(light music) - [Male Announcer] And now an Arizona PBS Original Production.

- I'm chef Mark Tarbell.

(upbeat jazzy music) Welcome to "Check Please!

Arizona", the show where valley 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!

Arizona".

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(light jazzy music) - I'm chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please!"

In this episode we're getting staff picks from Arizona PBS.

Meet Nora Montana from Donor Services.

Unlike most of us, she likes to grocery shop, but when she's not cooking she heads over to her pick, a Mexican restaurant in South Phoenix.

Joanna Benton works in Member Services.

She used to be on a roller derby team.

And her pick is a vegetarian restaurant with some slammin' good flavors.

But first, traveling the world is a great way to discover new foods.

And Assistance Finance Director Justin Neal has really put that one to the test.

He's visited 12 countries, including China, where he studied for a bit.

His pick is a Mesa restaurant that reminds him of the province he called home.

(Chinese instrumental music) It's Shaanxi Garden.

- Shaanxi Garden it authentic Chinese restaurant located in Mesa.

We serve Shaanxi cuisines.

And Shaanxi is famous for noodles and lamb dishes.

Shaanxi Province is located in the center of China and it's well known for harvesting wheat.

Biang biang noodle is one of the noodle types we have and it's as wide as the belt, and as long as a arm length.

Our chef will stretch it and bend on the counter, that's how it called a biang biang noodle.

And in Chinese old saying is longer noodles you eat the long life you have.

And for each bowl of noodle it only has three noodles in one bowl.

We have a big menu and our staff is very friendly.

Our one of our goal is to have our diners immerse in our culture.

We imported every piece of the furnitures, art, the decorations from China directly.

When you enter the restaurant first of all you will see a big Chinese character hanging on the wall, that character is called biáng.

That's the most difficult Chinese character, that's just one character, and it consists over 70 strokes.

And also you will see two life size statues that's called terracotta warriors.

(Chinese instrumental music) We have a Chinese harp performance every Friday and Saturday night.

That's why we built this restaurant, we want people to impressed by our every piece of the detail we have here.

And when people step into the restaurant they feel like they were transported back to China.

- Justin I have to learn more about this, I am fascinated with all Chinese food, but particularly from this region.

- The food was amazing.

I lived in China for six months and ever since I left I've always been looking for authentic Chinese food and this restaurant has exactly that.

- How'd you find it?

- One of my old classmates actually.

We were meeting up for lunch and he had selected that restaurant, and I've been eating there every month since.

(everyone laughs) - Oh really?

It is your now new favorite go to.

- Yes.

- So tell me about what you had when you were there.

- The appetizer that I had was the lamb skewers and the crispy chicken.

- [Mark] Tell me about the crispy chicken.

(Justin sighs) (everyone laughs) - The crispy chicken.

- Say no more.

- It was.

(everyone laughs) It was so juicy, it was the perfect amount of salt, not too salty.

The skin.

Thin layer of crispiness that can just break.

- Oh boy.

- And then you have a cumin based, some type of zesty spicy that you can dip the chicken in.

- [Mark] I have never done that, that is insane.

- Oh it was.

- Too you mentioned the lamb, what was that like?

- The lamb skewers also had a similar dry rub, and they come out on the skewer and I believe they're cooked over a fire.

- They're kinda crazy, 'cause I thought it was just gonna be a little skewer or something but they were like a foot long.

- Yeah.

- It was crazy right?

- It was a perfect amount of food for a appetizer.

My son, he's three-years-old, and he loved it.

- So how was service then?

You brought your family, and how was service?

- Service was great.

We were seated immediately, they weren't too busy, but then as soon as we got there (people chattering) the waiter came out, got our drink orders, food came out immediately, hot, lookin' good.

(everyone laughs) - Oh good.

So Joanna tell me about your experience there.

- Oh my gosh, it was a lot of fun.

I took the family.

It was on a Saturday night.

They had live music, the Chinese harp.

My kids had a great time.

We walk in, it's those beautiful red, it's painted in this beautiful red color.

We got to sit down right away, the server came up really quickly we put in.

We asked a lot of questions.

- What did you eat?

- Oh so you asked a lot of questions?

- Yes asked a lot of questions.

But I ordered, with the help of their server, 'cause Nora I learned that from Nora, ask the server what their favorite is.

(Nora laughs) And he suggested the mapo tofu, which was amazing.

- Well tofu is really interesting, it can be fermented, it can be kinda dry and chewy, it can be really fresh and soft, silky.

What was it like there?

- I don't know if it was fermented, but it was they're big hunks of tofu, a lot of it too, in this delicious Sichuan.

- [Justin] Sichuan.

- Sichuan pepper sauce, and it absorbed the pepper sauce.

I mean you could taste the garlic, you could taste the ginger, the pepper kinda tingled on your tongue, it was really it was delicious.

- Nora you had a noodle dish I think right?

- I did.

I had the oiled seared (oil sizzling) noodles with vegetables.

- [Mark] And the noodles, the tenderness of the noodles.

I don't know what they were called, but the ones that are about-- - 12 feet long.

- Oh is that it?

- Correct.

- Biang biang.

- Biang biang okay I had those and I'm like-- - That's what we had too.

- So I'm trying to be polite, you know I have guests and stuff and I pull out of the pot and it keeps coming and coming and I'm like, is there a camera on here?

(everyone laughs) Was it crispy like they say seared.

- It was crispy.

Yes it was crispy.

- Yeah that's cool.

- And the potatoes and carrots, amazing, amazing.

Highly recommend it.

- So Justin will tell us but I hear potatoes, carrots, and lamb, and I think it's a region that has a little bit heartier food right?

- Yes.

In that region there are, there is a decent size Muslim population, so there are more dishes that include lamb.

- What else did you have Nora?

- [Nora] I also had the house fried rice, delicious and.

- [Mark] Tell me about the flavors.

- Oh, the best I've had.

- Really?

- [Nora] It actually is bowled, and no spice, just lots of flavors.

- Okay no heat okay.

- Yeah and it had he beef and the chicken and the shrimp in it, it was delicious, highly recommend it.

- Oh you had the three way?

- I did.

(Joanna laughs) Yeah it's the house special.

- Oh you did it?

Oh that's great.

- Nice.

- Okay.

- House special.

- So I think what I felt is there's some magic sauce that's through all of it.

- Yeah.

- Did you have any sides?

- I did, I had pot stickers, the chicken pot stickers, and the wings.

- Okay.

- And the wings were like a dry rub, very tasty.

- [Mark] So not gooey and saucy.

- Not gooey and saucy at all.

Delicious.

- For sides we had the scrambled egg with tomatoes which is a long time favorite of mine.

That was a dish that I had quite often when I lived in China.

- Okay.

Flavorful, like is it soft eggs?

- It's soft eggs.

- [Mark] Okay.

- Soft tomatoes.

And I don't know what they do to it, but the way that the flavors come in it doesn't really taste like the flavor of scrambled eggs.

The tomatoes and I don't know what else they put in there, but the garlic and.

- It's some secret broth-y thing they do, I don't really know what it is.

I don't know, I found that too.

- I was curious about that.

- What did you have?

- I had spring rolls.

- [Mark] Okay.

- I didn't venture too far off of (Joanna laughs) my comfort zone.

- That's okay.

- But my kids also loved them.

I think I got one bite.

They were very good.

- By the way I love that you brought your kids there 'cause that'll open their world up.

You know having that taste impression moving forward in life, I mean it's there.

- That's the plan.

We're moving away from pizza.

(Joanna laughs) - Yes it's difficult (everyone laughs) I get it, I have kids.

Shaanxi Garden is located south of Dobson in university in Mesa.

An average meal will cost about 20 dollars without drinks.

They take reservations.

(light jazzy music) Up next is Joanna's pick, a vegetarian spot near downtown Phoenix that serves up its own version of yes, big mac and chicken wings.

(upbeat music) This is Green New American Vegetarian.

- We serve some of the best plant based food that you can get your hands on.

Our food is your everyday comfort food.

We have amazing chicken sandwiches and burgers and fries and all of the things that really get people excited about a dining experience.

Everything is vegan.

I defy you to try to tell the difference.

One of our most popular dishes are buffalo wings, and it's made from mushroom stems and soy protein, it's really really tasty.

The big wac is exactly like the iconic song to patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, the whole deal.

In order to mimic real meat it's not just the ingredients that you use, but it's a lot of the techniques that you use.

So we use a lot of seitan here which is a whole protein wheat gluten.

And how you season it and how you cook it you'll get different textures and chewy-ness and different flavors out of it depending on how you cook it.

One of our most popular things is our soy-nami which is our soft serve ice cream and all sorts of like cakes and cookies.

And we have signature soy-namis where we fold it into our organic soft serve ice cream.

And that mimics another really popular dessert out there at a fast food place.

I'm trying to create all those foods that you love that you can't really always get as a vegetarian or a vegan.

I definitely did learn how to cook at an early age and kind of fall in love with food at an early age at my grandparents home.

My grandmother was one of the best cooks in the world.

Dinner time would roll around and it would just be this experience like no other.

People would show up unannounced and just you know there was always a plate for them.

And that was really really special and everyone was welcome and that's what I hope everyone takes away from here.

We want you to feel welcome here, we're so honored truly to be able to create and serve you.

- Joanna I have to ask, is this a good place to introduce someone who may not yet be a vegan or vegetarian?

- I think so.

(Joanna laughs) It's got chili cheese fries on the menu so.

- You gotta love that right?

- You can't go wrong with that exactly you know you think of vegan, you know tofu patties and, which are delicious by the way, but you know you get burgers there, you get delicious spinach fundido's I think what we had as well.

Everything tastes amazing.

I guess that I think so.

(Joanna laughs) - Yeah well what did you have?

- I had the fighting artichoke salad, which was this huge giant salad that I was able to have for dinner later.

Big hunks of hearts of palm, artichoke, cucumbers, tomato, this really delicious dressing that I got on the side you know-- - [Mark] And what was that like, the dressing, what did it taste like?

- The dressing it was very, I think it was like a lime cilantro.

- Okay.

- So it was it had a little-- - So it had a little southwestern feel.

- Yes yes and but it was delicious on there.

- Delicious, so it was a fighting artichoke salad right?

- The fighting artichoke salad yes.

- So you have a little experience in that.

(Joanna laughs) You were a roller derby expert champion.

- Well.

- [Mark] Banked roller derby.

- Yes.

I'm not sure about the expert and champion part (everyone laughs) but yes I did I played roller derby for about two or three years.

- So Nora what did you have to eat?

- I had the dagobah salad.

- Dagobah, say that three times fast.

- Dagobah, dagobah.

(everyone laughs) - Hey good job.

- It was amazing.

Brussels sprouts with some jerk spice on a bed of greens with some tortilla chips for crunch.

- [Mark] Very cool.

- [Nora] It was delicious.

- Very cool, and what was the dressing like?

- It was a little mustard-y.

Like with.

- Okay.

- Little bit of jerk seasoning in it.

That's what I-- - Oh good so it had a little spice with that tang, that acid of mustard.

- Yes it was delicious.

- So was this your first time going there?

- It was.

I'm not a vegetarian so.

- You're not, okay.

- Yeah I was highly surprised, I would recommend it to all.

My appetizer was a fundido, spinach fundido with poblano chilis, delicious.

- [Mark] Oh good, so it had a little bit of that.

Were they roasted and soft?

- Yes they were soft yeah.

- Okay good.

- [Joanna] That was really good.

- Was it gooey?

- You could taste the white wine in there.

- Yeah I mean you go, oh white wine okay.

- Was delicious.

- I'm liking it more and more.

- It was really good.

- Yeah yeah.

- Okay.

(Joanna laughs) - Chips were fresh, little bit of salsa on the side.

- [Mark] Oh nice.

- Highly recommend.

- So it was a fundido.

(Joanna laughs) - It was a fundido.

- Very cool.

(everyone laughs) Okay I'm so cheesy.

Okay I get to stop.

- Hey it was a cheesy thing too, oh my gosh.

- Justin.

What did you have?

- I started off with the chicken wings.

- [Mark] Okay.

- This was my first time having vegetarian chicken wings like this but they were amazing.

- That's good to know, I have not tried the chicken wings yet because I'm always eating their french fries so.

Okay.

- [Justin] I think on the menu it said that the buffalo sauce was award winning.

(Joanna gasps) So.

- So tell us about it.

- Yes.

- What made it award winning?

(Justin laughs) Or do you agree?

- I agree.

- Okay.

- I completely agree that it I would give it an award.

- So what was the texture like of the wings?

- The texture.

(Justin sighs) You know like when you have a chicken wing on the flat and you got that side part, the crispy part?

- Oh that's my favorite part.

- I do.

(everyone laughs) - That's kinda how the whole thing texture was, so that's my favorite part of the chicken wing.

- Oh man.

- And.

- You know my mouth is watering right now with that description, that is unbelievable.

- My stomach's growling.

- What else did you have Justin?

- All of ours.

(Joanna and Justin laugh) - I also had the dagobah burrito.

- [Mark] Okay.

- The burrito was huge, but for me it was a little bit light.

- [Mark] Okay.

- I like to eat a lot of food, so it was a little bit light but the flavor was very good.

Flavorful, perfect.

- So what was the atmosphere like?

So you're walking in there for the first time, never been, what did it look like?

- Big open space.

I think there was like a garage door.

- Yes I think the garage door.

- They got the garage front that they opened up all the way.

- [Joanna] Lots of light.

- [Justin] Yeah, lot of light, open space, I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

- Really fun like funky artsy downtown.

(people chattering) I think there was a really cool installation behind the cashier of car doors and it's fun, it's a neat place.

- [Mark] Nora there was some artwork there I think you mentioned yeah.

- There was yes local artwork that they sold as well.

- [Mark] Oh that's good.

- [Nora] Yeah little bit of everything.

- So they're supporting their local artists.

- Absolutely.

- [Mark] Really great.

- [Nora] Yeah lot of color.

- I had a bit wac attack there, it was amazing.

Has anyone had that?

But if you-- - That was the first, the first time I went I had a big wac and it was just like McDonald's.

(everyone laughs) - So chicken wings and big wac, let's do it.

- Yeah.

(Joanna laughs) - If you wanna try Green New American Vegetarian for yourself it's located just north of seventh street in McDowell.

An average meal for one cost about 17 dollars.

(light jazzy music) Our last restaurant is Nora's selection, Cocina Madrigal tacos and tequila's is a family owned restaurant (upbeat Mexican music) lead by a valley chef with roots in Mexico.

- Cocina Madrigal is describe as fresh innovative Mexican cuisine.

I am from Oaxaca, you know and Oaxaca is really known for the great cuisine that they have starting with the moles.

We have seven different kind of moles.

It is amazing memories that I have of my grandma.

You know going through making chocolate and fresh chocolate from scratch, mole, and different marinades.

It really influenced a lot, because here at Cocina Madrigal the tortillas are hand made and made to order.

Every morning we come in and believe it or not we weigh every single tortilla okay?

We have you know my wife and a couple of other ladies that come in and we make the masa.

So you're talking about getting at least 1,000, minimal 1,000 little balls that we have to make every day.

I don't use any lard in my restaurant, everything that I use is a combination of olive oil and corn oil.

Everything is really really good on the menu.

But one of my favorite things is the wild mushroom enchilada.

Okay I mean just having those wild mushrooms with the Ancho mole cream, it is amazing all the flavors and for me it's like eating a steak.

You know those mushrooms are so good it's like eating a steak every single day.

We have different tequilas well we have a lot.

You know it start from añejo to reposado and blanco or plata.

I want people the experience when they leave the restaurant they have to say I can't wait coming back, I need to get those churros or that charred romaine salad.

We just want people to be happy, coming in enjoy and forget that whatever issues they have over there it's just like home.

When they come in I just tell them this feel like home, this is your home.

- Nora there are a ton of Mexican restaurants in Arizona, what made this one special?

- It has changed me in loving enchiladas again.

- Really?

You never loved or it wasn't part of your world?

- Not at all.

- Why is that?

- Not sure.

Just never was a fan.

- Just never was.

Okay.

- No.

- [Mark] So what changed you about it?

- Oh those barbacoa green chili enchiladas and the wild mushroom enchiladas.

- So tell me, I had both, so the barbacoa I haven't had it quite with that profile of flavor before.

I mean tell me, what did you see there?

I mean it was really pretty interesting.

- Yes tasting the seasoning and the green chili just all came together.

Delicious.

- It seemed like there was a smoke or char to it or something that I had.

- Yes.

- [Mark] I don't know what that was, it's like a haunting (everyone laughs) flavor.

- It stays with you.

- It stays with you it does.

- We need to go back.

- And then you had the wild mushroom.

- [Nora] I did, oh that's life changing.

- Life changing, why?

- It is.

Just I've never had it before, it's not what you normally see in a menu of a Mexican restaurant.

I highly recommend that as well.

- I felt that way about a lot of it, it seemed like there was a little bit of a more modern I would say approach to it, or a creative approach to it.

The food.

- More creative.

Right.

- Yeah definitely.

- That's how you feel when you walk into that restaurant looking at the tacos and their toppings as well.

- Yes yes.

Joanna what did you have when you went?

- Well I first started out with chips and guacamole.

The guacamole was amazing, there were big huge hunks of pineapple.

I think they grilled the pineapple first and you know big chunks of red onion, and tomato.

I'm sorry my stomach's growling.

(everyone laughs) And then for my main entree I had the three veggie tacos.

Oh no I also had, (Joanna laughs) I had a lot of food there, I had the charred romaine salad which was amazing.

- Unbelievable right?

- Did you have that too?

- Yes I did.

- That is amazing.

- Okay.

- So delicious.

- And I didn't there was supposed to be jalapeno bacon and some delicious cheese, I didn't have that on there, and it was still so good.

I was trying to behave myself and I used my fork and knife as much as I could but eventually I just took up that big hunk of romaine and ate it with my hands.

So I had that and then I had the veggie tacos.

The veggie tacos (Joanna and Mark laugh) oh my gosh with corn tortilla.

The veggie tacos they were huge, I say huge a lot, there were really big chunks of carrots, and broccoli, and mushrooms, and I th-- - I think there were onions in there too.

- And then onions.

- Delicious.

- Oh it was so good.

- It was-- - It is really good.

- It was really really good.

And I don't know if they use butter or olive oil but it was just amazing.

And their corn tortillas are house made I believe.

- Yes they are fresh made.

To order almost.

- Yes.

- [Mark] I mean they were delicate, delicious.

- So good.

- I mean you're nodding your head.

What did you have Justin?

- So I had (Nora laughs) the enchiladas, I had the wild mushroom enchilada and the barbacoa.

And then I also had the elote I think it is.

Shaved off of the cow.

But my wife got the vegetarian tacos and she gave me a bite.

- [Joanna] Right?

It was-- - And.

My mind was blown.

- It was really really good.

- We went back the next day.

(Joanna laughs) - No way!

- We did, we did.

- You liked it, you went back the next day?

- I told her.

- Oh my gosh.

- We're going back tomorrow.

(Mark laughs) - Did you get the vegetarian tacos?

- I got the vegetarian tacos.

- Yeah yeah.

- That's how it starts.

- They were-- - Yeah I know.

- That's how it starts.

- That's how it starts.

- He's goin.

- It was perfectly seasoned, not too much salt.

- Yeah not greasy.

- Garlic flavor was perfect, and the vegetables were cooked perfectly, they were like just a little bit crispy but then they still had that bite to when you bite in it's juicy.

- Yeah they're really good.

- So Nora this is your place, so what do you love about it?

What keeps you coming back?

- The entire menu.

- The entire menu, okay.

- Really from tacos to enchiladas to the elote that's very dreamy.

Everything on that menu (people chattering) will surprise you with flavor from the beginning to the end.

- [Mark] And what about atmosphere?

How do you feel when you walk in?

- [Nora] Oh it's very comforting.

It just reminds me of a home town feel.

- Oh yeah very much so.

- Where I was born and raised.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah it was, it seemed very family friendly.

They had TV's playing the football game on, people at the bar.

- Feels like a family, I mean the chef came out, and everyone has such a yes attitude and wanting to be helpful.

The server I had was-- - Yes!

- [Mark] Was super helpful and friendly.

- [Joanna] Our server was hilarious, she was really cute.

She kept trying to push the tequila which I was all for, but I-- - Okay it is tacos and tequila.

- It is.

- Did anyone have a drink?

- No.

(Joanna laughs) - I did.

- You did what'd you have?

- I had the mango margarita.

- [Joanna] Oh.

- The first time we went I had the iced one (everyone laughs) then the second time I had the frozen one.

So.

- Just compare and contrast that's all you were doing.

- Yeah you know.

- It's for the show.

- Exactly.

It's exactly-- - I did it for the show.

- Yes thank you.

- Doing my homework.

- Desserts?

- I-- - Nora.

- I have had the churros.

- I've had the churros yeah.

- Yeah delicious.

- [Joanna] The churros are pretty amazing.

- Yes, the first night I went I did not have a dessert, but the second time we went I had the churros also.

And they, the flavor that sauce, what was the dipping?

- Oh it is-- - Custard inside.

- It's a vanilla caramel sauce.

I'm from a French training, but I have to say that churro changed my world.

I've had a lot of churros, but that one is the best one I've ever had, I'm just saying.

It's tender, it tasted like a fresh made homemade donut.

It was in churro.l - Delicious-ness.

- And the vanilla dipping sauce I was like (everyone laughs) - Dreamy yes.

(everyone laughs) - You all can, I will meet you at the car.

So do you have any recommendations that you know when people go there, what's your tips, what are your tips?

- Change it up.

- Okay.

- Try the enchiladas one time, tacos another time, the pork another day.

- [Mark] Take a ride.

- Take a ride.

- If you wanna sample Cocina Madrigal, it's located on sixteenth street and Broadway in south Phoenix.

An average meal costs 18 dollars and reservations are accepted.

(upbeat jazzy music) Thank you for joining us for this episode of "Check Please!"

If you would like to share your favorite restaurant, head to our website, A-Z P-B-S dot org slash "Check Please!"

And nominate your must eat out spot.

Who knows, you could be joining me at this table.

Be a part of the foodie conversation in Arizona on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, using hashtag "Check Please!"

A-Z.

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

Arizona".

I'm chef Mark Tarbell.

Have a delicious life.

(upbeat music) - [Female Announcer] Support comes from Copenhagen, featuring contemporary furniture from around the world.

Copenhagen is dedicated to providing comfort, craftsmanship, and customer service.

Located at Copenhagen Living dot com.

- [Female Announcer] Hospice of the Valley.

Medical, social, and spiritual care for patients nearing end of life, and support for their families.

A not for profit community hospice.

H-O-V dot org.

(light music) - [Male Announcer] Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers.

Personalized cancer care through medical oncology, radiation oncology, and radiology services.

Focusing on emotional, physical, and social support.

Outsmarting cancer one patient at a time.

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

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

AJ's Fine Foods, more than a market.

10 valley locations at AJ's Fine Foods dot com.

(light jazzy music)