I admit it- I am a food snob. When I cook, I like using fresh ingredients – and I prefer if I can find them from some place local. But on occasion I like it when someone else cooks – and part of the fun is finding restaurants that serve great food that is made fresh daily.
I am a fan of the television program by Gordon Ramsay called Kitchen Nightmares. In that show various restaurants contact him because their business is dying, and they need help. I noticed some similar themes in all of his shows:
(a) The kitchen has to be clean
(b) The food is fresh and made to order – not “frozen”
(c) The items on the menu are not many – but what is there is made so that the restaurant can easily make it fresh in the kitchen for the patron
We live in a time when few people cook – and while kitchen appliances are trending to look more like restaurant appliances, fewer and fewer people cook– as a result more are eating out. So, when eating out I have a few simple rules:
(a) No fast food – if you are served in a car window the food can’t be that good.
(b) No chain restaurants. I have yet to find a chain that goes out of its way to get fresh local ingredients and make them up quickly
(c) develop a sense of the food you like- and if you can- learn to cook it. If you just are not going to cook- then find a restaurant you can use as a standard and taste great food. Once you have the taste for great food- mediocre just won’t do
One of my favorite restaurants in Phoenix is Tarbell’s. Not only is the food fresh, but even the mozzarella is made daily. This is a good restaurant for standards in Phoenix.
My wife is in her final days of pregnancy, so she was in the mood for a good pasta. We have a few favorite places for that (in a very limited amount- pasta should never be a main course). We went to La Fontenella – which has been in Phoenix for over 20 years. It was a disappointment. The mozzarella was not fresh- it was probably purchased. The chicken was overcooked, the pasta was overdone. I almost wanted to give them Gordon Ramsay’s contact information. Still people ate there- and enjoyed it- but such places do not last long when they compete with great places close by.
Great food is simple: fresh, local ingredients, small portions. Find some great restaurants and enjoy eating out. But beware: a reputation of a restaurant does not make food great. Beware of chains and fast food places, the meal will never be as good, or as good for you, as the real thing.
