Coupe De Tartes

     During the spring restaurant week, I attended dinner at Coup des Tartes and had a great experience. As I pulled up to the restaurant, it was not what I expected, as the restaurant is in an old home. I entered the front door and was greeted by the host and sat a few moments after.  After being seated, I looked around and noticed that this could be a home that could be found in San Diego and the tables were close to each other, but still enough room to have your own space. This restaurant is BYOB with a $9 corking fee. In my opinion, the fee is a bit high, since they did not even open the bottle of wine that we brought. 

     For my first course, I chose the escargot, which came out on a silver dish where each escargot was placed individually in its own special spot. The escargots were not in the shell and have a nice flavor of butter and garlic. They were nicely cooked, as they were not rubbery, as that could tend to happen with over cooked escargot. The escargot had a smooth texture at the beginning, and then it changes to a bit of a crunch as you consume them. Delicious!

     For my second course, I had the opportunity to taste the fresh Alaskan Halibut and the filet mignon. I had an all natural grass fed Austrian filet that was topped with caramelized onions and an aged port glaze sauce. It was also served with haricot verts and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. The meat was perfectly cooked at a medium rare, where it was nicely seared on the outside and slight pink on the inside. The meat was juicy and full of flavor. As you take that first bite, it just melted in your mouth and made you want to take another bit. The port glaze provided a nice compliment, it wasn’t overpowering, while only enhancing the flavor of the meat with a sweet glaze. Yukon gold mashed potatoes were the perfect pairing to the main dish because it was perfectly whipped to a smooth texture. The potatoes were full of flavor, but again, nothing over powering.

 

     In addition to the filet mignon, I was able to taste the fresh Alaskan Halibut. The Halibut was perfectly cook all the way through, while still being moist and tender. The flavor was perfect, not over powering and the coconut sauce was an amazing choice for this fish. Along with the Halibut, it came with a sea bean salad, which provided a nice texture and a little crunch with every bite. 

     To wrap up our delicious meal, I ordered the creme brulee, a classic choice that I never seem to pass up and a nice cappuccino. It looked perfect as they placed it in front of me and it took every ounce of my being to refrain from devouring it. The sugary top was not over cooked, so it only took the tapping of my spoon to break through to reach the delicious treat. The dessert has a nice creamy texture with a hint of sweetness, and then finished off with a crunch of the sugary top. I would have to say, that it was one of the best crème brulees I have eaten because it was not overly sweet and the little sugar biscuit that came with it, was a nice pairing. 

     Overall the experience was great and the atmosphere is very cozy. The food and service was great, where I didn’t feel rushed, but was well attended to. The only complaint that I would have is the $9 corking fee, where they do not even open the bottle or pour your wine for you. Call and make a reservation and you won’t be disappointed. 

Los Taquitos Mexican Grill

This is one of the best kept secrets in Phoenix for authentic Mexican food. It is a small family owned restaurant with two locations; one in Ahwatukee and newer location in North Phoenix. It’s a local spot where people go for simple food that taste good and doesn’t cost a fortune. They have everything from breakfast burritos, tortas, menudo, to delicious street tacos. My favorite thing on the menu is the bombero burrito with carnitas. 

The burrito is the size of a six-inch sub, which should satisfy most people’s hunger. The burrito is simple, with only a few ingredients; rice, pico de gallo and your choice of meat (steak, chicken, or carnitas, but after the burrito is filled and wrapped up, it is smothered in a spicy (bomber) sauce.  I usually get the carnitas in my burrito, as the pork is slowly cooked, has tons of flavor and goes really well in the burrito. The pork is delicious, tender, juicy, has a sweet flavor and really compliments the bombero sauce as well as the pico de gallo.  The bomber sauce tastes like a spicy barbeque sauce with a smoky hint. 

As you take that first bite, the heat from the bomber sauce will not hit you right away, but the more bites you take; the spiciness of the sauce will begin to heat up.  As you begin to eat slower or take a break, that is when the heat will begin to pick up (pretty much like Flaming Hot Cheetos). 

Everything on their menu is worth trying, but their breakfast burritos are a good choice no matter what time it is. Stop in and check out the atmosphere and sample all the great food, you will not be disappointed.  

Five Guys Burgers – not as great as everyone says!

As of recently, I had never heard of Five Guys Burgers.   I am from Southern California and In-N-Out Burger is #1, as far as I am concerned.  The Five Guys have started to pop up all over town, so I decided to try it out one day for lunch. My first impression when I walked in was that it had an eerie similarity to In-N-Out Burger: meat that has never been frozen, fresh cut fries and a burger with whatever you would like on it, and the color scheme of the restaurant is red and white. 

When you first walk in, you are stopped by piles of potato bags and boxes of peanuts.  As you approach the front of the line, you are able to read all the magazine reviews posted on the wall. When you get to the front of the line, you look up at the menu and you notice that it is a very basic menu, burgers, hot dogs, fries and drinks. 

There are many options for condiments that you can put on your burger and a majority of them are free.  The fries come in two sizes, regular and large, but the regular is big enough to feed two, maybe three people. The fries come in two flavors, regular and Cajun. I would highly recommend the Cajun fries, as it gives it a bit of spice and sweetness. 

The burger patties are larger than those compared to In-N-Out Burger and again, there are more options of condiments to help assemble your burger.  I ordered the regular burger, which comes with two patties, with a plethora of items; such as ketchup, lettuce, grilled onion, jalapenos, etc.  The bun is a sesame seed bun, which I’m not a big fan of, but it was fresh. The only problem with the bun is that when you add a certain amount of ingredients to your burger, the bun falls apart. 

As I took my the first bite of my Five Guys burger, the burger was juicy, but not too much flavor and the condiments that I added, did not give me that “WOW” factor.  As I continued to eat my burger, the burger bun began to fall apart and in no time, my burger had exploded on to the tin foil on my table.  The grilled onions were bland; they did not have that rich caramel sweetness and even lacked that dark brown color of really well grilled onions. These grilled onions had a very light brown color and just gave off that warm onion taste.  The fries were good, but the seasoning was very inconsistent, as some fries had little to none seasoning and some had way too much. 

My personal opinion of Five Guys Burgers is that it is overrated and overpriced.  For a burger, fries and drink, you are paying close to $16 for meal.  The restaurant was voted as one of the “best cheap eats,” but I have no idea who they were comparing it too. For the price of my meal, I could have fed at least another person, maybe two more from In-N-Out Burger and had a more flavorful meal.  My suggestion, go to In-N-Out Burger and feed your family for the same price or even pay a little more and go to Fleming’s and enjoy a more classy upscale burger.  The east coast can keep their Five Guys Burgers, while In-N-Out Burger will continue to dominate over on the West Coast. The East Coast versus West Coast battle continues!!

Welcome

Hi everyone!  My name is Sam and I eat WAY more than just green eggs and ham.  In fact I love food…all types of food.  I can enjoy an expensive meal at the Four Seasons to eating Street Meat in NYC.  I guess my love for food started with my parents.  Much to the cliché my parents were owners of a Chinese restaurant.  David Wells even ate there!!! Then in college, I was a store trainer at In-n-Out and for a while I was an assistant manager at an Einstein’s Bagels. I am no longer involved in the restaurant business, but that hasn’t stopped my love of food. The goal of this blogs is to share great food that I have eaten.   I am in no position to critique places as I have no formal training but I will tell you what I like. Please feel free to let me know what you think and if you have places you recommend that I check out.

Thanks for stopping and I hope you enjoy my blog!