"In 2006, Bill and Ginger Sandweg brought great coffee to the Melrose District. At that time, there wasn’t any good coffee between their house and Phoenix College, where Bill was taking some Creative Writing classes. This spirit of “I’ll do it myself,’ permeates all of Copper Star Coffee. We bake all of our pastries in-house, and have since Day 1. You can’t find that at corporate coffee. When we couldn’t find a chai we liked, our team started making our own chai from scratch. Our House-made Lavender syrup won us a Phoenix’s Best Herbal Latte. Selling hummus was an early hit, but our supplier wasn’t consistent. So we started making hummus from scratch. When Bill couldn’t find a good BLT, he had to make one of his own. We sell thru about 150 pounds of bacon a week. Finally, in 2019, when our bagel vendor sold his business, we started trying our own bagels. Three months later we started selling Central Phoenix’s Best Bagel. Made from scratch, we are averaging 212 bagels a day!"



I went through the drive-through on my way out of town to get a little pick-me-up and bite to eat.



I went with the Hummus Bagel, which is s homemade bagel topped with Homemade Hummus • Roasted Tomatoes • Onions. To drink, I ordered a blended vanilla caramel frozen coffee.



Let's start with the hummus bagel. You can tell that the bagel and hummus are homemade. A touch extra toasty on the bagel. But they are just much fresher and much more flavorful than any others I've had. I like the bite from the tomatoes and a little crunch from the onion. oh, and did I mention that cherry almond muffin? Sweet, crunchy and everything I want in a muffin.



The coffee was extra frozen; so slightly more watery than others I've tried. But I enjoy this. It tempers any better flavors in the place of them with a nice dollop of caramel sauce.



Both made for a really good breakfast that was tasty and feeling.



Grade: A

Super Chunk Sweets & Treats in Scottsdale is sadly a lovely little shop that closed since I last visited. But I still want to share and document my experience.



They had a wide array of cookies, pastries and other delicious baked goods available at the counter, as well as a full menu when dining in. 



Everything from blondies and brownies to their famous "Mesquite Chocolate Chip" cookie, which is "our little 'desert' cookie is a shortbread with sandy texture and nutmeg, caramel-like flavor." It has been named the best chocolate chip cookie in Arizona from Mental Floss, the unofficial state cookie of Arizona from Phoenix New Times, and a chocolate chip cookie worth traveling for from National Geographic. 



If you know me, you know chocolate chip cookies are not really my thing, so I passed that one up. BUT, I found some other really lovely sweets. 



This beautiful little "Saguaro" dessert has raspberry aloe vera mousse, prickly pear gelee, pistachio sponger, pistachio crumble and mesquite sable cookie. It was a pleasure to taste these local flavors and fun to eat. Pretty food is just such a joy. 



In addition to all the sugar, I did get a more well-rounded brunch dish: lox bagel. One of my absolute favs. 



Lox is essentially a smoked salmon, and it came with scallion cream cheese, reed onion, capers, tomato all on an everything bagel. 



This bagel was stacked with toppings. Every inch of the bagel was covered in seeds or garlic or onion, and I couldn't have been happier with the crunch. All the toppings were super fresh and made for a salty bite that perfectly paired with t he fatty salmon and cream cheese. So tasty. 



It's no surprise this spot is a James Beard award nominee; I'm just disappointed they have since shuttered their doors, because I would certainly make a return visit. 



Have you ever been?



Grade: A

Valentine in Phoenix focuses on local southwest ingredients and has received recognitiom from both Esquire Magazine and The New York Times for doing so.



"Dishes include the lauded elote pasta with Hassayampa asiago cheese. For brunch, try the steak & eggs, made with Rovey Farms grass-fed beef and Two Wash Ranch eggs. At the adjacent speakeasy Bar 1912, sip on cocktails that pay homage to the 48th state. Bone marrow and mesquite smoke distinguish the Cattle drink, while the Cotton boasts pistachio extract, pistachio oil, pistachio milk, and pistachio “cotton candy.” House-made pine liqueur crafted from foraged Arizona pine cones and tips is the base for the Forest. Save room for bar snack, including nuts, foie gras stuffed olives, and quail ramen eggs pickled with tamari, mirin, piloncillo, and sherry vinegar," according to Phoenix New Times.



This is one of the cooler restaurant spaces I've seen. There are a ton of large windows and it kind of reminds me of a drive-in restaurant (because of the awning) mashed with a super modern, trendy cafe. It was light and airy with greenery all around.



We ordered at the front counter, where they had a ton of delicious looking pastries and snacks. I ordered a scone with Sonoran white wheat, chorizo and cheddar. It was definitely on the dry side, but that's often to be expected with scones. Paired with a coffee drink, it was tasty.



Next up: hushpuppies with red fife wheat and cornmeal, Arizona Gouda, and jalapeño honey cabbage. these were just OK. There was more oil flavor than the strong cheese or pepper or anything else here.



I finished up with a little gem salad – need to get the veggies in. Sunflower vinaigrette, crispy sunchokes, and goatija (goat cheese + cotija cheese).



It was a fine salad, but the description hyped me up a bit more than the dish delivered. Overall, I think everything here was OK. But, there are so many other things I would love to try – including the Elote pasta they're known for. I do love how they incorporate local ingredients into their menu. So I think this will need to have another visit.



Grade: B

Fry bread is a dish of the indigenous people of North America that is a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard, according to Wikipedia.



The Fry Bread House in Phoenix features the above bread amd has been recognized nationally for it. In 2012, it received the James Beard Foundation American Classic Award and was the first Native American restaurant in the United States to do so.



Its history is a bit more storied than that, so I want to share a bit from their website:

The Fry Bread House was established in October 1992 by Cecelia Miller, a Tohono O'odham woman and a native of Arizona. After moving from the Tohono O'odham Nation in Sells, Arizona to Phoenix, Cecelia eventually settled in central Phoenix raising seven children with her husband, the late Reverend Joedd Miller. Tiring of having no public restaurant for Indian people to gather and eat as they would at home, she refined her cooking and recipes, took a small business class and started The Fry Bread House. Cecelia believed that many Native people displaced from ancestral homes to find and locate job and housing opportunities, like herself, in Phoenix would now be able to sit down to good home cooking just like they would at home with mom, grandma or auntie in the kitchen. Tohono O'odham people are known throughout the Southwest for their Red Chili Beef, large hand-stretched flour tortillas (chumuth) and frybread (popovers), among their basket-making and various other skills and trades. Due to the location of the Tohono O'odham's native lands that encompass lands both south of the Mexico border and up into nearly central Arizona, traditional recipes have seen influence from our Southern neighbors in Mexico. This is why you see tortillas (chuchumuth), menudo, and tamales on our menu. Cecelia felt it important to stick with foods that were known to her and her culture and is the reason that she maintains these items on the menu rather than trying to incorporate native cuisine from other tribal communities and cultures. The Fry Bread House began in a tiny, two-room space on 8" Street & Indian School in a small strip mall. The sons renovated the space into a commercial kitchen with a bathroom and a small dining area. Cecelia and her daughter worked the kitchen as well as a long-time family friend with the original menu consisting of frybread with beans, red chili beef and an Indian taco and a cooler full of canned soda. As business picked up, and Cecelia realized that there was a market for her cooking and traditional recipes, she continually added dishes common to the Tohono O'odham people and began hiring other Native people from the urban Indian Community. FBH soon outgrew the cramped location and closed that address permanently after settling into a newly, remodeled residential-turned-commercial house structure at 4140 N. 7 Avenue. Cecelia, Joedd and their family were able to create a larger space to accommodate more cooking, more indoor seating and hosting local artwork from local and regional Native artists. In April 2009, the family suffered a huge loss when husband and father, Joedd Miller, passed away unexpectedly. Joedd worked tirelessly in the urban Indian Community and in surrounding tribal jurisdictions serving both Native and non-Native people as a Presbyterian pastor, mentor, friend and brother for over thirty years. His work on social justice issues, homelessness, the sanctuary movement, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, Presbytery, native social issues and many more are missed. Joedd rallied the family 18 years ago to serve the urban homeless every Thanksgiving a traditional native meal just as they would get at home as they struggle on the streets. The Fry Bread House continue that tradition every year as well as remembering & honoring Joedd every day since his passing. In November 2009, Cecelia fulfilled a dream long shared by her and Joedd, by opening The Fry Bread House Mesa location at 1916 W. Baseline Rd, #10 at the northeast corner of Baseline & Dobson! While the Phoenix FBH remains the flagship location, FBH Mesa is larger, roomier and accommodates patrons from the east valley.



Inside, it's not a large space, and it was quite warm while we were there. We studied the menu on the wall - which highlights fry bread tacos - and ordered at the counter. I went with the Ultimate Taco: Beef, refried beans, onions, sour cream cheese, lettuce.



It's pretty straightforward - all the standard taco toppings but enveloped in a puffy fry bread. Like a puffy taco with a lot of history.



I appreciate the story here and the simplicity of the ingredients. Not my usual dinner, but glad I got to try it out.



Grade: B

While visiting Bryce Canyon National Park, I spotted a food truck - not a common occurence in my experience. So, I was very excited to check out Dawg House.



As you may have guessed, their best-seller is the hot dog. I managed to somehow miss most of my hot dog in the photo, but I got one topped with pulled pork and BBQ and French-fried onions. Pretty good!



The pretzel bites and cheese were also pretty tasty. I feel like I only have pretzels at events or special occasions so they immediately put a smile on my face.



Grade: B