The New York Pizza Department in Goodyear, AZ serves the best pizza I’ve had the privilege of enjoying in a very long time. Of course, it takes 20 or 30 minutes to get the pizza once you order it, and it ain’t cheap. But it’s good. Debra especially liked the white pizza: ricotta cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach, garlic, and mozzarella. My pepperoni and sausage with fresh basil was quite good, too. Highly recommended.
Debra saw a beer called Four Peaks Kiltlifter on the drink menu there at NYPD. Always willing to try a new beer, I ordered one. What a delight! This beer has some very good flavor. A little sweet, and a smoky flavor that at first reminds you of baker’s chocolate. At 6% alcohol you probably don’t want to have more than two of them in a short period. We’re going to buy at least a sixpack of this stuff to take home. Maybe I can figure out how to duplicate it. Again, highly recommended.
Another beer I recommend is Red Hook ESB. It’s a lot more popular now than when I last had it several years ago, but it’s as good as I remember it.
There’s a Black Bear Diner here, just across the parking lot from the hotel. Debra and I have eaten there three times now, enjoying our 10% hotel guest discount. The service is definitely better than what you’ll get at the big chain pancake places, and the food is very good. My only gripe is that the portions are huge. Even the “smaller” portions are more than I normally eat in a single meal. I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to find a Black Bear, but if there’s one nearby when I’m hungry, they’ll get my business.
Black Bear is pretty well known around Northern California — in fact, quite a few of their locations are former Jerry’s Restaurants (a chain that went out of business in the ’80s or ’90s). I believe that the first one was actually in Mount Shasta City in Siskiyou County, not far from where I grew up.
They changed their placemats in the last year or so. The old ones used to have a set of ten credos printed on them. I think that number four was “If you didn’t say ‘Wow!’ when your order arrived, you probably ordered the toast.” They definitely believe in large portions! But the food is good, and every one I’ve been in has had good and friendly service.
The place mats in this one still have their credos. And, yes, the “If you didn’t say ‘Wow!’…” is still there.
Four Peaks is a little microbrewery that’s done pretty well over the last several years getting their ales and beers into restaurants and on store shelves.
Four Peaks has been in Tempe for quite a long time, and I’m a little surprised that you hadn’t been there back when you lived in AZ.
Their other offerings are also good, so try them if you get the chance. I like their “8th Street Ale” and whatever their IPA is named as well.