F&E, take two

A couple weeks ago, Tara picked up some Fresh & Easy Hummus, along with a package of their garlic naan to have it on. It turns out that we really like it. There might be just a touch more tahini in it than we'd prefer, but overall, it doesn't last long. It's only $1.99 for a 10 oz container, and it's the best store hummus we've found. With our two favorite restaurants to get hummus (Shish Kebab House in Peoria and Mr. Greek on Indian School in Phoenix) not exactly close, this is especially a boon. We grabbed some more today, along with a 1/2 off pork loin (for some more root beer pulled pork) and 1/2 off shrimp that Tara's got some plans for.

Another fun fact. I grabbed some relish there last week for $1.18. The exact same bottle at AJ's at Central and Camelback? $2.40.

Scott's Generation Deli - Phoenix

Tara and I were trying to decide where we wanted to go for lunch today. After lots of head-scratching, I suggested trying a place our fellow CHer AZHotdish had mentioned in a thread about where to find the best corned beef sandwich and matzoh ball soup. He mentioned a place called "Scott's". We had to look at the thread to find the full name and location: Scott's Generation Deli, located in the shopping center on the NE corner of 7th Street and Missouri.

The restaurant is a huge seating area divided into two long, narrow rooms. They were slow at 3pm, so we were seated in a large booth in the main room. We ordered a couple of Cokes while we looked over the fairly extensive menu. It took us quite a while to decide what to get, as there were a huge number of items that all looked equally tempting.

We ended up each getting an item from their Specialty Sandwiches section. Tara got the "James Cagney": Brisket of beef, melted swiss cheese, grilled onions, served on a toasted garlic onion roll. I got "Scott's Own Monte Cristo": Batter diped egg bread stuffed with grilled, imported ham, fresh roasted turkey breast and imported swiss cheese. Both sandwiches were served with a small dish of cole slaw, fries, and pickles.

After a very short wait, they sandwiches arrived. Each came on a large oval dish, over-stuffed with meat, topped with a huge mound of American-cut fries. The small bowl of slaw and three pickle spears were also under the mound of fries. I asked for a couple of small plates so we could off-load the fries to make room to maneuver our sandwiches.

My Monte Cristo was excellent. The sweet egg bread had been grilled perfectly and had a great sweet flavor that contrasted nicely with the saltiness of the very thin-cut meats. The amount of meat on the sandwich was daunting and I could only finish one half of it. The fries were nicely fried as well, of various sizes, and great taste. I put a pretty good dent in the huge pile that came with my meal, but was unable to finish them all. The slaw was served in a very small portion, but was quite good. It was on the sweet side, which is how I like it.

Tara really enjoyed her sandwich as well. She loved the grilled onions and strongly flavored bun. The brisket was very good. Like me, she was also unable to finish the whole thing.

We really liked Scott's and plan to return. There are so many other things we really want to try. I have my eye on the Hash Mash skillet scramble, among others. After sampling the bread on my sandwich, their version of American Toast (read French Toast) has me intrigued as well.

Our waitress told us that a lot of people will split a sandwich and we can certainly understand why. We both left stuffed, but still managed to stop by Karsh's Bakery a couple doors down. :)

One way to lose weight

Last weekend (the weekend of the 9th), Tara and I tried a host of new places. All of them were quite good. Sunday afternoon, however, we both started feeling a bit off. Upset stomachs and associated symptoms. Tara got over hers by Wednesday, but I was still out of commission through this past weekend. I was living off toast, Gatorade, ginger ale, and on a good day, some chicken noodle soup. My system seems close to normal today. I weighed myself and I'm a good 13lbs less than I was the last time I checked a few weeks ago. Luckily as Homer put it, "I'm drought and famine resistant." It's not a diet I'd recommend.

How much is gas where you are?

While calling home yesterday, Mom told me that they paying $4.66/gal in Mid-Coast Maine. We paid $3.42 on Saturday. I'm just curious what the three or four people who read my blog outside of AZ are paying. :)

Fresh & Easy

The Fresh & Easy supermarket chain has invaded the Valley in a big way. One opened across the street from my gym (stop laughing) and I usually stop in after my workout to see if they have anything good marked down. They have a very aggressive freshness policy, and in the afternoon, they mark items expiring on that day half-off. One day last week, Tara and I didn't have any ideas for dinner, so I hit F&E to check what they had. I scored two sushi rolls (spicy tuna and california rolls) cheap, as well as a chicken salad sandwich.

The maki was actually pretty good. I generally don't like supermarket rolls, since the chilled rice can get rather hard, but at $2 and $2.25, I figured why not. Tara really liked the chicken salad sandwich, which was a big bonus.

I grabbed some hamburger buns tonight for Tara's homemade sloppy joes and they were quite good.

I've also tried their huge Belgian milk chocolate bar. VERY good. Their organic milk chocolate, not so much.