Cheese 'N' Stuff

Who said delis are only popular in the east coast? I beg to differ. Right in the heart of Phoenix resides a good ol' fashion deli called Cheese 'N' Stuff conveniently located on Central just north of Camelback. If you have ever been inside a NYC deli, this is how C.N.S. It's also a historical landmark in the growth of Phoenix, sticking around since 1949.

Upon entering you are greeting by the friendly owners and at least a hundred pages of the menu taped against the wall. While this is convenient to read the menu options on the wall, it also can be overwhelming. I literally changed my mind about ten times!

I finally decided on the Bismark sub-sandwich. The beau ordered the Reuben sub-sandwich. In my Bismark it contained: pastrami, roast beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, hot mustard and horseradish on a wheat (or white-your choice) sub. Served hot to perfection. The Reuben contained: corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing served on a white (his choice) sub. When I bit into my hot sandwich my taste buds exploded. Figuratively naturally, but it was just so darn delicious I was like a werewolf. I "meal dealed" it, meaning I opted to get a soda and a German potato salad side for an extra $1.49 (rrreeeaallllyyyy breaking the bank there). I honestly can say that this was the best sub sandwich, it was jam packed with ingredients, delicious ingredients at that and it was for a fair price. The Beau got the combo where it was a soda and chips for a buck and a half so in the end we spent $17.64 for two colas, two sides and two huge subs. Very good deal indeed. AND, I only ate half of my sub because it was just so huge, so lucky me, I have dinner too.

Cheese 'N' Stuff Website

Cheese 'N' Stuff Yelp

Reuben

Bismark

Oracle Inn Steakhouse

If you are ever in Oracle or Tucson for that matter you outta come by the Oracle Inn Steakhouse on either a Friday or Saturday night for some real cowboy fun. I have yet to go during those nights, but the beau has gone and said it's a hoot. A live band plays while cowboys and cowgirls get their boots a'dancin' on the dance floor.

With that being said, I'll explain my visit. It was a Tuesday afternoon roughly 5:45pm and the restaurant was quiet, but the bar was filled with regulars. Sort of like in Cheers, where everybody knows your name and they genuinely knew everyone's name. The music playing on the jukebox was good ol' country music. None of that new school country pop crap. Whenever I go into a bar, I must always order chicken wings and beer. It's my thing. Sort of like in Once Upon A Time In Mexico where Johnny Depps' character must always order puerco pribil; I must always order chicken wings. We fortunately made it during happy hour where domestic drafts were $2 and wings were half priced. I actually liked their wings. I like them to be made buffalo style, spicy and a bit vinegary.

I started chowing down on the wings and totally forgot to take a picture, but I figure it's better late then never.

Oracle Inn Website

St. Francis

Oh St. Francis, St. Francis. How I love thee. Honestly, St. Francis is a restaurant that I frequent a couple of times a week because their happy hour is simply unbelievable. I haven't really ordered off the regular menu because their happy hour covers everything: drinks, appetizers and even entrees, so it'd be silly to go in any other time of day really. When the beau and I first went their we ordered essentially one of everything. Potato fingerlings, flatbread, meatballs, french onion burger, Lagunitas IPA beer and a goat cheese cheesecake. In our defense his brother was there too...so we weren't, like, heifers or anything....

The potato fingerlings are simply delishe...but there's a mound of them so after a while you sort of get starched out. Great for sharing and great for once in a while. Their flatbread was simple and tasty. Cheesy, anointed with fresh basil and a few seasonings on thin crispy yet fluffy bread. Their meatballs were so so. Very rustic and saucy, which was nice. Nothing insanely mind blowing, but worth trying once. The burger was cooked medium rare and was very flavorful and super filling. I was full off the fingerlings! I literally had to ignore the fact that I was full because the food looked too darn good to ignore and neglect. The cheesecake is was rocked our world. I've never heard of goat cheese cheesecake, but when I think about it now it doesn't seem like such a far-fetched concept. It was a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The crust was perfect where it'd fall apart in your mouth served with a strawberry compote. (I got that on the side as I am allergic to strawberries). Ah-mazing.

Needless to say we were hooked and been coming in to this restaurant ever since. Happy hour is from 3-6. The meals are so reasonably priced too it's ridiculous. Each item was roughly $6 and they are full portions and draft beers are $3 . I usually get their chicken salad sandwich which is a full, fresh, tasty sandwich with a side option for $6. Insane, I know!

Their items are seasonal, which is an intelligent concept as all ingredients are fresh. For autumn, they had this bombtastic pumpkin soup. It was a pumpkin and butternut squash puree soup with creme frache, pine nuts, chives and pomegranate seeds. I drool even know thinking about that soup. However, that soup is gone and is replaced with an average leek soup. I was disappointed, but it was worth trying. It wasn't terrible, I spooned up every bit, but my standards were high from the pumpkin soup.

Honestly, I feel they have one of the best happy hours around town. Believe me, we are happy hour scavengers. Plus the environment is so relaxing and fun. The inside during the day is very trendy industrial with the high beams and bridge-like cables and the exterior is very NYC brunch chic. At night the dimly lit interior creates a loungy feel and the exterior with the fireplace going is warm, relaxing and comforting. Oh...and kids eat free. Can I be a kid again?

St. Francis is located on Central and roughly 2nd avenue.

St. Francis Website

St. Francis Yelp

Town Talk II

I'm not a huge fan of barbeque. I love the aura of the good ol' b.b.q., but the actual taste and messiness of b.b.q. slightly is a turn off. However, I am always willing to try a food at least once to give it a go. The restaurant in review is called Town Talk II located on 19th avenue between Indian school and Osborn road.

Upon pulling in, the exterior is the typical quaint small town barn yard look and the inside is nice, white and clean. We sat at the bar where we could watch the flat screen and ogle over the drafts-we both ordered 8th St. Ale. Their selection of beer was minimal, but it covered the masses i.e. Bud all the way to the micro craft brew by Four Peaks.

Since it was our first time here, we did our traditional style of ordering...basically one of everything. We ordered an extremely generous order of full pork racks, hot links (which I've never had), brisket, fried okra, fries, cole slaw and a creole mustard potato salad.

Now again, I don't have much history with the whole b.b.q. eatery, but I thought the food was okay. It was fitting to the theme of b.b.q. that they served everything on styrofoam plates The owner was a sweet and very friendly guy and the service was impeccable. He had heart in the business and it was in his lineage, apparently his grandfather had a restaurant back in the day. However, one thing I noticed that took away from the food was that it wasn't super hot. I don't want food that scalds my mouth, but I want that fresh from the grill/stove/oven feel and I didn't have that. My beau said to ask them to re-heat it if I wanted, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it because it wasn't like the food was cold. The food was tasty, but nothing that blew my b.b.q. beginners' mind. The fried okra was interesting and I like the potato salad, but did not like the cole slaw. My beau loved the slaw though and thought the potato salad was just okay. Gotta love those palate differences. The ribs were very tender and meaty which I loved. The hot links were different...they sort of reminded me of those wienies but sliced up. Overall, I think it was a decent place. We had tons of left overs and left with full bellies and smiles on our faces. Would I go back? Probably albeit it isn't something I'd go to frequently.

Their official website can be viewed here:

Town Talk II Website

Check out their yelp information here:

Town Talk II Yelp

Jus' some good ol' fashion eatin'!

Brave New World

Wow....it's been a lllooonnngggg time since I've popped onto this page. What people don't realize is this simple fact; blogging takes effort and sometimes, it's effort demand is low on my priority list. However, I need to make more time for it because deep down I really enjoy it. It's like my digital diary. Anyway, lots have happened, but it seems like it'd take forever to explain it so I'll skip to the part that my sister is having a baby.

Yup, that's right...I'm going to be an aunt. At first I was telling myself I am not ready for this. I am still working on my acting career and contemplating going to school for a "real" job, juggling a relationship and my venomous disdain for a crappy serving job...I mean, being an aunt is second in command from being a parent and that is just a scary thought. However, in the last month I've grown to like the idea and I've even been making baby goodies because a) She'll have one of a kind clothes and b) I made it and c) It'll be better than any store bought crap out there due to .

I'll post some of the stuff I've made soon when I finish one last tutu and a few more headbands. I've also decided to actually start blogging about food. That is one thing EVERYONE has in common-the need for food. Some are different needs i.e. if you are vegetarian/vegan/special dietary restrictions, but in the end food is food. I also think it'd be nice to blog about restaurants I've gone to and HAPPY HOUR. Who doesn't love happy hour?