Last week marked my first trip to Arizona in two years, since my last run through the Fall League, which also marks the longest I’d gone between visits to that state since my first trip there as an ESPN employee back in 2006. As such, I had some old favorites I had to visit – the Hillside Spot, Matt’s Big Breakfast, Crêpe Bar, Cartel Coffee (three times, including the airport location), Grimaldi’s (to taunt my daughter, who loves that place), and, for books, Changing Hands. That didn’t leave a ton of opportunity to try new places, but I did manage to work in four new spots.
Tacos Calafia has five locations in the Valley, two of which are close to ballparks – Peoria (on Thunderbird, one long block south of the stadium) and, most importantly, Surprise, a relative wasteland when it comes to non-chain food, with only Saigon Kitchen to really speak for the area. Tacos Calafia offers a very short menu of “Tijuana-style” tacos, with four or five meats, a small salsa bar, and a few other dishes like quesadillas, nachos, and vampiros that are based around the same meats. I tried the al pastor (pork) and pollo (chicken), and would agree with the assessment of my friend Bill Mitchell, who recommended the place, that the meats are plus, and the reason to go there. The toppings are nothing special – I’m really not into guacamole that is blended until completely smooth, but that’s personal preference – so you’ve got to go for the meats. Three tacos will run you $9-10, and I didn’t need anything more than that.
Speaking of Peoria, which isn’t all that much better for non-chain food than Surprise, on a whim I decided to see if there was a good Thai place nearby. Sala Thai had unusually positive reviews and comments online, and I think they’re well justified (based on one meal of one dish, so SSS applies). Pad see ew is my go-to dish at new Thai places because it’s usually not too sweet, like pad Thai can be, and there’s plenty of variety around the dish so a restaurant can make it their own, so to speak. Sala Thai’s was damn good, savory and barely sweet, with a lot of broccoli and some caramelization on the noodles themselves, which reminded me of the wok hei you get at Chinese restaurants. I actually wasn’t that hungry for this meal, but ate because I knew waiting till after the game was a bad idea, and yet I devoured this.
Over in downtown Mesa, Que Chevere is a food truck gone brick-and-mortar, serving Venezuelan staples – empanadas, arepas, cachapas, and more. Mindful of my inability to eat anything in the car without making a mess, I chose the empanadas con pollo, and my god am I glad I did. I love just about all empanadas; it’s a giant dumpling that’s baked or fried, so what’s not to love? Que Chevere’s empanada dough differs from those I’ve had before. It must have had cornmeal in it, because it tasted like a hush puppy (a fried ball of cornmeal-based dough) with shredded chicken in it. The chicken itself was a little dry, since it’s white meat, but the cilantro-lime dipping sauce took care of that (and I didn’t drip any on my shirt).
I went to Pa’ La’s original location maybe two years ago to try their vaunted grain bowls, a type of dish I don’t generally enjoy, and was kind of blown away by it. Claudio Urciuoli has now expanded to a new, larger location, helmed by one of his protégés, on Washington Street in downtown Phoenix. The new spot has a more complete menu that is mostly centered around small plates, heavy on the fish. The plates are small, but the seafood is superb, with incredibly delicate yellowtail in the special crudo dish I tried. A local review had raved about the shrimp, but I found them underseasoned and kind of tasteless, although they were certainly of high quality. The pickled white anchovies (boquerones) were briny, oily, garlicky, and bright, although they needed bread, not the fennel crackers that came with them and proved unable to soak up any of the deliciousness left on the plate. For dessert, I went with the frozen chocolate mousse with miso bananas, which hit the palate like ice cream with an umami boost from the miso. Their menu changes constantly, and I’d like to see what it looks like on another day – or to go with a crowd so I could try more things. But what they really need is more bread, as that’s Urciuoli’s specialty, and it was mostly absent from the menu.