Liberty’s Biscuits Food Truck
Liberty’s Biscuits food truck centers around, you guessed it, the biscuit. But these aren't your grandma’s biscuits – owner Rachel Millard uses her biscuits as vessels for delicious fillings such as fried chicken, sausage gravy, eggs, bacon and even Nutella.
When it comes to comfort food my philosophy is to go big, or go home, so I tried The Liberty which comes with fried chicken, bacon, egg, cheese and gravy.
The Liberty
My fellow dining companions went a little less gluttonous with their orders trying the Porky and the Hey Jack.
Porky
Hey Jack
If you’re a biscuit purist you can always just order a biscuit with butter with your choice of butter or jam.
You can indulge in Liberty’s Biscuits weekly at the Gilbert Farmers Market on Saturdays as well as the Gilbert Food Truck Court on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. For additional locations follow Liberty’s Biscuits on Twitter and Facebook.
Menu
The food truck craze has exploded in Phoenix with many opportunities to eat from these rolling gourmet “restaurants." We’ve eaten from many of the food trucks throughout Phoenix and wanted to highlight them individually for you. You can find the food trucks on a regular basis at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market on Wednesday evenings from 5-8 p.m, Fridays from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. At the North Central Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., and the Third Thursday of the Month at the Whole Foods Raintree location from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. There are always many more opportunities that you can find by following your favorite truck individually or by following the Phoenix Street Coalition. Bon Appétit!
Spring Arizona Restaurant Week – May 18 – 27
The most edible week in Arizona is almost here. Explore Arizona’s best restaurants at amazing prices May 18 - 27 during Spring Arizona Restaurant Week. The Greater Phoenix area is fast becoming a foodie destination, so this is a great opportunity to see what the buzz is all about at an affordable price. Reservations will fill up fast for the most popular restaurants so make your reservations today!
Which restaurants are you most excited to try during Arizona Restaurant Week?
Date Night at Trattoria del Piero
The patio at Trattoria del Piero at UNION.
After a long week my husband and I decided that we needed a date night. We headed over to Trattoria del Piero at the Biltmore Fashion Park to enjoy some refreshing drinks and appetizers on the patio. Later that evening on the main lawn of the Biltmore Fashion Park one of my husband’s favorite movies, Caddyshack, was being shown as part of the Movies in the Park series. A perfect date night.
Trattoria del Piero is the second location of the Queen Creek Olive Mill’s Tuscan themed restaurants and is a part of the new UNION shops at the Biltmore Fashion Park. The menu consists of appetizers, bruschetta, soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts made from local and organic ingredients. You can sit inside or outside on the patio. Or, if you prefer, you can belly up to the bar. Since it was such a lovely spring evening, my husband and I opted to sit on the patio. (Tip: If you want to sit on the patio to eat, let someone inside know first so they’ll come out to take your order. The patio is shared with other businesses in UNION so they may not know you are waiting for service.)
You can find Lisa G.'s famous meatballs at Trattoria del Piero
A little known fact is that Trattoria del Piero serves the famous meatballs made by Lisa G. All of those that mourned Lisa G.’s closing can now enjoy her famous meatballs anytime at Trattoria del Piero. Upon the confirmation of this rumor, my husband promptly ordered a bowl. I decided on the bruschetta board and a hot pink Prickly Pear lemonade.
Prickly Pear lemonade
Now, I’m going to be honest with you, while perusing the menu I noticed the cupcake sampler right away. I wanted to order it as an appetizer but held off until the end of our meal. The wait was well worth it. The cupcakes are made with olive oil from the Queen Creek Olive Mill and are delicious. My personal favorite was the Mexican chocolate cupcake. I had to stop myself from going inside and buying a full sized Mexican chocolate cupcake to go.
The cupcake sampler
Trattoria del Piero is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (I’m ready to go back soon for their famous Vanilla Bean Olive Oil waffles). Take note that the dinner portions are more like appetizer portions. Trattoria del Piero also serves wine and beer.
If you want to make a date night out of it like my husband and I did, check out the Movies in the Park spring schedule.
Trattoria del Piero is located at the Biltmore Fashion Park at 2502 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix.
Bonjour Vietnam
A co-worker and I have a thing for Pho. It’s our comfort food, so we were pretty bummed when Viet Kitchen closed it’s downtown location. Recently, a new place to get our Pho fix opened just down the street from our offices, so we decided to give it a try.
Bonjour Vietnam is from the team that runs Rice Paper in Central Phoenix. The Bonjour Vietnam menu consists of Vietnamese favorites; spring rolls, Pho, Bun, Bahn Mi and a few dish variations to cater to the downtown lunch crowd.
Cool ceiling decor at Bonjour Vietnam
The day we went my co-worker ordered the Pho Tai and a Vietnamese coffee.
I went with one of their lunch specials, the vegetable bento box that came with crispy spring rolls, stir-fried vegetables, rice and a salad.
Vegetarian Bento Box
My co-worker enjoyed the Pho and especially enjoyed her coffee. My bento box was the perfect size for lunch and didn’t leave me in a food coma upon returning to my desk.
I’ll be back for my bowl of Pho soon.
Bonjour Vietnam is located inside the Hotel San Carlos at 202 N. Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix.
Otro Café
From the folks behind Gallo Blanco comes Otro Café, which recently opened in my ‘hood so I had to check it out. The menu at Otro Café is not the same as Gallo Blanco, but carries the same theme - Mexico City style cuisine made from fresh, local Arizona ingredients.
The space at Otro Café is very open with lots of natural light, and on the day I visited fresh air flowed through the restaurant through the patio doors. We started with the chips and salsa. The green tomatillo lime salsa was quickly the table favorite.
El Español
We ordered two appetizers; the El Español and the Coctel de Camaron. The El Espanol comes with Serrano ham, avocado, Cerignola olives, shaved chives, savory citrus dressing served with sliced crusty beer Bolillo bread. The Coctel de Camaron is a fresh and spicy dish made with poached shrimp, cilantro, Serrano pepper, lime juice, ketchup, diced tomato, kosher salt, white onions and tortilla chips. I did not try the El Español due to a food allergy, but my mother said she really enjoyed it. I personally could not get enough of the Coctel de Camaron. Yum!
Coctel de Camaron
The idea at Otro Café is to share and share we did. For dinner we ordered the Asado Chicken Salad, Paella de Campo, El Pollo Asado and three sides of local vegetables.
Local vegetable sides
We all agreed that each dish was delicious. I especially enjoyed the touch of mint in the Asado Chicken Salad, and the spicy aji aioli and housemade tortillas that were served with the El Pollo Asado. As a veggie fan, I also loved the fresh local vegetables that we ordered on the side.
El Pollo Asado
Otro Café is located at 6035 N. 7th Street in Phoenix
A Day At The Desert Botanical Garden
Our media relations intern Andrea recently visited the Desert Botanical Garden and it's new restaurant Gertrude's . She offered to provide her insider’s perspective of this popular attraction. Enjoy!
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Desert Botanical Garden, a popular attraction to both locals and visitors. It’s considered a “Phoenix Point of Pride,” and has over 50,000 desert plants to see and learn about.
The Desert Botanical Garden first opened in 1939 after a group of Phoenix locals saw the need to conserve the desert environment. Today, the Garden continues to grow and currently has 145 acres of desert plants not just found in the Sonoran Desert, but from other deserts around the world.
There are five thematic trails at the Garden that you can go on. My personal favorite is the Plants and People of the of the Sonoran Desert Trail which shows visitors the relationships between people and plants in our region and how the plants are useful when it comes to needing food, medicine and fiber. As you walk through this trail, you get an understanding of how past Indians used the desert to their advantage.
Walking along the other beautiful trails, you’ll find the scenic views are incredible. There are many hills surrounding the whole area that covered with hundreds of different types of cacti, as well as Papago Park in the distance. And, if you’re lucky, a roadrunner or quail might cross your path.
Earlier this year, the Garden opened a new restaurant called Gertrude’s, which was named after Gertrude Webster who founded the Desert Botanical Garden. The restaurant focuses on utilizing fresh ingredients from farmers and artisan food producers from around the state of Arizona and the Southwest. They kitchen even uses some of the fresh herbs and vegetables from their own garden located on the property.
Since the restaurant just opened at the end of January, I was very excited to go. Our group was seated outside on the patio, which was gorgeous. There were beautiful desert plants surrounding it and thankfully, a lot of shade to keep the Arizona sun at bay.
Everyone at my table ordered from the lunch menu and everyone seemed to be happy with their choices. Some unique items included:
- Chicken Sandwich (Achiote + Citrus Marinated Chicken Breast, Apple Wood Bacon, Avocado, Arizona Cheese Co. Pepper Jack, Jicama, Napa Cabbage, Brioche Bun)
- Beets Salad (Garden Beets, Seasonal Lettuces, Crow’s Dairy Cherve, Maple-Sherry Vinaigrette, Hazelnuts)
- Sonoran Dog (Bacon Wrapped Shriener’s Beef Hot Dog, Avocado, Tepary Beans, Queso Fresco, Tomatillo Relish, Poppy Bun)
The food was absolutely delicious and the atmosphere is great. If you want to get away from the city and enjoy a few hours getting drinks and food, Gertrude’s would be a great place to go.
Overall, my experience to the Desert Botanical Garden and Gertrude’s was fantastic - I highly recommend going. And if you want to be surrounded by hundreds of butterflies, be sure to go between now and May 12 for the Spring Butterfly Exhibit.
