Bitches Food Club no. 24 {BlissReBar}

For our August meet up we actually chose breadfruit and rum bar, but when we called to make a reservation they informed us they couldn't fit all 13 of us in their space, so we decided to find somewhere that could! Bliss ReBar to the rescue.  It's been on my list for a while, so I jumped at the opportunity to check out their resturaunt...

Of course we started with drinks.

and selfies.

and then group shots.

a few the lovely ladies.

$5 drink of the night, rum!

food took a while to arrive, parmesan and rosemary fries.  Yup those were mine.

Stephanie's Humus Platter.

Macey and I split the pretzel and cheese appetizer.

Tammy says, "Veggie 4th Street tacos were messy but delicious! Also I recommend not eating all day and getting the rum drink we had before your dinner comes out."Emily's Grilled Cheese, "Grilled cheese was alright. Cheese was lukewarm. The apples and bacon were a nice touch. The side salad was really yummy"

Stephanie and her sister ordered the Roosevelt, she says, "I had the Roosevelt. The potatoes too salty, "vegetables" turned out to only be carrots and while they were good, they weren't right for the dish, which was covered in unnecessary cheese not mentioned in the menu description. Did not taste the dijon. Would have liked something to break-up the 'mush' factor of the dish. It was really one note. Making a provencal style vegetable would have been nice. Some fennel, onions, and tomatoes with thyme would have done WONDERS for the dish. Chicken wasn't as well prepared as I would have liked. Hummus was good. Bread was good. Wasn't super impressed though they had nice flavor and some zip. Wasn't entirely convinced a farm style bread went with hummus, but you know what? That's fine. See me judge CHOPPED on Tuesdays at 8/7c on Food Network."

Katie's choice, was alright, the pretzel bun she requested on the side was probably the best part of her meal.

I picked a veggie appetizer as my entree, but I should have got the tacos, I was surprised to see how delicious they looked.  While I have to admit these lettuce cups were just alright the night of, they were even better warmed up the next day!  

Not Pictured: Megan's dinner, "[She] had the quinoa/lentil salad, which was finer-chopped than [She] would've liked, but tasted good. [She] also had the Roosevelt, but added red and green peppers: Chicken breast itself was not good and additions were just a'right. For bebidas, [She] had the margarita and the whiskey lemon smash (subbed house bourbon with Maker's) and was completely unimpressed with both. Worst parts about experience: Salad came out after entrée and service was slooooow; best: The company, followed by the cool architecture/surroundings."

The Full Review {their menu here}:

Favorite Appetizer: Pretzels and cheese! although the rosemary fries were a close second.

Favorite Entree: Probably the tacos or the pork sliders. not pictured because they took a long time to come out.

Favorite Drink: I wasn't super impressed with their drinks but their happy hour seems like it would be worth it.

1-10 Service {0 worst, 10 best}: 7.5  Everything was good, alright, but it did take a long time to actually get our food and for the check, I'm usually pretty understanding and the server was nice, but I feel like the point of our food club is to find new places test them out and give you an honest review, so while the patio and atmosphere is pretty cool, be prepared to wait if you're in a large group.

Cost {$  $$  $$$  $$$$!}: $-$$ I think everything was reasonable, if I had any self control I probably could have walked out with a check for $15 or less tip and drink included, but you know I love my appetizers. 

Mistakes {corrections?}: no mistakes, just slow {but friendly} service.

Reservations? They took them for our large party without even calling ahead {we got scared to call since the other places we've been trying have told us no}  not sure if it would be necessary on a weeknight for a smaller group or date, and the patio is always crowded on the weekend, but it seems like they're open to walk ins.  

Would we eat there again? I would! I really like their patio and I don't mind slow service as long as I don't have anywhere to rush off to.

What are your favorite places in phoenix?! We're always looking for new suggestions and more locations to test out, shoot us an email if you know of somewhere new and/or opening!

Bitches Food Club no. 21 {Southern Rail}

We had our food club monthly meet up this Sunday. I'd been wanting to check out this new shopping center at The Newton Phoenix.  They totally renovated the building and complex and it now houses the Changing Hands Bookstore, First Draft, and Southern Rail.  We went to Southern Rail for their Deep South Cuisine.

It's right off of Camelback which is a busy street, but on their patio enclosure it was calm and quiet.

Their menu was short and simple, complete with southern cocktails like NoLa Milk Punch and Creole Lemonade, but I opted for a mimosa.

Their Cafe Au Lait was another popular drink with the bitches, I think we all ordered one.  Some brunches I just need a warm full bodied coffee with a packet of raw sugar.

and a mimosa.

Megan got the creole lemonade and she said it was pretty good.  

It's like a long island, minus the tea add tequila.

I always have fun laughing with these ladies!

but things got serious when we had to pick an entree,

I always hate choosing between a sweet or savory dish because if I order sweet, I want savory after a few bites, but thankfully in this case my sister was there to share with, so while I ordered this delicious and decadent bread pudding french toast, I'm glad I didn't only order this, it would have been too sweet, it was like dessert but in acceptable breakfast format.  I would definitely order it again if I had someone to balance it out with, we also shared the fried green tomato eggs Benedict below...

"I had a cafe au lait & the fried green tomato Benedict. I LOVE both fried green tomatoes and eggs Benedict but I didn't love this dish. I thought the tomato jam was too sweet and the egg yolks were overcooked for Benedict. But I did love the coffee, patio, and atmosphere. And the bitches" -Macey Which is interesting because I Love both the tomatoes and Benedict but loved it even more with the semi sweet sauce, and my eggs were a bit less cooked than hers. and I would totally order this dish again.

Tammy ordered this on, "[I ordered the] Fried green tomato poboy- it was good but I still prefer the one from Welcome Diner. Fries were really good!" *sadly, after eating the fried green tomato sandwich at welcome diner, I don't think I'll ever be able to enjoy a friend green sandwich from anywhere else {and they totally ruined me on donuts from anywhere besides welcome chicken + donuts too}.

"I had the hoe cakes and, though they were good and I *love* duck confit, I wont be going back just for them. On the plus-side: Loved the venue and choice of music." -Megan

We actually really enjoyed the ambiance, I mean we think we're funny.

That awkward moment when everyone else is looking at the camera except me.

The Full Review:

Favorite Appetizer: We didn't order one here, because brunch doesn't really have appetizers.

Favorite Entree: I know it had mixed reviews but I LOVED the Fried Green Tomato Eggs Benedict. Semi sweet sauce over savory eggs and tomatoes, with a side of greens.  It totally hit the spot.

Favorite Drink: Cafe au lait. while some of us ordered drinks and they were good, the Cafe au lait was the most popular drink at the table.

1-10 Service {0 worst, 10 best}: 9.  It was a good experience, no one doted on us, but we ordered and got our food within a reasonable time, we were seated promptly, I think there was a slight delay in ordering because of the few people who couldn't make it last minute but overall a good experience.

Cost {$  $$  $$$  $$$$!}: $$ maybe I just ordered less but it seemed like a smaller tab compared to my usual food club outings I think my total would have been around $25 that was a coffee, mimosa, french toast, tax and tip.  

Mistakes {corrections?}: none.

Reservations? Our Secretary, Stephanie called ahead and they were fine with our reservation of 12 turned 9.

Would we eat there again? Sure I'd like to come back with Husband and get his opinion, most of the time when we go out for food club is so I can gauge weather or not it's worth coming back on a date night {or day date}.

Where should we try next? we're always looking for new Phoenix or Scottsdale area Restaurants to try out!

Food Club no. 17 {Flowerchild}

This month, August, we decided to have food club at Flowerchild a new-ish Fox Resturant in Phoenix.  Since so many of our members are traveling and/or busy with summer opportunities our group was super small this month.  So, we thought it would be a good chance to try somewhere not so fancy.  Flowerchild boasts of healthy menu with kombucha on tap! So we decided we would try it, even with it's mixed reviews.

 We got there around 7:30 and there were people but it wasn't crowded, and it was a Thursday evening so obviously that could be different than the weekend.  We had our choice of tables, but decided on the patio after ordering.  I think the best way to describe the ambiance is what pei wei is to P.F. Changs or Sauce is to North Italia, it's like a faster, barely cheaper version of True Foods.  They had a great healthy drink selection.  I opted for a boxed water and hibiscus tea with white peach and pom lemonade.  Their drinks are made with evaporated cane sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup, which you know I appreciate.

A peek at the drink station. {there were two sizes of drinks, I got the small and was able to refill it, so maybe the options are more for if you're getting food to go}

There was a bit of country chic to the decor, ball jars and painted soup cans with eclectic font numbers.

Most of us decided to get their Vegetable and Grains mix and match 3 items.

above: Broccoli and Parm., Gluten Free Mac and Cheese and Quinoa Tabbouleh

above: I got the Indian Spiced Cauliflower, GF Mac and Cheese, and the Beets, Avocado, Citrus.

above: I think this was the Thai Dye Wrap.

The Mac and Cheese was obviously a popular choice!

The four of us ladies {and Delmara's tiny new baby}

The Full Review {their menu here}:

Favorite Appetizer: This might be the only restaurant I've ever been to where I didn't order an appetizer.  But if I did I think it would have been the Avocado Hummus, I pretty much can't turn down avocado in any form, or recipe.

Favorite Entree: I love that this place has the menu options of choosing sides to create a meal, that's defiinitly my style of eating, I want a bite of everything, so a plate of variety is very fulfilling.  I think it depends on what type of foods you like for creating something for you, but the Mac and Cheese is not to be missed and again I love avocado so I was all about my avocado beets citrus side.

Favorite Drink: They have 3 seasonal teas and 3 lemonades, so arnold palmer for the win!  If I didn't already make kombucha I might have ordered that, but I also love that because they are to go cups I was able to refill my drink before leaving, and that my friends is one of my favorite things about ordering lemonade or tea drinks to go.

1-10 Service {0 worst, 10 best}: 7 it was more of a self service type place.  So, they didn't really do much, I guess that sounds harsh.  They were really nice taking my order {after I stood in line}, and they walked around and brought us our food, then took away the dirty plates when we were done, but we had to refill our own cups, and get our own silverware so it's not like I can really give them a 10, even though they didn't do anything "wrong" AND the guy did tell us he was about to close down the drink bar if we wanted to grab a drink before he closed everything up,  which was really cool and we totally appreciated the Last Call. 

Cost {$  $$  $$$  $$$$!}:  $$ it's like lunch portions with dinner pricing.  

Mistakes {corrections?}: None.

Reservations? Its too casual of a place to suggest reservations, although I could imagine them being busy enough to need them, I was surprised how busy they were for a Thursday evening.

Would we eat there again? Sure.  As my sister-in-law pointed out, it was the prefect pre-movie dinner date.  They're always in a hurry to grab healthy good food before a movie, and usually they just go to the food bar at whole foods, but this place was a lot cuter and really fast with the food.