Texaz Grill - Phoenix, AZ

I freakin' LOVE Texaz Grill in Phoenix, Arizona. First, they are known for their deep fried crunchy chicken fried steak that comes with your choice of salad, bread & butter, choice of potatoes - all for $12. Second, it looks like this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the corner of 16th and Bethany Home, but it's so much more inside. Wall-to-wall decor of Texas stuff, and license plates from different states & countries covering the ceilings. It's dark inside, people are friendly (like in Texas), country music plays, and the food is fabulous.

Mike and I met Don and Marie (dad & stepmom) for dinner on 4th of July weekend to catch up while enjoying a great meal, Texas style! I know, I know... the chicken fried steak was calling my name, but I was telling myself that I didn't want to over-stuff myself since I wasn't that hungry. So, something light, you know? Um, wrong!!

Yes, I know... you can laugh. I ordered the ribeye steak (medium) with mashed potatoes & country gravy and coleslaw as my salad. Heavy much?? Yeah, totally - so I might as well have ordered a CFS (that's chicken fried steak for short - I made it up). Although the ribeye had a natural good taste from the marbling, it was a bit under seasoned. The mashed potatoes, though, were heaven! Every bite melted in your mouth, and there was actual chunks of red skinned potatoes. I took a picture of my cole slaw after I put black pepper on it, which I love to do. The pepper ruined the picture, though. I love the cole slaw here. Gosh, it's pretty darn obvious by now that I love the stuff.

Yeah, I was a bit jealous of Mike for ordering the chicken fried chicken, which as you already may know, is a chicken breast deep-fried, yeah yeah, you get the picture. I had a bite and it made me want to take my steak, hide it under the table, and tell the nice waitress that no, I never got my food, so... "can I order the chicken fried steak? Thanks, you're the best." Don't get me wrong, my steak was good!

Don took the liberty to order us a side of the sauteed 'shrooms. Oh, yeah... glad he did because they were so flavorful. One bite of the mushroom and the whole thing burst with great flavors, which I cannot describe. Yum.

Darn, I'm hungry and I really want to go back to Texaz Grill, but this time, I'm doing the RIGHT thing, which is CFS - all the way!