I’m sure I’ve shared that I’m originally from Chicago Illinois and let me tell you that the one thing I miss is Chicago food! Restaurant food, carryout food even grocery store food! It’s a different food vibe here in the valley than we Midwesterners are used to, but things are changing, and they are certainly better than when I arrived 14 years ago.
The first thing that you will notice when you go to the grocery stores is that some of the brands you are used to buying just are not on the shelves. That was amazing to me because of course you can buy Open Pit Bar B Que Sauce (it is available now!) everywhere, can’t you? The answer would be no, and you can’t find Riceland rice or Ortega chipotle taco sauce or Glory Cornbread mix.
These are just a few brands that I shopped for all the time. I was lucky because I traveled back to the Chicago area often and so I always included a trip to the store to stock up and I just brought those things back. If you won’t be traveling call your best friend or family members to send you a care package!
Pizza. That was a major let down when we first arrived but a while back, we found Oreganos Pizza which is actually very good and they opened a Lou Malnati’s on Camelback Road in Phoenix which was even better and there are now several of those. There is a Gino’s East that opened in the Fall of 2016 in the Arcadia neighborhood. Rosatis Pizza is another good option and they had stores in Chicago so that was familiar!
Portillo’s came to the valley a few years ago and they added a Barnelli’s to the stores and of course that is a wonderful thing. I am still in search of a really good Bar B Que place – I’ve tried many but nothing that reminds me of home. The smoking process for Bar B Que is a problem here because of air quality. I understand that the proper equipment that would allow you to smoke Bar B Que the way we do back home can be quite a costly proposition.
Take out Chinese also seems to elude me. Lots of Sushi but good Fried Rice or Moo Goo Gai Pan, no luck!
Popeyes Chicken you can find and there is even one Harold’s Fried Chicken in Phoenix. Plenty of Starbucks but not enough Dunkin’s – my favorite. A new offering that came on the scene is Black Rock Coffee – it’s really good and more locations are opening!
I’ve been on a mission lately to find good donuts and I’ve had some luck. I write reviews on Google Maps under the name of Patricia Poindexter if you want to check donut reviews out.
This week (September 8 – 17) is the Fall Arizona Restaurant Week and there are over 150 restaurants participating. Click this link to see the line up! http://arizonarestaurantweek.com/
Be sure to let me know if you’ve had luck with Bar B Que, Chinese, visiting restaurant week or any other great food finds. We are, after all…
#Transplanted.