Okay, so last weekend my wife and I got the chance to go out on a date and decided to head to historic downtown Glendale, AZ, for their second 3rd Friday event. I must admit, sadly, the scene was pretty dead, apart from the decent crowds at two local restaurants.
We decided to check one of them out – a restaurant called Piazza Al Forno.
Surprisingly, my wife and I got right in to the restaurant, as there were a few crowds outside waiting for large tables and they had a couple two-tops available. We ordered calamari, a glass of wine each, and their Meat Pie (oh yeah, baby). The pizza was wood grilled with a slightly crispy, thin and somewhat doughy crust (very good), the mozzarella was home made, too. Guy Fieri actually did a segment on this place on his show Drive-ins, Diners and Dives (say that 3 X fast!). The service was excellent and I even got to speak with one of the owners, a chef named Justin – nice guy – and really knows what he’s doing.
After dinner we headed down to where my new office will be (yay!) and talked to a few of my neighbors who were gracious enough to stay open late to support 3rd Friday. Then, we headed down the street to Coffee & Tea Express, where we met the owner, Linda (I think). They had live music there and some great coffee.
Overall, we really enjoyed our evening, but I’ve got to say, 3rd Fridays has quite a ways to go before it becomes what Glendale needs it to be. Until then, I’m going to try and support it as much as I can. You should too if you can make it out. Phoenix’s First Fridays didn’t happen overnight – took at least a few years before it really exploded, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Glendale has LOTS of potential. If you haven’t been there in a while, you should go back – there are a ton of great little gems popping up.
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