• HOME
  • THE FAMILY TRAVELER’S HANDBOOK
  • ABOUT
  • WORK WITH MARA

Family Travel Blog | Family Vacation Inspiration |The Mother of all Trips

Bringing the world to your kids - and your kids to the world

  • destinations
  • travel tips
  • travel dreams
  • road food
  • ski vacations

Eat at Joe’s (Farm Grill that is)

By Mara

Eating at Joe's Farm Grill

So I think I’ve made no secret of the fact that I loves me a good burger. And fries. Oh, and if you want to throw in a milkshake, I won’t argue with you. But I’m also a fan of all that is local and organic and I like to support small businesses. On our spring break trip to Arizona, I think I may have discovered the utopian place to satisfy both sides of my personality (and interestingly enough, it’s called Agritopia. More on that later).

Joe's Farm Grill Sign

Joe’s Farm Grill in Gilbert, Arizona just outside Phoenix is situated on what used to be a small family farm that grew things like cotton and sorghum. Rather than abandon the land to the sprawl that is to be found everywhere in that area (I swear every time we go out there that someone is planting house and drug-store seeds) the Johnston family has turned it into a thriving farm cum restaurant cum produce stand cum coffee bar. Most of the vegetables served in the restaurant come from the organic farm on the premises and most of the other food is locally sourced.

There were six of us and we had spent a long day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum working up an appetite, so we had to make sure we ordered enough food:

Food at Joe's Farm Grill

I had the Ahi Tuna burger topped with Asian slaw and it was divine – my one quibble is that even though the tuna was rare, it could have been cooked even a bit less than it was. But that was mitigated by the phenomenal onion rings, the deep fried broccoli and cauliflower, and the vanilla bean milkshake. Also divine was Matt’s barbeque chicken grilled pizza.

They are open for breakfast too. And on the menu are Waffles and Ribs (the natural parenthetical phrase for that one is of course “together at last”). I know that I would have to order the six mini apple fritters rolled in cinnamon sugar. In fact, when I’m done writing this post I may need to check out ticket prices to Phoenix for next weekend.

Whatever meal you enjoy, when you’re done eating, you can rouse yourself from your food coma and take a stroll through the Edenic acre of land that produces the vegetables you just devoured.

Garden at Joe's Farm Grill

Or maybe you want to roll on over to the coffee shop

Agritopia Coffee Shop

and sip a latte on the lovely patio, which is surrounded with roses.

Agritopia Coffee Shop patio

And if you stay long enough, you may even find yourself hungry again for these.

Cupcakes at Agritopia Coffee Shop

The main restaurant and coffee shop sit in a sort of enclosed compound. The grounds are lovely and inviting to children, even if they can’t climb the extremely tempting tree that dominates the backyard of the main restaurant for fear of scorpions.

Tree at Joe's Farm Grill

Cotton has been planted in a small plot near the coffee shop to show what the farm used to grow. This delighted Tommy, who plucked some and brought it home to show his class. There’s also a produce stand:

Agritopia Farm Stand

So if you’re feeling virtuous on your way out, you might purchase some fruits and veggies to bring home. Then you can pretend that the entire adventure was purely for your family’s health. You unselfish thing you.

A few other things to love about Joe’s:

  • Their branding, which is pure genius. Love, love, love all the logos – and the fact that they call the place “Agritopia”
  • The breezy and stylish interior of the restaurant – which used to be the family home and still has a fireplace where the den used to be
  • They exceed the USDA Organic Standards in their farming practices

You’ll find Joe’s Farm Grill at 3000 East Ray Road in Gilbert, Arizona. I recommend saving room for an ample meal. Or perhaps two.

This post is for Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick. I hope you’ll check out the other food-related posts over there.

Share9
Tweet
Pin346
355 Shares

Filed Under: Arizona, Dining out, Eating, Eating on the road, Family travel tips, Kid-friendly recommendations, Local eats, Mesa, Phoenix, Wanderfood Wednesday, We've been here

Previous Post Next Post

Comments

  1. Beth says

    April 14, 2010 at 9:05 am

    Oh how I miss the WEST!

  2. Margo says

    April 14, 2010 at 9:48 am

    For the life of me, with all the food South Carolinians have thought to fry up and serve, I don’t understand why we don’t have deep fried broccoli and cauliflower. This place looks and sounds divine!
    .-= Margo´s last blog ..Lowcountry Boil or Frogmore Stew =-.

  3. Nancie (Ladyexpat) says

    April 14, 2010 at 10:23 am

    What a wonderful looking spot. All of the food looks amazing. Seems that more and more restaurants are going organic these days. That is so nice to see!
    .-= Nancie (Ladyexpat)´s last blog ..Friday’s Talking Photo #7 from the Sandbox –Cherry Blossoms in Korea =-.

  4. Wanderluster says

    April 14, 2010 at 10:38 am

    Extremely thorough post, and great pics! I wonder how their veggie burger is ….
    .-= Wanderluster´s last blog ..Getting over Reverse Culture Shock =-.

  5. jessiev says

    April 14, 2010 at 11:38 am

    OMG. i so need to go there. your food looks fantastic!! and, of course, the incredible scenery (minus the scorpions)…
    .-= jessiev´s last blog ..Myrtle Beach MayFest – a Month of Free Concerts and Festivals =-.

  6. Nicole -- A Dream Made Truth says

    April 14, 2010 at 11:41 am

    Brilliant idea! This place could satisfy my whole family–me: grows their own food, lovely gardens, coffee; my husband: greasy fast food; the kids: an outdoor place to play and explore. But, how did you resist the horchata cupcakes???

  7. Shelby says

    April 14, 2010 at 10:44 pm

    Yummy! I’m going to Arizona in Feb so I will be sure to try this place. I loved your photos. Keep up the great travel reporting – I follow via RSS.
    .-= Shelby´s last blog ..Ultimate Blog Party! =-.

  8. Michelle says

    April 23, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    All of my favorite things rolled into one blog: burgers, fries, coffee, and cupcakes! I also fully support local and organic, while traveling and in daily life…enjoy your Spring Break!

  9. Jo-Lynne Shane says

    October 23, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    That looks AMAZING!

Trackbacks

  1. Family fun at Big League Dreams Sports Park | The Mother of all Trips says:
    April 16, 2012 at 10:29 am

    […] you’re sure to see plenty of play, and also will avoid the heat. We headed over there after dinner at Joe’s Farm Grill, which is located only minutes away. Admission is $3 for adults and free for children under 12. […]

I'm a family travel expert & award-winning writer who loves to eat. Explore this site and you'll find lots of stories about my adventures, and family travel tips. More about Mara

The Family Traveler's Handbook: Inspiring Families to See the World

Buy the book that is
"packed with enough tips and vacation ideas that even a veteran traveler can learn how to plan, pack, or book their next trip smarter." Jen Leo, LA Times Travel Web Buzz columnist

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Instagram Slider

No feed

As seen in

As seen in

Award-winning travel writing

>

© 2008–2022 Mara Gorman/Mother of all Trips | All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT