And on this farm he had great food E-I-E-I-O…

With a Fontina Burger (outside) here

And a Fontina Burger (inside) there

here a Pesto Chicken Sandwich

there a BBQ Chicken Pizza (house specialty)

here some Fried Zucchini Slices

there some Onion Rings

Young Joe Johnston had a farm… E-I-E-I-O…

When I saw Guy Fieri’s (of Diners, Drive Inns and Dives on the Food Network fame) segment on Joe’s Farm Grill, I had to give the place a try. Joe’s Farm Grill takes fast food and “eating local” to a different level. Their offerings are what you would basically find at any fast food establishment – burgers, fries, pizza and shakes. But they do it with a twist. They use locally grown beef and chicken, along with vegetables grown on their own farm. With the use of such fresh ingredients, the food has to be good.

You can be a puss and order a basic burger. We opted to try the Fontina Burger that had roasted red peppers, grilled mushrooms, arugula, pesto and fontina. Let me first say that the burger was good… but… I was a bit disappointed. It seemed as if the other ingredients overshadowed the actual burger and made it seem more like a vegetarian sandwich. There was too much going on with the burger. Too much “action”. Maybe if they added 1/8 of a pound more beef, it might have made a difference. The other flavors were good though and melded well together. It would have made a great roasted salad.

The Pesto Chicken Sandwich was amazing – Gruyere, grilled red peppers, grilled mushrooms and farm-made pecan pesto, served with a side of cole slaw. Now this was really good. Where the other ingredients overshadowed the burger in the Fontina Burger, the other ingredients served a supporting role in this sandwich and made the chicken breast shine. The chicken was perfectly cooked, delicately seasoned and juicy.

We also tried their house specialty grilled pizza, the BBQ Chicken pizza – chicken, bacon, blue cheese, tomato, red onion and bbq sauce. I’m not a big fan of bbq sauce on pizza, so I was a bit skeptical. But this was pretty good. The thin, crispy crust was charred just so and the toppings were double the amount you’d expect on a pizza. And it was HUGE. More than enough to feed 2 people or 4 as a first course.

Because our eyes were bigger than our stomaches , we also ordered their Fried Zucchini Slices and their Onion Rings. Perfectly fried to a golden brown, though in a non-greasy way. Crispy, crunchy, and definitely not over-battered. They serve the zucchini with a basic marinara sauce and we asked for some ranch dressing for the onion rings.

Thank goodness we didn’t order their shakes or else we definitely would have had to take a nap under the shade of the trees before heading home. We’ll save the shakes for next time. Or the next time after that. The line here gets pretty long, pretty fast, but it’s worth it.

*****

Joe’s Farm Grill

3000 East Ray Road

Gilbert, Arizona

(480) JOE-GRIL

(480) 563-4745