The Belly Spot: National Comfy Pants Day (and Week)

We're back from our Thanksgiving trip to Arizona. We had a great time, got to see some cool stuff and enjoyed some awesome food. The good eats extended well beyond Thursday and the excuses of how we're on vacation easily slipped in to allow all kinds of out of control behavior. But such is travel and we enjoyed every minute of it. Now home, it's back to the gym for me to battle the bulge before Christmas gets here. Here's a little culinary re-cap of the trip.

Thanksgiving Dinner:
My sister, Christine, did a great job with dinner. Along with the turkey, she made mashed potatoes, turnips, broccoli & cheese, and corn. (Did I mention it was just the three of us for dinner?) Here's a pic of the bird, himself. Not only did he complete a great dinner, but proved to be useful the rest of the week as Christine enjoyed "turkey sliders" on leftover dinner rolls each morning for breakfast.

And, of course, I promised a nice shot of the cheesecake. It was excellent-- just the right amount of Bailey's and Matt made sure that no chocolate chip was left behind.

The Blue Adobe Grill:
Friday Christine had to work so Matt and I were on our own for the day. We spent the morning on a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Scottsdale. Afterwards, we asked the tour guide about lunch in the area and he sent us to the The Blue Adobe Grill.

A great atmosphere that blended a open dining area with a relaxing bar, this southwestern grill had some unexpected twists to add to standard Mexican fare. I had one of their specials. A boneless chicken breast with an Amaretto mushroom cream sauce and a side of potatoes au gratin crusted with fontina cheese. The sauce was AMAZING!! I've never had anything like it. The flavor was really incredible. The Blue Adobe specializes in pecan grilling all their meats, a process I'd never heard of, but the combination of the nutty flavor in the chicken and caramel touch from the liquor was perfect. Matt had their mini chimi with a mushroom enchilada which was topped with the same Amaretto sauce.

Can you tell he didn't really like it?

Matt's Big Breakfast:
It's not just a great name! As avid fans of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (or the triple D) we wanted to go where Guy had been and made sure to grab a couple of restaurant ideas from the web before we headed out to AZ. One such place was Matt's Big Breakfast. When we saw this one on triple D, we knew we had to stop there the next time we were visiting Christine.

Anyone who knows me, knows that my patience is limited and as a rule I do not wait in line for a table at a restaurant. (Once, I was appalled to see people waiting in line for a table at The Outback Steakhouse on New Year's Eve. The minimum wait was 90 minutes for a table. If the food is that good, I should be able to make a reservation and show up when my table's available. But that's just me.) This was an exception to the rule. We had already seen the food on TV, the smell coming from the building was amazing and the people stacked 30 deep on the curb said it might be worthwhile. The place is tiny inside so seating is limited, but they do a pretty good job of getting people in and out. We waited over an hour and 15 minutes and it was totally worth it.

This is the special of the day that Matt had. Chipotle Chorizo scrambled inside eggs with onions and peppers. Everything is made fresh and to order with local grown ingredients. I can't say enough about the bread. Also from a local bakery, the thick sliced whole wheat toast was full of grains, for a great texture, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Christine had one of their signature dishes. The Chick and Chop is a pork chop seasoned with rosemary and herbs and served with your choice of eggs. This was definitely a two meal day as it counted as breakfast and lunch.

Chino Bandido:
Another stop on our triple D tour, we saved our appetites on Monday and hit this spot after spending the morning walking around the Desert Botanical Garden. Big meals can always be rationalized if there was some kind of exercise earlier in the day. (Sadly, walking the aisles at the grocery store, does not count as a sufficient workout.)

Now with two locations in Phoenix and Chandler, I highly reco a trip to Chino Bandido if you're in Arizona. If you like Mexican, Chinese and Jamaican flavors, you just can't go wrong with all the choices available to create the perfect combo. The service is excellent and as newbies we were treated to samples to help make our decision easier. Among these were emerald chicken, cuban black beans, and jerk chicken fried rice. So many unique flavors made for a great combination plate and it came with a yummy cinnamon cookie for dessert. So good and yet so far away from home. Such torture!

The Combo Plate: Cuban black beans, Glazed Pork, Jerk Chicken Fried Rice, and Jade Red Chciken in a Burrito. Jade Red Chicken is glazed and battered much like the General Tso's chicken that you would get in a local Chinese takeout. But did you ever wonder about General Tso's in a burrito? Yeah, it's that good. Really, really good.