Khamis H.'s Profile

Cartel serves the best coffee in the valley. Period. Which makes it one of my two favorite coffee shops. Seriously, everything I have ever tried of theirs has been spot on perfection.

Specifically I obsess over their brewed coffee which is made by an advanced coffee brewer (Clover) with a roast that you pick to be brewed. Obviously this is the only method for producing a supremely great cup of coffee (ie: freshly ground beans [roasted recently on-site] placed immediately into an instant coffee maker that produces one cup at a time). I have never had coffee made for me in such a caring way anywhere else. Even in other (read: better) cities I have never visited a cafe that roasts, grinds and produces the coffee in front of me. It's top notch.

If you don't want a brewed coffee (you should try it, come on!) then there are some good alternatives. The Excelente Latte is a wonderfully ingenious creation that is expressively Phoenician (or I guess more appropriately Tempeian). It's more or less a latte with horchata added. Served only over ice, it's great in the summer time.

Their coffee beans are all organically grown, and I assume the owner must work very hard to source the beans personally because everyone that touches them is very knowledgeable about where they came from, when they were roasted etc. That alone is impressive.

Cartel as a cafe is fairly unique... Cartel's atmosphere is just okay.. I wouldn't want to spend more time here than I had to. I just can't spend that much time in a decaying strip mall which happens to be the hub of Tempe's hipster scene... it's not that I don't love hipsters, but hordes of them get old.. I tend to prefer a more diverse set of patrons.

The quality coffee that Cartel offers more than makes up for anything I could fault them for.

So, in summery, I recommend the brewed coffees. Once you've tried their brew then I suppose you could go for a different drink next time, which I promise will also be wonderful.

There are only two coffee shops in the valley that I love, and Fair Trade is one of them. I love FT if just for their great selection of snacks that make the perfect companion to a mug of coffee, latte or even iced tea.

They always have a few different roasts brewed and waiting for a mug to call home. I enjoy lighter roasts - sorry I don't enjoy burnty coffee. And FT is quick to meet my desires! Mmm the Peruvian roast, how I love thee. And yes, students get a 10% discount. Plus all the coffee is certified Fair Trade (some are organic). Woo! However, I wish that they would also use Fair Trade chocolate for their Mochas etc, and since they don't it makes me a little sad.

They have started to have more and more fresh vegan pastries from their kitchen. I heard they just got a vegan pastries cookbook so I can't wait to see what kind of other treats they will have for me in the future.

The atmosphere here is usually mellow enough for me to be productive.. and I have been happy to be able to take advantage of their wifi this week, since I recently moved and have been without internet for a week.

The cafe is right next to the light rail stop at Roosevelt & Central (Arts District) so check it out if you're a rail rider on a leisure trip (weekend riders I'm talking to you).

Oh and everyone who works at FT is wonderfully pleasant. These girls (and one guy) have won my heart, that's for sure... or maybe it was the coffee that did it...

You can find me here every Tuesday night. You see they have a daily rotating specials menu and it so happens to feature the best veggie burrito (this is saying a lot coming from me, since I am obsessed with burritos and have lived in Phoenix for most of my life) for a little over $5 on Tuesdays! It is so massive.. if you know the size of a Chipotle burrito, imagine that, but doubled! Seriously, it consists of two very large tortillas, which are needed to whole the damn monster of a burrito together. This happens to insure that the contents don't spill out of the tortilla! Genius. I am fairly sure this burrito weighs more than most new born babies.. yes, that's even considering how all the hormones people consume today are making babies larger each year - this burrito would still out weight them my friends!

Anyhow, the burrito is large enough to satisfy me for three complete meals. Awesome for $5. The guac that they make is top notch, and their rice is truly amazing. It all tastes very authentic, and I love that I can easily make it vegan since they don't add any secrets into their food. I just have to ask them to hold the cheese and sour cream, and they have never once slipped up on this! Which also keeps me coming back.

Oh, and the salsa bar is to die for! I am usually creeped out by salsa bars (think Baja Fresh - yuck) but they actually make some damn good salsas and usually have a bowl of chopped onions... I can never get enough. I think my personal favorite salsa is called something like Salsa Fresca - it's usually all the way to the right. Be sure to try it with your free chips.

On top of everything I love about this place is the fact that it is so close that I can walk there in a few minutes. Although I hate strip malls, I am glad that this little joint is downtown and not somewhere completely stupid.

Stop by and check it out when you want some affordable, authentic tasting AND high quality Mexican food.

Update: They have cut back their hours substantially. And this morning, I really needed to grab some breakfast, I went by thinking they had opened at their old time of 7, but it turns out they now open at 8am! What the heck kind of coffee shop opens that late? Well no big deal, right? I just killed about 40 minutes by writing an essay at ASU until it was like 810... I go by and still not open, two other people were waiting. So I finish my essay and go by (it's well after 830 by now) and still not open and one guy on a bike is still waiting too! Skrew it. This isn't the first time its happened.

Also, I have gotten some bad hummus here a few times. So I don't go so much anymore. Actually the only reason I do is because I personally have a problem with 3 roots and no one else has cheap hummus bagels consistently. That is the only reason. Plus I've felt that some workers, mainly this one guy, have given me a smug attitude. I don't need that thanks. But there are some pretty nice girls that are usually working, which make it almost EnJOY-able.

I love this place! They usually serve some sort of free bread and spread before your meal for free! Great thing for a small family place. :)

This restaurant is totally one of the most hidden treasures of Phoenix. I mean it's right next door to a Circle K! But the food is great, and they've created a very warm atmosphere inside.

I have tried a few of the house made pasta's, and while they're good I say go for the pizza. Their pizza has some of the freshest tomato sauce around, and the cheese is to die for. Actually that's all I need on a pizza, no more toppings please. I love the margarita pizza.

I came here for my birthday and got some free tiramisu, awesome!

Check it out if you love rustic pizza.

So I was out in Scottsdale early on a Thursday night.. where to go? Well we just wanted to be drinking, so I looked up dive bars on Yelp (this being Old Town Scottsdale I didn't expect anything wonderful). Well I was surprised when we ended up at DJ's.

The guy at the door was half way through Braveheart, so that should tell you pretty much all you need to know about the place. There were about 4 people in the whole bar, a sad little Marlboro dispenser with a tv screen that kept playing ads with cowboys on horses - hello how sad for someone that wants a cigg at the bar! It must be torture for some people.
 
They had a few HDTVs playing golf, so you could see each drop of sweat on Tiger Wood's face - literally you could! I don't really enjoy such things.

Well I ordered a Cran Vodka, and it was standard fair... you know with the cranberry juice, that is unnaturally red... like Hawaiian Punch brand red. Well it was decent, not too strong but not weak I suppose. Then after having been whining earlier about how I couldn't do shots, I did one of Absolute LA. I had wanted to try it since I love Acia. But I usually hate flavored vodka, even blueberry, so it could have been awful. But it wasn't, especially since the bartender shook it in ice before hand.

Overall, we got drunk and they didn't charge us an arm or a leg! A great save, thank you mobile Yelp.

Paul Barzda is the general manager (see: http://www.downtownpho...), so I'm betting that 5 star first review from Paul B. was written by the new management.

Anyhow, I went there for the first time today. I wasn't expecting anything like Willow House, but I was still hoping there would be something worth visiting once and a while taking up their old location. I didn't get that. Instead I got a coffee shop stocked full of pastries from Costco, many staff behind the coffee bar (all with name tag/plates), only disposable utensils and cups made of Styrofoam-type material.

I'm pretty disappointed with the latte I had. They were out of anything smaller than a 16oz cup to put it in, so it ended up being mostly soy foam. It also took a very long time to prepare for such a well (too many?) staffed bar.

I did enjoy the wood floor and the stained glass that was all over.

If you're looking for a quick blah coffee on the run or an over priced pastry or sandwich practically from Costco, than this place is a pretty good bet.

Otherwise I'd pass.

Little Las Vegas with all their cultural imitation crap, except without the fun.

The best sandwich I've ever had is hands down Chris Bianco's amazing housemade mozzarella, local tomato and basil sandwich. All his sandwiches are delivered on amazing pane (Italian bread) with ingredients of the highest quality - as at Pizzeria Bianco. If I stop by with less hunger I usually go for the house made focaccia, the pieces are large enough to practically be considered a slice of deep dish pizza. They're topped with a different combination daily and are heated in the wood fired oven before being wrapped up - it's amazing for half the price of the sandwich.

Be warned that seating is only outdoors, but the tables are covered by shade with water misters. So depending on the weather this usually isn't that big of a deal. And if you are really brave you may venture next door into Lux for a cool drink and an escape from the outdoor tables.

This is a wonderful spot for a casual lunch or for bringing people from out of town. The lines are not nearly as long as they are at Pizzeria Bianco.... yet.

This has to be one of the best coffee houses in Arizona. Whenever I visit Prescott I make it a point to start the trip off with a latte at Prescott Coffee Roasters. However, I find their hours a problem since they close around 2PM. Cuppers is open 7 days a week and it closes at 5PM on Sunday. Which gave me a reason to stop in. I was blown away by the Mexican mocha I ordered, I am sure their other drinks will impress. I now have a new place I have to stop at while in Prescott! Cuppers is next to the Rose Restaurant, so it's just down the street from downtown Prescott/courthouse.

If I hadn't had breakfast before stopping in for coffee, I would have loved to try one of their pastries which looked amazing.

Cuppers is seriously a top notch shop that is well deserving of 5 stars!