Matthew "Heckarad" P.'s Profile

I hope it's OK to swear in Yelp reviews, because holy shit that was a great party!

First, the venue was great and the weather cooperated. The Desert Botanical Garden on a nice spring evening has to be one of the best places in the entire valley.

Second, the food was amazing. Meat in a cup from Wildflower Bread Company? Yes please! I could have eaten those all night. I also enjoyed the tasty treats from local favorites Butter & Me, Petite Maison and Roka Akor.

Finally, the crowd was amazing. It was great to see that many Yelpers getting together to have a great time. Meeting new people and seeing familiar faces was really the highlight of the evening for me.

Gabi, this party really was a huge success. Thanks for bringing this wonderful Yelp community together for what will certainly go down as one of the best Yelp events ever!

It's official...I'm in love with FEZ. I've never had a bad experience here. I've been to FEZ with small groups and larger ones and never had bad service. Most recently, I was there with for brunch with Smunch (http://smunchphoenix.com or http://twitter.com/smu...), which wound up being a group of over 30 people for Saturday brunch. Thomas and his staff never missed a beat, especially our server, who gracefully handled a constant stream of orders and meal deliveries as people arrived at different times.

The food at FEZ is divine. The sweet potato fries are ridiculously good, as is the FEZ benedict and peach bellini for brunch. The benedict is a wonderful twist on the classic, served on French bread with oven-dried tomatoes.

On top of the great food and service, I love the ambiance and location of FEZ. As Dave B. said, the interior is totally metrosexual, in a good way. It has all of the upscale urban vibe that Phoenix needs more of, and the location on Central Avenue is perfect. Parking is not a problem and it's only a couple minutes walk from two light rail stations if you want to leave the car elsewhere.

The bottom line is that FEZ is great place whose attention to quality and urban ambiance makes it one of the best dining destinations along the Central Corridor.

Next Coffee is a difficult place to rate. It has some things I like, and some things I really don't. Overall, it balances out to 3 stars for me.

First, the likes. I like that it's close to my house and that it's one of the few non-Starbucks coffee shops that braves the lousy coffee scene of the west valley. I also like the fact that they have a lot of space with various seating options, as well as large tables that lend themselves to laptop users.

Now, the dislikes. I don't like the fact that their baristas are not particularly competent. I often have received espresso shots which were not well pulled and over-steamed and over-frothed milk. Tiny bubbles, people! They're not just for champagne.

I'm not a huge fan of the pastries either. I haven't had anything which really wowed me. Sometimes I've had the feeling that the pastries have been out all day and become a little dry and stale. Other times I get the feeling that they're just not that great tasting.

Next serves actual food such as salads, sandwiches and they now have beer and wine as well. I admit I haven't tried any of this, but I do wonder what Next's focus is. The environment and ambiance doesn't really seem to be the coffee and wine bar type, so I have the feeling that Next is trying to be all things to all people, but not exactly succeeding.

Overall, the convenience of Next's proximity to my home will probably keep me coming here on a semi-regular basis. But when I want the coffeehouse experience I really enjoy, I'll keep heading to my favorite places in Tempe or CenPho.

The Turf does a good job in some areas and falls flat in others. First, it isn't really an Irish pub, despite being billed as one. It's a nice urban place with an Irish theme. The space is large and well laid out, although I really don't like the high top chairs...they're just not that comfortable and there's too many of them. I wish most of the tables were lower, but with the half-height wall which separates part of the restaurant, lower tables wouldn't work.

The beer selection is great and I appreciate that. They don't stop at just the usual traditional Irish (Guinness, Harp, Bass).

I'll admit that I haven't had the fish and chips, so my review may be a little harsher than it could be. The only meal I've eaten at Turf is brunch, which was just OK. I had French toast with eggs and bacon. It wasn't bad, but wasn't much past a Denny's French toast slam. I know that brunch isn't necessarily their forte, but I think that if they're going to venture into the brunch arena, they need to offer something worth going for.

The service at Turf has usually been decent, although our brunch server seemed to not quite be up to the task. I was there with a large group (25+ people) and she seemed to be rather overwhelmed. Also, their only seemed to be one other server for the rest of the place while we were there. The reservation for the large group had been made nearly 2 weeks prior, so I have to question the management's ability to schedule staffing appropriately. If you know you have a group of 25 people coming in, you need to make sure you have enough staff and definitely make sure you have a server who can handle that many tables at once.

Overall, I think that The Turf does an adequate job at being a place to relax and have a beer. Their location close to ASU, light rail and other downtown attractions is great and I think that helps greatly. The free wifi also is a nice addition.

I'll still go to The Turf for drinks and I'll try the fish and chips sometime, but I'll stick to lunch and dinnertime visits.

This past weekend, I finally had a chance to try the brunch at Postino on Central. I went as part of Smunch, my monthly brunch meetup. I was really looking forward to this, as the reviews I'd read were glowing, and Postino did not disappoint!

I started brunch with a delightful peach bellini, and my wife and I shared an order of walnut toast with brie and fresh berry compote. The berries and brie were a fantastic combination and the bread was yummy, toasted lightly to add a bit of crunch.

I had the French toast, which I'd heard from Georgie S. was good enough to bathe in. It lived up to its reputation, as it was warm and soft inside without being too well done on the outside. It was served with creme fraiche, berry compote and sliced strawberries. It was an altogether delightful take on a breakfast classic.

Finally, I finished the morning with a glass of honey cucumber lemonade and a cup of coffee. The lemonade was absolutely wonderful, light and refreshing. I'm sure it's magic during the hot summer months, but even with the winter weather I found it enjoyable. The coffee is from Lola Coffee a local coffeehouse and roaster. It was slightly more bitter than I prefer, but I accept that I'm an unrepentant coffee snob, so I rate it as perfectly acceptable for a restaurant setting.

Finally, I have to commend Postino for handling the 30+ Smunch attendees very well. Troy (the manager) had set up four tables, but the group quickly expanded to seven. The staff, especially our excellent server Jenny handled everything with grace and a smile. I was also impressed that the kitchen staff was able to turn out so many simultaneous orders while keeping the quality high.

The only problem was with figuring out the bill. Instead of doing separate checks or checks per table, we had three or four checks which each contained the orders for several people, but we weren't sure whose was whose. In the end, we got it handled, and since this was a special situation, I didn't feel that it should take away from the five stars I feel Postino deserves.

Overall, Postino brunch is a resounding success!

The new downtown location of Cartel has arrived! I headed there this morning to see how the first day was going. Jason (the owner) was there manning the espresso machine and the Clover. Yes, the famed Cartel Clover machine has moved from Tempe to the new location.

As with the Tempe location, the coffee was first-rate. I had a cup of Guatemalan from the Clover and a small latte. The Clover turned out a fantastic brew and the latte was exactly what I expected from the hand of a master.

There's a couple of reasons the new location gets 4 instead of 5 stars from me, and I imagine they'll be remedied soon. First, no wifi. Cartel is worth going to even without wifi, but to be a real downtown hangout, the wifi has to be fast and free.

Second, the space is still not finished. There's still plywood along one wall and there's clearly more work for contractors to finish. It is by no means unsafe or a messy construction zone, but it definitely has an unfinished air about it.

From what I could tell, the space will be a little more cleaner and upscale than the bohemian "accidental coffeehouse" feel of the original location. I think this fits the location, however and I look forward to seeing it completed.

Disclaimer: all coffee was on the house during the first day, so both of my drinks were free.

First of all, let me state that I completely love Cartel. There's only two reasons that keep me from giving them 5 stars: the difficult to find location and the crappy wifi. Honestly, if the wifi rocked, that would probably be enough for me.

I call Cartel the "accidental coffeehouse". It started off as a roasting operation with a small espresso/retail component. Thanks to the ridiculously high quality of their coffee, they grew into a full-fledged coffeehouse.

The coffee Cartel roasts and brews is consistently some of the best in the valley. I am in love with their Black Market Espresso, which is a favorite of mine both at the shop and in the office when I brew my own.

Cartel provides all of the standard espresso beverages as well as iced toddy. However, they don't do any of the foofy blended drinks. Not only do I appreciate their commitment to classic coffee drinks, I also enjoy the freedom from hearing an insanely loud blender when I'm attempting to have a conversation.

There's also a couple of less common brewing methods available at Cartel. They have pour-over brewers which brew single cups. This enables them to offer any of their beans as fresh brewed coffee. Also, they have a Clover machine, which brews single cups on demand.

I do wish that Cartel served some pastries or other food, but Cartel is unabashedly committed to coffee, so I can't fault them for this.

The vibe at Cartel is a great mix of bohemian eclectic, which fits their proximity to ASU's main campus. The largely windowless interior makes it a great place to take refuge from the often brutal Arizona sun and enjoy a drink or two while hanging out with friends or getting work done.

Overall, Cartel is an excellent addition to the Phoenix coffee scene.

I've been to Gallo Blanco twice and had great experiences both times. The first time was for dinner and I tried the elote and tacos. The elote callejero was fantastic and a departure from usual Mexican fare. I loved the cojita cheese on it. The tacos are not the standard large tacos, but are smaller and are more like street tacos. They're also very reasonably priced, so two or three can make for a great main course.

The second time I ate at Gallo Blanco was for brunch with a large group (20+ people) and the food and service was excellent once again. Our server was very patient and accommodating, splitting checks in various ways and dealing with late arrivals. The food was also great; I had huevos rancheros with over-medium eggs and I was pleased. The eggs were cooked just right and I loved the thicker tortillas. Combined with a flavorful chili sauce, the huevos rancheros made for a great start to my day.

Finally, I'm really thrilled with Gallo Blanco's focus on using local vendors, especially Cartel Coffee Lab's coffee. I'm a big fan of Cartel, and I'm happy that I can get a great cup of coffee with my breakfast.

I went to My Mother's for dinner with a large group of family members (16), including 6 kids ranging in age from newborn to 8 years old. While the decor was generically bad "down-home" from the 80's, the staff was very nice and seated us in a side room with plenty of space for all of us.

The meal started with homemade bread which was warm and soft. This gave me hope that the meal wouldn't be in keeping with the general feel of the place. Alas, my hope was not long lived and I soon felt like an Obama supporter watching McCain win the election.

After ordering, I made my way to the salad bar. This seemed quaint, considering that salad bars aren't really popular anymore, unless you're at Souper Salad or Sweet Tomatoes. The salad bar was not entirely scary, but wasn't anything worth going back to. I'm fairly certain everything came out of a can, bag, bottle or box. The freshest thing may have been the red onion, which obviously had been poorly sliced by hand.

Moving on to the main course, I had Mother's Meat Loaf dinner. My meat loaf came with rice pilaf and green beans. Once again, food from cans and boxes made an appearance, as my beans were canned and my rice must have come from a box mix. The meatloaf was actually made from non-canned meat, but wasn't all that exciting. It had been cooked with ketchup slathered on top, yet was served with gravy on the side (probably originally made from a powder mix). I ate most of my dinner because I was hungry, not because of the quality.

Hoping for a come-from-behind win in a big electoral state, I ordered pie for dessert. They tout their homemade pies, but seem to think that "homemade" means making pie from canned ingredients. My cherry pie was not spectacular, as the preprocessed cherry filling was encased in crust which attempted to be light, flaky and buttery, but only managed to be dry and chewy.

My Mother's was saved from a one-star rating by two things...the graciousness and patience of the staff, and the low prices. For two dinners and a huge slice of pie split between my wife and I, our total bill including tax and tip was $35.

My advice is to keep your hope in homestyle cooking and stay out of My Mother's Restaurant.

I noticed Margie's had opened in the strip mall along Broadway and I'm a big fan of indie coffeehouses in the Valley,  so I thought I'd check it out. Unfortunately, Margie's isn't even in the same league as the other nearby coffeehouses in Tempe.

Margie's doesn't really have a distinct personality. It's just a standard strip mall store, with the typical wooden coffeehouse chairs and generic art. It's uncluttered, but it feels like someone just bought some furniture at Costco or a restaurant supply store.

With regards to the coffee, my opinion is "Meh". They have a no-skill-required push-button espresso machine, which immediately turns me off. If I want espresso that requires no skill to make, I can go to Starbucks. I ordered a double espresso and it met my low expectations. It really didn't have much flavor, other than a lot of bitterness.

The whole feel of Margie's gives me the impression that the owners aren't really into running a coffeehouse, but seemed to think that the coffee/pastries/breakfast sandwiches business was an easy thing to get into and be successful. Overall, I think that they're competing directly with Starbucks, but giving customers no reason to go out of their way to come here. Margie's is trying to do what Starbucks does, but not doing it anywhere near as well, and they're certainly not coming close to offering the same quality and experience as the excellent indie coffeehouses around Tempe.

The hours are 5:30am to 2:30pm, which are clearly targeting the morning commuters and lunchtime crowd. While the prices may be a little lower than Starbucks, I'm not really sure Margie's is worth going out of the way for, especially with several Starbucks in the area. For myself, I'll stick with the far superior coffeehouses nearby. Show owner comment »