And in the Category of Best Restaurant in the Phoenix Area: Engrained!

Kelly, Chef John, Karen, and the Executive Chef Jerome.

Simple, but fun!  Remember, this is on campus and part of ASU's food service program! The prices were great and the food compared to some of the finest restaurants I've tried throughout the United States.

Here I am loving the soup! AMAZING!

The Mousakka! AMAZING!

The Tilapia (which I didn't photograph well at all--the plate was gorgeous with fresh herbs!) Also AMAZING!

Fresh bread (photographed even worse). This would have been better fresh from the oven, but it was still good.

The cake! Need I say more???? AMAZING!

Ok, so I am a foodie! You can tell by looking at me that I like food, but you may not be able to tell how much I enjoy fine cuisine!  My sister and I were lucky to meet Chef John on the light rail during our recent visit to Phoenix!  He invited us out to try the restaurant Engrained (where he is a chef) located on the Arizona State University campus.  They are all about sustainability, and the dishes he described sounded great! So, we thought we’d be adventurous and head out on the light rail which took us all the way out to ASU in Tempe!  We wound our way through the beautiful ASU campus to the Memorial Union.  We peered into the restaurant and saw Chef John busily preparing some gorgeous meals along with the other staff there.  We quickly stopped by to say hi and get his recommendation for the day!  He took time out to show us all of the day’s delights!  We finally decided to split a lamb and eggplant Moussaka as well as the tilapia.  During our visit we also tried a yummy yellow heirloom tomato cold soup paired with cold watermelon soup!  Then, we tried a yummy cake that had fresh fruit and coconut.  Chef John brought everything out personally to us, and we felt really special! This place is a hidden gem! The food is as good as it gets! It is plated beautifully and is full of textures and layers of flavor.  If you EVER get to the Phoenix area, you MUST try this out!!! It really is amazing!