(bright music) - I am Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please!

Arizona."

The show where Arizona Foodies recommend their favorite restaurants.

Coming up, we have guests that are passionate about their picks.

They've dined at all three and are ready to share their reviews with each other and with you right here on "Check, please!

Arizona."

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- [Announcer] Also supported by... (upbeat music) (people chattering and laughing) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check Please!

Arizona."

In this episode, we're checking out a barbecue joint, Southern Italian dishes and Thai cuisine.

Let's meet our diners.

Susan Sharp works in finance.

She and her husband have five kids and she enjoys hiking and go-karting with her grandkids.

Aziel Koski's an academic advisor for ASU.

This father of two dreamed of being a chef.

(laughing) But for now he enjoys dining out.

But up first, Mikaela Hatfield, she grew up in Tempe and her high school marching band performed in the Super Bowl with Katy Perry.

She picked a spot that definitely marches to its own beat.

This is Lom Wong.

(upbeat music) - My name's Alex Martin.

This is my wife, Chef Sunny and we own Lom Wong.

- Lom Wong is meaning sitting, gather around in a circle, friend, family, like when you, like a celebrate something.

- For guests who come to Lom Wong, they'll be experiencing regional Thai food.

We serve everything from traditional Thai salads to scratch curries.

Our menu is structured in a way to showcase the different villages and peoples of Thailand that are dear to Sunny and me.

We made the decision that we would be as sincere to the ingredients and techniques of Thai cooking as we possibly could be.

So we hand pound curry paste, hand squeeze coconut milk.

So it allows us to cook multiple curries with their own distinct character each time.

Our drink menu is broken up into two sections.

One is our specialty cocktail menu.

We wanted different ingredients that you would find in any of our friends or family's backyards and showcase the flavor profiles of Thailand in our cocktails.

Then our other part is our natural wine program, which is something we've become very passionate about over the last five years.

- The restaurant here is kind of like my soul from the family, and I do everything, you know, from my heart.

So when people walk in, I just want them to feel like, you know, welcome home.

- So Mikaela, what stands out to you about Lom Wong?

- Lom Wong is so awesome because it's Thai cuisine on a level you've just never seen before, at least that I've seen in Arizona.

We think of Thai food as like takeout and we all know the standards.

But when you go to Lom Wong, you're served dishes I've personally never seen before and that's really what stands out to me about the place.

- What dishes did you have when you were there?

- [Mikaela] I got the arai kodai experience, which is where they bring out a large amount of plates for your entire party.

- Wait, so this is an experience that they curate for you?

- They do, yeah.

They set the number of dishes by like how many people you bring in your party, and they'll also take requests and they'll really like curate the experience to like a spice level that you want.

- You like give up control.

That would be hard for me as a... You're shaking your head.

- They had mentioned that experience to me, but I was just like, no, I really want to choose the dishes.

But I was really curious about what that experience was like.

- So what are some of the highlights of that- - Yeah, they have like fried bamboo shoots that I really love that they bring out to the table.

I think for me the vegetable dishes at Lom Wong really stand out because when you go to a finer dining restaurant, like obviously you're expecting a very nice piece of meat, and the pork belly is like fantastic.

I'm not saying it's not, but they can elevate vegetable dishes to like something that I just could never replicate at home.

- What's their fried bamboo like?

- It's very crispy.

- Okay.

- [Mikaela] Every dish comes with a very well balanced sauce, so you get like a crispy bamboo shoot and then like a sweet chili sauce to put it in.

- Nice.

- Yeah, it's really great.

- Ooh, sweet chili.

- I know.

- Susan, you're nodding your head.

What did you have?

- Well, it brought back flashback of memories.

We had the chicken wings, and it came with a sweet Thai chili sauce and oh my gosh, they were the best wings I've ever had.

The crispy succulent.

- [Mark] Not breaded though.

They were just straight up, right?

- [Susan] No, they were the crispiest wings I've ever had.

- Yeah, - The dish was just amazing.

- Awesome.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

We had to order a second plate.

- You did?

- Because my 3-year-old was- - Oh really?

- Crazy over the chicken wings.

- Oh yeah.

- Really?

- Oh, yeah.

- Three year olds be diving into that.

Awesome.

- Yeah, he was.

- Isaiah, what did you have?

- We had, everyone in my family each chose a dish 'cause I think everyone was being very particular about what we wanted 'cause we were all very excited.

For me, I ordered the crispy pork belly with, it had like a coconut cream drizzle on it.

I loved it.

So it was funny when you mentioned the pork belly 'cause I was like, that was the first thing my eyes were drawn to.

- I think they're kind of known for it.

I've had it.

It's- - They're really known for their curries because all of their curry pastes are hand pounded.

- Yeah.

- Wow.

- When you have their coconut milk and you're like, "Why have I never had coconut milk this good?"

They hand squeeze that coconut milk.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

Yeah, no, and that's what I was thinking 'cause my wife and I got engaged in Thailand and so we since coming back had been trying Thai restaurants all over the US and this was the first time Lom Wong's and one of the restaurant in Phoenix I feel like are the two best Thai restaurants I've ever had in the US and we were blown away.

- I think I know them both and I agree.

(group laughing) So Susan, what was your entree?

- It was the branzino special, and it was prepared exquisitely again, never had anything like this before.

It had like a light batter on it and when you opened up the fish, it was the whole fish.

It came on a plate with tomatoes and cucumbers and romaine.

The meat was just so flaky and tender, not greasy at all.

I would go back there again - Just for that.

- Oh.

- It had a little bit of a Thai chili sauce on it, but it was not the sweet.

The waitress explained that it was more of a savory sauce.

- Savory oil based- - Everything was just paired amazingly.

We enjoyed it.

- The seafood I thought was incredible.

To me, it seemed like we weren't even in Arizona.

- Right.

- I'm usually apprehensive going to restaurants to have seafood in Arizona.

But I was blown away how fresh it was.

We had ordered also a noodle dish in a seafood broth and it came with clams and mussels, shrimp, and it had crab in there.

It was so rich and I felt like you could taste the curry that you were talking about so clearly through it.

But the broth was also a very rich seafood broth that just, yeah.

- That's awesome.

- Tasted really good.

- And you had a stir fry, right?

- Stir fried crab and eggs.

Yeah.

There was big lumps of crab pieces in there with the eggs.

- Yeah, that dish like is I one that I've never seen on any other Thai restaurant's menu and it sounds a bit unique.

Like I would never think like, oh, I would order a crab egg dish as like an entree for dinner.

But it's an absolute hit every time.

I don't go there without ordering it.

It's so savory and you can tell it's true crab meat.

It's not, you know, like imitation or pollock.

It's true lump crab meat with a nice like egg and curry.

- So the sweet finish, did you have any desserts, are there a go-to for you?

- Yes, they have a homemade coconut sorbet that is really fantastic.

I wouldn't even describe myself as a big coconut fan, but at Lom Wongs I just love the coconut.

So they have like a banana split.

They'll put that coconut sorbet on there and they'll top it with a caramel sauce, and to get, you know, like the salty in the caramel, they'll actually add a fish sauce.

- Wow.

- Which sounds strange.

You might think I might not like that.

- No, no, no.

- Just put yourself in their hands.

- Susan, desserts?

- Oh, we had the creme brulee and it comes out as two servings on the plate.

One is a lemongrass creme brulee and the other one is a hibiscus.

And the hibiscus one was a little pinkish purple in color, surprising but a cool little treat once you broke through the sugar.

The lemongrass one did have hints of lemon.

So it was just very nice, creamy, delicious.

They were both out of this world.

- So Aziel, we talk about pro tips now.

- So for me actually my pro tip is the area is really nice.

There's coffee shops, multiple coffee shops, a brewery.

It's a very nice area to just go there and to just enjoy an evening or an afternoon there, which is what we did.

- [Mark] Make a night of it, walk around.

- Make a reservation for sure.

Parking was a little bit challenging but we found a spot right away.

- Mikaela, this is your spot.

What's your pro tip?

- I would say bring a big group and be ready to eat.

The more people you have, the more small dishes you can try and I think that makes for a better like tasting experience.

Every dish that comes out is really like a work of art and, you know, a little bit of everything is definitely the way to go - If you want to try Lom Wong, it's located downtown Phoenix at Second Street and Portland.

An average meal is around $55 and they do take reservations.

(upbeat music) Our next pick is Susan's.

Her go-to dining companion is her husband and their favorite is an Italian restaurant that began with a love story.

This is Vic and Ola's.

(upbeat music) - I would describe Vic and Ola's as a tribute to my grandparents, Victor and Ola Belmonte.

I really used a lot of the influences that I had growing up with the way we ate at my house.

Our restaurant is considered a Southern cuisine, which is the way I grew up.

It's from Calabria region.

You'll see a lot of fresh tomatoes, very seafood heavy.

Not a lot of proteins in Southern Italy 'cause there's a more of a poorer area.

There are a few dishes that I recommend that people try.

One is the Isabella Pasta.

It's something that I would make for my children growing up.

It's very light and refreshing and healthy.

It's just shrimp and broccoli and pine nuts and a little bit of olive oil.

Another one is our lasagna.

It's a bolognese lasagna.

It is very traditional.

It's not a lot of cheese.

It's more made with a meat sauce.

I would describe the decor at Vic and Ola's as a more of a fine dining decor, but not necessarily fine dining cuisine.

The first thing you see when you walk in the restaurant, and I'm super proud and excited about it, is my stained glass window.

I had to sell my Jeep to pay for it.

It was worth every penny.

And I get goosebumps thinking about it.

It's such a beautiful piece and it's our signature piece I think.

When I walk into Vic and Ola's, it's magical.

Honestly.

I feel like it's magical.

When you see this place filled with happy people dining, the whole outside filled, the whole inside filled, I know that I've done the right thing and that we're giving something to community that they really want.

- Susan, tell us how you found, you love Italian food, tell us how you found this place.

- The chef that owns this restaurant owns several other Valley restaurants and we actually ended up at one of our other locations and then through that we found out about Vic and Ola's.

- Well tell us, what do you have when you go there?

- A little bit of everything.

Something different every time, Just because there's so many amazing dishes on the menu.

the last time we went I had the grilled lamb chops and they were cooked to perfection.

The dish came out with a little bit of fresh rosemary on it.

They ignited it and then when they brought it to the table the rosemary was wafting through the air, which kind of gave it another dimensions That dish had a polenta on it, which was creamy and delicious and then it had a eggplant caponata.

Everything was married very perfectly.

- [Mark] So what did you have for appetizers?

- [Susan] We had the spaghetti di Olivia.

It came with zucchini and cheeses and it was just very creamy and savory.

We also had the burrata with figs and walnuts and- - [Mark] Oh man, I love what they're doing.

- Sprinkling more balsamic.

- Oh.

- It was just a great way to start.

- There is a theme here, is anyone know got- - Yeah.

(Susan laughing) - They know what they're doing to balance out flavors.

Aziel, you had I think whipped ricotta, right?

- Yeah, the whipped ricotta was incredible.

It was a very creamy ricotta with like a honeycomb on top.

- Oh.

- Blistered tomatoes and roasted garlic.

So we really liked the balance between the sweet, the savory components and the rich cheese.

- What'd you have next?

- My wife and I went with my three-year-old.

They had mentioned that, "Oh, just be warned that some of the dishes, we can't alter the spice."

But we had gotten the pasta alla Norma, we got pizza and then we also got from my son, spaghetti and meatballs.

It was spicy, the spaghetti and meatballs 'cause my son does not like spice and he'll just push it away immediately.

But they're really nice.

We asked them to switch it out 'cause it was a little spicy when it came out first and they were very nice about it.

- The pizza.

Tell me about it a little bit.

- The pizza to me was more like a flatbread.

It felt like it had a softer crust, but it was walnut, prosciutto and fig like syrup on it.

- Ooh nice.

- Yeah, it was really good.

We loved the combo, and I'm not normally a white sauce, like I don't like white pizzas, but I really appreciated how they paired all the ingredients together.

- What did you have, Mikaela?

- Yeah, my dishes that I tried there also were really balanced.

I went for their aperitivo, the happy hour, and my girlfriend and I, we got a fried calamari and we also got the Sicilian ribs, which I really saw that balance that they play there.

I think there was orange in it and fennel and it was on this bed of like really bitter arugula.

- Ooh.

- You know, when you think of meat coming out on, you know, like the leafy greens, you kind of ignore 'em, but eating that arugula with the short ribs is actually really nice.

- Yeah.

- Yeah 'cause it soaked up all of the glaze that they put on there.

- So how was your calamari?

- It was also really nice.

Sometimes calamari can get a bit overdone but they did it perfectly.

It was also very well seasoned and it came with a very nice marinara sauce.

- Do you have a drink when you were there?

- How did you know, Mark?

(all laughing) Wouldn't you know, an espresso martini.

(laughing) Yeah.

- Awesome.

- [Mikaela] And I did feel bad it wasn't on the menu but they took care of me.

I was like, "Can you do an espresso martini?"

And they said, "Yes, we can do an espresso martini."

My friend had the All Saints cocktail.

It came with a little charm, a little saint charm that you can take home.

- Oh, that's so cool.

- [Mikaela] I put in my car for good luck.

- Good for you.

That's kind of cool.

I haven't seen that before.

That's cool.

- Yeah.

- Susan?

- I tried an non-alcoholic drink, the Strawberry Fields and it was absolutely delicious.

- Well, talk about decor a little bit.

- I love it.

It's romantic Italian for me.

It was comfortable.

The tablescape is done beautifully with, you know, oddly enough, gold silverware.

It was a part of, you know, the total experience.

- Yeah, I'd never been there before.

And when you come in from the parking lot, there's these big stained glass windows that they have that faces the entrance, and there's very large patio out back with a nice fireplace.

- I was blown away at the quality of service.

I mean, that was the first thing that stood out to me.

I know it's not really related to the ambiance, but I haven't been at that level of service in a long time where they take out the bread scraper to get all the crumbs off the tablecloth.

So it was very, very nice, and very elegant.

And despite being so nice, it was also nice to see that they were so accommodating with us and our two children.

- And Susan, it is your place.

So what's your pro tip?

- Oh my goodness.

Make a reservation.

Also they offer lunch.

Same entrees, a little bit smaller portion.

So you know, give it a little try.

- Try it.

- [Susan] Try lunch first before you dive into dinner.

- I would say pro tip going in the winter.

We loved that we were out on the patio in the sunshine in the middle of the day, and I just think they've done such a nice job of setting up the ambiance, not just inside, but also outside.

- Mikaela your a pro tip.

- I would say the happy hour was a great move, especially if you were looking for a more budgeted option.

It's not a place that I would typically go, but I did really enjoy the aperitivo experience.

- Awesome.

If you want to try Vic and Ola's, it's located on Pima Road in the DC Ranch area of North Scottsdale.

An average meal is $50 and they do take reservations.

(upbeat music) Our last restaurant is Aziel's favorite.

He's tried barbecue all over the US and he says the best spot is here in Arizona.

This is Little Miss Barbecue.

(upbeat music) - Little Miss Barbecue to me is just this dream that happened wanting to create the absolute best central Texas style barbecue we can.

Central Texas style is known for minimal seasonings, very beef heavy.

So we'll have like the brisket, beef ribs, beef sausages, things of that nature.

Then we smoke it with pecan and white oak all sourced here in Arizona.

It's just very well balanced with the smoke and the seasoning and the meat.

Our menu here at Little Miss Barbecue is pretty basic.

We do meat market style where you can order as much or as little as you like.

We also have plates.

We have a single meat plate, a two meat plate, and then we also have sandwiches.

Then we have our sides too.

We have some amazing sides.

There's nothing worse than going out to eat somewhere and the main dish is fantastic but then the sides you get are like eh.

So we've worked really hard on making them delicious.

Oh, our dessert's at Little Miss Barbecue.

Originally we started with my wife's great great grandmother's pecan pie recipe and we smoke it in a smoker so it's fantastic.

And then recently we started doing a banana pudding that's really good as well.

Our name Little Miss Barbecue comes from our old dog.

When we went to our first barbecue contest, we had to come up with a team name.

And what about Little Miss Barbecue for the team name?

We loved it and we've stuck with it ever since.

It's awesome that we get compared to the best places in the world.

When you hear things like that, it just makes you really happy because that mission that we have of really creating amazing barbecue and treating people really well and having a place where they can have a great experience.

We're doing it and it makes you feel good.

- So Aziel, I agree with you.

This place is awesome.

How did you find it?

- So my wife and I had lived in many different places after we got married, and when I came back everyone kept talking about Little Miss Barbecue.

So on my birthday, my wife isn't a huge meat eater, so usually on my birthday is when I can get the food I want to eat.

So I said I want to go to Little Miss Barbecue.

- Lucky you.

- Yeah.

- The birthday leverage for the barbecue.

- I wanted to use my birthday leverage to get my barbecue.

And the great thing is, is that she fell in love with it.

- So what's your go-to?

What do you eat when you're there?

- Normally when I go there I always get brisket and pulled pork.

Anytime I go to a barbecue place, it's like me getting pepperoni pizza at every pizza place.

I always want the brisket.

- It's the standard.

It shows you what they are.

Yeah.

What'd you get this time?

What'd you like?

- So I ordered the two meat plate and my friend ordered a platter, and we both just left it in the center of the table and we just went crazy.

The meats we had the 707 and jalapeno sausage, the turkey, which if you don't like Turkey, that turkey will change your life.

- Smoked and moist?

- Yeah.

But everyone says this that the smoky is not too smoky but it's really true about this turkey.

It's just super moist and I feel like you taste the herbs more than the smoke, which is nice.

And then we also got the brisket, the pulled pork and then we also got the beef rib.

So- - Oh my gosh.

- We definitely ate our fill of that.

- So how was the brisket?

- [Aziel] I like that the brisket, you can get it how you like whether you wanted a leaner cut or a fattier cut.

But I like that there's a nice crispy ring on the outside and it's super juicy on the inside.

- Yeah, that's awesome.

- So when you're eating it without sauce, the pure taste of the brisket really shines and it's really tender.

- And the beef ribs?

- Yeah, the beef rib is great.

You can just stick a fork on it and it just peels the meat right off the fork.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- [Mark] Ooh.

Ooh.

That's my favorite.

Everyone is kind of has an argument.

Some people like a lot of chew and a lot of pull.

I like it to fall right off.

- I am also a brisket go-to.

I am also a big animal fat person, so they do a great job of asking you, "Do you want fatty?

Do you want lean?

How do you like it?"

- So you go fatty?

- Oh absolutely.

- You did?

- Me too.

- Uh-huh.

- What's the texture like, flavor?

- It's super buttery.

They do a great job of like leaving the marbling in if you ask for it.

When they cut a slice off of the brisket for me, they'll even trim it up.

There is some silver skin in the middle of it and then they'll toss that.

That doesn't go into your weight.

- Look at you, all chefy, talking silver skin.

- Yeah.

- You know exactly what you're doing.

- I like brisket.

(laughing) So yeah, they do a great job of cleaning it up for you so that you're not tossing too much.

You know when you... 'Cause you order a a two meat platter, you get a pound and a half a meat.

- Oh, it's a lot.

- It's a lot.

- It's a commitment.

- I always take it home every time, yeah.

I had the fatty brisket and then I also had the pork ribs.

- [Mark] Oh yeah, those are good too.

- Yes.

You gotta get the plate of like all the barbecue sauces 'cause they have three, they make 'em in house.

They're all great.

- All different.

So it's like a sweeter one.

Super spicy, well, spicy I would say or bold.

And what's the middle one?

- Mustard.

- A honey mustard.

- Mustard.

That's right, honey mustard, right.

Susan, you're chiming in.

Let's go.

What did you have?

- I had the spare rib platter, which was delicious with some cole slaw and mac and cheese.

The mac and cheese that was, you know, creamy and savory and the cole slaw was crisp and cold.

The ribs were delicious.

I tried them just plain, you know, purist at first because they do have a good rub on 'em.

And then experimented with some of the sauces.

- [Mark] What was your favorite sauce?

- I think I like the house sauce, which was, it looked kind of more of a tangy sweet.

Very delicious.

- Well, and what I like about the sauces is that trying all the meats, you really see how the different sauces pairs nicely with the different meats.

Like the mustard tastes obviously so good with the sausages.

- Mm.

Yeah.

- But then switching between the sweet and the spicy on the brisket or the pulled pork.

'Cause I'm like you, I like to try it plain but I'm really, I'm not a purist barbecue eater.

Once I try the meat and I try like how the balance is with the fat and the salt, then I just baptize it in sauce 'cause I really just want my sweet and sour on top of the meat as well.

- It's all about the sauce.

So you kind of went big on sides.

- Yes.

- What did you have?

- Again, I don't know if there wasn't something we didn't try.

We had the mac and cheese, the grits.

- [Mark] How was that?

- The mac and cheese is great.

It's a very standard mac and cheese, which my wife appreciates.

She doesn't like stuff in it, she just wants clean mac and cheese every time.

- So basic.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

So it's nice and clean mac and cheese.

The grits, I swear there's American cheese in it.

I love American cheese.

I'm a huge fan.

I like it.

- Me too.

- Yeah, I loved it in the grits.

I felt like it was a nice balance with the barbecue.

- Did you try the beans?

Anyone try the- - I had the beans.

- Oh, you tried the beans.

- We tried them.

- I had the beans.

Yeah.

- Oh, we all tried the beans.

- [Mikaela] They put a meat in the beans, which is really nice like to have something in addition to just the beans.

And as you would expect from a barbecue restaurant, they're not crunchy beans, they're not mushy beans.

They're like that perfect in the middle.

- We actually asked one of the servers, you know, what was in the ranch beans because they were amazing.

And he said that when they get done with the grill, the barbecue, it's basically the scraps of meat mixture.

- Oh.

- Mixed, goes into the ranch beans.

- Oh.

- They were the best.

- You can't make that up.

That sounds so good.

I'm so hungry right now.

- Susan, thank you for bringing us that knowledge.

(all laughing) - Thank you very much.

Susan, what'd you have for dessert?

- There's a pecan pie that they have.

It's called Becky's Pecan Pie.

It was called Smoked Pecan Pie, which I had never had before.

I'm not a huge pecan pie fan, but I thought, let me try it.

And we thoroughly enjoyed it.

You get a little bit of that smoke flavor.

- [Mark] Oh, it did come through.

That's great.

- And they do cook it out in the smoker.

- On their smoker.

- They cook in the smoke.

That is a beautiful thing.

I think that's so cool.

- I think they called it not too sweet pecan pie.

And it's so true.

I felt like both desserts, they have banana pudding and then the pecan pie.

Both are very like balanced with the sweetness.

- Alright, Aziel, this is yours.

Pro tip.

- You gotta save room for dessert.

Which we didn't, but truthfully, this time I was so thankful that this was the first time we got dessert there, and the dessert is just as much of a wow factor as the barbecue.

- I really enjoy their patio.

They have great misters in the summer.

In the winter, it's very well sunlit.

I really like the atmosphere on the patio.

- If you wanna try Little Miss Barbecue, it's located on 7th Street just south of Dunlap.

An average meal is $28 and they don't take reservations.

They also have a location in Tempe.

I want to thank Susan, Mikaela, and Aziel for joining me at the table.

And thank you for joining us on "Check Please!

Arizona."

If you'd like to share your favorite restaurant, go to our website, azpbs.org/checkplease and nominate your must eat out spot.

Who knows?

You could be joining me at the table.

Be a part of the foodie conversation in Arizona on social media using #checkpleaseaz.

Join us next time when three new guests make their recommendations right here on "Check, please!

Arizona."

I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Have a delicious life.

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Arizona" is supported by... - [Announcer] Tomorrow's technology today and much more is used to treat cancer at Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers.

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