October food holidays and where to celebrate them in Flagstaff

Halloween dominates the thought of October, but this month is filled with other holidays in the food arena. For starters, we’re in Eat Country Ham Month, Fair Trade Month, National Apple-Cookie-Dessert-Pasta-Pickled Peppers Month (and that’s just half the “National __ Month” list) and we haven’t even discussed the weeks of honor from American Beer Week (the 2^nd week of the month, which is also National Food Bank Week so be sure to donate while you’re indulging too) to Chicken Soup for the Soul Week (4^th week of October). And now, for the national food holiday days to celebrate this month, take a look at the below Flagstaff suggestions…

October 4: National Taco Day

Treat yourself for 99-cent tacos at the local treasure that is La Fonda (1900 N 2nd St.). They not only have top notch Mexican food, but the service is hard to match. They’re friendly and always on top of everything here. That’s a winning combination.

October 11: National Sausage Pizza Day

Sausage is singled out on the pizza front this month. Two completely opposite but solid sausage topped pies to try: Scott’s Chicago Pizza’s (103 Birch Ave) Southside Classic with Italian sausage, mushroom, onion and bell pepper and Pizza Furiosa’s (2500 S Woodlands Village Blvd) #9 with chorizo and pepperoni The whole month is National Pizza Festival Month – so you might as well go around town and hit up both (and the rest of your pizza favorites), just to be in the spirit of all things cheesy and delicious while you’re at it.

October 17: National Pasta Day

On this day dedicated to a staple of most of our menus –pasta – go for the best pasta in town, the house-made goodness that is Pasto (19 E. Aspen). They’re currently featuring a nice variety like crab maccheroni, corkscrew pastas in a creamy cheese sauce with blue crab; pennette Mediteranea, small penne pastas in a combination of red onion, roasted tomatoes, artichoke, arugula, olives, capers and feta; and the classic and delish spaghettini e popette, which is a thin spaghetti topped with tomato sauce and meatballs.

October 21: National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day

The combination of two wonderful flavors – pumpkin and cheesecake should take you to Beautiful Leaf Bakery (2028 N. 4th St). They make basically every flavor of cheesecake in three to nine inch sizes. A rich, creamy treat you totally deserve, so go for it!

October 25: National Greasy Foods Day

For tasty grease-filled goodness, go to Mountainaire Tavern (110 Mountainaire Rd.). They serve up some mean homemade beer battered onion rings, fried mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli. All served with ranch. Who said you wouldn’t eat veggies today!

October 26: Pretzel Day

Wildflower Bread Company (530 East Piccadilly Dr.) makes yummy oversized pretzels that are perfection for a filling snack or a nice plus with one of their fine soups, like the roasted garlic tomato.

October 31: Trick or Treat for UNICEF Day

While you’re out there getting free candy, trick or treat for UNICEF too. They’ve been doing this fundraiser to help kids since 1950. Find out more at youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat. Also while you’re out on Halloween, don’t miss out on the city’s annual Halloween Harvest festival of fun downtown.

For more October food holidays – and there are a ton this month – go to TheNibble.com.

(This article was originally written for Flagstaff Live! by Angele)
 

Scott's Chicago Pizza in downtown Flagstaff, AZ

Scott's Chicago Pizza
103 Birch Ave.
Downtown Flagstaff
Menu & coupons on their website: scottschicagopizza.com

We finally made it to Scott's new location downtown Flagstaff.
This restaurant is in a great spot, walking distance to everything downtown and NAU's North Campus (and right off the new bus line). It has a nice little patio to sit and enjoy Flagstaff's weather and inside is quaint.
You must start with the house-made pepperoni rolls. They are delish - and really could be a meal of their own. The yummy crust rolls up around pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and some of their tasty sauce like a pizza eggroll or mini calzone. I'm getting these every visit. They could be a whole meal if you don't share. The kiddos will love them too.
Another great option - due to Scott's wonderful thin crust and flavorful sauce is the calzone. They do calzones of the day or build your own.
The Chicago-style deep dish isn't my fav pizza pie in town. I much prefer stuffed Chicago pizza, not the cornmeally crust that Scott's deep dish has. But the ingredients are quality. They have slices of the day for a quick lunch or get a whole pie for a nice family dinner. Scott's also makes a thin crust, which is the way to go if you're ordering a pizza here.
The menu also features soups, salads, Chicago dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, chicken parmesean subs and other goodies.
Check out Scott's coupon page on the restaurant website for some good deals.
All in all, Scott's new expanded menu (and restaurant) has some delish options for the whole family and the space is great too. I'll be going back here much more often now that I've discovered their calzones and pepperoni rolls - some of the best in town!

Scott’s Chicago Pizza

By Angele Sionna
Route 66 & Railroad Springs – Inside the Whistle Stop Fuel Station
Menu: scottschicagopizza.com

The Food (taste/flavor/quality of food & drinks)
>>>= good, but not great

The Atmosphere (environment, wait staff, comfortableness)
x= if the food’s good enough, still worth going, otherwise forget it

Price (what to generally expect to pay per person per entree)
$$= $10

Value (what you get for your money)
** = okay - overpriced for quality/taste

Can good food be found inside a gas station? Most definitely. I’ve eaten at several good eateries in my day located in the most unlikely of places. But I was still a little leery of ordering Chicago-style pizza from Scott’s Chicago Pizza. First, it is in a gas station. And of all the foods I’ve had and enjoyed at gas station restaurants, pizza had never been one of them. Second, this is Chicago-style pizza we’re talking about. Having lived in Chi-town I know my way around some of the best pizza joints in the world. So my expectations are always low to find a decent Windy City pie outside the Windy City. Still, I’d gotten a recommendation to try it, so I loaded the family in the car at set forth for the far west side of town hoping for the best.

When we arrived at the Whistle Stop Fuel Station I had my husband run in to make sure we were in the right place. Their sign said, “deep dish slice $3” but I didn’t see a sign for Scott’s anywhere. But sure enough, there it was, tucked in the corner to the right of all the typical convenience store goods.

There are only two tables inside the store, one on each end. A little weird to eat next to the chips and candy isle, so we opted for the outside seating at one of the three picnic tables around the corner to the left of the station. There aren’t any high chairs, so it was a good thing we had the stroller in the car for our youngest.

To order, you go up to the counter, which has Chicago Cubs and White Sox memorabilia all around. I was leery, as I said, so I quizzed the poor girl on duty about the details of their Chicago-style deep dish. Most places say Chicago-style but they don’t have a clue as to what that means. Not the case at Scott’s. They know exactly what it means, but they don’t mean the famous Chicago-style stuffed pizza that is truly a pie with a top layer of crust and extra sauce on top of that. They make Gino’s East-style pizza, complete with the chunky Italian-style tomato salsa on the top and the cornbread type crust.

We ordered the small Cheese Deep Dish ($7.50). That’s what we used to order at all the pizzerias when we lived in Chicago and we wanted to compare apples to apples. The girl at the counter warned me it would be small for two people, but I went ahead and ordered it anyway because Chicago style pizzas normally are more filling. Bad idea. Though the menu says seven inches, it was really more like five and should be called a child or personal pan-sized pizza. It only has two small slices. The 10” ($11.50) would be a better fit for two adults.

It takes about 20 minutes to cook a small cheese deep dish, and the time just increases the bigger the size and the more toppings you get. Knowing this, you should definitely call ahead if you want to dine in unless it’s a really nice day and you enjoy watching people fill up their tanks.

The pizza itself was pretty good. I personally like it better than the Gino’s East pizza in Chicago. But, and this is a big but, I don’t like Gino’s East. I’m more of a Chicago’s Pizza or Pizzeria Uno stuffed Chicago-style kind of a gal. Still, Scott’s salsa-style chunky topping was good, a little sweet and a little salty. The cheese was average but plentiful. The crust, as I said, has cornbread in it, so it has a really grainy texture and is dry. My husband, who was born and raised in Chicago and likes Gino’s East didn’t care for Scott’s deep dish pizza at all, calling it a “poor man’s version of Gino’s East.” But I maintain that if you’re not familiar with real Chicago pizza, you’ll like Scott’s for a change of pace in your pizza dining. It’s definitely not like any other pizzas in town.

Other items on Scott’s menu include: thin crust pizza, salads, wings, and chili. All of the pizza names have fun Chicago-inspired names like “Magnificent Mile” and “Monster of the Midway.” Nice touch. I’d say if you were on a road trip passing through Flagstaff, you should bring along their number (928-226-0065), order when you’re about half an hour outside of town, filler up at the pump, then pick up your pizza pie. There’s a roomy lot with enough space for an RV to pull up and grass nearby to walk the doggies. Note: if you don’t want to eat there, Scott’s does deliver… to a limited area, with a minimum order of $15, plus a $3 delivery fee.

**TIP: Before heading to Scott’s check their website or your phone book for some good coupons. They have coupons for $2 off any pizza or buy one large deep dish, get one large one topping thin crust for half. They’re good through May 2009.**

For more photos of Scott's Chicago Pizza, click HERE.

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