Food For Thought

I will not discuss the intricacies of melts vs. grilled cheeses here, but I will try my best to not use the two interchangeably. We all know how that turns out ( "You people make me sick." ).  Melt is situated on a plain little corner in Avondale, within walking distance of other trendy, delicious restaurants like Saw's Soul Kitchen , Big Spoon Creamery , and Taco Morro Loco (Which I will eat at ASAP), meaning its continued existence says something about its novelty’s ability to bring in customers and its food’s tastiness to make them come back. Atmosphere: Bright and airy. Melt doesn’t have a big sign announcing their name, they just have their food truck with their logo parked out front. There’s ~5 parking spots, kids playing cornhole outside, and the whole building looks patchy and something a DIY dad would build in his DIY Dads Club. This isn’t bad, it’s just their vibe. For instance, there’s a full suit of armor inside, painted a pastel pink. Their waiting a...

A gritty name for a gritty place - just kidding it’s in a very nice, clean strip mall, right beside a wonderful boba tea place(I used to think strip malls had to have strippers in them for some reason). Mugshots invokes mental images of carnal food and offers huge burgers and cups. Atmosphere: Woody and raw. I don’t know how much control restaurants have over their interior decor in a strip mall, but it looked very different from any other store in the same strip mall. The tables were highly polished wood, almost looking like the preserved bread they show off during the advent month at the front of my Baptist church (They baked a loaf ~17 years ago and completely laminated it with some kind of food laminator and it’s still on display. But it’s grossly shiny and I’m terrified that it’s lasted this long). Bad wood texture. Also the wooden booths didn’t have padded seats, what’s up with that? I think it’s a BASIC requirement for booths to have padding. The brick was “raw” but fake s...

Saw's Soul Kitchen I’m assuming Saw is the owner of both of these places. The OG restaurant for both of these is Saw’s BBQ, which I haven’t been to because it closes at 8 and football games run late when I’m hungry. A place that knows their meat, Saw’s Establishments create some of the best burgers, pulled pork, and wings I’ve ever experienced. Atmosphere: These restaurants don’t put a huge emphasis on lights, which is a little bit of a letdown cause the food looks delicious! Soul Kitchen has large windows to let in light to the ~6 tables packed just tightly enough to allow room for a line to form out the door. SK has a counter for ordering, then you sit somewhere until someone comes out of the kitchen yelling your order. If the line stretches out the door and you stand in the threshold while keeping the door open, a very sassy black woman cashier yells at you. The wall decor is old license plates, with street signs and flying pigs (little metal piggies with wingies) on the...

An Aerial View of Tip Top that I did not capture. Enjoy. You’ve never seen a more niche locale. Tip Top Grill is literally a reconfigured mini gas station on a cliff. Past their fancy black gothic fence is a rocky death slope. But right behind it is an affordable and cool local American diner. You know how it goes. Or you’re about to, at least. Atmosphere: Imagine an old-school college dorm for 2. That’s the space. The division between worker and consumer is a high, tiled bar where the workers are probably grillin’ it up. I dunno, I’ve never been back there, but the cooks make convincing burger-flip motions. There is a freezer with local business stickers all over it, which establishes them as a local locale. Above the bar is 2 feet of space to see their operations then a big menu sign. It is readable from outside, helpful thanks to the limited space inside. Against the right wall in the back is probably a french fry frier. French frier? Again, never seen it. All I know ...

A conglomerate of many slightly expensive restaurants, Pizitz Food Hall is located in the heart of a bustling downtown. Brand-new and modern, its minimalist aesthetics appeal to the millennial eye even if its food appeals to fewer mouths. Atmosphere: I'm only going to write this section once cause I'll come back to Pizitz multiple times. Everyone in Pizitz Food Hall looks bored. Everyone. The workers, the people in nice suits eating, random kids eating, the security guards, everyone. Gah If I didn't go with cool people I would just take my meal back to my car and chow down with Kpop blasting through my speakers. The entrances and exits of the main building are huge glass panels. The walls are white on the inside, and a lot of different flavors line the walls, surrounding a big square bar area. Thankfully, there is an outside. It is surrounded on all sides by high but run-down buildings with exposed bricks. Quite a look. There are pretty trees and nice metal c...

\/\/ Editor's Note below \/\/ Panera Bread had a child with California Pizza Kitchen, and his name is Brixx. He lives near both of his parents like a good child should, and serves personal but filling pizzas in a dimly lit, open-air kitchen. Atmosphere: I’ve only ever gone at night so I’ve only ever looked at it when the sun isn’t watching. Regardless, this place is dark. There is a glass storefront but no holes in the roof for sun. There are plenty of lights, but even the kitchen is dimly lit. The pizza fire is brighter than everything else. Speaking of the pizza fire, it adds a nice background motion. Those cooks are COOKIN', it is unmistakable. Other places conceal their cooking in a well-lit background area with swinging doors, but Brixx shows you there is FIRE there is RAW pizza and out comes your order, which the nice staff brings over to you. Places to seat your seat are brown for the most part. The booths are set into the walls, and there are some higher ...

A homely and proud ice cream shop located where the forest meets the cliff, the Bluff Park Ice Cream Shoppe offers ice cream with a view. And access to a burger place right beside it. Atmosphere: Walk in. It is cool and smells slightly sweet. There are paintings of ice cream and of the little strip that the Shoppe is located on. Everything is peaceful. There is a display of cones, and prices on the back wall that are written on blackboard while still being easy to read. Everything is well-lit, and calming. It is calm. I come to this shop to relax and talk with my friends. After buying ice cream, I can walk outside and look over endless neighborhoods, acres of woods, and a lake. Or I can lounge in my car, waiting for the bird tweets and wind rustling in the trees to make me nod off. Actual Ice: Their ice cream is $5 dollars a scoop, with additional scoops being absurdly cheap, like a dollar. I enjoy their birthday cake flavor, which is vanilla with icing and sprinkles in ...

Situated in a strip mall that contains a vape store beside a laundromat, Tortuga’s is a niche pizza shop with all kinds of sports paraphernalia on every wall. Perfect for dates, whether friendly or romantic, their wait times and staff are facilitative of a great night out. Atmosphere: On any night the place is bound to be full of people. On the outside, Tortuga’s has an open, inviting atmosphere that is exposed to the moon and cool night wind. There are a few tables outside, as well as two additional sections of the restaurant inside. The lights are yellowed and warm, and the air inside is warm and windy, carrying the smell of pizza being baked by people who might also baked. I have heard that people working in a restaurant become disgusted by the smell of their food due to long-term exposure, but I doubt this for truly delicious food like pizza, or odorless but still delicious food like sushi. Their red, cushiony booth’s backs were low, preventing us from feeling trap...

A deceivingly fancy restaurant in the middle of bustling Five Points, Chez Fonfon is a French restaurant that serves the artesian aesthetic but not the flavor. As long as a couple who goes make no comment on flavor of their food, it is the ideal place for a perfect romantic date night from a movie scene. Seating: Nice and simple. Padded wooden chairs and booths, red and brown color scheme. Since the restaurant didn’t open until 4:30 on Saturday, the lighting was dimmed, but sort of excessively. Like it was so dark I could barely make out my friend’s face sitting across from me. We were also placed in a corner booth, where I had to sit in a chair, which left me feeling like an odd thumb sticking out of the table. Decor: Dark and French. Bottles of wine line the walls. Freshly-made, never frozen/refrigerated cake in plates lying around. Pots and pans lying around the place and nice maroon lampshades. It gave a similar feel to Vero, but was a lot busier in its decor. The...

Meat Manicotti Seating:  There was no parking. It was a pretty big parking lot, and I had to loop around twice before someone left. Despite that fact, the line inside was only 5 minutes long. There was a girl with a birthday cake waiting for seating and I felt kinda bad we got seated before she did. The table was for 6, and there was a Kiosk tablet in the middle of the table. Besides taunting me with 2 dollar access games, the tablet also let us pay. Which would have been nifty if the roll of receipt paper had not been falling out of the compartment. Enjoyed the tech, hated the microtransactions. Decor: Wood walls with a low interior. Coming out of the waiting area into the seating area, there is a ramp. While I like elevation in restaurants, this was poorly done because they didn't also increase roof height. I felt tall i.e. the ceilings were very short and a bit uncomfortable to sit under. They also had cookbooks, wine bottles, and wine bottle corks arranged around. The c...

Chicken Artichoke sandwich Starbucks does sell food that isn't cake pops or breakfast! It's in the open fridge near the checkout, and they'll toast your sandwiches so they come out nice and hot! Seating: Rickety but homely feeling. Made of nice polished wood but isn't nailed into the ground which is a pet peeve of mine. Monotone and not superbly interesting, which could be good if it forces conversation between people. Decor: Shameless self advertising. "Perfect coffee plants grown in precisely monitored conditions" my ass. Starbucks buys coffee beans from whoever sells to them the cheapest. Beyond that it had a good effect that made me feel like I was saving the environment by giving Starbucks my money. Atmosphere: I've never complained about the smell of coffeehouses but dammit this will be a first. Good at first, causes a stomachache if you stay in for too long, and is an awful place to do any work because of the amount of people and th...

Shrimp Tempura Roll Tempura shrimp, cucumbers, and avocado, topped with eel sauce Seating: Standard black booths not secured to the ground. Had a bar and elevated tables in the middle of the room. Lighting was dim and would probably have looked cooler in the night. In the daylight one side of the room is dark and the windows leading outside are blinding so for lunch eating it was less than ideal. The dark lighting didn't do well with all the open space, and made the whole place seem tighter than it actually was. Decor: Posters of rock stars and guitars hanging on walls, this place gives a true rock and roll vibe. With menus literally pasted inside of record jackets and an entire half of the menu devoted to rock and roll figures (KISS roll, AC/DC roll, Elvis Roll), it has a theme that fans will like and make non-fans feel like they've stepped in on a whole new culture. Past the decor, there is limited additional rock and roll content. No dressed up waiters or a presenter...

#5 Vito The original Italian sub with genoa salami, provolone, capicola, onion, lettuce, tomato, & a real tasty Italian vinigrette Seating:  The coolest thing about this restaurant was the elevated platforms for the tables. They make me feel a little more private than all the open space normally would. Elevation is also pretty rare in any building, and I personally love it. Decor:  The wall decor was well chosen and either funny or inspiring. One was the poem If by Rudyard Kipling, another was encouragement to be a good father. However hot your date is, you'd be missing out if you went to JJ without looking at the walls, which have something for everyone. The patterning across the walls were the main source of color, a strong firetruck red. Atmosphere:  Staff were enthusiastic and looked like they were having fun, not working a minimum wage job. Lovely people who truly did make the subs freakily fast (finished and handed to me at the soda fountain about 3...