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 are ready to share the reviews with each other and with you right here on check, please.

Arizona.

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[murmuring] I'm chef Mark tarbell.

Welcome to check please Arizona.

In this episod we head out for some vegan fare, Mexican dishes, and a fun sports grill.

Let's meet our diners.

Petrus Mathews is a firefighter who is once nominated for firefighter of the year.

He loves snowboarding and hiking.

He's been going to this restaura Cynthia Smith is in management.

She loves to travel, bu her passion is writing poetry.

When she wants to relax, she and her fiancé head over to a sports gril that's big on flavors and fun.

But at first, Yvonne Mossman, she works for the city of Scottsdale as their natural resources coordinator.

She visited Arizona as a chil and just knew she'd eventually move here.

She recommends a vegan spot that will convert even hardcore carnivores.

This is Vegan and Vine.

I would describe Vegan and Vine as a local family owned place for everyone.

Our food here is so delicious.

Our menu is plant based comfort food that appeals to everyone.

We have breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For breakfast.

I would say one of our more popular item would be the biscuits and gravy.

People actually drive from Maricopa to come here and have our in-house made biscuits buttermilk biscuits and gravy.

Some of the favorites for lunch and dinner.

We have a plant based cheeseburger and buffalo cauliflower.

It's actually won awards.

We make our buffalo sauce in-house dinner.

We have a myriad of salads.

We have lots of plates to share.

We pair it with vegan wines.

Most people aren't aware that traditional wine is actually filtered over one of three different animal proteins.

So a true vegan wine only consists of the grapes and the yeast, and the yeas eats up the sediment over time.

I would say that vegan wine actually tastes better if someone comes in and they're not vegan.

They should try something familiar to them, like a cheeseburger.

When people taste our cheeseburger, they are astonished that it's not from a cow.

They're astonishe that it's a plant based burger.

It's delicious.

People will drive from far away to come for our food, and the regulars in the are come back time and time again, and they regularly tell u that they just feel comfortable.

They feel happy.

They love the food.

We care about the community, and the community has been so great to us.

We plan to be here for a very long time.

So Yvonne, you got to love it.

A vegan place that converts carnivores.

Yeah.

How did you find this place?

Well, my best friend and her husband lived just on the way, and I was driving by.

I was, like, rubbernecking.

Like, what did I just see?

So I went there initially after they had been open for, like, eight months.

And after the few years that they've been open, it's really evolved to just be an amazing restaurant.

It's really neat.

What did you eat when you were there?

Oh my gosh.

So, well, first of all, they have evolved into having a brunch.

And if you're a plant based eater, brunch usually is like dr toast, potatoes and fruit bowl.

So I had yeah right.

So I had that I had their biscuits and gravy, which was really good.

It's like a homage to my Midwestern roots.

I shared that with two friends.

Yep.

A vegan.

Yep.

And it was really peppery.

It kind of.

The gravy was just like, perfect.

Like, I remember as a little kid and I had two friends with me, so we also had the Stetson salad, which was delicious.

And it was just pretty just to even look at what's in it.

I did, it had quinoa and it had black beans.

We then had just a just the way it was, like laid out, almost like a platter of vegetables with just a really light vinaigrette dressing is delicious.

It was really good.

And the quinoa has protein.

Yeah.

So the beans and the black beans.

And then we also my favorite, my actual favorite there is their cauliflower buffalo wing dish.

That was actually my favorite.

They make a homemade blue blue cheese which if you've ever tried to make homemade cheese as a vegan, it's ridiculous.

You can't ever do that.

And then the instead of like, carrot sticks and celery sticks, it was they were like shaved so that it had like all the sauce to it was really it's really, really good.

So, Cynthia, you had, something that I wouldn't normally understand.

Or at a vegan restaurant you had the chef's salad.

Yeah.

So how was it?

It was delicious.

It was nice and crunchy.

It had banana peppers in it.

Lettuce, tomato, all black olives.

It was delicious.

And the ranch dressing, you really, really topped it off.

So vegan ranch.

It was very good.

That's awesome.

Yes.

Parents.

What did you have?

So, my fiance and I went there for lunch, and I, we started off with the wild mushrooms, and they were fantastic.

Very, very savory kind of taste, mixed with garlic and all that.

It was kind of out of my ordinary choice, but it was delicious.

And then I had the margherita pizza with the vegan cheese, and, I mean, I'll admit I'm a carnivore, but this kind of changed my whole viewpoint.

It was amazing.

It was delicious.

That cheese was fantastic.

Really melty.

I loved it.

And then my fiance had a, grilled cheese sandwich with the tomato soup, and I had it.

It was great.

It was.

I actually started stealing some of the soup to dip my pizza in.

So your pizza you had you had a margherita pizza, obviously.

That's typically, you know, it's the dough.

It's a little bit of how is the sauce I need.

I did not have that.

So the sauce was fantastic.

Had a lot of flavor.

That kind of nice mixture of garlicky and tomatoey.

Okay.

Mixing with the cheese and the basil.

It was it was fantastic.

I saved some leftovers and took it to work with me the next day.

And, it was it was the best.

And a lot of the guys at work one some more of it.

And then we shared the creme brulée and that was good.

I was amazing.

Yeah, I did too I am I, Opa that was his favorite dessert.

It was creme brulee.

So anytime it's available, I try and get that.

Yes, I had a cream ballet, which is one of my favorite.

Yours too.

Yes.

And how did they do?

It was very, very good.

I love the taste.

You know, it was, I like th the caramelization on the top.

And then the fruit that they put with it was very good.

But, you know, there's nothin in creme brulée that is vegan.

It's egg yolks and cream.

Yeah, I know, and a little bit of sugar, but they did it.

That's how big a fan they pulled it off very well.

It was good.

So your first time in right.

How was the atmosphere.

Oh I loved it.

Very relaxing I it felt like a really cool area to sit down and have intelligent conversation with people.

I love the atmosphere.

I like the brick walls and I like the, the industrial look, you know, with the ceilings and, yeah, it was very, very comfortable and clean.

And there's something that I would love to go the open kitchen there.

Yeah.

Open kitchen.

Yeah.

They have marketplace.

There's really nice.

And I thought the staff was super friendly.

You're right.

Yeah.

I know what you think of the atmosphere.

Yeah.

You're bragging on.

It's your place.

Well, heck yeah.

We said at the bar my girlfriends and I sat at the bar but they have a wonderful patio.

This really dog friendly and stuff, and it was just really hot that day.

So we didn't sit out there, but just sitting there and engaging with the bartender was great.

And she was like our server and everything too.

So it's just, you know, we're talking back and forth.

It was a really fun it was a really fun lunch.

Yeah, it's a great experience.

And I'm a carnivore.

I'm been everywhere.

But I had a burger there and I'm like, sometimes I'm like, really?

Why don't you just call it something else?

Because it's not a burger.

And I had their burger and it was fantastic because, you know, really it's all about the pickles, the sauce and the bun.

And they happen to put this crispy little burger and yeah, delicious.

So this is part where we do, you like pro tips.

So pro tips for us is one word or one sentence that we want to take away and give our viewers.

And it's your place you want.

What is your pro tip?

My pro tip is to go in and of time because it's a really busy intersection that at rush hour is really hard to get there, and it is comfort food, but you want to go there to get comfort food, not because you need comfort food from being in traffic.

Cynthia, what's your pro tip?

I would say go there, bring a friend or two and enjoy yourself.

You know, because it's good, healthy eating.

Yeah, I like a good, healthy, mattress.

I would say if you're a carnivore and a little apprehensive with vegan food, go here because I thought it was fantastic.

I'm a big meat eater but I'm going to go back there.

You're converted.

Yes.

Awesome.

If you want to try Vegan and Vine, they're located at seventh Street and Thunderbird, and the average meal cost about $18.

And they do take reservations.

Up next is Cynthia.

She says if you're lookin for a fun place with good food, she's found it.

A sports grill with a huge menu.

This is the Hub Grill and Bar.

The Hub Grill and bar is really just meant to be, whatever the community needs it to be, if you will.

We know everybody needs to eat and drink, and we just wanted to create an environment that truly was the hub of the community.

Our menu is pretty robust.

We get a lot of comments on, the portion sizes and the amount of different food on there because we have you know, from salads to burgers to wings to a pretty extensive gluten free menu, as well as some great desserts, even regular guest don't necessarily ever get bored because there's always some new stuff coming.

Some of our, favorite items, if you will, would be the smoked wings.

Burgers I think are always consistent.

We get a lot of good comments on the pizzas and, and a lot of comments on the gluten free menu just because of the size of it.

So what's on tap for beer is, is it's really the question is what isn't?

We're always keeping it fresh.

We kind of get tagged as a sports bar, but we really feel like we're just a great restaurant that happens to have a lot of TVs.

Our bar is, indoor outdoor bar, so we have a roll up garage door, so kind of a can experience it from both sides.

Which leads to a large wraparound patio, which is pretty nice.

You've got some decent views from it.

The hub itself is kind of a kind of a fun story.

I was a Fedex guy for 13 years, and the hub was in Memphis for Fedex.

That's where everything went into and came out of.

And if you look up the definition, it's the center of activity where things radiate from.

And I thought, why don't we just call it the hub?

I mean, we want to be the center of activity where things radiate from in a, in the community.

So we want to make sure that, you know, we are creating, an experience that is memorable in a positive way, where they want to come back.

Cynthia, how did you find the hub?

Well I shop in our TCU quite a bit.

And so I got hungry one day and me and my fiance decided to stop by the hub to have something to eat.

I love it.

Hunger drove you to the hub?

Yes, yes, but it's a fun place.

The atmosphere is really cool.

Yeah, I loved it.

Yeah.

You know, they have over 40 big screen TVs.

They have a huge bar.

They have a upstairs area where you can book parties.

That's cool And they have, the high tables.

Yeah.

You know, it's a great atmosphere, a lot of buzz, a lot of energy.

So what did you eat there?

Well, I had the Baja Bowl with a grilled chicken that was really full of flavor.

It had guacamole, sour cream, and, I believe a little bit of onion.

And it was very, very good.

So the flavors.

Yes.

Express the Baja.

Oh, and, tortilla strips on top.

You know, it was it looked like artwork.

It was really nice.

Yeah.

Well presented.

Yeah.

Well, very well presented.

And the flavors, you know, they you'll never forget.

What are your other go to.

They're a Korean bo.

Oh.

You know, it was very goo but it had beef in it with rice and some vegetables.

You had probabl a little slivered green onions.

Yeah.

It was very, very good.

Good.

Yvonne, what did you have?

Well, it didn't have a big vega option, but I had French fries and the wine was delicious.

And I was there around happy hour on a really great sports event going on.

So my friend and I stayed for three hours.

Oh.

That's all.

It was really fun.

I think my tab was probably less than the gas money to get their taters and wine.

Oh love it, it was great.

The French fries were so crispy.

They were just really good.

And it was a platter of them too, where we shared them and I still had some to take home.

So it was really fun.

Yeah, that's so, so fun atmosphere.

It was really fun.

Enjoy that part.

People watching and stuff.

Yeah, it was really great.

I thought there were 100 TVs, not 40 counter though.

Oh you did.

Oh my, I love that.

But it was really fun.

Yeah it feels like a hundred.

Cool.

Yeah.

What did you have?

So I started with the fried pickles, and then my fiancee got the toasted ravioli.

Ooh, I was amazing.

I love fried pickles by the way.

Oh, that's a go to.

If they're on the menu, I'm eating them.

Oh, hands down.

Especially with the crispy but toasted ravioli.

Tell me what those were all about.

So those I haven't really gotten those.

My fiance is a big fan of that I thought you ate all her food.

Oh, I, I did, I didn't read all that, but, it was, just kind of a perfect mixture of that herb and garlicky taste with the marinara and a little crunchy.

Very crunchy.

Oh, cool.

So it's a dip thing?

Yeah.

Oh, boy.

And then, she got some mushroom and rice.

Was it mushroom rice and chicken, which was fantastic.

I was eating a lot of that from her.

And then I got the smoked chicken.

Did your fiance get to eat it all?

Not really.

I think I ended up eating everything, but I got the, the smoked chicken wings with the Cajun Cajun seasonin because I'm a sucker for Cajun seasoning and smoke, and, oh, boy, can't go wrong.

No.

It's delicious Two great flavors in one spot.

I love that smoky, kind of spicy flavor with the ranch.

So how many TVs did you count?

So I got up to about 35, because that's as far as I can count.

Right And then the food came.

Exactly.

So then your fiance, his food came.

So yes, I had to.

I just started to focus.

That's awesome.

So anyone have any drinks.

I went with the Kona beer and a beer.

Oh good.

I love that kind of beer company.

So yeah.

Which one do you get.

The big wave.

The big wave.

Oh that's great.

Love it.

Yeah.

Nothing like a Kona beer.

Big wave when it's cold.

Cynthia, I think you had some dessert.

Yes.

Oh, yeah.

That was a big chocolate chip cookie with, a little, dab of, vanilla being ice cream, and it delicious.

Like giant.

It's giant There's enough for two people.

So my fiance, I shared it.

Yeah, it was very, very good.

Warm, yo.

Yeah, yeah, it's like fresh baked.

It is a very good is a lot is more than you can eat.

But yeah it's very, very good.

It's very cool.

Yeah I like it.

So this is take away time.

It's your pro tip.

What do you what would you say for as a pro tip.

If you're a sports enthusiast if you like being around people and if you want to be in a laid back, atmosphere, go to the hub.

You know, you'll you'll feel right at home right there.

You'll feel right at home.

Food's good.

You'll never leave on an empty stomach or feeling deprive because there's a lot of food.

Just delicious.

Thank you very much.

Yvonne, what's your pro tip?

My pro tip is go.

And there's a really good sports event going on because it was just the best sports bar for that.

It was really great.

I love it, Petrus.

I would say go on trivia night.

Oh or on.

I saw they had movie nigh that looked really cool to go.

That was it with friends.

No more going back and forth.

You can have 40 movies on at the same time.

Exactly.

So if you like sports or movies, try the Hub Grill and Bar and our two key.

It's located on 50th Street just off Ray road, and average meal is 32 bucks.

And they do take reservations.

They also have three other locations in the Valley.

Our last restaurant is Petrus, his choice as a firefighter.

He knows good food since he has to cook for his coworkers and we know he can take the heat, so it makes sense that his favorite spot is a family run join that boasts new Mexican flavors.

This is original blue Adobe grill.

This.

The original Blue Adobe Grill i a New Mexico style restaurant.

That means that we use pecan wood in our grill, and we cook with hatch green chilies and use a lot of chipotle.

There's something for everyone here.

If you want your traditional tacos and enchiladas, you can have that.

If you're looking for a steak or a delicious pasta dish, even pizza, you know you can come here and everybody at the table can get what they want.

If someone has never had a Mexican cuisine before, I would recommend they try the carnitas vada, and you can have that on a plate with rice, beans, and a flour tortilla, or as your meat choice in those stacked enchiladas.

Kani out of order is pork simmered and a real thick red chili sauce called an adobo sauce.

A little bit spicy, very tender, full of flavor.

Our popula drinks are a killer margarita, which is our house margarita on the rocks with salt.

We also have an amazing frozen margarita that I recommend trying.

And you're going to have it in strawberry or mango flavored.

The atmosphere of Blue Derby is warm and inviting with eclectic decorations.

I think that everybod will feel very comfortable here.

The owner of the restaurant is Vicky and she is, wonderful to work for and work with.

I've worked at Blue Adobe since 2006, and I've stayed because Vicky has cultivated a culture of care here.

We all care for one another.

We care for our guests, our guests care for us.

And, it's a very unique place.

It's a wonderful place to be.

Our regulars are very important to us.

They have been coming here for years and years.

They're the reason that we're wildly successful, because they keep coming back and they keep bringing other people.

So they are very important to us.

We want our guests to be full and happy when they leave, and we want to hear them say that they're going to tell their friends and bring somebody else here.

So, Petrus, you've been going to this place since you were a kid.

Tell me, tell me about how it is now, how it is now.

So it still feels the same.

It still feels just as inviting.

When I was a kid, you know, when we first went there there was a big storm outside.

I was terrified.

The staff there saw I was scared.

I'm like, hey, don't worry.

Nothing can get in here.

It's made of brick.

And ever since then, I just fell in love with the place.

And they made a firefighter out of you.

And they did that day.

Exactly.

Cool So what's your go to food there?

So I absolutely love the steak and portabella.

So, you have your to your tenderloin.

I always get that rare.

And then it comes with a portabella enchilada that has a almos like a hollandaise sauce on it.

It is absolutely fantastic.

I am having that next time.

That is awesome.

That's great interpretation of steak and mushrooms, sauce hollandaise, enchilada.

I can do it.

It's fantastic.

What else?

So, I love getting that.

And then for an appetizer I absolutely love their calamari.

Now I love fried calamari, but this place uses, calamari steak that's seared.

So it's very big, but it is.

It is absolutely fantastic.

And it's really spicy.

Yeah, that's a great interpretation of it.

Now, did your fiancé get to eat at all on this particular visit?

She did okay.

Yeah.

She, so she ended up gettin an appetizer of the lobster dip, which has, you know, rea lobster and cheese and chilies.

And it comes with, lik a thicker style tortilla chip.

I think it's the actual tortill that they end up frying there.

So it's a lot thicker and crunchier.

Yvonne, what did you have there?

Well, I can understand how you liked it as a little ki because the setting is so neat.

They had like these partitions and these half booths.

So you feel like you're in your own little fort.

So I can see where that was really fun.

As a little kid, I had, well, one thing that I really, really liked is they had, margaritas and pint glasses.

And when you ordered it with salt, they didn't give you a straw because you want to have the salt.

So that was really part of the deal.

Yeah.

We had, a friend in my we had the whac-a-mole.

It was a little bland.

We were hoping that it would be a little more spicy and stuff but there's there's smoky salsa kind of overtook that.

It was really great in the the chips are warm.

So that was really you could spot that smoky sauce I know the minute you open the door.

Yeah.

It's like my kind of perfume.

Yeah.

Like I'm like, oh, I'm happy right now.

Yeah.

It was good.

And, I did have something vegan.

I had the, Enchanted Garde enchiladas without the cheese, and it was just delicious.

They didn't overcook the vegetables.

They were actually, I had to use a knife and fork to kind of cut the vegetables because they were still so crisp and flavorful.

Yeah it was really, really delicious.

So, Cynthia, what did you have?

The shredded beef chimichanga.

It was huge.

And it had, inside, of course, the shredded beef.

And it had some type of red sauce and cheese, and it was delicious.

It was.

It was plentiful.

Did you take the rest home?

No, I ate the whole thing.

Right, I was hungry.

I'm so proud of you.

That saved my stomach for for that event, you know, and then the, I have to really, expand upon the the, chips and the salsa.

That smoky, salsa was delicious.

Was out of this world.

My mouth watering, right?

Yeah.

Everybody, I have dreams about this.

You have dreams about it?

You.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it's smoky salsa.

Come on.

And then for dessert, I had, my fiance and I shared a cookie again with, ice cream on top.

It was very good.

And I had strawberry margarita.

Good.

So this time I do have alcohol.

There you go.

How about the atmosphere?

It was very good.

I like the decor.

I like the tile on the walls and the.

The lamps.

They, reminded me of Mediterranea or Middle Eastern type of lamps.

There were all different sizes.

And then the partitions, they were nice.

You felt like you were making your own private spot.

It was really, really nice and comfortable.

They loved it.

They had chalkboards with like bright colors, you know just the specials of the week.

And that it was really cheery.

Yeah.

And actually, my, my friend that was with me, she had dessert, she had their special pumpkin creme brulée and she was amazed it came out in a Super Bowl.

So the entire huge cover was like this caramelization where that's usually what you want.

You don't want, just like the little ramekin, you want the caramelization.

So she was really excited about that.

Did you have any desser or do you like a dessert there?

Oh, creme brulee.

Always.

The same thin like I've, I had a big divide.

And then again with my Opa.

That was his favorite.

I have to go for that.

Another tribute.

Another tribute.

And it's big there.

It's a big like she said, it is such a big surprise.

Oh it's amazing.

Yeah, well, Petrus is your place.

What's your pro tip?

I would say that if you get anything that has a chili sauce on it, get it crisp.

This style, which is a mixture of red and green okay.

It is very New Mexican, very New Mexico.

It's either my favorite way to go for, anything with the sauce on it.

What's your pro tip?

I would say, bring a friend, especially if you want a designated driver.

You know, because the margaritas were very, very good, and the food is just.

Why not go back?

You know, it was just delicious.

The atmosphere.

It feels like you're at your boil as hell.

Yeah.

You know, with just the way everything is decorated.

Yeah.

So, I say go and keep going.

Well, the food was really good.

Thanks.

Very good.

Yvonne, what's your pro tip?

I think the pro tip would be that anybody can go there.

I mean, when we were sitting, we were watching.

Look like there was a group of hikers, and then there was a nice group of coworkers, and then there was kind of like a little meet up date thing going on.

So it seems like it's a spot for everybody.

If you want to tr the original blue Adobe Grill, it's in Mesa on Country Club, just south of Rio Salado Parkway, and average check is $15.

And they do take reservations.

I want to thank Cynthia, Yvonne and Petrus for joining me at the table.

And thank you for joining us on check, Please.

Arizona.

If you'd like to share your favorite restaurant, head to our website A-Z pbs.org/check please, and nominate your must eat out spot.

Who knows, you could be joining me at the table.

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Join u next time when three new guests make their recommendations right here on check please.

Arizona I'm chef Mark Tarbell.

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