- [Narrator] And now an Arizona PBS Original Production.

- I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Arizona," the show where folks like you recommend their favorite restaurants.

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

They've dined at all three and are ready to share their reviews with each other and with you right here on "Check, Please!

Arizona."

(upbeat jazz music) - [Narrator] "Check, Please!

Arizona" is made possible by the Friends of Arizona PBS, members of Arizona PBS who give additional gifts to support original programs.

Thank you.

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(upbeat jazz music) - This week on "Check, Please!

Arizona" our guests have dined in Mesa, Gilbert, and Litchfield Park.

And after all that traveling around, they join us at the table today.

Massage therapist, Renay Morin, likes walking to one of her favorite hangouts.

It serves classic Sonoran dishes in a historic downtown location.

Student teacher, Adam Duran, his pick, a plant-based eatery that's found a hip home in Gilbert.

Up first, IT consultant Dave Riddle's previous life in South Korea leads us to his pick, Hodori, in Mesa.

(upbeat electronic music) - Hodori is the mascot of 1988 Seoul Olympic.

It's a tiger.

And when we first took over the restaurant, the first thing is, I gotta change that name, it's so cheesy, but once you hear it, you never forget.

We're known for spicy soup and barbecue.

Our Chok Kalbi, which is beef short rib, that's real popular.

The main ingredients, the soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil.

So we marinate that and char-grill it and the whole thing about the barbecues have to have the smoky flavor.

Korean traditional, we didn't really have a entree for a single individual, so what we do, we share food in a Korean-style table setting.

We put one big pot of soup and then different variety of banchan and we kind of like different variety of colors.

Kimchi is definitely red, broccoli or something green, the colors.

You know, if it looks good, it should be tasty, too.

I always had a passion about cooking.

Like I was curious, always wanted to try it.

And, who knew?

I fell in love with it.

It's been nine years since I've been cooking.

- So Dave, why does this feel authentic to you?

- In most restaurants in Korea, they're not big and fancy, the decor.

Plain walls, very little decoration with a focus really on the food.

- I've never been to Korea like you have, but I mean, I just feel like it was really a place where you can just sit down and eat kind of like at mama's table or something like that.

- I also like when you walk in the door that you're greeted, and particularly if you're sitting there and somebody who appears to be Korean comes walking in, they're greeted with, "annyeong," hello, when they come walking in and it's homey for me.

- I found that too.

Everyone said something, everyone said hello and the staff was very welcoming.

- We walked right in and there was a gentleman who greeted us.

He was pushing a food cart and it was really busy.

So we thought, okay, well, this is a good place for us to be.

- And what did you start with?

- The pot stickers because it was one of the only things that I could pronounce.

(everyone laughing) - Same here.

- And they had to be the fried ones.

So that was really delicious.

- [Mark] And it came with that little sauce, right?

- [Renay] The sauce was amazing.

My husband actually asked for another dipping sauce.

- I asked for a bowl of it with a spoon.

So, what was in that?

What was that sauce like to you?

- It was like a sweet, sweet and hot sauce.

- Well it's gonna be essentially soy and rice vinegar and maybe a little gochugaru, which is some little bit of a hot red pepper, crushed red pepper.

- By the way, you speak fluent Korean, right?

You're gonna help us through this whole thing.

- Used to, it's a little rough anymore, but it's enough that I can still get by.

- Adam, what did you have to start?

- I had the same thing as Renay.

I had the pot stickers 'cause it was one of the few things I could pronounce too, but they had a nice crispy bottom.

And then of course the seasoning and the herbs on the inside were very refreshing, too.

- Filled to the brim, right?

Really puffy, like there was no extra.

It was in perfect size and a lot of them.

- Oh yeah.

- What did you have, Dave?

- I did Sul Lung Tang, which is an ox broth.

Where most Korean dishes are very spicy and really over the top in heat, Sul Lung Tang is very, very mild with some noodles in it and some sliced beef and then served on the side is a little small bowl with a really flaky salt, because with salt, it brings out the flavor.

So you can add the salt that you need to really amp up the flavor of the broth.

- I love that.

I haven't had Sul Lung Tang ever.

So it's been a real long time for me.

- [Dave] Now you need to go back and have it.

(everyone laughing) - Renay, what did you have?

- I ordered the stew with the brisket and I'm not sure how to pronounce that.

- That was probably Yook Gae Jang is what you probably had.

And I actually had that last night for dinner.

- I was gonna say that, thanks for jumping in.

- It was a big bowl of stew, which had scallions and bean sprouts and also brisket.

And then they had a lot of little dishes, which I thought were very unique.

- [Dave] Banchan, it means like a hundred dishes.

- [Renay] Oh, okay.

- You know, not literally a hundred dishes at this place.

You probably get six.

- Is that common?

So you get the main pot and then you get the six or eight.

- Tons and tons of sides of- And some, I have pictures from meals in Korea, where there were probably 20 different little dishes around with all kinds of different kimchis.

Generally here at this place, you're gonna get the common baechu kimchi or the cabbage kimchi.

You're gonna get a cucumber kimchi.

Did you try...?

- Glazed potatoes.

- [Dave] Did you have the potatoes?

- Those potatoes looked so good.

I loved those glazed potatoes.

They were just a nice compliment to the salty that you got with the soup, which is a mushroom tofu soup.

When they came out on the cart with it and the soup, it was- - [Dave] Still bubbling.

- It was bubbling like lava.

And that was like my favorite part.

- My wife had that same, she had the Mushroom Soon Tofu Soup also for her entree.

- [Adam] Really?

- Yeah, it's funny, I took a, when it was brought to the table, I was standing there still in the cauldron bubbling, hasn't been on the heat in, you know, 30-45 seconds being removed from the kitchen, and it's still bubbling when it's brought to the table.

I actually grabbed my phone and took a video of it.

It's still bubbling in the bowl.

It was kinda fun.

- Yeah, you all had kimchi.

So how would you rate it?

- Kimchi was, it was great.

It had a nice, it wasn't too strong, wasn't too vinegar-y.

You could still taste the vegetables there, which was, I thought was really nice.

And you got a really great spice.

My favorite kimchi was the cucumbers that they had.

It was just, you know, it still had that nice cucumber refreshing taste, but you got some of the spice, some of the salt and that.

- A little crunch.

- It's still firm.

- Yeah, it was a little crunchy.

- Still nice and crunchy.

- And that's common, right?

- [Dave] Right.

- So, you know.

That's wonderful.

And what do you think of the kimchi?

Well, obviously, you recommended the restaurant.

- I recommended the place and I'll go back again.

- You hated it.

- And of the a hundred dishes, they were all gone when we left.

- What did you have for dessert?

- Well, actually they only offered one dessert.

and I think it's the mochi ice cream.

These two little pieces of ice cream that seem to be in a gel-like casing.

- Yes, in a rice, it's like a rice-based casing, if you will.

- [Renay] They cut it in fours and they just let it open and they drizzled it with a little bit of whipped cream and chocolate.

- [Mark] Oh, boy.

- And I could have had two of those.

- Now Adam, you had that, too, right?

- I had that same exact thing.

It was really, really good, too.

- A couple of words, Dave, about Hodori.

- It's authentic food served in an authentic environment to authentic people.

- It was a little out of my box, but I really enjoyed it and I would go back if I was in the area.

- It is definitely as authentic as you can get, for sure.

- If you would like to try Hodori, it's located at 1116 South Dobson Road, just north of West Southern Avenue in Mesa.

Reservations are not accepted and the average tab for dinner is $30 without drinks.

(upbeat Latin music) Up next, Adam's choice for vegan cuisine.

It's The Uprooted Kitchen in Gilbert.

(upbeat guitar music) - A lot of it kind of started when we had children.

I was trying to be really thoughtful about what I was feeding them and what I was putting in their bodies and we just started to think about ingredients a little bit more.

When we saw there was a need for it, we kind of just brainstormed some ideas and realized that we could build a business, creating something that other people wanted that wasn't readily available in our community.

We are a plant-based eatery and that just really means to us that we prepare our menu with whole foods from the earth.

We are lucky enough our restaurant is located on a certified organic farm.

So we have a field right outside the door of our restaurant that grows seasonal ingredients all year long.

Most of our menu is considered vegan 'cause we don't use any animal, dairy, or meat products on our menu.

The Tempeh Breakfast Sandwich is definitely one of our most popular items.

I think probably just the word breakfast sandwich is kind of comforting to people.

It's a familiar dish.

Ours just happens to not be made with meat.

We use tempeh, which is a soy product and we add seasonings and we add organic vegetables to it and some nuts to it and we layer that with some smashed avocado and some caramelized onions and tomatoes.

It's amazing that someone that had never had tempeh before in their life is, you know, really enjoying it, really complimentary of the flavors and, yeah, so it's definitely one of our most popular, sort of, comforting, familiar items on the menu.

You should feel good after you eat.

You should feel nourished.

You should feel energetic.

It should rejuvenate you and that's what our food does.

You shouldn't feel, you know, like you need to go take a nap after you eat something.

- Tell me how you found it.

- I work at a place right next to it.

There's not many vegetarian restaurants out in that area, so I was really excited to see finally one pop up.

- Are you a vegetarian?

- I am trying to be.

- [Mark] You're trying to, so you're trying to be.

- Trying to be.

It's a goal of mine, but it's- - In Arizona, it's kinda tough.

(Adam laughing) No, I'm kidding.

No, you can and that was a great choice.

Yeah, it's almost like a Howard Hughes airplane hanger, like in a great stylistic, architectural.

- Old Quonset's.

- Yes, really interesting place, right?

- The place had started out as, they started out as a food truck.

So the environment of the place is really almost like being a food truck because you've got the kitchen on one side and then you're sitting at almost a picnic table on the other.

So they're still like they've taken their food truck and just transported it inside.

- They really did and it's a husband and wife couple and they have a family and they're passionate about it.

What did you, so what did you think?

- Well, when I said we were gonna go to a plant-based restaurant, my husband said take Leslie.

(everyone laughing) - Just like that, he was like, "I'm out."

- Ask your friend, Leslie.

So we went, it was a drive.

- You and Leslie?

- Yes.

- Okay.

- Me and my friend, Leslie.

When we got there, though, it took us about 30 minutes to get to the actual restaurant because she fell in love with everything else around it.

So we walked the grounds, we walked near the coffee shop, we walked near the wine bar just down the little alleyway.

But once we got- - [Mark] It's called Garage East.

- [Renay] Oh, okay.

- Which is funny 'cause in French it would be garagiste, which is a home winemaker, but they said Garage East.

What did you have to start?

- My friend, Leslie, she ordered the yogurt bowl.

They make their own yogurt there, and it had fresh berries and like a homemade jam.

I ordered two dishes, actually, so I could have a variety.

I ordered the potato cauliflower scramble.

It was missing egg and cheese.

(everyone laughing) - I think they should talk about it as something else.

This is just a potato thing, a dish.

- The yogurt they actually make there, it's from dates and coconut.

- Yeah, they make their own coconut bread, which is delicious.

- I also ordered their French toast made with a sprouted bread, the homemade yogurt, lots of fresh fruit and their raspberry jam.

- Ooh, that sounds good.

Texture, how was it?

- It was very interesting.

It was almost like a banana bread-type toast.

- [Mark] So a lot more dense.

- [Renay] Yes.

- They use a proof sourdough, I believe.

It's from a local bakery here, which I really like about the restaurant too, is not only do they, if they don't have something or they don't wanna make it, they at least source it from a local place who makes it.

It's a really great place just to be.

- It's like authenticity and passion put together.

It's great - You can tell they really care about the food.

- And the local thing, it's really interesting.

Not only does it really allow for freshness and more flavor 'cause freshness usually equates to flavor, but a lot of these folks that are supplying these restaurants like Uprooted Kitchen are very small producers.

So this is a passion project for them, too.

So the attention that's given to what they're producing is pretty amazing.

So what'd you have, what was your start?

What was your favorite?

- So my start was the Kale Pesto Sandwich.

So it had a homemade pesto with some kale, pickled onions, and roasted sweet potato and on that proof sourdough bread, nice sour taste to it.

The pesto is very refreshing, very light.

It was a great sandwich.

- They don't really have of an appetizer menu.

I picked one dish to have as an appetizer and then one have as my entree.

I got for my appetizer kind of dish, their Butternut Squash Oatmeal.

Now I'm thinking he was gonna be like a bowl of oatmeal and warm and all that 'cause you could buy, you could get this either warm or cold.

When he told me that I was like, "I don't know if I want a cold oatmeal."

But I, no, I want mine warm.

It actually came more of like an oatmeal bar with this yummy breakfast bark on the side.

Crisp like a... - [Adam] Kinda like a thin, crispy granola bar almost.

- [Dave] Yeah, it's like really super thin, it's yummy.

- [Adam] Yeah, it is.

- It was a winner.

They just need to package that up and put it in stores and buy that instead of a candy bar.

(everyone laughing) It was good.

- That's their home run.

So what did you have for an entree?

- The entree I got was their crepe.

I was a little let down with it, probably because my expectation of what a crepe would be, since they don't use egg, it's kind of hard to make a really nice, thin crepe without egg.

- It's little thing, it's a buckwheat crepe.

- Yeah, so it was almost, it was really almost like a tortilla-like.

- [Mark] Or a pita.

- Right.

The inside was a ginger carrot puree.

That was really good.

Then it had kale and roasted broccoli on the outside and it was filling, but yeah, I had this expectation in my mind of a crepe and it was more of a tortilla than it was... - I went for the dinner time that they have once a week and I had their specialty tamale, which was a white corn tamale with lentils and black beans inside the tamale too, which was, it was really good.

- [Mark] Spicy?

- It wasn't spicy, no.

But they do have hot sauce there if you wanted to add some, which is, I thought it was really great.

And then on the side it had a cilantro coleslaw and some turmeric rice.

- [Mark] Cilantro in anything, I'm in.

Count me in.

What did you have for dessert?

- Since they don't have dessert on their menu, but they do have a little pastry case and when I'm ordering our meal, I look down and I see these little things that look like large Reese's peanut butter cups and that's exactly what it was.

So I made sure to go order one of those to keep it for me, so I wanna make sure that I'm gonna get it and it won't be gone when we're done.

That thing was so, even though they don't use lots of sugar, that little peanut butter cup was so rich, it was like, take a bite, put it back in the fridge and come back a couple hours later and get another bite and put it back in the fridge.

- Ooh, that's rich.

- It was good.

- Oh yeah.

That's my that's personally my favorite dessert there, too.

I've had almost everything in their cold case already, but the peanut butter cup is the way to go.

- So how would you describe this place in a few words?

- Very vegetarian.

- Very vegetarian.

- Vegetarian, but I didn't miss the meat there.

And the staff was amazingly helpful.

- A great community of people, great list of food and just a place to be all around.

It's a great restaurant.

- If you would like to try The Uprooted Kitchen, you'll find it at 3000 East Ray Road in the Agritopia neighborhood in Gilbert.

Reservations are not accepted and the average tab for breakfast or lunch is $22 without drinks.

(upbeat Latin music) And finally, Renay's pick for classic Mexican.

It's Old Pueblo Cafe and Pub in Litchfield Park.

(upbeat Spanish guitar music) - Tina is the inspiration behind the restaurant.

Her family recipes are so well known in the West Valley.

We actually have people all the time come in and they'll have the hot sauce and they'll instantly know that Tina is involved somehow and it happens quite often.

- In one way, I feel like I don't, what did I say?

I don't... - You don't deserve the credit?

- Yes.

- But she does.

We want it to feel like when you come in, you're part of our family.

- Feel at home.

- Yeah, you feel at home, you're part of our family.

That's such an really important part.

We actually don't even have hosts on nights except for the weekend nights, because we want people to walk in and just sit down and know that we're gonna be there.

Old Pueblo prides itself in having true Sonoran-style food.

The Chili Relleno is one of our very well known items and Tina makes it very different than most restaurants.

We'll actually cook the chili and then skin it.

Then we stuff it with the cheeses and then it goes onto the grill and we actually make like a scrambled egg blanket and wrap around it.

It never goes in the fryer.

It's just a very fresh item and it's gluten free because we don't add any flour to the batter.

Tina still goes, has a home still in Hermosillo, Mexico, and she spends, I don't know, probably a few months each year down there, but every time she shows up here and she walks in the back door and you see her, it's like all is good with the world, 'cause Tina's back in the restaurant.

- Why do you recommend it?

- Well, we just live a few blocks away from Old Pueblo.

- What did you think, Dave, when you first rolled up?

- We did not stay in the restaurant, we went out and sat on the outdoor patio, which was nice, has the palms up above and lights, it was a nice, cool evening.

- We sat on the outside 'cause it was a perfect, cool evening as well that we went and it was just, it was nice and relaxing, you know?

- What'd you start with?

- I started with the Green Chili Quesadilla.

It was, I would go back for that.

It was for really good.

- Describe it, 'cause everyone knows quesadillas, you feed 'em to your kids.

It's a thing, right?

- [Adam] It's a go-to thing, yeah.

- It's a thing, but how is it different?

- The beef in the quesadilla was really fresh.

It was just, it was shredded, it was nice and tender.

And the green chili sauce that they used it was not overly salty, it wasn't bland.

It was just the perfect amount of just spice.

- We really liked the meatball soup.

It was very flavorful, very rich.

The meatballs, perfect, it was perfect size.

- Nice, nice.

What did you start with, Renay?

- Well, my husband and I, we started with two- - So your husband was allowed to go to this one?

- Yes, yes.

- Okay, good.

He threatened if he didn't get to go.

(everyone laughing) Might change the locks on the door.

So we started with two appetizers and he actually tried something we had never tried before, which was the Albondigas Soup.

And after it cooled down a little bit, he was able to enjoy it and he ate most of it, which I kept telling him, "don't eat so much, we've got a lot of food here and that we're gonna try."

I had their nachos, Old Pueblo Nachos.

So they're toasted tortilla chips, shredded beef, beans, lots of cheese, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, like a fresh pico de gallo on top.

You can make a dinner just out of them.

- What did you have next?

- I had their Enchilada Combo Plate.

And so it came with two enchiladas, two tacos and beans and rice.

And just like it sounds, it was a lot of food, which I really, really enjoyed.

It was, we shared that one actually and they gave us two separate plates and the plates were big enough for, I mean, just one person and that was a shared dinner, which was really awesome.

- Well, I wanted to mention was when they bring out the chips and salsa, the chips were perfectly crisp, nicely seasoned.

They had, there was both a salsa, which was nice and warm and had a nice bite to it, but the pico was surprising.

It was nice and fresh and really firm.

It was clear that they had recently made it, it hadn't been sitting around for hours.

- And broken down, yeah.

Really, truly fresh pico de gallo.

- For an entree, I got their Chipotle Lime Tilapia.

Corn chip crusted tilapia, baked.

The reason why I was thinking that they had different staff that night is 'cause it was really burnt.

- [Mark] Oh, interesting.

- So I was really disappointed with that.

- And Renay, anything else?

- Oh, of course.

(everyone laughing) - That's right, you said, "hold on, we're having a big meal."

- That's right.

So when we're usually there, I like to order the folded tacos, usually the shredded beef.

This time I had the red chili burrito and a shredded beef taco.

I like Old Pueblo because their rice and beans are very authentic.

My family's Hispanic, so I grew up with rice and beans and I like that they haven't gone to a converted rice yet, like some of the other chain restaurants have.

My husband had the Carne Asada.

He usually doesn't like anything that requires assembly when he eats, but he wanted to try something different.

And he loved them.

He liked, the meat was very tender.

It was very flavorful, nicely seasoned.

He gave me some and it just kind of melted in your mouth.

It was very good.

- Well, for me, it felt like there was an authentic, like there was a grandma in the kitchen.

When I was here, I had this really interesting experience with Chili Relleno.

I mean, we all have had it before and frankly it's generally not my favorite, but I thought I'd just kind of challenge the restaurant and see what it was like.

But this, I thought, was quite amazing, for me anyway, because it's a roasted chili stuffed with really good cheese, but it's really wrapped in almost like an omelet.

So it wasn't fried.

So it's a baked dish.

Was that a traditional thing or is that just something that they do uniquely there?

- Well, my dad used to make Chili Rellenos at home.

- Was his fried?

- Oh, yes.

- Or did he bake it?

- He put it in a cast iron skillet.

- [Mark] And then he fried it.

- And he dipped it in the egg.

And then he fried it in the cast iron skillet.

- Was it just regular egg or egg batter, like with flour in it?

- It was just regular, it was just regular egg.

- So yeah, so it was just egg.

So this was just a version of that where they just wrapped it in sort of a thin omelet, but I was pleasantly, I was surprised by it.

- 'Cause it was different.

- Yeah, it's very different.

Anyway, so what did you have for dessert?

- Ooh, the dessert was to die for.

It was the fried ice cream and when me and my girlfriend tried it, we first cracked into it 'cause it was, it's a big like softball-sized piece of ice cream.

Crack into it and you take a bite and it almost tastes like a churro.

And I thought it was great because I think what they fried in is like Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

- Take something good and make it better.

- I know.

- And then fry it, that's what I say.

- And then fry it, yeah.

- Everything's good fried.

- It'll be okay, so it was great.

- Yeah, and you had the... - I had the flan.

- You had the flan.

I think you had the flan too, right, Renay?

- I did, we ordered the flan.

- It was almost like a mix of the two different kinds of flans you can have which are more of a custard-like and more of a cake-like where they brought the two together and made a happy marriage.

It was, it was tasty.

That was all gone.

- Oh really?

- That one, I almost wanted to lick the plate.

That was good.

- Didn't need a to-go box for that one.

- I did not need a to-go box for that.

- Well, I know it's your place.

So what would you say in just a couple words about Old Pueblo?

- I think really authentic Mexican flavor.

- It might be interesting to go back and try to see what it's like on a weekend with the live music, 'cause the outside was really nice.

- If you want a big, hearty meal, that's the place to go.

It was, it was a lot of food, which was great.

Took a couple to-go boxes home, for sure.

- If you would like to try Old Pueblo Cafe and Pub, it's located at 102 North Old Litchfield Road, just north of Wigwam Boulevard in Litchfield Park.

Reservations are accepted for parties of eight or more and the average tab for dinner is $24 without drinks.

Thanks to Renay, Adam, and Dave for sharing their picks and don't forget, you can share yours, too.

Go to azpbs.org/checkplease and nominate your favorite spot.

Be a part of the foodie conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, #checkpleaseaz.

Join us next time when three new guests bring us three new restaurants right here on "Check, Please!

Arizona."

I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Eat well and often.

- [Narrator] "Check, Please!

Arizona" is made possible by the Friends of Arizona PBS, members of Arizona PBS who give additional gifts to support original programs.

Thank you.

(upbeat Latin music)