Pasta, Bikes, and Taxidermy: Wren & Wolf, Spokes, Spinato's

- [Announcer] And now an Arizona PBS original production.

- I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please!

Arizona," the show where Arizona residents recommend their favorite restaurants.

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

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

Arizona."

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(jazz music) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please!

Arizona."

In this episode, we're shining the spotlight on a family owned pizzeria, a bar and grill, and inventive comfort food.

Let's meet our diners.

Violet Ponce Val works in sales and grew up in Glendale.

She and her husband recently eloped to Paris.

Congratulations and best wishes.

Christina McCarty is a mobile massage therapist.

You might even catch her performing karaoke around town.

But up first, Louie Flores is a former hotshot squad leader, who now works at a university.

In 2021, he wrote an illustrated a children's book.

His days are busy, but he always makes time for his favorite pizza place.

This is Spinato's Pizzeria and Family Kitchen.

(lively music) - So Spinato's is a locally family-owned pizzeria.

Pizza is what we're known for.

We do an incredible amount of calzones, and we've got some wonderful salads, pastas, sandwiches.

Our appetizers are phenomenal, and homemade desserts.

So we have a very broad menu that I feel appeals to everybody.

So our recipes really go back to a couple generations ago, early 1900s.

So it's a compilation of my great aunts and great-grandmothers to my parents, and now to my wife, and my sister.

So our family kitchen is kind of the secret behind the restaurants.

We make 37 different items for our restaurants so that they come in fresh, prepared, and then we just have to assemble them and make them to the recipes.

So we have been in business for 48 years.

The longevity has to be because of how we come alongside people, and really how we just put our arms around 'em and make them a part of this family.

I don't know anything else.

What we teach and train here is, if you were to come over to our home, right, the care that we're providing in our restaurants is the same care that you're gonna get in an Italian home.

The Kenneth Anthony Spinato Foundation is something to really serve our community and steward what we've been blessed with.

My dad didn't really have this as a vision to turn it into a foundation.

And so the mission really, we stand on three pillars in terms of support, is children, our veterans.

My father is a veteran, my grandfather, World War II, my whole family, veterans and then service animals.

Those are really the three pillars that we like to support.

I believe Spinato's is a place still where families, friends, the community, really comes to gather.

It's a restaurant that provides more than just food and pizza and sustenance, but really just that gathering, that togetherness.

- So Louie, this is your go-to pizza .

Spinato's, why?

What about this pizza?

- First of all, there's many things that happens there.

It's close to the university that I work at.

Also, it is conducive for a quick lunch between your coworkers.

"Hey, let's go grab some pizza, "let's go grab something "to drink real quick."

'Cause you're in and out real fast.

And that's what I like.

And their food is fantastic.

The thin crust, Get Meaty pizza, which is my personal favorite.

- [Mark] Meaty, yeah, is that what you had?

- [Louie] Yes.

- Thin crust, so really paper thin like that.

- [Louie] Oh my God- - None of this puffy stuff.

- No, no.

- [Mark] Okay, good.

- You can actually taste the beef, the meat, the pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon.

So I can easily polish off a medium pizza by myself.

- So Louie, you just check all the boxes.

It's like, yes, that's what I'm getting for my toppings.

- I don't check it.

I just draw a line.

- You just draw a line.

Way more efficient What else do you have when you go there?

- The roasted artichoke dip with the ciabatta, freshly baked ciabatta.

One thing about this is, I don't like really artichoke or Brussels sprouts or what have you.

But this dip was amazing because of the bread that they bring you.

And it's the basket.

They keep the basket full for you.

- It's funny because I had a hard time choosing between the artichoke dip and the stuffed mushrooms that we had for the appetizer.

So we went with the mushrooms, but now I'm gonna have to go back and get the artichoke dip.

- [Mark] So what was stuffed in the mushrooms?

- It was like creamy, cheesy yummy-ness with this breadcrumb stuff on top.

They were so good.

- Stop there.

Creamy, cheesy, yummy.

I think it actually says that on the menu.

- Can we have one over here?

- Can I get the creamy, cheesy, yummy?

Thank you.

I'll take two.

- [Christina] There was six actually, but you know.

- Okay, good.

What else did you have?

- [Christine] I had the mama signature calzone with spinach and tomato, and mozzarella, and garlic.

And oh, it was good.

It didn't have much red sauce, which is actually what I was going for.

I didn't want that.

And so I really, really liked it.

And I liked the crispy crust, and so that was really tasty.

- [Mark] Speaking of checking boxes, so I had the calzone, they talked me into it.

That's stuffed with pasta, spaghetti and meatballs and ricotta.

So I'm saying calzone with spaghetti.

Gotta have it.

Yeah, I mean checking boxes.

Anyway.

- [Mark] Violet, did you have that too, by the way?

- We kind of over ordered on the calzone, so we ended up sharing that.

Same thing, spaghetti calzone.

So it's kind of like a pizza crust pot pie with spaghetti inside.

- [Mark] How'd you like it?

At first I was a little nervous 'cause it's like a car bomb.

But I thought it was- - I was impressed.

I thought it was really good.

And you can tell that they have Chicago roots that they really leaned into, 'cause it's a different kind of crust.

It's more Chicago versus kind of New York.

- So thin crust, but more Chicago style.

So what makes that Chicago style for you?

- I thought it was more sweet.

- Yes, so I thought the tomatoes had a little sweetness.

You all get that.

I mean, it's your place.

That is true there.

And so, I like that.

I love having that natural sweetness from tomatoes.

What'd you have for an entree?

- I had a personal sized Italian pizza.

It was meatball, pepperoni, red onion and mozzarella.

- [Mark] Cool.

- [Violet] And it had a good flavor.

It had oregano on it.

And then I think the thing I took away the most was the crust.

The crust was really good.

A little bit sweet, Chicago style.

- [Mark] Oh, I like that.

- If you're not hungry, personal size is perfect.

It was about this big.

And then my husband ordered a medium, which was enough for probably three people.

So in the end, it all evened out because we shared the calzone.

- Your husband's sharing with you.

That's very nice.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Newlyweds, they're doing that now.

- He got it down.

- For me, it's like fork and knife.

Get away from my pizza.

But your place desserts.

What's the go-to there?

- That one there, I had the torti, the red velvet with the chocolate sauce.

And my date had the cannoli.

- Cannoli.

So cannoli can be really awesome or it can be one of those things you dreamed that it should be better.

- [Louie] And that's kind of what it was.

- It's really awesome.

- It's really awesome?

You had it?

- I did, I had the cannoli as well.

- [Mark] Oh good Christina, tell me.

- I like the fact that it was so crunchy on the outside, and then the cream was just so delicious.

- [Mark] Violet, what's your pro tip?

- Make reservations.

- Okay.

- It was surprisingly busy.

We went for happy hour on a Thursday, and it was packed.

I think we waited about 40 minutes.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

- So make reservations.

- Make reservations if you can, which is great.

I love to see restaurants thriving.

I love to see restaurants that are busy, especially on a weekday.

- Me too.

Boy, after we've all been through.

Christina, what's your pro tip?

- I do agree with that.

To make a reservation.

And I'm grateful that actually that we did.

So we didn't have the wait.

We were able to get in there, and we were able to get sat.

I thought that it was gonna be really loud at first because when you walk in, there's a lot of echo noise.

But once we sat down, we were able to comfortably have conversation, and it wasn't like that.

So it was good.

- If you wanna try Spinato's, they're located at 96 South Rockford Drive in Tempe.

The average meal costs $30, and they take reservations.

They also have other locations around town.

(light music) Our next restaurant is Violet's pick.

All day long, this downtown Phoenix hotspot is offering very distinct dining experiences.

This is Wren and Wolf.

(upbeat music) - Wren and Wolf is a restaurant in downtown Phoenix.

It is a modern cuisine.

So the first reaction for people when comes into Wren and Wolf is a big wow.

People are not expecting to see animals and a elevated restaurant in downtown Phoenix.

So in the morning, we offer coffee, pastries and everything is homemade.

Then we open for lunch.

We have hamburgers, salads, shrimps, ceviche.

Then we go over to dinner where we have an open menu.

We trying to bring little details from every country.

The fried cauliflower that comes with pipian, which is a sauce from Mexico.

We have the A5 from Japan, we have the za'atar man'ouche, that's from the Middle East.

We have a lot of steak.

We have prime ribs, we have filet mignon, and rib eyes.

So the name of Wren and Wolf comes from the Wren, morning and the wolf at nighttime.

My first impression in this restaurant, soon as I walked in that kitchen, I knew that one day I was gonna be the executive.

It just felt in my heart that I belong here.

I think every dish in here has a little bit of me, but one of the dishes that I really enjoy, that I really like is called the za'atar man'ouche.

Za'atar man'ouche is a breakfast for people in the Middle East.

But in here, I did a little bit of twist on it with some cheese truffle foam.

And every time that dish goes out, I'm proud of it.

Every day we work on different R and D, different type of cuisine.

How can we make ourself better than whatever we was last week?

That's a big focus on us trying to get better food, elevate it, so we can make people happy.

At the end of the night, pays out when you see the customer laughing, smiling, enjoying the food.

That's what we're trying to do.

- So Violet, how did you find Wren and Wolf?

- So we live downtown.

- [Mark] Okay.

- So we're constantly exploring.

My sister-in-law lives at Cityscape, and she's actually the one that recommended it first.

- So what makes it Wren and Wolf?

- I love the atmosphere and the overall vibe.

It's in the heart of downtown Phoenix, but you feel like you're transported to this cozy, secluded cabin in the woods.

And there's not too many places where you can look a pheasant and a wolf square in the eyes while you eat.

- Well, that's what I was leading to.

I was like, okay, how about the taxidermy?

- Yeah, there's taxidermy.

- There is some taxidermy.

It does have this really great vibe.

Very different.

Very unusual for me.

I've never seen anything like it actually.

It's crazy cool.

What did you think?

Tell me what it's like for you.

- I loved it.

It was a lot of fun.

We actually had our waiter take a picture with us in front of the wolf, and all the pictures were just amazing.

These big huge portraits from side to side.

But it is.

It's like going into another world there.

I really liked it.

- I foresee this place becoming a destination point, if it isn't already.

- What's your go-to for appetizers there?

- So we always get mac and cheese, so I guess that's technically an appetizer.

But we eat it on the side.

- [Mark] I think it's anything.

For me it's dessert.

- [Violet] Whatever you wanna be.

Yeah, mac and cheese is definitely one of my favorites.

They do a couple different types of cheese, and then it's topped with chives and paprika.

So it's a lot of flavor.

It's really good.

- Great flavor, yeah.

So Louie, what'd you have for appetizers?

- The appetizer bing bread, I believe it's called, with the spread of flavored spreads.

Which was amazing 'cause they kept bringing some bread too, and I thought there was the good flavors with the bread and all the spreads that they have.

That's almost a meal in itself.

- Christina, what'd you have for appetizer?

- I had the za'atar bread.

It's a Mediterranean and it is wonderful.

It has kalamata olives and gouda and, manchego?

- [Mark] Yeah, machego.

One of my favorite cheeses.

I love manchego.

- So really, really flavorful.

Wonderful, I loved it.

- What about entrees?

- So I had the fried cauliflower, and then my husband had the wild boar bolognese.

- Oh, wild boar.

That interesting.

Christina, did you have that?

- I wanted to brave it, but I didn't brave it.

- [Violet] It's not gamey, but it's a testament to the flavor 'cause you could, it did not taste gamey at all.

It was sweet and a little spicy.

- So tell me about the cauliflower.

So you had the fried cauliflower entree?

- Yes, it was not overly saturated.

It was not over fried.

I thought it was really good.

It tastes very fresh and clean.

- [Mark] Cool.

- [Violet] It was really good.

And then it was topped with a spicy pesto and a pickled cabbage.

So it has a lot of dynamic flavors.

- Christina, what did you have when you went there?

- I had the main lobster ragu.

The meat portions are small, kind of like I saved my lobster.

But the flavor was so good.

It was amazing.

I didn't expect it to be so spicy, and it had a nice kick to it, which I love.

So I really did enjoy it.

- I love that too.

So what is the base of the main lobster ragu?

Is it still tomato based?

- [Christina] Yeah, it was a tomato base.

It had some white wine.

- [Mark] Louie, what did you have?

- I had the Chilian sea bass.

Amazing, it was cooked to a perfection.

The portion was small.

'Cause I'm a hearty eater, I was thinking of ordering another one.

- Next time, do it.

- Yeah, exactly.

Vegetables that came with it was fennel, olives, tomato, and kale.

And I'm exploring, I'm expanding my horizons now with the roasted artichoke and then the fennel and olive.

- [Mark] And kale.

- [Louie] Kale which is, I did not like that before, but now it's of mind.

- Well I call it the other angry lettuce, kale.

It needs a lot of like, - Love.

- Parmesan cheese.

- Yeah, no, she's just right.

It needs a lot of love.

- Did you have anything to drink, Violet?

- I did.

I had the miss violet beauregarde.

Because, - Was it named after you?

- I don't think so, but it was definitely calling my name.

It was really good.

It's tequila based with blueberry, wink wink.

And vanilla and orange.

- [Mark] Cool, cool.

That sounds delicious.

- [Christina] Does sound good.

- You said tequila, here we go.

- Louie, I know you were driving, probably.

Did you have anything?

- No, no.

But my date did have a glass of red vino.

- The pinot noir was amazing.

Actually, it was cool because our waiter did describe where it came from and how it was connected with the restaurant, and all that kind of stuff.

So it was a lot of fun.

- The owner's involved in the winery, right?

- Yes, yeah.

- [Mark] That's really cool.

- So it was cool to learn about that.

But my favorite was the dessert.

- Okay, well tell me.

Tell me.

- Yeah, so I had the bourbon butter cake.

The BBC.

- We had that too.

- That's what we had too.

- That was amazing.

That was amazing.

- One, two, three, boom.

- It was definitely shareable, and it was just so good, so good.

Every flavor meshed lovely together.

- [Violet] It's topped with a banana icecream, but it was creamy like a gelato and candied pecans.

- [Mark] What is better than bourbon and banana and creamy gelato, - [Louie] And cake.

- And caramel and cake?

It is your choice.

So you get final takeaways.

What do we wanna tell our viewers?

- Just be prepared to have just a memorable experience.

- [Mark] Okay.

Louie, final takeaways.

- I'm waiting for that DJ to come back on Saturday.

- Okay, done.

We'll take that.

- Party up.

- Christina?

- You gotta have the BBC.

You gotta have the cake.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- BBC.

If you wanna try Wren and Wolf, it's located at First Avenue and Washington in downtown Phoenix.

An average meal will cost $65, and they do take reservations.

(light music) Our last restaurant is Christina's recommendation.

A bicycle-themed place with local beer on tap and comforting bar food.

This is Spokes on Southern.

(upbeat music) - Spokes on Southern is a neighborhood restaurant here in Tempe, Arizona.

Serves Southwest American food, craft beer and cocktails.

We have burgers, tacos, salads, and then enchiladas, and more Southwest type things.

Stuffed poblano is one of our favorite items, and we've had that for all 10 years that we've been here.

And it's one of the favorites.

We do have the things that people always want when they go to a bar, but we definitely have tried to take it a step further in making it a little more eclectic, shall we say.

So just trying to be a little different so that people will remember it and come back.

We have 26 beers on draft, and two wines on draft as well.

And then we carry some bottles also.

We'll definitely try to bring in something that maybe you haven't had somewhere else, and introduce people to things that they maybe wouldn't have tried before.

We have owned another restaurant here in Tempe called Boulders on Broadway, and that theme is bicycles, climbing and all of that.

And that carried over into Spokes when we opened in 2013.

People can park their bikes inside after they come from a bike ride.

So it's very open.

We like to joke that you can come here by yourself, but you'll end up making friends, and getting to know people, and getting to chat with people, finding common ground.

So that's really what we're all about.

So we've incorporated having games and things that kids can play while they're sitting with their families.

We have very open patio and it overlooks a pond with ducks, and turtles and walking path around it.

I want guests to come in and feel like they're a part of our community here, that they're welcome, that they walked into our living room in our home, and we welcome them, and that they sense a hospitality.

And even if they came here alone, that they have a friend here with us, and they're welcome back anytime.

(upbeat music) - So Christina, this is your place.

What brought you to it?

- I used to live across the street from it, so it kind of became like my go-to "Cheers" after a while.

- Where the bartenders know your name.

- The bartenders do know my name.

- [Mark] Cool.

- Yeah.

But I've been going there for a long time, and to me it's a little bit different from a regular bar and grill because everything's very fresh.

They do freshly source their food in, they have this stuffed poblano on the menu.

And so I had been looking at it for a long time, but thinking all of the ingredients don't really go well together.

I don't know if I wanna try this thing, but it was very intriguing.

- But it comes as a side with the salmon, right?

- It does.

You can order it as an appetizer on its own, or it comes on the side with the salmon especial, which is what I had for my main entree.

So the salmon is pan seared, and it has some spices on top, really nice and flaky.

I enjoy the salmon, but my favorite part is the stuffed poblano on the side.

That is just such an amazing, amazing experience.

- [Mark] It's kind of unusual, right?

- Yes, it is.

- What's in it?

- Well it's a poblano pepper, and then it's stuffed with the sweet potato mash that has bacon bits inside it, and then it is smothered with beer cheese on top.

- [Louie] Oh.

- Look at Louie.

He's like, I don't care what's inside this thing.

We need this thing.

- Beer, cheese.

We've got it.

- Yeah, but that's so cool.

- It's really amazing.

So it's become one of my favorite things now.

I'm always always telling everybody, "you gotta try it."

- So, Louie what'd you have?

- For the appetizer, I had the Brussels sprouts, which I'm not too- - [Mark] We talked earlier.

You don't like Brussels sprouts.

- No, I don't, but I'm trying to expand my palate if you would.

It was okay.

And I don't know if I would order it again, but- - [Mark] They do it with all the classics I think.

Bacon bits.

- They do.

What I liked about them actually is that they come out really crispy, and I think that's important for me with Brussels sprouts, 'cause sometimes Brussels sprouts, if they're not- - Soggy or hard, they can be a little bit cabbage-y.

Yeah, but when they're crispy, that's how I like them too.

I agree.

So what else did you have?

- I tried the mushroom Swiss burger.

And it was amazing.

The textures, the taste between the mushroom and the Swiss cheese.

They were just dancing with each other.

I could have ordered another one.

It was amazing.

- It sounds like you're going to.

That is awesome.

So Violet, what did you have?

- I had the spinach enchiladas with black beans and rice, and then my husband had the crispy chicken sandwich.

And then we shared the cheese curds.

- [Mark] So crispy chicken sandwich.

There's millions of ways to do it.

How was your husband's done?

- I only got a small bite, but I thought it was- - [Mark] So it must have been good.

- It was good, yeah.

It was good.

It was well done.

I had the spinach enchiladas with black beans and rice.

So, I'm born and raised in Arizona.

I've had Mexican food more than once in my life, and I thought these guys did a really good job with that.

The flavors were really fresh.

It wasn't too spicy.

It wasn't drowning in sauce.

It was good.

And the black beans, were they whole black beans?

- [Violet] Mm-hm.

- [Mark] They kind of break, yummy- - [Violet] Also really fresh, like she said.

All of the ingredients taste like they're really sourced.

- I like that.

That's awesome.

- [Louie] That's cool.

- Very good, any desserts?

- We shared the house made brownie with icecream.

I don't know that I would get it again.

The icecream was kind of hard.

I'm kind of spoiled.

I like more gelato-like icecream, not really frozen.

And then the brownie was not warm.

I did appreciate that it wasn't too sweet.

It didn't give you a stomachache.

- [Mark] It had a good balance?

Very nice.

- [Christina] I didn't have dessert this time.

I have had the brownie in the past, and normally it's warm.

- Christina, it is your place.

Any tips you wanna give?

- This is my place.

Well, when you come in, you don't need to be seated.

You can pretty much just seat yourself.

And they have the little things on the menu, where you can do the menu and order online.

But you don't have to.

They'll come and take your order as well.

- That is a great spot to go after work with your coworkers, grab a quick burger.

Grab a craft beer.

The atmosphere, so you can watch a game or what have you.

It is a great atmosphere, that I will say.

- [Mark] Cool, Violet?

- I think I'm gonna piggyback on the app to table.

I was kind of wary of that at first, but I actually really enjoyed it 'cause your food comes up so fast.

And if you were like, oh I forgot, I want a dessert now, you just order it and it shows up so quickly.

- And if you're a newlywed, or on a date, you don't have to talk to anybody.

Just like, hey.

- That too.

- This is done.

- That's a great tip.

- Don't forget to try the poblano.

- Okay, we got the poblano.

Love that tip.

If you wanna try Spokes on Southern, it's on Southern between McClintok and Rural in Tempe.

The average meal costs $20, and they do take reservations.

I wanna thank Violet, Louie and Christina for joining me at the table today.

And thank you for joining "Check, Please!

Arizona".

If you would like to share your favorite restaurant, head to our website, AZPBS.org/checkplease.

And nominate your must eat at spot.

Who knows?

You could be joining me at the table.

Be a art of the foodie conversation in Arizona, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #checkpleaseAV.

Join us next time when three new guests make their recommendations right here on "Check, Please!

Arizona".

I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Have a delicious life.

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