A Fritos burrito was one of Andi’s best bites this week
Only one of my favorite bites this week came from a restaurant. The other two came from a supermarket and a Gilbert food stand flanked by a giant statue of a gopher wearing a ranger’s hat.
The latter two happened to be in the East Valley, which never disappoints. Checking back in with Chandler’s buzzy Taiwanese market 99 Ranch, I discovered a flurry of “coming soon” signs across the parking lot advertising everything from a revolving sushi bar to a ramen house and a Chinese Thai restaurant called Uncle Lee’s Kitchen. Inside the market, I headed straight for the bakery, where I feasted on some of the most delicious Asian buns I’ve ever had.
Over in downtown Gilbert, I felt Disneyland vibes as I grabbed some burritos and prickly pear soft serve from a benevolent gopher.
Then, back in Phoenix, I enjoyed a celebrity chef ’s gourmet meatballs served in semolina pudding.
From casual to high-end, classic to untraditional, every one of these dishes was too good not to share. Here are the best things I ate this week.
Pastries from BF Bakery and Cafe in 99 Ranch Market
Inside 99 Ranch, the Valley’s newest Asian supermarket, this popular bakery blurs the line between sweet and savory with its staggering display of milk breads, taro buns, pork puffs and bready hot dog pastries. Making your selections might take a little bit of strategy, as it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the shear variety of delicious looking nibbles.
After second-guessing myself about half a dozen times, I added a puffy pork bun, a cream puff, a sweet bao filled with taro paste and a green onion bun the texture of a hot pretzel to my tray. (Buns cost between $1.99 and $5.)
The French-inspired bakery chain, based out of Southern California, does a top-notch job with its airy doughs, full of fluff and wonder, and I can see why BF Bakery has a line pretty much every time I visit the supermarket. The pork bun crinkled when you bit in, revealing a dense layer of salty dried pork shreds. The green onion was pure doughy comfort. And the taro bun was superb, with a bright purple layer of the mashed root veggie that tasted of the earth.
Details: Chandler Blvd., Chandler. 928-938-8899, facebook.com/BFteabreadcake. 1920
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Topo Loco burrito from Topo
I admit it, I was drawn to this walkup burrito stand not by the menu, but by the anthropomorphic rodent in the forest ranger’s hat. Atop Topo, in downtown Gilbert, the roof is flanked by a 7foot-tall statue of a gopher. The Spanish word ‘topo’ commonly refers to a mole (which, if we’re splitting hairs, is technically a different species from the gopher), as well as an epically disturbing Alejandro Jodorowsky movie.
The roadside attraction is the brainchild of Joe Johnston, the owner of Joe’s Farm Grill, who knows how to appeal to our childish sense of whimsy.
As far as the food goes, they serve just two burritos, a cup of elote and vanilla and prickly pear soft serve ice cream.
The more basic Topo Burrito is made with pork and beans, but when ordering under the shadow of a giant gopher, it seems appropriate to get a little crazy, so I went with the Topo Loco ($8.50), which is stuffed with Fritos corn chips and a lotta saucy stuff, including juicy pulled pork, creamy elote corn dip and a soft dollop of refried beans. The Fritos provided a nice crunchy texture. This isn’t classic Mexican food, but it is an interpretation that feels right at home in Arizona.
Details: 301 N. Gilbert Road, building 2, Gilbert. topoarizona.com.
Pork and veal meatballs from Mora Italian
You don’t normally see the words “semolina pudding” in the description when ordering meatballs at an Italian restaurant, but this homey appetizer at chef Scott Conant’s Mora Italian turned my idea of comfort food on its head. The tender balls of pork and veal ($16) were practically perfect, as juicy and soft as meatballs can be, with a fattier flavor than your average beef ball. Rather than drenching them in a torrent of sweet tomato sauce, here they are added to a cast iron skillet of creamy wheat porridge and topped with a grassy pesto and wisps of dried ricotta cheese.
The European-style porridge had a texture almost like finely whipped mashed potatoes, or perhaps the softest bowl of grits you’ve ever had. The dish felt nostalgic, despite the fact that my family never ate polenta, grits or Cream of Wheat. It taps into a primal attraction to warming porridges that seems to bridge cultures in its ability to comfort and nourish.
Details: 5651 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. 602-795-9943, moraitalian.com.