Pedro's

 You know a restaurant is amazing when other people are afraid to talk about it because it will make it  harder for them to get a table on Friday nights.  Well the secret is out now!  We found an excellent Mexican restaurant called "Pedro's" near 51st Avenue and Glendale.  This unassuming little hole in the wall left us with a big impression of what great Mexican food should be.  We arrived at 6pm without a reservation and there was already 10 people on the waiting list ahead of us.  It seemed that the more we waited the longer the list grew.  But after 20 minutes we were finally seated. 
One of the great things about Pedro's is yes, they do serve Coke.  As we munched on the endless basket of fresh chips and salsa, we browsed the menu.  We quickly ordered some appetizers while we made up our minds about the menu.  Our first choice was the "Miniature appetizer plate".  It included three tostados, three mini tacos, and three mini burritos with a bowl of refried beans, a dollop of guacamole and a dollop of sour cream on the side.  Since there were three of us for dinner tonight, this was perfect.  Our second appetizer was the beef taquitos  topped with guac, sour cream, tomatoes and cheese while laying on a bed of lettuce.
Our special guest was Lorie, who passed the secret of Pedro's on to a blabbermouth like me.  She gave us great ideas on what to order.  She went with the combination dinner of green chili beef burro and a taco served enchilada style.  These aren't your small frozen grocery store burritos.  This is a massive amount of meat snuggled into a fresh flour tortilla.  I was able to sneak a bite of the burrito but the taco must have been just as good because Lorie didn't offer up a sample of it.  All the combination meals also come with a healthy serving of rice and refried beans.

After Lorie told us that the "Sweet Corn Tamales" was a favorite of hers, Patti found them in a combination plate.  She ordered a combination of two tamales, a sweet corn tamale of course and a red meat tamale. When the tamales arrived at the tables, she was quite surprised on how large they were.  Possibly ordering just a single tamale would have been sufficient but most likely wouldn't have left any for taking home.  The red meat tamale was filled with shredded beef and a spicy kick that complemented its counterpart of the sweet corn tamale.  The sweet corn tamale was another melt in your mouth experience.  The sweet corn was so creamy that you felt it could easily be on the dessert menu.
At Pedro's I had an opportunity to try Fry Bread.  This was a deep fried flaky bread topped with green chili sauce, beef, beans, lettuce, tomato and a mexican blend of cheese.    A lot of entrees come with side dishes to fill up the plate.  But this behemoth of a Fry Bread took up the whole plate.  I took one bite and I couldn't stop going for more and more and more.  Even Patti wasn't satisfied with just one taste, she had to take a second bite.  I got half-way through my plate before I realized I was too full and needed a "to-go" box.
So now that the secret is out, I advise you to come to Pedro's early because it will fill up quickly.  But if you do have to wait it is well worth it.  And for those of you who have not tried the "sweet corn tamales" you should try it now!

Thanksgiving Special

 Thanksgiving is that time of year when friends and family gather together to share a meal and remember all the things for which we are thankful.  This year I was grateful for the time to spend with my mom and dad in Las Vegas.  On Thursday we shared an incredibly delicious meal with my parents as well as my sister Maggie's family.  Thanksgiving, however, is not a "Fun Frank Friday".  With my stomach stretched out with an overabundance of turkey, I was ready to venture off to a new restaurant.  But this time, I knew the owner personally.

Dai Nguyen is the owner of Hue Thai's, Mr. Sandwich, and Anime Ramen restaurants in Las Vegas.  After escaping Vietnam to the Philippines by boat, he was sent to the United States and joined our family as a minor refugee foster child with his brother, Dat.  A few years ago, Dai had the opportunity to purchase his first restaurant and jumped in without knowing anything about the business.  Even though he may have run into a few bumps along the road, he was able to open up two more restaurants.

 Catering to a variety of diners is the key to success.  Having many options on a menu opens up the chance for everyone to find something they will really enjoy.  Even my dad who is on an extreme, no-sodium, diet was able to order an amazingly delicious spring roll.  My mom who can't have any sugar found a tasty meal of pork, egg rice dish.  So despite these dietary concerns, this restaurant was easily able to accommodate them.

Maggie, Robert and I all decided to go with Pho.  Mine was a combo beef noodle soup which included beef ball, tripe, steak, brisket, tendon, flank, plate and lao veggies.  Like most Pho, it is a light beef broth, but what makes this exceptional is the hint of nutmeg I tasted in the the broth.  This is one dish that will fill you up so come hungry and don't be afraid to add the fresh mint leaves.  It gives it a little extra zip along with the green chilis.


Patti went with Dai's suggestion of one of the restaurant's favorite meals, the combination flower roll.  The menu doesn't describe everything that was included so we enjoyed guessing what each flavorful bite was.  Dai did clue us in on some of the ingredients such as the green beans inside the bread rolls, the powdered crushed shrimp in the rice noodle rolls.  But we also guessed the pork sausage in some of the rice noodles, the deep fried shrimp with shredded yams, and the very yummy white pork on top of the bean sprouts.  She was not surprised that this would definitely be a favorite meal for those who come to dine here.

 Most of the time, I think of rice as a side dish, more like a meal filler rather than the meal itself.  My nephew, Will, proved me wrong when he ordered the fried rice.  His dish included shrimp, pork, peas, carrots, green beans, and egg just to name a few.  This is not any ordinary side dish.  By the looks of it, the plate of rice was the size of his head.

The other must try at this restaurant is the Bubble drinks.  These are fruit smoothies with pea size "boba's".  For those who have not tried a "boba", it is a large tapioca pearl.  It is not only very delicious but it is also fun to eat/drink.

There are so many restaurants in the Asian District of Las Vegas that it would be difficult to choose just one.  There are options of Korean BBQ, Thai food, Chinese food, Japanese food and many other Asian cuisines.  In fact there are so many choices that sometimes you need a gimmick to catch people's attention and make you stand out from the rest.  Dai's other restaurant called Anime Ramen has such a gimmick.  This is a Japanese style restaurant with an Anime theme.  The place was decorated with Anime posters and on the big screen tv's they played  Anime cartoons and even the waitresses were dressed as Anime characters.
Right off the bat at a Japanese restaurant, I must try the sushi option.  The Anime presentation of the sushi rivaled the atmosphere for fun!  My first choice was the Anime Lasagna.  Which was actually one of my favorites here.  I was impressed that they wrote "Anime" in eel sauce but dotted the "I" with wasabi.  Another artistic mood in keeping with the Anime theme was the "Hello Kitty" roll.  This is as fun to look at as it was to eat.
I was even impressed that the typical dragon roll had evidence that the chef had taken extra care to make sure it looked like a dragon.

Robert and my sister Maggie are not big seafood eaters so they went with the trademark meal here which of course was ramen.  These are served in very large bowls, filled to the brim with a light beef broth and plenty of noodles.  When ordering, my Mom was concerned that she would be left with too much broth so she asked the waitress about the portions.  The server immediately replied that there were plenty of noodles but that she would be happy to bring her more if she needed throughout the meal.  As it turned out, Mom did not need any more noodles as the broth and noodles were well balanced.
One of the dangerous pitfalls of bringing children to Anime Ramen is that they tend to get too engrossed in the cartoons playing and forget to interact with others at the table.  James was a perfect example of this and Uncle Frank couldn't get his attention to find out how his food was.   James and Will both ordered the teriyaki chicken and seemed to enjoy it.


Patti started off with the seaweed salad followed by the Tuna Poke Salad, which was cleverly animated in the menu with a bubble caption stating "Let's all do the Hokey Pokey".  She shared the seaweed salad with all who were willing to try it and found many who were surprised at how incredibly tasty this appetizer is.

A perfect way to end a delicious meal is the fried banana.  This tasty treat is a deep fried, rolled in coconut banana served with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce and topped with a cherry.

So when you are out eating with family it is always an adventure; especially if a family member owns restaurants.  There are many many MANY choices of places to eat in Las Vegas.  Sometimes it is best to get off the Strip and try one of Dai's restaurants.  Because if you haven't tried "Hue Thai" then try it now!

The Grove Cafe

With only six "Fun Frank Fridays" left, I've tried to  adhere to a few simple rules.  Rule number one is to never wear the same shirt twice, rule number two is that the restaurant must serve the food to me rather than standing at a take out counter or buffet, and rule number three is that we do it for a Friday night dinner.  This is a prime example of how I am always breaking the rules.  I get tired of trying to find places that are not crowded or has the cookie cutter type breakfast food.  I finally found a place that feels secluded yet cozy with an option of indoor or patio seating.  The Grove Cafe is located on 27th Avenue just north of Baseline at a place called "Venue at the Grove".  They are only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to noon.  At the time we arrived, Patti was too chilled in her light jacket to sit outside, so we choose indoor seating.  We were seated at one of the many open tables and Patti remarked how impressive it was that if four people sat at this one table she would not feel one bit crowded.
To warm us up on this brisk fall morning, we both opted for hot chocolate.  I was happy to sip on my hot chocolate that didn't actually burn my tongue when it came to the table.  Many of the places I have been to, the hot chocolate is either too cold or boiling, it is nice to find someone who gets it right.

I was looking for a meal that was going to fill me up for the day, so I ordered "The Phoenix".  This consisted of pork chili verde, roasted peppers, salsa verde and queso fresco topped with salsa mexicana and cilantro.  In plain English this means an egg omelette filled with shredded pork then topped with salsa and fresh cheese.  Served on the side was the Grove potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.  I really enjoyed that they did not skimp on any ingredients.  Every bite had a large amount of shredded pork.  The toppings gave just the right amount of tang to where no other flavoring needed to be added to the eggs. 

This also goes for the potatoes as I tend to put extra salt and pepper on my hashbrowns but there was no need for these served here.  The buttermilk biscuit was freshly made and served with a sweet butter topping that is to die for!  Don't let the name "The Phoenix" fool you.  This was not a hot and spicy meal, in fact it was quite mild but if you are looking for more kick there is tabasco provided at the table.  A nice sweet touch touch to finish off  your meal is the garnish of a fresh strawberry.`

Patti was enticed by the specials board outside the door and ordered the Pancake of the Day, which on this day was Banana served with peanut butter sauce.  If she hadn't ordered it, I most certainly was planning to.  This meal comes with three large buttermilk pancakes with fresh bananas cooked in the batter then topped with fresh sliced bananas and peanut butter.  They serve it with maple syrup on the side but she found it unnecessary as the pancakes were moist enough from the bananas inside.  One of the nice touches I enjoyed from one of the few bites she would allow me to have, was the hint of cinnamon in the batter.  It was not too overwhelming to make her give up more bites but rather gave a nice balance to the peanut butter/banana blend.  Although she took half of it home, she still wouldn't let me have any left-overs.

The Grove is not an overpriced restaurant.  We enjoyed a fabulous meal and paid similar to what we would have spent in a chain like IHOP.

So when you on my side of town, this is a great place to have breakfast.  Because if you haven't had peanut butter/banana pancakes, you should try it now!

Richardson's

There are many different types of cuisine throughout the United States.  From Southern comfort food to Alaskan Moose steaks.  I've heard of Texas BBQ and Philly cheesesteak but I haven't had a chance to eat New Mexican cuisine.  So I made my way to Central Phoenix, on 16th Street north of Bethany Home to a restaurant called Richardson's.  Richardson's is one of three options in this family of restaurants.  We arrived shortly after they opened for dinner and we asked for a table.  The hostess told us that because we didn't have a reservation they would be able to seat us but we would have to be clear of the table for someone who had a 6:30 reservation.

They did have multiple choices for appetizers but we went for a special on their chalkboard, the appetizer combo.  This consists of two bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cheese, two small crab tostados, and two crab.  Each of them had increasing degrees of spicy heat.  Starting with the crab cakes which are served atop a bed of rice and tortilla, and topped with a spicy mayo sauce.  Next in line for spice were the crab tostados.  These were served with fresh beans and great southwestern flavor.  And the most spice, five alarm fire spice, were the jalapenos.  Have your Coca-Cola ready to drink before you bite into these.

After eating the jalapeno Patti decided she needed to play it safe from the spicy food.  How can you go wrong with a traditional surf and turf?  Well you could get heartburn if it is a New Mexican surf and turf.  The entree consisted of beef tenderloin, two jumbo shrimp, and three flat enchiladas with red and green sauce.  It is served with Richardson's famous green chili potato and beans.  The steak and the shrimp were grilled over pecan wood which gave it a rich smoky flavor.  The innovative side dish of the green chili potato was an amazing combination of taste and texture.  They fill a green chili with mashed potatoes and roast it.  I was expecting it to burn my mouth but the chili was mild and the potato helped soothe the heat.  The one item that you need to be careful of was the flat enchiladas.  This will set your mouth a blaze with no relief in sight.  There is a warning on the menu that states their chili policy is "you order it, you own it".  I wouldn't try and send a dish back because it is too spicy.

A lot of food isn't what you expect it to be.  I was anticipating that my entree would be spicier than Patti's but in reality it was more mild than hers.  I ordered the Chimayo Chicken.  This comes with the green chili potato and mixed vegetables including carrots, broccoli and asparagus on the side.  The chicken was a breast stuffed with spinach, sun dried tomatoes, poblano chilis and asiago cheese.  This dish is definitely for the cheese lover.  I was delighted with the tons of asiago cheese that filled the chicken.  I was actually pleased with the carrots.  Most experiences I have had are either over or under cooked and although I am not a fan these were perfect in that that they were soft with a slight firmness in the center.

This New Mexican cuisine definitely has a large degree of spice in their meals.  They have taken what seems to be a fusion of the surrounding states to make their own unique flavor.  So if you haven't been to New Mexico and you have a hankering to put a few blisters on your tongue, head up to Richardson's and try it now.

Cafe Lalibela

 There are many types of ethnic food that has crossed my palate.  One that I haven't tried was Ethiopian.  So we ventured off to Cafe Lalibela in Tempe at University and Hardy.  The first thing that came to mind was my own prejudice from the 1980's and the starving Ethiopian children.  So I thought, "If I eat Ethiopian food, I will come away hungry".  This was far from the truth.  They gave me so much food that I had left-overs for days.  Trying to choose one item would be very difficult, so I opted for the Lalibela combo platter.  It is recommended for three or more people, but my eyes are bigger than my stomach.  One of the things that is relly fun is that all the entrees are served with the injera bread.  Injera bread  a a crepe like sourdough bread made from a mixture of teff and wheat flour.   Unique in itself but the closest description we could come up with was a spongy pancake like bread.  The idea is to use a piece of the injera bread to scoop up or grab a bit of the desired food and pop it in your mouth.  I do recommend that you wash your hands before eating!  Our plate was first layered with a several large injera and then topped with scoops of these items:  doro wat, kye sega wat, alicha sega wat, misir wat, gomen, yebere sega tibs, fosolia, yebeg alicha sega wat, tikil gomen and yekik alicha served with ayeb and selata. 
So for those of you who can't pronounce it, don't feel alone, neither can we.  And for those of you not fluent in the language of Ethiopia this is what we figured out from the menu descriptions for each item. 
Doro wat = chicken simmered in kibae, berbere, onion and a tasty combination of seasoning. 
Kye sega wat = tender beef cubes simmered in berbere and flavored with various spices.
Alicha sega wat =  tender beef cubes simmered in kibae, onion, turmeric and various spices.
Misir wat = red split lentils cooked with onion, berbere and herbs
Gomen =  chopped collard greens cooked with garlic and onion
Yebere sega tibs = lean beef cubes pan fried with jalapeno, onion and rosemary
Fosolia =  lightly spiced string beans cooked with carrots and onion
Yebeg alicha sega wat =  lamb cubes simmered in kibae, onion, turmeric and herbs
Tikil gomen =  lightly spiced cabbage, carrots and potatoes
Yekik alica =  yellow split peas cooked with onion, turmeric and herbs
Ayeb =  homemade mild, crumbly cheese
Selata =  fresh romain lettuce, tomatoes, shreded red cabbage, and homemade dressing

These dishes are designed for family style sharing, so we found a family close by to share.  Kirk is not a novice to African food, but this would be a first for his wife Susette and daughter Kylie.  The waitress was extremely helpful and patient as we tried to understand the food set before us.

The Tenney family decided to order a smaller combo in addition to one of the meat entree choices.  The combo they chose included  a combination of doro wat, kye sega wat and alicha sega wat served with selata.  And in the middle was the yebeg alicha sega wat entree.  As noted above the yebeg consists of lamb cubes simmered in kibae, onion, turmeric and herbs.

Kirk was going on about how wonderful the lamb was.  He described how it was tender and creamy with a slight tang.  It sounded so good that I had to just reach over and take a bite.  Often when you do this to other people's meals, the expression on their face is priceless.

 

Kylie was really enjoying her meal and thought it was a neat experience in trying out different types of food.  I was extremely impressed with Susette that she actually agreed to and tried something other than chicken fingers.  It may not have been her favorite but I give her an A for effort!

Each one that I tried was extremely delicious.  But buyer beware, when they say "spicy" they do mean spicy.  So don't be caught without a large drink and some injera to help calm the spice.  This is  definitely a fun eating adventure.  So if you haven't tried Ethiopian food, try it now!