Yes, we are food celeb junkies. We watched Gordon Ramsey's new show in the UK last week, and it was pretty wild. He actually dropped the F bomb more than "Goodfellas" and The Sopranos combined. Certainly would not work on US TV networks.

A long Tube ride landed us at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, a restaurant that employs disadvantaged youth to inspire them to have better lives. Jamie was nowhere in sight, but the place looks quite good. Sadly, they don't take a lot of walk-in diners--reservations appear to be a must.

Here’s a place that not even Jane and Michael Stern have spotted in their food travels: Dewey Destin Seafood, a short ride off of Highway 98 in Destin. It’s a fish shack on a pier that juts into the bay overlooking Crab Island and serves shellfish and fish right out of the water. It’s all lightly BBQ-ed or grilled and served with simple sides. If you are in these parts, don’t miss it!

One of our favorite Phoenix haunts, Luby’s, is out of our life. The Luby’s, located in Paradise Valley Mall, closed, leaving the area with one cafeteria, that being WAY OUT on Bell Avenue on the way to Surprise Stadium. Some folks think Luby’s is a restaurant for seniors, but it has great, fresh food with a wide selection. I think, as I said in the clip, it makes me doubly sad as it’s a place we used to go with my father when he lived in the area. Guess, it’s one more reason to visit Texas--Luby’s stronghold (as well as corporate headquarters).

 

 

Asqew is a great place for a quick lunch or dinner. On Steiner in the Marina, the restaurant features grilled entrees on skewers (hence the name) with side orders of starch such as potatoes or rice. Simple fare, but voted one of The City’s best healthy food places as well as a great spot for folks on a budget.

 

**** (4 Stars)

 

 

No trip to San Francisco is complete for my family without a trip to Isobune—aka “the boat sushi” restaurant. Located smack in the middle of Japantown, on Post Street, Isobune is the first conveyor belt sushi restaurant in the U.S. The wait for a table can run as much as a few hours; today, we only had to wait 20 minutes.

 

The sushi comes around on colored plates, each one with a different color border. Each color represents a price per plate. We have spent more than $100 at Isobune, but today we got away for about half that. But then again, it was only lunch.

 

 

After a year and a half of waiting, we finally got to the Barrio Café for dinner. It has been voted the best Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, and indeed it’s worthy of the honor. Here’s one of the restaurant’s great charms—tableside preparation of guacamole.

 

Yes, I know my camera is low-light challenged. I am working on that….

 

 

Note:

After eight months of videoblogging, I have decided to duplicate my videos on a site dedicated to videoblogging—What’s On Tonight: The Videoblog. I have tried to embed the videos on this site, but (as much as I love Blogware) it appears semi-impossible. The embedded player is crucial because my MPEG-4 videos are challenging for many people to see.