Shari's Cafe & Pies is a chain of family dining restaurants based in the western United States and features its award-winning pies.



The Red Bluff, California, building has an odd hexagonal shape, and when you enter, you are greeted with a wide display of pies.



I started with a strawberry lemonade, which was perfectly sweet and tart.



For my entree, I kept it simple with a grilled cheese and tomato soup. This classic just hits the spot. Cheesy and creamy deliciousness.



What I was really looking forward to, though, was a slice of pie. Marionberry - which I had never had before - is one of their best sellers.



"The Oregon official state pie! In keeping with the expectation of this gloried berry, Shari’s Oregon Marionberry pie doesn’t disappoint. A marionberry is a cross between an olallieberry and a Chehalem blackberry and it’s grown exclusively in Oregon."



The berry pie has a nice balance of sweet and tart. It's not unlike a raspberry pie, but a little bit more unique.



Grade: A

There is no shortage of great restaurants in the Phoenix area, where my best friend Kaitee lives. Even when you don't feel like going out to eat, you can bring the delicious food to you. Perusing a delivery app, I found Royyim Thai Cuisine, which specializes in homestyle Thai food.

The restaurant offers a variety of dishes, such as curries, noodles, soups, salads, and stir-fries. I ordered the Pad Thai - The most famous of Thai dishes. Rice noodles stir-fried with choice of meat, egg, bean sprout cooked with traditional pad thai sauce made from coconut sugar and tamarind juices. Comes with green onion on top and grounded peanut on the side.

The flavors weren't quite as bold as I'm used to, but the subtlety that was there was nice. A little sweet, a little sour. Still craveable.

Grade: B

"Try our made to order hand-tossed pies made with quality ingredients, and don’t forget to include our locally famous breadsticks with your order! What else goes great with Pizza? Wings! Another favorite item with a choice of over a dozen different amazing sauces. More menu items include our Calzones, 8” Baked Subs, Salads, and for dessert we offer cinnamon sticks with homemade cream cheese frosting. Also available at our shops is hard serve ice cream! Our other ice cream desserts include cones, sundaes, floats and banana splits – yum!" reads the Pizza Edge website. At the Kayenta location, I ordered cheese breadsticks, which were unlike any other I've had. They are not sticks, rather, a mass of bubbled bread topped with butter, cheese and seasoning. It was like pull-apart bread, which was fun - but definitely messy. I also enjoyed a build-your-own sub: American Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Swiss Cheese, Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey, Lettuce, & Black Olives. I like my subs full of toppings, and this one didn't disappoint. I added mayo but would love a house sauce.

Grade: B

J. Fargo's is a family-friendly, casual dining restaurant that features burgers, steaks, seafood, smoked meats, broaster fried chicken and even southwest specialties, like tacos, burritos and quesadillas. That big ol' sirloin & shrimp on the menu was calling my name. 8 oz., hand-carved and flame-grilled. Grilled shrimp. Plus, a garden salad, Brussels sprouts, and a baked potato. The garden salad had some tomato, peppers, cheese, radish and onion. That's not too shabby for a basic salad, but nothing super exciting either. Moving onto the entrée, the steak was pretty good, if not a bit fatty which I enjoy for the flavor but less so for the mouth feel. My favorite part was the compound butter on top. The Brussels sprouts were a bit more charred than my personal preference. The potato was solid with lots of toppings. Grade: B

"Sherpa Cafe is a family-owned and run business which serves classic Nepali, Indian and Tibetan cuisine. We are originally from Nepal and have been living in the Gunnison Valley with our families for many years. We are ethnic Sherpa from the Khumbu (Mt. Everest region of Nepal). Our restaurant has allowed us to share our way of life with our guests and friends for more than a decade," reads the website. I was ecstatic at the idea of trying Nepali and Tibetan cuisine, because I had never experienced those before. And once I set food inside, the excitement only grew. The restaurant has colorful decor and intricate designs. The menu features items like papadums, saag dip, samosas, pakora and naan. I started with an order of momos stuffed with beef. Mine were fried, rather than steamed. Super tasty with the tomato-based dipping sauce.

"Momo is a Himalayan dumpling, filled with minced meat in a flour dough, given different shapes and then cooked by steaming. It is one of the most popular foods in Nepal and the regions of Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong in India where Nepali-speaking Indians have a presence. Momo were originally filled with buffalo meat but are now commonly filled with goat or chicken, as well as vegetarian preparations," according to Wikipedia. The chicken thukpa was hearty and flavorful. It was piping hot, and I even enjoyed it on a warm day. Plus a hint of spice. Grade: A