BY David M. Brown, Contributor
Chandler continues filling the plate with new places to eat, drink and meet.
From tacos to seafood, barbecue to Belizean food and breweries, restaurants, cafes and eateries have opened or are scheduled to open soon downtown and elsewhere in the city.
Coming in phase one of Overstreet, at the southwest corner of Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard, are Camp Social and Easy Street.
Anchored by a movie theater managed by Texas-based Flix Brewhouse, the 77,000-square-foot multi-use campus is developed by DBM Ventures, designed by Brick & West, with architecture by Cawley Architects and design-build by LGE Design Build.
The 2,473-square-foot Over Easy will combine from-scratch cooking, throwback decor and Midwestern hospitality. The restaurant will specialize in new takes on breakfast favorites. Opening its second Valley location, camping-themed Camp Social will serve “trail snacks” and dishes such as smoked steak tartare.
“We’re excited to continue the momentum surrounding downtown Chandler and Overstreet and further position the community as a focal point for dining, entertainment and retail in the East Valley,” said Mayor Jay Tibshraeny.
Other locations downtown already are serving guests, continuing to enhance the city’s reputation as an East Valley entertainment destination.
Next to The Perch on Alley Street, which is celebrating four years of food, brews, entertainment and exotic birds, is Ghett Yo’ Taco, 241 S. Oregon St., owned by Christian Sciacca, with part investor Marc Sepulveda.
Previously Yoli’s Café, the restaurant opened Oct. 1, 2017, serving street-style tacos for breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Beginning with a four-inch corn tortilla, each taco is cooked to order with fresh ingredients prepared that day, Sciacca said.
Nine tacos comprise the menu, with eight permanent items. “For the ninth, we decide what we feel like making at the moment. Sometimes we like to get crazy and make some not so ordinary tacos,” he explained.
The name? “We were sitting around with my family and friends and shooting names back and forth. We liked ‘Ghetto Taco,’ and with a little bit more brainstorming we came up with Ghett’ Yo’ Taco.”
The wrap-around, dog-friendly patio has a fire place. “We offer cheap prices so you and your friends can enjoy amazing, fresh tacos and cold beers at a place that is inviting with a home-type of feel where you can sit back and enjoy,” he said.
Nearby is West Alley BBQ & Smokehouse, 111 W. Boston St., offering pork, brisket, chicken, turkey, sausage, ribs and seasoned fish fillets, all with a vinegar-base sauce.
The restaurant is owned by father-and-son Chandler residents, Bardo Brantley and Christian Brantley, who regularly travels to the original West Alley BBQ in Jackson, Tenn. This is the first expansion for the family-owned company.
“We have the best pulled pork top with vinegar slaw and creamy slaw. We are considered Tennessee BBQ and use almond wood to smoke all of our meats,” Bardo said, noting that the smokers are on the patio as well as a fire pit.
Just down the street is Sasha’s Kitchen & Cocktails, 81 W. Boston St., formerly the VB Lounge. Owned by Chandler’s Sasha and Donna Colic, the restaurant is best described as eclectic American and is open daily for lunch and dinner and drinks at the bar centering the restaurant.
“We are one of the rare fine-dining restaurants in the historical district, and everything – and I mean everything – is fresh and homemade,” Sasha said. “We have a hard-working, crazy-good chef. Can’t get better than that: great food, great drinks.”
Outside downtown, diners can enjoy Flavors of Louisiana, 6245 W. Chandler Blvd., which offers “family recipes steeped in Louisiana’s Cajun culture and tradition,” said Marcus Whiting, general manager.
It opened last November as the company’s second location; the first is in Avondale. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner.
“This is authentic Cajun in the Arizona desert – very flavorful and a unique selection of dishes that are sure to keep people coming back for more,” Whiting said, adding:
“In addition, we have a wonderful eat-in ambiance embodying southern hospitality, including zydeco music, string lights and an over-sized mural of the Louisiana swamp, purposed to make you feel as if you’re dining right on the bayou!”
Recently opened in Fulton Ranch is Egg N’Joe, 4010 S. Arizona Ave., serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week, and La Madeleine Country French Café, 3605 W. Chandler Blvd., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Elvira’s Belizean Café, the state’s only restaurant featuring food from the small Central American country, opened in April at 2386 N. Alma School Road, just north of Warner Road.
“We are all about flavors, featuring Caribbean-style dishes,” said owner Luis Lopez. He and wife Elvira are native Belizeans and now Chandler residents.
The Copper Still Moonshine Grill, which also opened last November, occupies the space at 7450 W. Chandler Blvd. that had been the former Hurricanes Grill & Wings. The restaurant features a 25-gallon copper still above the center bar.
The cuisine is American grill: burgers and sandwiches, pastas and salads.
“Our burgers are hand-formed patties consisting of 80/20 ground chuck that is ground fresh for us four days a week and never frozen,” said Chuck Smeriglio, owner/operator, whose business partner is Stephen Wipf.
The Chandler men opened their first Copper Still Moonshine Grill in November 2013 on Gilbert Road, south of Williams Field Road, Gilbert.
“Our turkey breasts are slow roasted in house, and our ‘B & G’ wings are second to none. Our scratch-made hummus and flatbreads are a guest favorite, and we also feature several unique food items you will not find anywhere else,” Smeriglio said.
Smeriglio said the restaurant is the state’s top seller of Ole Smoky Moonshine, adding, “We feature Moonshine flights, Moonshine-based cocktails, and we also use several flavors of Moonshine in our scratch-made marinades and sauces.”
