"Make your own edible cookie dough bowl."



Has there ever been a more beautiful string of words assembled? Probably, but this one's pretty close.



Scoopwell's Dough Bar takes the well-known concept of assembling your own dish, but with a new medium: cookie dough. They do also offer ice cream, baked cookies and other treats.



Before I get too far into this, let's first start off by noting that, yes, the raw cookie dough is edible, as per their website.

Q: Is the dough safe to eat without baking?
A: Yes, it’s specifically made to be eaten straight from the mixing bowl. We utilize heat treated flour and pasteurized eggs to take the worry away.

Q: But I thought you couldn’t eat raw eggs?
A: Much like the heat treating process of the flour, the pasteurization process for eggs eliminates any potentially harmful bacteria so all the doughs are safe to enjoy without baking.



Once inside the playful & colorgul space, I went up to the bar to make my decisions on creating the perfect cookie dough bowl.



First step is deciding how many scoops of cookie dough you would like. then, decide on which flavors you would like to include: brownie batter, cookies and cream, chocolate chip, just dough, snickerdoodle, cake batter, peanut butter explosion, oatmeal chip, s'more, banana cream pie, Irish mint or white chocolate macadamia.

Finally, add toppings like: Rainbow Sprinkles, Chocolate Sprinkles, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Mini Reese's Pieces, Mini M&Ms; Chocolate Chips, Oreo, Kit Kat, White Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter Chips, and Butterscotch Chips.



I mixed and matched without much strategy in mind. That may have been a mistake, because it ended up very sweet. But, I very much enjoy the concept and getting to try something a little bit different. I like cookie dough much better than actual chocolate chip cookies, so this was quite a delight.



Grade: A

Dapper & Stout takes coffee seriously.

"Espresso Drinks feature our locally roasted signature Ensemble Blend. The combination of four coffees from around the globe are masterfully selected and tailor roasted with espresso preparation in mind. The richness stems from Brazil & Ethiopa. The balanced, smooth flavor experience completes the roast with the addition of Costa Rican & Guatemalan beans."



This coffee shop is beautifully polished and feels very high-end. From the lighting and the finishes to the layout and bakery options, the space is refined while bordering on cocktail bar vibes.



They offer coffee drinks of all kinds, including: lattes, cappuccinos, macchiato, Americanos, cold brew, tea, mocha and more.



I ordered a large iced caramel latte. It was good and as expected. Not too sweet, a tad bitter, but fairly refreshing as well.



we also had a number of grab and go pastries that were already packaged. I found a croissant that looked pretty good, so I went for it.



The croissant was a bit too dry for my taste; maybe I should've known better with it being prepackaged.



The two together, though, made for a decent start to the day.



Grade: B

Listen, not every meal can be a glamorous night out. Sometimes, you want to eat well but not leave the house. This is precisely why delivery exists in my mind. And on this occasion, it was Yama Sushi House in Chandler, Arizona.



I went with these two:

Caterpillar Roll - crab mix, avocado and cucumber wrapped inside, topped with avocado and eel sauce

Godzilla Roll - crab mix deep-fried with yum sauce and eel sauce

Both were decent, but nothing mindblowing. The crab mixture could be a bit more flavorful, the fried part could be crisper, but the avocado was fresh and layered in a lovely way.



Grade: B

I'm back with another culinary love letter to Hawaii. It may have taken me traveling to Arizona to discover this love, but it is going strong. I discovered Golden Hawaiian BBQ on a delivery app, and wasted no time placing an order.



I bought an entire smorgasbord: crab puffs, egg roll, manapua and a chicken katsu combo with steamed rice, macaroni salad, and cabbage.



The eggroll and crab puffs were standard – fried to a golden brown with a tasty filling. But the manapua was a soft bun filled with barbecued pork, and it was amazing. I love the toothsome, pillowy texture of the bun with that rich, meaty interior. The combo entrée was the real star. There's not a better way to cook chicken, and when there's a rich sauce to bring everything together, it is just *chef's kiss*. And the mac salad is key; the fattiness helps break through the fried flavors



Grade: A

My favorite Bloody Marys are full meals. Not simply a brunch beverage. There are so many garnishes that the drink itself is secondary. That is my kind of Bloody Mary. So, when I learned about a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, I was in.



Hash Kitchen in Chandler, Arizona, specializes in brunch and claims to have the original build-your-own Bloody Mary bar. From hashes and scrambled to benedicts and waffles - there are endless options here that all sound amazing.



I ordered the herb fried chicken benedict with two buttermilk biscuits, fried leeks, warm, maple reduction, hollandaise, two poached eggs, and served with hash potatoes. My favorite part of this dish was the fried leeks that gave it a little bit of a pungent flavor on top of what is otherwise a pretty standard flavor combo. I enjoyed the touch of sweetness, but this is a pretty heavy dish, so I put most aside in favor of the main event.



At the Bloody Mary bar, you start with a celery salt or bacon salt rim. Then, you get to choose what type of vodka: cucumber, jalapeño, celery, cilantro lime, dirty vodka or bacon. Next, it's the spice level of the mix: classic, tomatillo, chili, pepper or habanero. Finally, you can choose to upgrade from the house vodka and then it's on to the toppings.



There are over 50 craft toppings to create the ultimate Bloody Mary: Calabrian chilis, pickled red pepper, pickled jalapeno, cocktail onions, spicy pineapple, artichokes, pickled fennel, pickled green beans, celery, bacon, raviolis, meatballs, oysters, spicy mango, pickled eggs, blue cheese-stuffed olives, cheese cubes, beef jerky, pickles and more.



I tried to fit as many different toppings onto various skewers as I could. It was like an amusement park full of pickled and spicy goodies. I almost used the Bloody Mary itself as a dipping sauce for all of these fun, savory toppings. Plus, some were pretty creative. I love a fun, delicious, new way to enjoy a meal. This checked all those boxes.



Grade: A

Grindhouze Coffee is a local roaster offering several types of coffees. I recently purchased some of their products from Etsy to try out and add to my collection.

They offer Ethiopian, Costa Rican, Peruvian and Aurora's blend.

All coffee is dark roast and whole bean.

Ethiopian coffee has flavor notes of blueberry, peach, and watermelon.

Costa rican coffee has flavor notes of chocolate and citrus.

Peruvian coffee has flavor notes of chocolate and walnut.

Aurora's blend is a fan favorite. This blend combines all three flavors of Ethiopian, Costa Rican, and Peruvian coffees to host a perfect combination of chocolate, caramel and berry notes.

Have you tried them yet?

Nanay's Filipino Restaurant is my friends' go-to Filipino spot in Arizona. I love the Filipino food I've tried it the past, so I was excited to try this homestyle restaurant.



The restaurant is fairly spacious, and the food is served in a cafeteria style. In order to place my order, I did a mix of listing items from the menu on the wall and pointing at options behind the case.



They had lechon (suckling pig), pancit (stir-fried noodles), pork BBQ, adobo (stew), lumpia (eggrolls-ish) and more.



I almost wish I would have taken a sample of everything they had to offer so I could explore some other dishes I've never had before.



But, everything I did select was delicious. Deeply flavorful and everything seems to have veggies incorporated. So, that gave a little bit of a crunchy texture. I enjoyed the marinated and vinegary flavors most.



Lumpia, though, may be my favorite eggroll-esque vehicle. I like them a bit crispier than these year, but still so good.



What is your favorite Filipino dish?



Grade: A

While traveling out west for the holidays, my friends and I found ourselves in Quartzsite, Arizona, on Christmas. After frantically searching for what food options might be available on the holiday, we found Times 3 Family Restaurant.



On this particular day, they were essentially only serving the plated meal. While they said we could order off the menu, it would take a very long time. That's OK, though, because the special sounded great.



The meal began with a soup or salad; the soup of the day was broccoli and cheese. I think it was straight from a Campbell's cream of can - thick, gloopy, and sodium for days.



The main meal consisted of turkey or ham or both. Plus mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, a roll, cranberries and pumpkin pie for dessert.



It's a homestyle, hearty plate that was definitely filling. I wish there had been some texture to anything - crispy skin on the meat or crusty bread. As it was, everything was just soft and mostly brown and covered in gravy.



It was a decent meal overall that just ate a bit monotonous and one-note. Some chives or nuts or bacon couldv've added a bit more oomph.



Grade: C

Viper Wood Fired Oven Pizza is a food truck (or bus?) that often serves the western half of the Metro Valley. So, I was excited to catch them in Hurricane. The menu consists of a few standard pies: pepperoni, cheese, meat-lovers, etc. I opted for the margherita because I think it's simple enough to let the ingredients shine, but is not too basic to be boring. The crust was lightly crisp and the cheese may have caused a bit of sogging. But crispy + cheesy is a hard combo to beat.



Grade: B

If there's one cuisine sorely lacking in Appalachia, it may be Hawaiian. Prior to my visit to Aloha Kitchen in Arizona, the extent of my Hawaiian food experience consisted of "Hawaiian chicken" in a pineapple sauce at the local mall food court.



This fast-casual restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. And, it was fairly busy when I visited. The decor is minimal and well-worn. The menu has a bajillion options that all looked amazing: coconut shrimp, saimin, kalbi and more.



I went with Mixed Plate #4: Bulkogi Beef and Teriyaki Chicken with two scoops of rice and macaroni-potato salad. Plus spam musubi. Plus manapua.



The mixed plate teriyaki chicken was charbroiled then drizzled in a teriyaki sauce, which was a delicious bittersweet flavor. The bulgpgi could've done with a drizzle of the teriyaki as well. But so tasty, and I love the cool, creamy macaroni-potato salad on the side to add some balance. The spam musubi is just spam, rice and nori - and it's glorious. It's the freshness of a sushi roll with the salinity of SPAM. The manapua had the perfect barbecue pork filling inside that fluffy bun. so, so good.



Grade: A