- [Announcer] And now, an Arizona PBS original production.

- I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please, Arizona."

The show where Arizona foodies recommend their favorite restaurant.

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

They've dined at all three, and are really to share the reviews with each other, and with you, right here on "Check Please, Arizona."

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Located at copenhagenliving.com - [Narrator] 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.

Hov.org (gentle music) (upbeat music) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please, Arizona."

In this episode, we're visiting a casual steakhouse, a cozy Italian place, and a funky joint known for its brunch.

Let's meet our diners.

Erica Fernette, works in marketing.

She's born and raised in Phoenix, but has a wanderlust.

She's traveled to all seven continents.

But when she drops off her suitcase, she can't wait it hit up this Italian pizzeria.

Ben Cristoph is a customer success manager.

He counts holding a koala in Australia as one of the coolest things he's ever done.

He and his girlfriend love to dine out, especially at this brunch-centric restaurant.

But our first recommendation comes from Roni Nassberg.

She's retired, but not slowing down.

She loves to travel and volunteer.

Her choice is a family-run steakhouse in Carefree.

This is Keeler's Neighborhood Steakhouse.

(upbeat music) Keeler's Neighborhood Steakhouse is a neighborhood steakhouse.

There's neighborhood in the name because we want it to really kind of bring the neighborhood of Carefree into that.

The star is the steak.

We serve prime-certified Angus beef.

You can engineer the menu however you want.

The sides, we got anything from Brussels sprouts to asparagus, to our famous Au Gratin.

Obviously with a steakhouse, you gotta have a great wine program.

Our cocktail program, we have a beverage director that oversees all of our restaurants.

And we stick to the classics, really.

But just a little bit twist to those classics.

(upbeat music) We wanted to make a social house, if you will, where people could come and gather.

(upbeat music) It starts with the bar scene.

You walk in, you got this big wrap-around bar.

You know, I'm from Boston, so we're almost like a "Cheers," where everybody knows your name.

But then you got your two, our semi-private dining areas.

So if you want a little bit of more intimates, kind of dining experience, you have that.

And then you got all of our al fresco dining.

We're blessed with three separate patio areas.

Our covered patio area, you got our courtyard area, where you're surrounded by trees.

And then, last but not least, you got the Starlight Roof Deck, where you can see great sunset over the Sonora Mountains and Black Mountain, I mean it's just gorgeous up there.

We are family-run, family-owned business.

And it really started with our founder of Keeler Hospitality Group, which was my dad, Paul Keeler.

And he passed away during COVID two years ago.

And he's instilled so much in me and my family of just being a hard-working man.

But also a very humble person.

And that's taught me a lot, and just really connecting with people.

Our mantra is really saying that the first time that you walk through that door, you become a regular of ours.

And it's really kind of extending that hospitality.

And bring you in as a family.

(upbeat music) - So Roni, what do you like about Keeler's Steakhouse?

- Well, it's friendly, the atmosphere is great, and the food is delicious.

- What did you have for starters?

- Oh, I had mozzarella and tomato.

But, they chop up the mozzarella.

The tomato had a sauce on it, probably a balsamic, some type of- - [Mark] So a little bit sweet, but tart.

- Sweet.

It was delicious.

Usually I have steak, but this time they had this spa sea bass, and I was in the mood for fish.

So, I got the sea bass.

And the side was mashed potatoes on top of string beans, which where- - [Mark] Nice, sauce.

- [Roni] Garlic mashed potatoes.

So, I'm not a sauce eater.

- [Mark] Okay, no sauce.

- [Roni] No sauce for me.

- [Mark] Straight up- - [Roni] Straight up.

- Right from the baja.

- Right from the baja.

(chuckling) - What did you have, Erica?

- I went with the prime rib.

Which was wonderful.

And you know like how prime ribs, sometimes, I got it medium-rare.

And sometimes when you get it a little on the rare side, it can be chewy?

Not at all.

It was tender, it was delicious, juicy.

You got some horseradish with it.

And it was a little bit of a thinner horseradish sauce, which was perfect.

And that with the prime rib, out of this world.

- What about for starters?

- Starters, we got the fresh bread.

So they let us know that they bake bread in house every day.

And so, we had the bread, and it had fresh rosemary like mixed in the batter, which was great.

- I had that, too.

- It was so good!

- Yeah.

- [Mark] Well, there's nothing better than fresh-baked bread, right.

- [Roni] Oh God, yes.

- I had to stop myself at two rolls.

Otherwise, I wouldn't had finished, and I didn't even finish all the food.

The portions were huge.

So each meal comes with two sides when you order off of kind of the steak and the meat menu.

- [Mark] That's great!

- [Erica] Yeah.

- [Mark] Because a lot of steakhouses, it's all a la carte.

- It's all, exactly.

And so that was definitely nice to see, because you're like looking at the prices.

And it is a little bit more expensive.

But, when you factor into the fact that you're getting two huge sides with your meal, it definitely offset that a little bit.

- Ben, what did you have to start?

- We started off with the salad and mussels.

I went with my girlfriend, so we got two appetizers.

The salad was great.

People say salad is a salad, but it was great.

It had a lot of flavor.

But then the mussels came out, and there were just so many of them.

It was very impressive.

In terms of portions, very big.

And the sauce, I think it was a chorizo sauce.

But it was, you just mix it in with the mussels.

And it just tasted so good.

- What did you have for an entree, Ben?

- I had the filet, with the Yukon potatoes, mashed potatoes and asparagus.

And that's kind of my go-to when I got to a steakhouse.

I like potatoes and asparagus with the steak.

I asked for medium-rare, it was perfect in the middle.

A lot of times, like you were mentioning, it's not necessarily medium-rare when you ask for that.

But, it was a little bit brown on the outside, and when you get to the middle, it's absolutely perfect, I was so impressed.

The potatoes were creamy, you couldn't tell if they were ever regular potatoes, they were mashed so well.

(all chuckling) And the asparagus was very big, very thick, very tasty.

I was pleased, I like to mix the flavors together, and it came out very well.

Awesome.

Roni, did you have desert?

- Oh God, yes.

- Tell me.

- We had the apple pie a la mode.

- [Erica] Mm.

- And the crust was so thin and sweet, it was so good.

We were fighting over the crust.

- [Mark] And flakey.

- [Roni] Flakey!

- [Mark] Yeah, it is.

- [Roni] And, my boyfriend and I were fighting over the crust.

It was delicious.

And they recommended Judy's Bloom, which was a lemon cello.

And I like to make lemon cello at home.

So I wanted to taste it.

It had strawberries, it had lemon in it.

It's fresh, of course.

- [Mark] Nice.

- It was so good.

(chuckling) - I didn't quite get you liked it.

Erica, what did you have?

- We had the New York cheesecake.

It was delicious.

Really creamy, the crust was great.

When they did like a strawberry coolie, I think, on top of it.

With some fresh berries, as well.

- [Mark] Ben, what did you have for desert?

- We had the Creme Brulee.

And, I got the Flowers Chocolate Cake.

Both of them, I was just really impressed with both desserts, they tasted like, I don't exactly how they should.

I'm not a huge dessert person.

But, we took them home, both of them afterwards because the meal was so big, we couldn't finish any of it.

And then later on, they were just, I took them out of the fridge an hour later, and they were just perfect.

- Excellent, and you had something to drink, too?

- Yeah, I had a drink called the Dandelion.

- [Erica] I had that one, too.

- It was, I don't honestly remember what was in it, but it was so good, like refreshing.

We sat outside, and it just felt like it fit perfectly with the weather and the sun and everything.

- Oh yeah.

I think there was basil in it.

It was exactly like you said.

t was light, refreshing.

There was maybe a citrus in it.

But the basil is (shaker rattling) what really came through.

And a drink, I'm not a huge sweet drink fan, so this was perfect.

- [Ben] Yeah, it wasn't very sweet.

- [Erica] Yeah.

- Well, dandelion can have that lemon grass, sort of basil, slash.

A bit, a little touch bitter, actually, dandelion.

So this is where we do the takeaways.

Like, what's the one word or the one sentence you would say as a pro tip?

As your place, Roni, what would you say is a pro tip?

- It's called the Spanish Village, so they wanna give you that atmosphere, of a small, little cutoff place from everywhere else.

And they do have art studios, and it's just magical.

- Your pro tip, Erica?

- Don't sleep on the bread.

You do have to ask for it, they don't bring it out unless you ask for it, which I'm sure your server will tell you.

But definitely say "Yes."

- Okay, say "Yes" to bread.

Ben?

- I would say I really liked sitting outside.

I think the environment was amazing.

And I'd say give yourself some time beforehand to look at some of the shops.

Because there is some cool stuff.

- [Erica] Mm-hm.

- If you wanna try Keeler's Neighborhood Steakhouse, they are at East Ho Hum Road in Carefree.

And average meal cost $54, and they do take reservations.

(upbeat music) Our next pick is Erica's.

She said she can't stop thinking about the food at her favorite pick.

Artisan pizzas and pastas top the menu at this restaurant, housed in a historic bungalow.

This is CiBo Pizzeria.

(chill music) - CiBo is the Italian word for food.

And it is also the name of our restaurant here in downtown Phoenix.

We opened up almost 19 years ago as a pizzeria.

Traditional, Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas are the backbone of our menu.

The Neapolitan pizza's gonna be more elegant pizza than your traditional American-style.

It's a little softer in the middle, you're gonna get that nice, puffy crust.

The pizza is cooked very quickly, about 90 seconds to two minutes in a wood-fired oven that's about 900 degrees.

My personal favorite might be the Tartufata, which is a truffle-oil pizza with mushroom and spec.

We do charcuterie boards, traditional Italian antipasto, fresh salads.

We're in the heart of downtown Phoenix.

We're in a historic home.

Our house was built in 1913.

When you walk into CiBo, even though we're downtown, it doesn't feel necessarily like you're in a downtown.

We have the garden here, we have the beautiful patio.

It feels a little bit like Southern Italy.

We want people just to feel comfortable.

My partner, Guido Saccone and I have been working together very closely for 20 years.

And it just works, because we've had the same vision, we've had the same love of the restaurant.

Guido is very happy taking care of the kitchen.

(bell ringing) And, I enjoy the front-of-house.

So it's just a perfect match.

My favorite nights are the nights where we're right on the edge.

When we're a full house.

It's just a joyful place.

And that's the thing that is the most joyful thing of working here.

(upbeat music) - So Erica, you've dined all over the world.

Why CiBo?

How did you find it?

- I went for the first time with a good friend.

And I have not been able to stop going back.

I've had graduation parties there.

I've had birthday parties there.

I've had any special event, and any excuse that I can come up with to go to CiBo, I'm there.

- What do you like there?

- Their brick oven wood-fired pizzas are just so good.

They're a very like thin crust, the dough is delicious.

And, they have so many different options to choose from.

Granted, I choose the same one every single time.

Because it's so good.

- [Mark] Which one is that?

- It's the Prosciutto Crudo.

And so, the sauce is like a really fresh, light, tangy tomato sauce.

Big chunks of melted mozzarella on top.

And then after it's cooked, they stick fresh prosciutto on top of the pizza.

And that just like little bit of cool, fresh on top of this hot kind of tangy pizza, so, so, good.

- And the salad, too?

- I am not a salad person.

And their house salad, which is a very simple salad with a spring mix, a little bit of olive oil and vinegar and some pine nuts.

- And, boom.

- [Erica] And, boom.

It is- - You really only need that.

A little bit of olive oil, a little bit of acid.

Done.

What did you have?

- We had the salad, as well.

But we wouldn't of had if the bartender didn't recommend it.

I just wanna give him a shout out, because he, I don't know if he's been there for a long time.

He knew everything about the restaurant.

He recommended the wine, the entrees, the market salad, which was amazing.

It had those little tiny red and yellow peppers that are kind of sweet, and they were just perfect.

They mix in with just a nice spring mix very well.

I just really liked those peppers.

- What was your entree?

- I had the La Noce pizza.

Which he recommended.

And I just, I'm not a huge like nuts on a pizza kind of guy.

But it was arugula, the walnuts, and then cheese, and it just worked out so well, I couldn't believe it.

The flavors went together so well.

Just having that little crunch when you're eating the arugula on the rest of the pizza.

And like you said, the crust was incredible.

Everything felt very homemade.

- [Mark] The real, (speaking in Italian) is the chef.

He's actually traditional Neapolitan-style pizzas.

Thin crust, perfect.

Got a little chew and bit to them.

So Roni, what did you have?

- We didn't order pizza.

(chuckling) - What did you have?

(all chuckling) - My boyfriend ordered a fresca, I thought he ordered a drink.

They came out with this crepe filled with ice cream, and berries all around, for our first dish.

- [Mark] Well, perfect.

Life is short.

- Not bad, and it's delicious.

- Guess what we had for dessert?

- Nothing wrong starting with dessert, I like that.

- [Roni] So we ate that first.

And then, I ordered the butternut squash ravioli.

It was a special that night, they don't always have it on the menu, which was delicious.

- [Mark] So, you had the ravioli, because it was only a one-night only thing.

Maybe after this it will be every night.

But, tell me about it?

Tender, good?

- [Roni] It was delicious.

It was soft and butternut squash inside the ravioli pieces.

- [Mark] Yeah, very nice.

- [Roni] It was very good.

My boyfriend had the calzone.

I can't pronounce it- - [Mark] Just try.

- [Roni] It had everything in it, cheese, prosciutto, and he loved it.

- So Erica, what did you have for desert?

- So, I actually did have the fresca for dessert.

And what's really nice about, it's a fruit crepe.

The crepe is super-light, super-sweet, which is nice with the vanilla ice cream, and the big, big dollops of whipped cream.

But the fruit that they do on it is kiwi and peaches, which is a very different fruit that you usually get.

It's so good, because the peaches are sweet, and then you have the tart kiwis.

I can't go to CiBo without getting that.

- That is so cool.

- And the crepes are really big.

- Big, big!

- We were gonna get two, and he said, "No, definitely don't need that."

- The atmosphere, the little rooms, the patio, the charming nature of it.

- [Erica] It's darling in the bungalow.

Yeah, absolutely.

- [Mark] I felt like I was in The Village.

You know, like in New York City.

- [Roni] Exactly.

- [Erica] The big tree that's all decorated with the lights.

- [Ben] Our table was right next to it.

- [Mark] Very inviting, very warm.

Erica, pro tips, your place?

- [Erica] They have a lovely, like cottage in the back, that you can rent for private events.

- [Mark] Oh!

- [Erica] And so, it's absolutely wonderful.

We've done it a couple of times.

And the service, and the food, and the atmosphere is just wonderful.

- [Mark] Ben?

- Make a reservation.

'Cause we saw people, be not lucky at the bar.

Some people were told like two, three hour wait.

And if it's your first time, go to the bar, because the bartender can direct you in what to get.

- Roni, what's your pro tip?

- Finding a spot to park to go to this great restaurant.

Love the outside.

- If you wanna go to CiBo Pizzeria, they are in downtown Phoenix near Fillmore and Third Avenue.

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

(lively music) Our last restaurant slot belongs to Ben.

He used to live near his pick, and would often go for happy hour, or brunch.

With an eclectic vibe and Mediterranean flavors, this place has something for everyone.

This is FEZ on Central.

(upbeat music) - FEZ is a wonderful, lively location.

We're a restaurant/bar.

FEZ is the ancient capital of Morocco.

So, we do a Mediterranean-American fusion-style menu.

We serve amazing cocktails.

Our bar is very popular, especially during happy hour.

(fire steaming) We're definitely known for our burgers, our FEZ burger is well-known.

It's one of the best burgers in town.

The wonderful appetizers.

Humus, fried cauliflower wings.

We're kind of a retro, modern feel as far as our decor goes.

Bright colors during the day, and at night we dim the lights, but still are our color scheme, showcases really nice and bright and lively, and upbeat to keep that energy level high.

(upbeat music) FEZ has an amazing brunch.

We do a little bit of everything at brunch, from waffles to eggs benedict.

To kind of Mexican-inspired items like our brunch burro, to a standard breakfast, as well, to our American breakfast.

FEZ just celebrated their 19-year anniversary.

We've been around because of our wonderful locals.

We create a safe space for anybody to walk through our doors.

From any background, ethnicity, socioeconomic level.

We're just welcoming to everybody.

And it really showcases to our service.

We allow our employees at FEZ to kind of be themselves.

And we allow them to showcase their personalities to where they're super-friendly, where our servers really take service seriously, and bring it to the next level.

When our guests leave FEZ, I really want them to say the service was amazing, the food was so delicious, that they can't wait to come back again.

(upbeat music) - So Ben, why do you like FEZ?

- I mean, FEZ was my spot when I lived downtown and worked downtown.

You're on West Roosevelt Street.

It's that nice, grassy treed area, lots of dogs playing around.

The atmosphere is fun, there's a lot of lighting, there's a lot of windows, I love that.

And then the people are just very friendly.

And they've had some very long tenured staff.

- What's your favorite thing to have there?

- I can go a lot and just have the cauliflower wings.

That and then the other at, the Panko-breaded chicken.

Those are always my go-to's.

And, it's really the sauce.

I used to ask them if I could take the sauce back with me to my apartment.

They'd give me little cups of it.

And I'd just dip other things into it.

(all chuckling) It's really good.

- [Mark] On your last trip, what did you have?

- So we went to brunch.

I think brunch is one of the best times to go.

And I had the Brunch Burro.

It's just basic kind of burrito, potatoes, eggs, sausage.

And then, they give you a couple of different sauces to dip it in, with a nice salad to mix it with.

- Erica, you're shaking your head.

What did you have when you went there?

- It all just sounded so good.

(chuckling) - Are you getting hungry?

- I know, I'm salivating.

- Where's the food?

- I had the cauliflower, as well.

Portion size was massive.

- [Ben] Oh yeah.

- [Erica] And it's like a very light breading on it.

They're perfectly crispy.

Cauliflower is very tender inside.

And it came with the buffalo sauce, which was actually a little spicier than I had expected, but it was perfect, I like spicy things.

And then, a sour cream and onion dip, as well.

Oh my gosh, dipping that and the buffalo sauce together, so fantastic.

- I like that twist on buffalo, because it's usually like a blue cheese thing, or ranch.

But that was really cool, that was awesome.

- It was a great pairing.

- Great.

Roni, what did you have to eat?

- I had the FEZ salad as the appetizer.

And the FEZ burger, which had molasses sauce on.

It was delicious.

- [Mark] So you were all FEZ, all the time.

- Yes!

- What's in the FEZ salad?

- [Roni] The FEZ salad is mini greens.

They had pears, sliced pears.

- [Mark] And you like pears?

- [Roni] I love pears, I do everything with pears.

- [Mark] Tell me about the burgers.

So, this a very unusual twist on it.

So it had a little molasses.

Tell me about what else is in it.

- [Roni] I'm very plain with everything else.

And I like my burgers well-done.

It's just the sauce, which was really good.

And French fries.

It was delicious.

- What was your main course here?

- [Erica] For the main, I got the Spice Road Wrap.

And it had the Panko chicken in it.

Which was also a little spicer than I had expected.

But, very good.

But, what was really nice about it, is that you had the really spicy Panko chicken, which was crispy.

And then you had rainbow carrots and cucumber also in the wrap.

And so, you got the spice, and then you got the cooling, kind of vegetables in it.

It was a really good mix.

And the tortilla.

Like usually, that's like the vessel to get the food in your mouth.

This tortilla was the star.

It was like kind of translucent and chewy, and just such a good tortilla for a wrap.

- [Mark] I'm going the FEZ for tortillas now, after that.

That is awesome.

- You're doing the food much more justice than I did, but thank you.

(all chuckling) - All right, desserts?

- So there's a local bakery that I guess they bring in some of the desserts from.

And I got a pumpkin ricotta cake.

And it was, it felt like fall.

Like it was just so spice cake-like.

And the ricotta made it really tender and soft.

- [Mark] And creamy?

- [Erica] Oh, yeah.

- What did you have for desert?

- I guess the drinks that I had could be desert.

'Cause they had- - There you go, what did you have?

- A very big drink menu.

They have a handful of different martinis.

The have martini-of-the-day.

My personal favorite is the lychee martini, which I never had before I went there.

I didn't know what a lychee was.

It's sweet, but it's not too sweet.

It was just so good.

And then sitting at the bar, I love the bartender.

She's one of the main reasons I go there.

Very conversational, very friendly.

- What did you have for dessert?

- We didn't have dessert- - But you had a great- - Martini.

And this is pear, again.

- [Mark] Awesome.

- [Roni] It had the pear infusion, vodka and lime juice.

- [Mark] That usually comes with a little black pepper?

Did you have that in there.

- [Roni] No, I can't do pepper.

- [Mark] Okay.

- [Roni] So, they held the pepper.

- [Mark] Held the pepper for you.

- [Roni] Held the pepper.

- [Mark] Very accommodating of them.

- [Erica] I had a lavender margarita.

And that was phenomenal.

(shaker rattling) And it was a little funky, because I never even seen a lavender margarita on a menu before.

It was wonderful.

Very floral, and then you've got that like lime from the margarita in there, which I would of never put lavender and lime together.

But it worked, and I probably could of drank three of those if I wanted to.

- Ben, this is your pull.

What's your pro tip for FEZ?

- Yeah, go during Pride Week if you can.

'Cause they're very LGBTQ friendly.

And they do really cool events, special drinks.

They have merchandise.

They dress up for Halloween, so that's always fun.

- Erica?

- The menu is so, so diverse.

And there's so many different cuisines on it.

If you've got dietary restrictions, things like that.

Anyone can find something on this menu.

Because there's so many different options, and so many different types of food.

- Roni, what's your pro tip?

- [Roni] And, they're happy to change if you don't like something, or if you can't have anything.

They are quick to do that.

So, that was a good one.

- Flexible FEZ.

- Flexible.

- If you wanna try FEZ on Central, it's located on Portland, just west of First Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

An average meal is about $20 bucks, and they do take reservations.

(upbeat music) I wanna thank Roni, Erica and Ben for joining me at the table.

And thank you for joining us on "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 foodie conversation in Arizona on social media, using #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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Complete custom design and installation.

And Witfill Nursery still does the digging.

Whitfillnursery.com - [Narrator] Tomorrow's technology today and much more, is used to treat cancer at Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers.

Always looking to find more.

More time, more life.

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