that...

If you happen to get like, you know, pounds and pounds of corn, which typically that happens and they find some it's like winning the lottery for corn.

- It's a little find.

- Yeah, it's a rare find.

- Yes, it's good.

- What'd you have for entrees?

- My entree, we shared.

My guest, he ordered the pork tacos and I ordered the fish tacos.

The pork was great.

- So explain...

The fish taco, is it grilled fish or is it... - It was a breaded fish and it was a smaller bowl and there were four small pieces about the size of your fingers and they were crispy.

And then there was in the center was their Latin marinated onions and radishes.

- [Mark] So it's like a pico de gallo but of Latin inspired.

- Right, it was quite nice.

We had something to drink.

We had that rose mules, which were superb.

So superb that I had that for dessert, a second one, instead of dessert, but it was very nice.

- Peter, this was your first time in.

Your impressions and what did you have to eat?

- It was very good.

Didn't know what to expect when we went in.

We went for lunch and so it was very busy for Scottsdale.

And the appetizer that I had was the gorditas.

We actually shared that, and in terms of...

I'm used to taco shells being a little thinner.

These were a little fuller and tasted very good.

- [Mark] Well, they make them there so that's the reason.

- Yeah, that's why they're- - So they're really homemade.

- [Isabel] a little thicker.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- [Peter] Yeah.

- What kind of tacos did you have?

- [Peter] I had the pork tacos and they were delicious.

And after that we had dessert.

My wife loved spread pudding, so that was really delicious as well.

- Describe it.

Chunky bread pudding- - [Peter] No.

- [Mark] with custurdy... - [Peter] Yeah, more like a soft and it's small portion, but it was enough for both of us.

- Oh, good.

- Yeah.

- Small, but perfect.

- Perfect, yeah.

- Isabel, all right, your expert opinion.

(Isabel laughing) The foodie that traveled.

- I didn't really know what to expect going in.

I had never heard of it so I didn't know really what to expect.

Yeah, I hardly ever go to Scottsdale for food, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The place itself it's beautiful inside.

It's very romantic almost 'cause it's kind of meety in there.

- [Mark] Well it's cool 'cause of that salt wall.

It's actually out of blocks of salt.

- Yeah, it was beautiful, yeah.

And we actually sat outside.

We went there for brunch on a Sunday so it was very busy, but even though it was busy, we got service right away.

Everything was really, really good.

- What did you have for appetizers?

- We shared the guacamole, which they did prepare table-side for us, which was nice because the person that was making it asked us whether we wanted it spicy or not.

And so he added extra serranos in it so it was... - 'Cause you like a little spicy.

- Yeah, and it had little pepita seeds, which were really nice.

- So a little pop of crunch.

- Little crunch.

It was a really small portion, but I mean, it was still enough to enjoy and you know, savor all the flavors.

- Good, and what'd you have next?

- I ordered the chicken chilaquiles.

When they brought it out, it's a pretty decent-sized serving so there was definitely enough to take home or share.

It was very good.

It looked beautiful.

The chilaquiles themselves, the tortillas were very crispy 'cause sometimes they make them and they bring them too soggy.

They're not supposed to be soggy- - [Mark] I know.

- but these were perfectly crispy.

So they were perfect to eat right away.

The sauce was very flavorful.

It was very acidic.

It had a tomatillo base so- - [Mark] Oh, okay.

That's nice.

- it was really good.

- Was it green or just had tomatillo to boost the acidity?

- No, it was actually a little green.

It wasn't super bright green, but it did.

You could see some of the seeds of the tomatillo, which was- - I like that.

- Which was nice, yeah.

- Did you have anything to drink?

- I did.

I had the spicy hibiscus, which was very refreshing.

It was a tart, not very spicy.

I mean, it was just the rim that was spiced, but it was very refreshing.

I could definitely go back just for drinks alone.

- Anymore in the atmosphere?

It's like an Adobe old building.

It's in the old part of Scottsdale.

- Being that the building is so old I kind of expected it.

From the outside, I thought, oh, okay.

It's gonna be kind of a, you know, dingy kind of place.

But then you walk in and it's beautiful inside.

- [Sharon] It's nice.

- [Isabel] It's totally redone but they keep some of that character that makes it.

- [Sharon] And they have a patio in the back too.

- [Mark] Last words, Peter.

- I would go back to that.

- You'd go back?

I'd love it.

Sharon, going back?

That's your place.

- Well, it's my place.

Of course I'm going back.

- So going back?

- I would definitely go back.

I would love to go back to just enjoy dinner there with my husband or, you know, with friends.

It's definitely inviting.

- If you want to dine at The Mission Old Town it's located on Brown in second street in Scottsdale.

They have a second location in Kierland Commons.

An average meal with tax and tip will cost about $46 and they do take reservations.

I wanna thank Isabel, Peter, and Sharon for joining me at the table.

And thank you for joining us for Check Please!

Arizona.

If you'd like to share your favorite restaurant, head to our website, azpbs.org/checkplease and nominate your must-eat-out spot.

Who knows?

You could be joining me at the table and be a part of the foody conversation in Arizona on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using hashtag CheckpleaseAZ.

Join us next time when three new guests make their recommendations right here on Check Please!

Arizona.

I'm Chef Mark Tarbell and have a delicious life.

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- [Announcer] AJ's Fine Foods for gourmet to-go meals.

Chef prepared entrees and sides, brick oven pizza, handcrafted sandwiches and soups or sushi to go.

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