(soothing tones) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Arizona," the show where Arizona Foodies recommend their favorite restaurants.

Coming up, we have guests that are passionate about their picks.

They've dined at all three, and are ready to share their reviews with each other and with you right here on "Check, Please!

Arizona."

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(upbeat music) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Arizona."

In this episode, it's all about family owned restaurants.

Let's meet our diners.

Gloria Brancaccio is a fitness instructor.

She's born and raised in Arizona, and any day spent in the water is a good one for her.

Dennis Weaver, retired from the airline industry and now enjoys reading and baking bread.

But first meet Josh Kelman.

He works in video production for a high performance coaching company.

This father of two loves taking his kids to a spot he enjoyed with his grandparents.

This is Miracle Mile Deli.

(upbeat music) - Miracle Mile Deli is a family owned and operated restaurant.

This is our 76th year of business, and we've been around since 1949.

So when people come in, and they've never been in before, they're looking at our menu and kind of, it can be overwhelming because we have a very large menu.

We are a New York style delicatessen.

So New York style delis are known for having large menus.

First thing that they're going to notice on the first menu board as they approach our serving line is the straw sandwich.

So that is hot pastrami, hot sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese.

It's been our best seller for over 76 years.

They're going to see the hot pastrami sandwiches, the brisket, the corn beef.

If you move further along the serving line, you'll see our wide variety of selection of desserts, shakes, drinks, and of course, the black and white cookies.

The ambiance of Miracle Mile is very nostalgic.

When you walk into the building, we want you to feel like you're living in a piece of New York, kind of like a time warp, but also it's very warm.

It's very comforting.

It's very welcoming as well.

We have a great staff here that makes you feel like family when you walk in.

So my grandfather moved from New York City to Phoenix in 1949.

He bought the restaurant on a handshake.

Our first location was on 1521 East McDowell Road.

That was known as the Miracle Mile in the 50s in Phoenix, which was why my grandfather changed the name to Miracle Mile Deli.

What accounts for the longevity of Miracle Mile is the quality of the product, the consistency of the product, and the service that we provide.

We're making the same corned beef, we're making the same pastrami, we're making the same brisket the same way we've done for over seven decades.

So we're not changing recipes.

We're not changing chefs.

Our head chefs have been with us for over 40 years.

We throw a party every day here.

We don't know how many people are coming.

We don't know when they're coming.

We just hope that they show up, and we hope they have fun.

- So Josh, you've gone there forever and now you bring your kids there.

What keeps you coming back?

- I'm not that old, and I cannot remember a time when I did not go to Miracle Mile.

It has obviously been a part of Phoenix, I think since 1949.

- Yes.

- And my grandparents took me to the location at Christown Mall when I was a kid.

We'd go get matzoh ball soup and a big sandwich and go see a movie.

And you know, that's one of my cherished memories with my grandparents.

And now, you know, I've grown up.

I went to school here, live here, raising my family here, and it's amazing to me that, you know, sometimes you try to introduce something to your kids that you liked, and it hasn't grown up with the times.

Or they think it's, you know, that was your thing.

This is our thing.

But no, this is like one of the great spots for our family, and everybody finds something that they like.

- Yeah.

- And I just think it's awesome.

- And it continues to be great.

So what's your go-to?

What did you eat when you went last time?

- First of all, always a latke, always a potato pancake.

I mean that's, you know, this is a connection again, you know, if you were raised in even a little bit Jewish family, a latke is a must have.

Matzo ball soup.

I gotta get Matzo ball soup.

I do it with a.

- [Mark] The penicillin of the Jewish tradition.

- That's right, yeah.

I get a little chicken noodle thrown in that just to get a little extra protein.

And then, I mean, you can't go wrong with one of those sandwiches.

I'm a Turkey New Yorker person.

I get it on a marble rye.

It's really high quality Turkey.

And it's got the Miracle Mile dressing.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- [Josh] Sort of a thousand island-ish dressing.

And it's got the coleslaw, and that soft bread, and I like that somehow you got two wet things with the Turkey, right?

- [Mark] Yeah, yeah.

- You've got dressing and cole slaw.

Somehow it's not soggy.

They've been doing this for 70 something years, Josh and his team.

I just think like they've got the proportions down exactly right 'cause.

- [Mark] They do.

- If I made that, it would be a big wet mess, and it would fall apart.

But it's really a great sandwich.

You had the patty melt, didn't you, Gloria?

- I did, yes.

I had the patty melt, and I tweaked it a little bit.

I had 'em put it on sourdough.

- [Mark] Oh.

- Because I love a good sourdough.

- [Mark] Cool, and how was theirs?

How'd it stack up?

- It was, it was pretty good.

I loved that sauce.

- [Mark] Miracle Mile?

- [Gloria] That Miracle Mile sauce, yeah.

It had the pepper jack cheese, juicy, juicy burger.

- [Mark] What came with it?

- [Gloria] I got potato salad.

My husband got french fries, really good French fries.

- [Mark] Oh, awesome.

- [Gloria] It's, you know, that GBDI call it, golden brown, delicious.

- [Mark] Yeah, golden brown, delicious, puffy, and hollow on the inside is ideal.

- [Gloria] Yeah, and potato salad.

It was good.

I could eat anybody's potato salad.

I like potato salad.

- I can eat potatoes any old way.

So, Dennis, what did you have?

- I had the Ruben, and it was to die for.

It was really good.

I would, I would go back in a heartbeat and have that again.

- [Mark] And what was on yours?

- [Dennis] Just a traditional Ruben, and it was, the meat was lean.

It just couldn't have been better.

- Yeah, this place is cool.

Anyone have anything to drink?

- Again, this is, this is a tradition to get a Dr. Brown at a, you know, I'm not a big soda drinker.

- [Mark] Of course.

- [Josh] But if you go to a Jewish deli, like Dr. Brown's a kosher soda, and you get a black cherry or a root beer.

- [Mark] Yep.

- [Josh] I think black cherry is kind of the classic.

I'm more of a root beer person.

But my friend got one, and I said, well, I have to have it.

- Dr. Brown was an actual doctor actually in New York, and he invented Cel-Ray, which is with celery seed and a little bit of sugar, and it was for nerves.

So it was actually like a concoction.

- It's a health drink for sure.

It's a healthy drink.

- Yeah, forget the sugar.

- It's the fountain of youth basically.

- So Gloria, you had dessert, right?

- I had a nice big, huge Mile High Carrot Cake.

- Awesome.

- My favorite, carrot cake.

- Ooh, I love carrot cake.

Yeah tell me about it.

- And it wasn't just, it wasn't.

- 'Cause there's carrot cake and carrot cake, so you have to describe it.

How many layers?

- Three or four.

- [Mark] Cool, but big ones.

- [Gloria] Yeah, carrot cake's my favorite.

And it was good.

It wasn't too sweet.

The cream cheese frosting, sometimes that can be grainy or too sweet, and it was nice and creamy, and the cake was not too sweet at all.

It was good.

- [Mark] Perfect.

- [Gloria] I love it.

- Well, Josh, you had dessert, didn't you?

- I had dessert.

I mean, again, we had to do it for science purposes.

- [Mark] Oh yeah.

- I think when we ordered all this food, they were looking for the rest of our party honestly.

I got a black and white cookie, because again, this is very traditional in a deli.

It's sort of a cake-like cookie with the black and white frosting on it.

Awesome, and then something actually I'd never had there before was the New York style cheesecake.

- [Mark] Ooh.

- And I was in New York this summer.

I went to Juniors where you're supposed to go in New York.

And I would take this, I'm sure the New Yorkers are gonna faint to hear this, but I would take the Miracle Mile cheesecake over it.

I just thought it was perfect.

- [Mark] Wow.

- Classic thick.

You know, you get to the end of that, and you're not eating dinner.

I did not get to the end of it.

- And you can't stop once you start.

- No.

- That cheesecake from there is amazing.

- Yeah, I'm still burning it off for sure.

- Oh, you are.

So let's talk decor.

Your place, Josh.

What's the feel there?

- [Josh] It's definitely a neighborhood place, and it's pretty minimalist.

I don't think they play music.

It's kind of just the, you know, what I like about it, is I sit in there and you hear the din of just people dining, and it's.

- [Mark] I love that.

- It's not overwhelming.

You know, there's a little bit of New York decorations, I think some throwback to the family.

I love it.

You know, and I see, you know, I see the ghosts of my grandparents sitting across the table.

I see other people's bubby and grandpa and, you know, it just makes me smile to know that it's still there doing its thing.

- Beautiful tribute, thank you, Josh.

Your first time in.

What'd you think of the decor?

- I did like the New York, few pictures that they had.

Some were black and white, and I like that kind of art.

- So, Josh, what's your pro tip for Miracle Mile?

- I like the special, that's a half sandwich.

I think it's the Miracle Mile Special.

It's a half sandwich and a cup of soup.

Get some matzoh ball or mishmash.

Get some chicken noodle thrown in that.

It's a perfect sized meal.

You know, deli sandwiches are notoriously big.

I think that's a great sized portion.

And get a latke and get sour cream and get applesauce, which is you gotta get loaded.

- I love latkes, by the way so traditional.

I just like the word makes my mouth water.

- [Josh] Yeah.

- Oh, what's your pro tip?

- They have a lot of choices.

And study the menu online before you get there.

So you kind of get an idea of what they have.

- Great tip, great tip, big menu.

- I would ask their recommendation.

They are really good at that.

- [Mark] Yeah, the service is great, very kind.

- [Dennis] The service couldn't be better.

- Yeah, very kind.

If you want to try.

Miracle Mile Deli, they're located near 16th Street and Campbell in Phoenix.

An average meal costs about $40, and they do take reservations.

(upbeat music) Up next we have Gloria's pick, a neighborhood Italian restaurant saved by a husband and wife who are keeping traditions alive and well.

This is La Famiglia Pizza & Pasta.

(upbeat music) - La Famiglia Pizza & Pasta is an Italian restaurant.

Very family orientated, very old school.

It's something you would see back home, New York, New Jersey.

On the menu, people will find traditional Italian dishes.

Your old school pastas, your baked dishes.

An array of pizzas, plenty of appetizers.

Probably our most popular pasta dish would probably be the Penne vodka, very good.

And you can't go wrong with any of our pizzas.

Our pizza stands out because it's very New York style.

Hand tossed, thin crust, crispy and chewy, nice mozzarella cheese and fresh sauce.

We make dough every day.

We make sauce every day.

I'm very partial to the pizza.

I've been making pizzas over 35 years.

I made my first pizza at eight years old.

So I'm very particular.

We try to the best of our ability to have everything on the menu made in house.

You could taste the difference, the freshness, the quality.

We get to see what's going into the dishes.

If something doesn't look right, it won't make it to the plate.

La Famiglia has been around 25 years.

I think it's due part, very traditional.

Consistency, consistency, consistency.

You had a pizza from us 25 years ago, same pizza now.

Recently we came under new ownership.

Melissa and Levi Lepari, excellent people.

Nothing has changed, nothing will change.

We're just gonna keep expanding with our old traditions and make new ones along the way.

The best part of my day is when the restaurant's full, and you just hear the chatter of all the customers.

You hear the conversations.

Everyone's happy.

It's a nice feeling.

(upbeat music) - So Gloria, your husband's Italian.

You love Italian food.

What stands out to you about La Famiglia?

- Traditional dishes, traditional, just the feel of the restaurant.

His parents, they would go there every week with their family.

- Oh really.

- We've had birthdays there before, anniversaries there.

- So this is a long tradition for you.

- Yes.

- You've been going there a lot.

- Yes.

- What did you have when you went there?

- For a appetizer, we started with the fried calamari.

It's something we usually have to try at every Italian restaurant we go to.

- [Mark] Oh, so it's your, like your tester.

See if they're real.

- [Gloria] Exactly.

- So what else did you have?

- We actually ordered two 18-inch pizzas, which is kind of hard to find in a regular pizza place.

- So small.

- We like to have lots of leftovers.

My pick was, it's called Pizza Bianco.

So it's a white pizza pie.

- [Mark] Oh, what was on it?

- [Gloria] It's got a ricotta base with the mozzarella.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- What makes it special is that ricotta is just so creamy.

- [Mark] Oh.

- [Gloria] And there's a lot of it on there.

And it's just very good.

I believe there's probably some garlic in there.

- [Mark] Okay.

- [Gloria] It's just mouthwatering.

- What'd you have?

- Well, I took the family there, and we started, you know, the kids, my kids got mozzarella sticks.

Pretty classic Americanized Italian food.

Loved it, you know, crispy, hot.

You know, they get them everywhere, and they don't love them everywhere, but they really did like them there.

- [Mark] Oh good.

- And my wife and I, my favorite thing we got on the menu honestly, we started with the caprese, and I'm telling you, are you guys tomato people?

Do we like, I feel like tomatoes are controversial.

- Yes, yes.

Well, they, because they're a deadly nightshade, of course.

No, they're becoming controversial, but they aren't.

- It's weird, some people I meet, like it's my son's favorite food.

Some people say they hate tomatoes, but a nice, a thick juicy tomato and a nice salty mozzarella and a little, you know, a little oil, a little balsamic.

That was my favorite thing by far that I had on the menu.

I mean, we got pepperoni rolls.

I mean, we were eating like we were carb loading for a run the next day.

None of us run, but.

- Tell me about this.

- We were, we did it, you know, like we were running.

- I had the pepperoni rolls too.

So what did you think of those?

- You know, I thought, I wanted them to have cheese.

I don't, I don't know that there is such thing as a traditional pepperoni roll.

- [Mark] Never heard of 'em.

- Surprised that they didn't have cheese.

'cause I thought it would be kind of like a little mini pizza bite.

But it was buttery, flaky, crispy, kind of like, you know, had like kind of a croissant like quality, and I thought that was awesome.

- [Mark] It was cool.

Different, I'd never had 'em before.

I ordered them too, Josh.

- [Josh] Yeah.

- So what'd you have for entrees?

- Everybody got different things.

My son loved his chicken Alfredo.

Great kids' meal.

Six bucks.

Awesome value for a kids' meal.

My daughter had pizza, cheese pizza.

Thought that was fantastic.

I had a shrimp scampi.

I love a pasta that feels like it was made in-house.

Not a ton of shrimp, you know, a little bit of vegetables, but just nice and light.

And after all those appetizers, like nice and light was the order of the day.

- So Dennis, what did you have to start?

- Well, we had some garlic knots.

- [Mark] Ah.

- And they were perfectly prepared.

- [Mark] Really.

- [Dennis] We dipped them in the tomato sauce, and it was delicious.

- [Mark] So garlicy, there's all kinds of garlic.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- [Mark] Was it intense?

Was it subtle?

- [Dennis] It was pretty intense.

- And the knots themselves, were they, was it pizza dough or was it something?

- It was, yeah, I think it was just pizza dough.

- [Mark] Just twisted pizza dough.

- And seasoned, herbs on top.

It was perfect.

I had linguini with clam sauce, and my wife had the lasagna, and we took it.

- So Dennis, I have to stop, linguini with clam sauce is one of my all time favorite things.

I didn't get it when I was there.

I was all about pizza.

And so tell me exactly what was that like?

Was it brothy?

Was it creamy?

- [Dennis] It was creamy.

I got the white sauce.

- [Mark] Okay, good.

- [Dennis] It was creamy.

It was loaded with clams and.

- [Mark] Tender clams, tell me.

- [Dennis] Tender little baby clams.

And it was the equal of anything I've ever made at home.

- [Mark] Cool.

- [Dennis] And I like to make it at home too, but it was, it was good.

- It was good.

So what else did you have?

- We had a cannoli for dessert.

We had to share it because it was just too much.

And then we took most of the entree home.

- [Mark] Wow.

- It was just so much food.

- Now cannolis are tricky.

You know, they can be like logs full of sweet chalky cream stuff or they can be fantastic.

So tell me about this one.

- This was perfectly made.

It wasn't too sweet.

It was crispy.

I cut it in half so that we could share it, and.

- Did you regret that?

(all laughing) - Yes, I did.

And unfortunately I was a gentleman and gave my wife the bigger half.

- Yeah, well, very nice of you.

Now everybody knows that.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- That he's a gentleman.

- We had two desserts.

We actually took it home, but one was a cappuccino cheesecake.

- [Mark] Okay, cool.

- And the other one was tiramisu.

- So you're all about coffee stuff?

- Yes.

- Coffee, coffee.

- Yes, coffee and cream.

- Well, I'm a tiramisu nut.

How did this stack up for you?

- [Gloria] It was creamy.

It was, you know, the cake in there was.

- [Mark] Light?

- [Gloria] Light, fluffy.

- [Mark] Oh, nice.

- [Gloria] It was just delicious.

- Gloria, it's your place.

So what, one word or one sentence would you say that people need to know?

- Oh, well, I don't even have to think about this 'cause it was, you know, you gotta try the white pie.

- White pie, yeah, okay.

White pie, Josh?

- Pizza Bianco.

- Listen, this may be controversial.

I say they bring out the nice hot, fresh focaccia.

I say resist because the rest of the food was worth it.

And that stuff can fill you up.

So I would say, you know, it's tempting, but you gotta resist.

- Like resist the focaccia.

Dennis, what's your pro tip?

- It just felt so traditional.

It was just, yeah, a treat.

- [Mark] Just like it says La Famiglia.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- If you want to try La Famiglia, they're located in Mesa on Guadalupe, just east of Dobson.

An average meal costs $18, and they do take reservations.

(upbeat music) Our last restaurant is Dennis's favorite.

Friends introduced him to this spot, serving up brunch with a bite.

This is Brunch Snob.

(upbeat music) - Brunch Snob is a family-owned brunch restaurant.

My husband Keith and I own it, and we started it.

And he is the chef.

I run the front of the house.

He runs the back of the house.

Almost everything is scratch made, and a lot of fun food and fun atmosphere.

We pride ourselves on our food and service.

Everybody goes home happy.

Everybody goes home well fed.

Our menu here, we like to say it's comfort food with a twist.

We have a lot of egg dishes.

We have a lot of pancake dishes.

We have killer french toast.

A lot of different items, and we also have a fairly big lunch menu also.

Some of the most popular items here at Brunch Snob are the Crazy Clucker, the Hillsbery Scramble and the sausage stack.

Chicken fried bacon is a creation that we came up with, trying to make something to put on the Crazy Clucker.

So it's actual fried bacon.

It's dipped in batter and dipped in flour and fried, just like you would fry chicken fried steak.

It's crazy good.

So our drink menu is really cool.

We have champagne on tap where you won't find in many other restaurants.

We have a lot of mimosas.

The atmosphere and the vibe here at Brunch Snob are just, we're very eclectic, I think, is a good word.

The ideas for the chairs, which by the way has been the best thing we ever came up with.

I'd like to take the credit, but I can't.

The girl that did our mural gave me the idea to do it.

So we came up with really funny words, and put 'em on the chairs.

And people like to sit in 'em.

They like to have their pictures taken.

They like to post 'em all over Instagram.

The word Snob actually stands for something.

It stands for Seriously Nuts Over Brunch.

The best compliment I can get here, or my husband Keith could get here, is for somebody to say we love the place.

The service was great, the food was great and we wanna come back again.

(upbeat music) - So Dennis, you go there.

You have the same thing every time.

- Pretty much.

- I love someone that's like that.

- Yeah.

- Creature of habit, what do you have?

- A Cajun shrimp and grit cake.

- [Mark] Ooh.

- And it's spicy.

The shrimp are always perfectly cooked.

- [Mark] Are the grits crispy or like pudding?

- [Dennis] No, it's more like a pudding cake.

- [Mark] Okay, good, good.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- [Mark] Pudding cake, I like that, ooh.

- [Dennis] It's really good.

- So I like raging Cajun spice.

Is this a, on spice level, what would you say?

Is it like zero to five, five to 10?

- [Dennis] Oh, I would say maybe a six.

- [Mark] Maybe a six.

- [Dennis] It's not super spicy, but it's got some bite to it.

- So sometimes, after this show you may try something else.

After you hear what Josh started with.

What did you have, Josh?

- Well, we started with the giant cinnamon roll.

- [Mark] Okay.

- And it is very accurately named.

No one will mistake it for anything but that.

- [Mark] I know the word, but you gotta show me, giant.

- Yeah, I mean, it was, I mean, it had to be 10 inches in diameter.

- [Mark] What?

No way.

That's a subwoofer.

- [Josh] Yeah, it was big.

My wife and I, you know, we went there about lunchtime, and as soon as it came we thought we've made a huge mistake.

An actual huge mistake.

- Did you restrain yourself and then go on to eat something else?

- Well, we got that.

We did get cocktails.

- What cocktail pairs with a giant cinnamon bun?

- The cocktails that go with a giant cinnamon bun, well, you know, when we came in, my wife saw someone with a drink that had cotton candy and a princess crown on it.

I mean this is definitely designed for like the Instagram generation.

- [Mark] Yes.

- It is, the Princess Snob is the drink.

She had to get it, so she got that.

I mean, who could resist cotton candy?

It goes great with a giant cinnamon roll, right?

And I had their house special, the Brunch Snob Bloody Mary, and I love a Bloody Mary.

The Spicy Rim had some shrimp in it, had a piece of bacon in it.

You know, I can't have enough stuff in a Bloody Mary, and honestly like a great size.

Not, it wasn't too big.

Sometimes they bring you out some big goblets.

Perfect.

- So Josh, you win the prize 'cause you are the only one at the table that knows what the acronym SNOB means.

- Yeah, well they go for seriously nuts over brunch.

- Seriously nuts over brunch.

Which is really important because when I read it, when we were going there, I was like, oh, this is gonna be fancy and snobby and bougie.

Not that way at all.

What did you think?

- I thought the same thing.

I thought Brunch Snob, it's gonna be all, you know, - [Mark] Special.

- Gold, you know.

- [Mark] Gold Silverware.

- Utensils and Crystal.

And it was just, you know, kind of a casual, relaxed place.

- You started with something really cool.

- Chicken fried bacon.

- Oh my gosh, really?

- [Gloria] Yes.

- [Mark] Bacon.

- And the server we had, great guy, he, I think what he said was, only place in the valley that has, that served chicken fried bacon.

- [Mark] Well, I've never heard of it.

- Yeah, be still my heart.

It has bacon, but chicken fried.

- Oh.

- So how was it?

- It was really good.

I mean, kind of speechless.

Could have been a little crispier for me.

I like crisp bacon.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- [Gloria] But it was worth it.

They served it with country gravy.

- [Mark] Oh yeah.

- [Gloria] Country sausage gravy.

It wasn't like you think of the white with the little chunks of black pepper and sausage.

It was a little darker, and it was just full of flavor.

- So you had some eggs after I imagine or something.

Did you have any juevos?

- I had juevos rancheros.

- Oh good.

- Comes with pork, and I had 'em substitute the barbacoa.

- [Mark] How was the barbacoa?

- [Gloria] It was really good, juicy.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- [Gloria] Real depth of flavor.

- [Mark] Melt in your mouth.

- [Gloria] Didn't have to salt anything, and I'm usually a salt freak, so everything was just on point with.

- Josh, you had a what the what?

- I had the Spicy Clucker.

- [Mark] Oh yeah, okay.

- [Josh] And it was a deep fried chicken thigh and had fresh jalapeno sliced on it.

This is a beautifully fried piece of chicken.

- [Mark] Okay.

- [Josh] You know, thick jalapeno slices with the seeds in 'em.

So this had some heat, and then the honey that came with it, it came with a waffle, and the honey was jalapeno infused.

So this is a little spice on spice on spice.

I mean, I definitely took some bites and went wow.

But I like, like this restaurant takes big swings.

I mean they're, you know, from the second you walk in, you know, they're trying to lean into their theme, and I thought I had to go a little brave.

- [Mark] Yeah.

- And I just thought it was awesome.

- And guess who's gonna try out something new there next item?

- Are you gonna go to the Clucker?

- Oh yeah, yeah, and the chicken fried bacon.

I'm gonna try that.

- And you had a little something to drink too, didn't you?

- Yes, indeed.

Good old Irish coffee.

- [Mark] Yummy.

- My wife had a Bellini.

- [Mark] Oh, Bellini.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- [Mark] So pretty brunchy, very nice.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- I had traditional coffee.

They served my coffee in a mug that was like one you would have at home, and it said, best mom ever.

And I'm like, oh, how did you know?

- [Mark] It's feel good.

I'll tell you the service there is feel good.

So Dennis, this is your place.

What did you think of the decor?

- Very modern.

I really did look closely.

- [Mark] It's kind of funny 'cause they have words written all over the back of their chairs.

(cross taking) - [Josh] Yeah, I'm trying to picture Dennis, I'm trying to picture Dennis in a high back chair that says Sassy on the back, you know?

- [Mark] Yeah, right, sassy, or.

- That's my favorite chair.

- Exactly, sassy!

- [Mark] Yeah, so all the chairs have words on 'em that took me by surprise 'cause at first I thought they were just like, they brought 'em from, collected them from all over.

I wasn't even reading.

And I was like, wait a second.

- [Dennis] Yeah.

- And some of 'em are a little bit more spicy.

- Yeah.

- Honestly, when I walked in, I thought this place is trying too hard.

Like this food better be real good 'cause they've got really bright colors.

You know, the servers were wearing shirts with a swear word on 'em.

And I thought, I felt like I was on the, you know, could have walked into a restaurant like in Times Square or the Strip.

They're really trying hard.

- [Gloria] Vegas, yeah.

- And I thought this better have the food to back it up, and it really did.

- Pro tip, it's yours.

What's a one word or one sentence take away?

- Be experimental.

- Yeah, can I build off that?

I'd say take a chance on something on the menu.

My wife actually didn't like that Princess Snob drink with the cotton candy.

And we said something to the server.

Boom, it was gone in a heartbeat, and they could not have been nicer about it.

So if you see something you're curious about on the menu, like take a shot, - Gloria, one word or one sentence take away pro tip.

- Chicken fried bacon.

- Chicken fried bacon.

That was three words, and I'm taking it, - I would say, I would say get two of 'em.

If you're, if there's two people or more, you gotta get two orders because.

- Wow, got it, chicken fried bacon.

If you wanna try Brunch Snob, it's located near 48th Street and Elliot Road in Ahwatukee.

An average meal is $16, and they don't take reservations.

They have two other Valley locations as well.

I wanna thank Gloria, Josh, and Dennis for joining me at the table, and thank you for joining us for "Check, Please!

Arizona."

If you'd like to share your favorite restaurant, head to our website, AZPBS.org/checkplease, and nominate your must eat at spot.

Who knows?

You could be joining me at this table, and be a part of the foodie conversation in Arizona on social media using the hashtag checkpleaseAZ.

Join us next time when three new guests make their recommendations right here on "Check, Please!

Arizona."

I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Have a delicious life.

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Arizona" is supported by Tomorrow's technology today and much more is used to treat cancer at Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers.

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