Thursday, April 2, 2015

March 29, 2015 - Half Moon Windy City Sports Bar - Phoenix, Arizona

I visited on March 27, 2015 with Mike and Carol Thompson to watch the Gonzaga University Men’s Basketball Game vs. UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen round with the Phoenix Chapter of the GU Alumni.
I ordered the Pretzel Fondue – fresh baked pretzel breadsticks cut in long wedge sticks served with a rich white cheddar and asiago cheese sauce infused with Old Style Beer.  These were quite tasty with our Fat Tire Beer as we waited for the game to begin.  Later Mike and Carol ordered a pizza…1/ 2 cheese and 1 1/ 2 Pepperoni.  I ordered the Italian Sausage Sandwich “wet” – spicy Fontanini Italian Sausage topped with Sweet peppers and grilled onions….with added giardiniera.  It must have been the added giardiniera that made the sandwich blistering hot.  Ordering the sandwich “wet” means that the hard roll or bun is dipped in the au jus or drippings of the roasted beef.

I visited on March 29, 2015 with Joshua, Judson and Jonah Hayes to watch Gonzaga University Men’s Basketball Game vs. Duke in the Elite Eight with the Phoenix Chapter of the GU Alumni.  Once again I ordered the Pretzel Fondue…quite tasty with my Fat Tire Beer.  We ordered a Cheese Pizza for dinner – a 3rd generation family recipe from Chicago, featuring a butter and herb flavored cracker crust topped with Papa Moizo’s sweet red sauce, mozzarella and asiago cheeses.  I love thin crust pizza…so this was a perfect pizza for me…and it was but in small squares…this is also the way I like to eat pizza.

History:
Growing up on Chicago’s North Side I fondly remember walking with my dad down to the street corner to get an Italian Beef or Chicago Dog.  We’d walk with our brown paper bags and setup to eat on a local park bench.  Once a week we’d visit a friend of my dad at his Italian restaurant on Irving Park, who would sit and tell stories from when they were kids.   

    On the weekends my grandfather would make his Chicago Style Cracker Crust Pizza.  He would teach me how to roll the dough and the difference between fresh & dry herbs.  The undeniable passion for flavor and authentic ingredients were part of those memories and what we are carrying forward to our friends in Arizona.  Our dogs are true Vienna Beef served in S. Rosen’s Poppyseed Buns from Alpha Bakery.  We fly Eli’s Cheesecakes to the store each week.  The Italian sausage and meatballs that fill our Chicago baked hoagies are produced by Fontanini, a Chicago landmark.  As for the pizza...that’s ours, made here in Arizona, fresh every day. A Chicago family recipe shared with our family in Arizona.

      Our focus with the Half Moon Windy City is to capture some of the essense of the Chicago through the food, the design of the restaurant and the excitement of the sports that I grew up with. I hope you enjoy the midwest hospitality experience!  (This is printed on the menu…as told by Clay Moizo.)


Half Moon Windy City Sports Grill
2121 E. Highland Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
(602) 977-2700

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