Tom's Bar BQ

Tom's Bar B Q
1140 S Country Club
Mesa AZ
480-464-0471
www.Tomsbbq.com

date of visit: 11/14/09

1. Appearance 3

Clean. Only menus and cartoon on walls.

2. Menus 4
Large. Chicago style dogs, Italian beef, Italian sausage, and ribs. Sells lunch, dinner, take-out, and bulk.

3. Price 4
Reasonable. Combo beef and sausage sandwich is $7.49.

4. Bathroom did not visit

5. Service 4
Order at counter. Meals are delivered pleasantly and quickly to table.

Comments: No liquor.

WILL RETURN

Oaxaca

Oaxaca Restaurant
321 M Hgwy89A
Sedona, AZ
928-282-4791

Date of visit: 10/24/09

1. Appearance 3

This is a Mexican restaurant with a plain decor. The only thing that kept the review from being a 2 was the view of the Red Rocks.

2. Menu 3
Typical Mexican/American


3. Price 2
High-average $11 to $14

4. Bathroom 2
Bad smell

5. Service 4

Prompt. Good beer selection

Overall, there are many different restaurant's in the Sedona area (including Prescott). This one is nothing but average.

WILL NOT RETURN

260 Cafe

803 E Highway 260
Payson, AZ
928-474-5881

date of visit: 7/18/09




1. Appearance 4
40's,50's and 60's decor with movie and music posters and photos on the walls. Looks like a diner from the 50's with booths and counter stools.



2. Menu 4

Diner style 50's breakfasts and lunches. Burgers, potato salad, and pies are homemade. No dinner except for Friday night fish fry and rib eye steak.

3. Prices 4
Very reasonable. Burger is $2.60. I had the Philly cheesesteak with potato salad, drink, and 3 berry pie with French vanilla ice cream for $14.

4. Bathroom 3
clean

5. Service 4
Smiling and fast.

Overall rating 4
Comments: No bar. Building is 30 years old. New owners changed the decor when they bought the business in February.

WOULD RETURN

Palace Restaurant & Saloon

120 S Montezuma St.
Prescott, AZ
928-541-1996

Use this link to receive useful information on hikes in Arizona:

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1. Appearance 4

Very old (over 100 years) authentic Western saloon.

Dripping in old time frontier character, this iconic restaurant/saloon on Prescott’s historic Whisky Row is a real crowd pleaser. With its massive dark-wood mirrored bar with a life of its own (just ask the bar tenders), wood floors and intricate tin ceilings, The Palace has been featured in several movies including Billy Jack. Although the food is just average, it doesn’t really matter because the atmosphere is why people come here. “Palace Red”, the house beer, is an anemic, forgettable brew—but for 9 bucks, you get to keep the souvenir pilsner glass.

2. Menu 2

Everyone had a different burger. My Southwest burger was bland. The apple pie was warm but not home made. It was presented as a flat cobbler not as a slice of pie. Did not finish the doughy crust. The special amber house beer was warm, flat, and tasteless.

3. Prices 2

Prices were at Phoenix level. $9 for burger and fries.

4. Bathroom 3

Clean

5. Service 4

Server was attentive. Before he gave each of us our checks he verified with us what we had.

Overall comments: This is a place for tourists. The air conditioning was not working and the house beer was terrible.

Would not return

Cafe Ole

119 S. San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
928-774-8272
date of visit: 06/20/09

FOR INFORMATION ON HIKES TO DO GO TO:

http://www.arizonahiking.blogspot.com/

1. Appearance 5

Above photos give you an idea of the interior.

Reminiscent of a beachside Cabo cantina, this Flagstaff eatery is a maze of brightly colored rooms which all lead to an open air patio. Rich south-of-the-border and tropical decorations embellish every nook and cranny including the restrooms--which rate high on our “neat seats” scale. Tip: the “banos” are labeled in Spanish, so it’s a good idea to pull out the tourist phrase book to avoid an embarrassing encounter. Rounding out the college-town, faux-barrio feel is a tiny, neon-drenched bar room with the requisite blaring big screen and rough-hewn stone flooring that spills out into a sunny brick-paved outdoor party space.

2. Menu 5

Not the usual Mexican menu for Arizona. Definitely New Mexico/Mexico. Food is not hot. Make it hot to your taste using their homemade salsa. They have a full bar with many types of Mexican cervaza.

3. Prices 5
My tab was $13 which included a specialty burrito, rice, beans (not refried), and drink.





4. Bathroom 6

This got above a 5 because of the ceramics and the cleanliness. Only thing is a person must have a little understanding of the Spanish language to know the difference between the men (caballeros) and women (damas) bathrooms.

5. Service 5

Prompt and friendly.

We had a person join us for the first time-Joyce. As soon as she saw the menu and the atmosphere she said she will return.

Definitely return

Cowboy Cafe

567 S Main St

Camp Verde, AZ
928-300-1207

for photos and info on hikes in Arizona go to:

http://www.arizonahiking.blogspot.com/


1. Appearance 5

Two thumbs up for this casual, cozy Camp Verde café. From its breezy, walnut tree shaded patio and hyper-friendly servers to the unisex restroom that doubles as a broom closet (you’ll need to pass through the kitchen to get to it) this amusing eatery’s atmosphere buries the needle on the fun scale. Add to that, the fact that an 11-year-old gal named Kayla bakes the exceptionally yummy apple pie deserts, and you’ve got a gin-u-wine down home dining experience.

Over the years, we hikers have learned that the more bikes in an eatery’s parking lot, the better the quality of the food and service. This one earns our coveted 5-Harley rating.

By the way, no clue why it's called Cowboy BBQ. Obviously owned by a Cuban.

2. Menu 3

As you can see from the Cuban BBQ on homemade bread to the homemade apple pie made by the 11 year old Kayla, the food is very good. Steve agreed about the Cuban BBQ and Barb said the same for the regular BBQ.

What brings down the rating is the many typos on the menu. Not a professional image.

3. Prices 4

Sandwich was $5.25, slice of apple pie was 3.25. Marsha raved about the crust as the true test of homemade. Mare couldn't believe the grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle was $3.

4, Bathroom 5

See comment in section 1 about the bathroom. This broom closet/bathroom is unisex and has 1 stool.

5. Service 5

Energetic, friendly. The proof is the picture.

There is no cervaza or wine.

WE WOULD RETURN.

Mickey D's on North I17

The place to stop on the way north to Flagstaff. It is on the east side of I17 past Sedona.
It gets the thumbs up from a satisfied hiker.