The Office in Desert Ridge

A couple years ago, Tara and I went to Prescott for the weekend to get away from the Valley for a few days. One of the places we ate lunch at was The Office restaurant. Tara loved the cilantro garlic fries, as they were covered in pieces of minced garlic and she loves her garlic. I remembered someone sketchy service and not much else. We recently saw mention of a location opening in Desert Ridge here in Phoenix. Last night we had to run to Target for something and since we didn't feel like cooking, I suggested we stop in and try it.

The Office is located in what used to be a location of the Dallas-based Rockfish restaurant. Rockfish closed a while ago and I think it's been vacant since. We got there around 8:15 pm or so and it was pretty dead. It's a good-sized space and there were a couple booths and about a half-dozen people at the bar. There were quite a few flat screen TVs hanging around, with mostly ESPN channels but one over the bar had the America Idol finale. Oddly, that TV had it's volume up so it was fighting with the background music in the restaurant. Both Tara and I thought they should have picked one or the other. We were seated immediately in a booth near the bar.

The menu has a distinct Southwest leaning. Almost everything has a chipotle this or chile that in the description. Tara opted for the Gringo Burger, which comes with lettuce, onion, tomato, and a side of the cilantro garlic fries. She ordered it without the lettuce and tomato, but with cheddar. I decided to try their chicken chimichanga with red sauce. It comes with a choice of two sides among rice, fresh veggies, and a few others. I got the casa salad in place of the two sides. I asked what dressings they have, and after he rattled of a few, I chose the mango citrus dressing. He said he'd have it on the side just in case I didn't like it. That seemed like a nice touch. Tara got a Coke and I got iced tea for drinks. After putting in our order, our waiter came back and asked if I wanted my salad with my dinner or as an appetizer. I asked for it first.

A few minutes later, my salad came out. It was a medium plate of mixed greens instead of iceburg, with a couple cherry tomaties, strips of tortilla, and some cheese. I prefer this type of salad to iceburg, so I was happy. The dressing was ok. It had a bit of a zing to it, but wasn't memorable.

In due time, our entrees arrived. Tara's was a place with a lot of fries, with the top of the bun inverted on them and the bottom bun and burger resting on that. The onions were nowhere to be found. Tara's review of the burger was "dry and flavorless". She wasn't impressed. The cilantro garlic fries were crispier than the ones in Prescott, but there was hardly any garlic on them. The ones in Prescott were literally covered in garlic. These had more of a hint. You could see a few bits here and there, but they were a very pale imitation of the ones she loved so much up north.

My chimi looked lonely on the plate, as it was all by itself except for a ramekin of sour cream. The menu lists it as literally a fried version of their burrito. It was good. Nothing special, but I enjoyed the flavors. The red sauce gave it a bit of heat, but not much. Definitely a gringo dish.

Overall, we weren't very impressed. For one, the entrees seemed overpriced. Her burger was nearly $10 and my chimi was $12. We'll happily spend the extra buck for the burgers at Delux, which also has amazing fries. The night before we'd gone to Baby Kay's and I'd gotten their Tuesday night seafood enchilada special for $14, which I loved. When we got the bill, I did my usual guessing of how much and when I saw I was $10 low, I was concerned. Apparently when the waiter punched in the order, he forgot to add her cheese onto her burger. So he added a second burger to the bill instead of just adding cheese to the existing burger. If the restaurant had been busy, I could have excused this. However, he had only two tables with a total of four people. He should have picked up on that. He apologized and redid the check with no problem.

We won't go back on our own. There's nothing that makes The Office stand out from the other restaurants at Desert Ridge, and there are much better choices within easy driving of the shopping center.

Welcom Diner - Another return visit

We love Welcome Diner. The combo of low prices and great food in the funky diner atmosphere make it a favorite. We decided to do lunch here on Saturday. We got there around noon and the parking lot was full. Luckily someone left just as we got there, so we didn't need to park on the street. The inside was full, but nobody was sitting at the covered table out front. We looked at the new menu and despite some interesting new items, we stuck with the usual suspects. I'd never had just a burger, so I ordered a single cheeseburger, fries, a cookie, and a grape soda. Tara ordered the same thing, except she got a coke. We also got a couple glasses of water. At least, that's what we tried to order. The cook told us it would be about 15 or 20 minutes. We grabbed our drinks.
We took a seat a the table. The misters were working, so it wasn't too bad. Since it was still full inside, I offered the other two chairs at the table to two guys who arrived after us. One ordered a burger and the other ordered the French Toast.
After a while, the little window opened and they said our food was ready. I went up and they handed out three burgers. They thought we were all one group. Tara came up and took the burgers to the table. They then handed out one order of fries. I told them that we had two orders of fries. They apologized and told us the other fries would be ready in a few minutes. I took the first fries back and gave them to Tara. The burgers were really good. I still prefer their hot dog, but it's a personal thing. A few minutes later the French toast was up and the guy grabbed it. Chunks of the bread were battered and deep fried and served in a cup with real maple syrup on the side. We then got the call that the fries were ready.
I went up, and they handed out two orders of fries. I explained that we already had one, so they let us have the extra one on the house. I took them back to the table and dove into one basket and offered the other guys fries. The fries were also tasty. Well salted and perfect with the ketchup.
The French toast proved too much to eat for the other guy, so he offered us a piece. While it started out crunchy, the steam had softened the bottom pieces. Still, it had a great eggy flavor and is definitely something we want to try in the future. At this point, we got the call that the cookie was done.
I went to get out cookies, and only one was there. I again explained that we ordered two. They said they would put another in the oven and if it wasn't done before we left, they wouldn't charge us. I grabbed the one that was done and went back to the table. I was still working on my fries, but I grabbed a piece of the hot, gooey cookie. It was perfect. It was an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with big hunks of chocolate. it was also huge. Maybe five or six inches in diameter. We managed to finish all the fries and were pretty much full. Tara ate all the crunchy edges from the cookie. I emptied out our trash and took the plastic containers inside and to pay.
I went inside and we tried to figure out the bill. They only charged us for two of the three fries and one of the two cookies. The second cookie just finished and they let us have it free due to the confusion with our order. All told, we had two cheeseburgers, three fries, two cookies, and two soda. Our bill with the freebies came to just under $20. I offered to pay for the other items, but they insisted. So we got a hell of a deal. I really liked that they didn't argue with us about the ordering issues. They accepted that there had been some confusion on their part and just rolled with it, making sure the customer was happy. Another reason we love this place.

Golden Buddha - A Gathering of CHows

A group of us Chowhounders met at Golden Buddha for dim sum today. Winedubar, Tastyjon, Ciaogal, JK the Jester, and myself were there. After waiting for stragglers, we decided to get seated as we were hungry. We were seated at one of the larger tables and had plenty of room. Or we did until the carts came by. We got shrimp egg rolls, pork/shrimp shumai, shark-fin dumplings, a couple different types of pork buns, short ribs, chicken feet (I passed on that one, but Ciaogal liked them) and a lot of other dishes I can't remember. We basically filled up all the free space on the table. We also got a pot of hot tea and a coke. The food was all good as usual. I hadn't had the shark-fin dumplings before because I thought that was an ingredient instead of just a visual description and I liked them. We had fun getting to know each each other outside of the board.
Our total bill came to $55 with tax, which seemed way too low for all the food we had. Our dishes ranged between $2.25 and $3.25. Given the amount of food and how good it was, it's a definite bargain. Service was good. Our drinks were filled and empty plates cleared away as we finished them. I'm used to going on weekends/holidays, and it was odd seeing the dining room so relatively empty.

Great food but bad service

Are there any restaurants that you love but don't go to anymore due to horrible service? After reading the responses to my PCG review, and an experience we had last night at Shish Kebab House, it got me wondering. How good does the food need to be to overcome fairly abysmal wait staff?

We went to Shish Kebab House last night for dinner. We got there around 7:45pm and there were maybe 6 tables of diners when we got there. A few groups came after us, and they topped out around 9 tables. Service has never been the strong point there, and it was especially bad last night for most of the tables. We were in the middle of the dining room and I was facing the kitchen. They had only two girls waitressing, and from our last visit a few weeks ago, we knew one was still new. It turned out the other was even newer. We overheard at least three tables complaining of bad service, which the new girl shrugged off and merely said "I'm new." We could tell the kitchen staff wasn't happy by how many times and how hard he hit the little "meal is ready bell". I could see the prep table in the room between the kitchen and dining room, and it would be filled with meals. Eventually the owner came out and stood watch over the girls, but that didn't help. At least two tables got wrong dishes and the waitress said "He didn't order that. Well, I didn't HEAR him order."
Our personal experience consisted of being seated by the newer girl and being told the other one would take our order. We always get the same thing, so we didn't need to crack our menu. After about 10 minutes, during which time the waitresses passed us several times, the girl we were told would serve us stopped as she was walking by and asked if we'd ordered yet. Well, our menus were still sitting in front of us on the table, instead of stacked on the front counter, so she lost points there. We then ordered our drinks, hummus, Tara's koubedah, and my gyros platter. She then said "That's it?" Nice. She then went to enter the order and do whatever else she did. While we waited, we got the floor show described above.
Our salads and the hummus came out at the normal pace, but they never gave us small plates to put our pitas on. Drink refills were done fairly timely. No dishes were ever removed from the small two-top we were at, so it got crowded. During the height of the fubar that was the service, I could see our entrees on the prep table. The kitchen guy ended up grabbing our plates and walking behind the front counter and basically handing the plates to our waitress and pointing to our table. Our entrees were still warm, but Tara likes hers blazing hot. Mine was fine for me. Rather than push things too far, we just ate them. The food was still great. I love the peppery gyro meat and Tara generally cleans the hummus bowl down to the glaze.
Overall OUR experience wasn't as bad as the other tables once we ordered. One table next to us complained to the waitress saying they probably won't be back. Rather than get the owner, she gave the "I'm new" reply. Wrong answer. If it was our first trip there, we probably wouldn't go back. However, we love the food there. It's our favorite hummus and my favorite gyros. Tara loves the koubedah. So we can deal with questionable service because we know the food is always good. One problem is the perpetual lack of customers probably doesn't help them maintain good servers. On our first visits we always saw different waitstaff, but the last few before this one we always got the same waitress who was good. She wasn't there last night. They do a good take-out business, but we don't live close enough for that to be an option. At some point the owners need to step up and do something to fix the situation. We really love the food and will go back on that basis, but I'm sure that casual visitors will probably try someplace else after some of the experiences we witnessed.

Phoenix City Grille - Phoenix

Phoenix City Grille (PCG) is a place Tara first tried for lunch while working in that area. She really liked it, so we tried it for dinner and we both really enjoyed it. She loves the pot roast. I've had the ribs and the burger the previous times we've been there and we are pretty sure I liked them. It had been a while since we'd eaten there, but not for lack of trying. We'd stopped in twice on the fly and found huge waits both times. Tuesday night we decided to go and called ahead for reservations. So of course when we get there, it's only half full. Figures. We were immediately seated and started looking the menu.
Tara was thinking about the pot roast until I reminded her we were making one at home on Wednesday. After that, she looked over the menu and decided to go with one of the nightly specials, a steak on top of beans and corn cakes with a chipotle bbq sauce (on the side for her, since she doesn't do spicy) and topped with fried onions. None of the entrees grabbed me but several of the starters/small plates did, so I decided to get two of them. I chose the pork carnitas and the shrimp and lobster quesadilla. Tara also got a coke and I got an iced tea.
Our entrees took a bit to arrive, but it might have seemed longer since there was no salad or appetizer course. Tara's steak came as advertised. The only problem she had was she ordered it medium or medium-well and it was mostly well-done. She said it was still good, but got a bit chewy. The corn cakes were really good and she loved the crunchy onions. She didn't care for the beans. I tried them and they weren't bad, just not something I liked. I also tried a taste of the chipotle bbq sauce, and it seemed like Heinz sauce mixed with hot sauce. No chipotle flavor, just hot.
My dishes both arrived on large triangular plates. The pork carnitas was a good chunk of pork with piles of pickled onions, fresh cilantro/chopped onions, pico, shredded cabbage, and a ramekin of white cheese and one of green salsa in the center. It came with a container of corn tortillas on the side. The pork had a really good flavor and shredded easily. I rolled up some tacos and the flavors melded perfectly. It reminded me of the street tacos we'd get in Dallas. I got quite a few tortillas and had some leftover. The pork wasn't spicy so Tara tried some and like it as well.
The shrimp and lobster quesadilla was really good too. Sliced into quarters, it had drizzles of some sort of sauce on the top. There was a good amount of shrimp and lobster and the cheese had good flavor too. I saw one piece of lobster that was nearly a whole chunk of claw meat, so they weren't skimping. The flavors of the lobster and shrimp both came through. My only problem was I'd eaten most of the pork before, and couldn't finish the quesadilla. It was good the next day for lunch, though, so it didn't go to waste.
Service was ok. There were times our drinks got empty, but they were usually refilled without us having to actually ask. One thing I did notice was that a table of four girls across from us sat for a LONG time with their menus before their order was taken. I started timing out of curiosity and got at least 15 or 20 minutes before their waitress stopped by. They all had their menus closed, so it wasn't like they looked like they were still deciding. Considering the restaurant was at least three quarters empty by this time, it seemed a bit excessive. Our first trip there for dinner we had a similar bad experience with one of their waitresses. She'd stop by all the surrounding tables, but never came to ours.
We'll definitely go back. I also am curious to try their sister restaurant, Sierra Bonita Grill. I really enjoyed my carnitas and I'm wondering how the more Mexican-influenced SBG is. The only things to be careful of are the possible crowds and occasionally questionable service. It's located at Bethany Home and 16th Street. It's on the SW corner, facing 16th Street.

Chanpen - Quickie

We went to Chanpen on Friday for dinner. Tara got her usual garlic chicken. I got the tureen of tom yum chicken (lemongrass chicken soup). We also got the chicken satay and an order of pineapple fried rice. The satay tasted great as usual, although the chicken might have a tad overcooked. The peanut sauce that came with it more than took care of that. Tara loved her garlic chicken, especially the large amount of crispy roasted garlic sprinkled on top. The tom yum was also top notch. I ordered it mild but it still had enough of a kick that Tara could only have two sips. I really enjoyed it, as it has the broad range of flavors that I love in the Thai soups. Still, I think I prefer the tom ka gai, as I really like the coconut milk. We barely touched the fried rice. The description said it was shrimp and chicken. It came with literally one shrimp. We took the rice home and it was really good leftover. It was the usual enjoyable visit to one of our favorite restaurants.

The Farmhouse - Gilbert, AZ

Would you drive forty miles one-way for breakfast? Very few places are worth it, but we feel The Farmhouse is worth it. We live at the north end of the 51 and are more than willing to drive down to Gilbert Road just north of Elliot.
When Tara and I started going out, we looked for interesting places that we both might like. We wanted to do breakfast way back, and found The Farmhouse listed on several Best Of lists. We've been to it lots of times, but being the hard-working folks we are, we tend to sleep in on weekends, so making it to Gilbert in time for breakfast takes some advanced planning. Luckily, if we miss The Farmhouse, Joe's Real BBQ is literally across the street. :) We love The Farmhouse, but hadn't been to it in over a year. My parents came down from Maine in March '06, and we took them. I wanted to go to Vonhanson's Meat Market on Alma School in Chandler for some of their heavenly double-smoked bacon, and figured that was a good enough excuse to head down to The Farmhouse for breakfast beforehand.
I guess The Farmhouse used to literally be an old farmhouse, but rising land values in Gilbert made them relocate into the "downtown" area. There's a big sign hanging out front so you can't miss it. It's a fair-sized restaurant, with maybe twenty tables/booths of varying sizes and shapes. One thing I like about them is the eclectic nature of their furniture and utensils. The two larger tables look like they were taken from someone's kitchen. The silverware at the table probably will be mismatched. It just adds to the charm.
There's usually a line out front. We got there about ten to eleven, and were about fifth on the list. The wait can be much longer earlier. We only waited about 5 or 10 minutes before our name as called. It helped that we were a party of two.
We were seated along the south wall at a two top. None of the daily specials piqued our interest, so we both decided to get scrambles. In our rotation of breakfast restaurants, The Farmhouse wins on scrambles. Tara got a bacon, onion, and mushroom scramble, a side of bacon, and a coke. I got a sausage, bacon, and mushroom scramble and a chocolate milk. Cheddar-jack cheese is also include in the scrambles, and they come with wheat toast. I substituted an english muffin on mine. We split one of the cinnamon buns.
A word about the cinnamon buns. They are big. They come with an outstanding citrus-infused glaze. They are very caloric. We love them. It came out first and even splitting it, each half was almost bigger than the smaller plates we got to put them on. As usual, it was gooey excess at its best. Nicely warm, lots of cinnamon, and the glaze give you that special sugar rush your pancreas dreads. We'd barely started on the roll before our scrambles came out. We rearranged our table top and managed to fit everything on it. Barely.
The scrambles were great as well. They don't mess around with the ingredients. Huge chunks of bacon, sausage, and mushrooms were mixed with the eggs and covered with the cheese. I loved it. The home fries are full slices of potatoes with a seasoning on them and nicely browned. If you get a scramble with potatoes, you get the same home fries in your scramble. They don't skimp on the fillings. I was able to eat about 2/3 of scramble and a few home fries. Tara did just the opposite. She ate most of her home fries and barely touched the scramble. To be honest, by the time we finished the roll, we were pretty full. The portions are pretty large for the roughly $8 we paid for each scramble. It's a great deal. The side of bacon was perfectly done. It was just crispy, but not dry. It had really good flavor.
Service is always great as well. As busy as it always is, the waitstaff is able to maneuver through the chaos of narrow aisles and rampant kids with no accidents. They are also very friendly and professional. Without having to ask, our waitress dropped off a glass of water when she noticed I was almost done with my chocolate milk.
The kitchen also gets kudos for speed. They must have everything down to a science, because all their food comes out fast. The restaurant has always been packed when we've been there, but the food has always come out much quicker than seems reasonable. I wish I knew how they do it.
Can a better breakfast be found closer? Probably. But I'll still head down with absolutely no regrets because it's one of those places that is always perfect. And it's only 5 miles from Vonhanson's, so it worked out quite well.