With no fewer than 17 exits off the interstate, Mesa, Ariz., sometimes bills itself as America’s Largest Suburb. Yet if you think that’s all it is or means for its 500,000 population - endless shopping malls and nothing but chain restaurants - then you’re missing an interesting bit of renaissance taking place amid former farmland on the edge of Phoenix. With light rail soon making its way along Mesa’s born-again Main Street, folks living in or visiting Phoenix are about to have an easier time getting here too.
Yes, I know - Mesa is Spanish for table, and it refers to those flat-topped rock formations that dot the heat-dazzled Southwestern desert. But you’ll excuse me, after several days of eating my way through Mesa, if I choose the more food-centric defintion. Pictured here, for instance, is the delicious chile relleno at Rancho de Tia Rosa. The whole place is lovely to look at, like Cuernavaca meets San Miguel de Allende, and the food can be quite a wonder as well.
I found a special place in my heart for Joe’s Farm Grill, for its food but even more for its story. Created out of former farmland, indeed in the very house owner Joe Johnston grew up in, Joe’s is now a 1960s blast from the past (burgers, hot dogs, pizzas), except with dishes prepared from the gardens that ring the entire foodservice operation. And as part of a visionary real estate development called Agritopia, Johnston is adding stylish residential and retail, along with other restaurants. So much for the brainless commercial clutter associated with the word “suburb”!
One of the best dining experiences in the Mesa area turns up in the small town of Gilbert, long an agricultural hub but now looking, for all the world, like a young tourism mecca. With two other locations in Phoenix, Postino is an Italian-themed wine bar with mostly small plates and some delightfully deadly desserts. One of the cooler touches is the option of ordering bruschetta with any of several toppings from white beans to artichoke. Yes, bacon can put in an appearance on bruschetta too.
Joe Johnston of Joe’s Farm Grill waves the flag once again at the center of Gilbert’s nighttime scene, helped along by a busy-looking live theater around the corner. He serves up Joe’s BBQ on one side of the street (which on this particular night has a long line) and Liberty Market on the other. Named after a country grocery that used to occupy the historic building, Liberty Market enjoys a certain chic for its small plates and wood-fired pizzas. Since I’ve never met a wood-fired pizza I didn’t like, I had to dig in - even if it was between meals.
Sometimes, in fact, the farm’s the big deal. In a rural community called Queen Creek, Perry Rea grows olives the old-fashioned way on 2,500 trees. In honor of ancestors who lived between Rome and Naples, Rea and his Queen Creek Olive Mill team produce dozens of different olive oils using fruit with DNA from Italy, Spain and Greece. The flavor is a largely Tuscan affair, yet not so much when Rea moves to chocolate olive oil or even bacon olive oil. The latter, he insists, is perfect for any use that inspired Grandma to dip into that coffee can of bacon grease she kept beside the stove. Without the requisite clogging of arteries, of course.
And right on Main Street in Mesa, a group of true beer guys has set up Desert Eagle Brewing Company. It’s more or less a craft beer brewpup, with plenty of terrific brews - I can personally attest. These are beer guys who, as they should, tend to love hops more than malt, making for a string of beers and, even better, ales ranging widely in color as well as pleasantly bitter great taste. Desert Eagle is the perfect stop before or after catching a performance or viewing an exhibition at Mesa Arts Center, pictured below. All these diversions add up to generosity at Mesa’s ever-expanding table.
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