Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Joe's Farm Grill - Official Review!

For those who are new, 1 Crying Lucky = Bad, 5 Crying Luckies = Good.

Joe's Farm Grill
3000 East Ray Road, Building 1
Gilbert, AZ 85296
(480) 563-4745

Lady Luck and I have been to Joe's Farm Grill twice now. There is another "Joe's" restaurant that makes darn fine barbecue, and when we learned that they had a new restaurant with grilled pizza on the menu, well, we had to get over there as soon as possible.

As this is a motorcycle blog, I have to give Joe's Farm Grill props for having ample marked parking spaces for motorcycles and scooters.

The ride to the restaurant is nothing special. In fact, it's pretty crummy, as all the former farmland is being torn up to build more McMansions, strip malls, and other offensive structures. The restaurant, however, is located in Agritopia. Agritopia is the 12 acre farm smack in the middle of all the ugly development. They have big trees, among other attractions. For those of you who don't live here in Phoenix, a tree more than five years old is ancient.

The compound has the restaurant, a good coffee shop (we tried it out, of course), a farmer's market, recycling-conscious waste receptacles and lots of good places to sit outside. We were amused by a sign near one of the trees that says "Warning - Keep off trees. Danger of falling and scorpions."

Frankly, I was mildly concerned about the possibility of falling scorpions. Of course, there were no such unpleasant interruptions.

The pizzas are a little unusual, in that they are football shaped and grilled. Also, the sauce was on top of the cheese and toppings. I was mildly confused, and concerned that perhaps their cook misinterpreted the instructions, but it all worked out fine.

The sauce is tomatoey. If you were wondering what a tomato tastes like (a real concern here in Phoenix), the sauce will make it clear to you.

The cheese was super mild, and the pepperoni is salty and spicy with a nice peppery kick.

The crust tastes slightly smoky, and is crisp and otherwise awesome.

Of course, Joe's Farm Grill has a full menu, not just pizza. We ordered the sweet potato fries as well. They come with a spicy pineapple sauce on the side, and I strongly recommend you order them as well.

We tried their shakes, which are thick, creamy and just about perfect. The day-glo blue, orange, and other-colored cherries are spooky for those of us over 14 years old, but taste fine.

The restaurant itself has an entertaining retro-futuristic design. We were somewhat unnerved by the Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls behind glass in the restrooms (as well as a TV playing Thunderbirds), but they do fit the overall decor in a spooky kind of way.

This is a great place to bring little kids, since they can run around outside and not bother people. Similarly, it's a great place for big kids with motorcycles to get some hella good eats. If you're in the neighborhood (by which I mean within a tank or two of gas) you should stop by.

Joe's Farm Grill - 4.5 Crying Luckies

8 comments:

Steve Williams said...

Joe's Farm Grill sounds like a fantastic destination not to mention the pizza. Are there really scorpions wandering all about or is that merely an Arizona myth? I have a picture of a picnic complete with scorpions, fire ants, Gila monsters, rattlesnakes, mountain lions and withering heat. And good pizza.

Since I am about 20 tanks of petrol away I probably won't be visiting Joe's in the near future but you have motivated me to look for some new exotic pizza around here.

Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks

Lucky said...

Well, we really have scorpions, and they really do get into places you wouldn't expect. If they have a sign warning that some might be in the tree, well, there could be.

However, I didn't see any while we were at the restaurant, and I had my eyes peeled looking for them.

red said...

so if the RedQueen and I start our cafe, you're welcome to ride here and review it!

Lucky said...

Red - Just give me the cross-streets...

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor said...

I love Joe's Farm Grill! Fun to find your blog, not a bike rider but a food lover for sure. I haven't had the pizza but the Sweet Potato Fries are excellent. I'll have to try the pizza next time.

Bill Sommers said...

A football shaped pizza with the sauce on top? Now that has me curious enough to want to try one.

Have you ever tried Pizzeria Uno from Chicago? I called and ordered one to be shipped to me in Washington State on a Wednesday, and they told me that it would be delivered before 11:00 a.m. on Friday via FedEx, and it was right on time.

Absolute best pizza I've ever had. It was worth the fifty bucks spent.

Have fun,
Bill

Lucky said...

Bill - I'm going to assume that the Pizzeria Uno you're talking about is NOT the Uno's that has franchised all over the country. Or, if it is, the one in Chicago is actually good, and the rest pale in comparison.

I expect I could easily spend an entire month eating pizza for every meal in Chicago, and never get tired of it.

Some people prefer New York style pizza, but I say those people are just wrong. NY pizza is fine and all, but give me that old-time Chicago-style any day. It's good enough for me.

Anonymous said...

I am Joe and thanks for all of the kind comments. As a fellow scooterist (six vespas and one lambretta) I am always looking for an excuse to ride somewhere. We try hard to make sure that the food and setting are worthy of the tank(s) of gas and possibly 2-stroke oil spent by scooterists and motorcyclists.