Toasted Owl – Gail G. Collins

The Toasted Owl expands and solidifies itself as a northern Arizona favorite

AZ Daily Sun Mountain Living Section, March 2023

Visitors Guide: 99 Things to Do in Northern Arizona

Story and photos by Gail G. Collins

We are influenced by our parents. We observed their actions, and they, generally, were our favorite humans. We admired them and often followed in their footsteps. But how does it happen?

Children hear conversations at the breakfast table, where interests, as well as their bodies, are fueled. They are exposed to career paths, especially niche ideas, through daily details. Interviews with those, who mirrored their parents, describe the shared pursuits as speaking the same language.

In fact, data show that a son is 20 times as likely to become a scientist if his mother is one, while a daughter is 49 times as likely to echo her mother’s work in food preparation. And so it was for Cecily Maniaci, who owns Toasted Owl, a cozy, quirky breakfast and sandwich shop in Flagstaff.

As a widow, her mother moved across the country, and over time, opened five restaurants in Tusayan. Of course, Maniaci learned what it takes to run an eatery successfully alongside her. As her mother aged out of the business, Maniaci took over before transitioning to Flagstaff and opening her own venture.

Toasted Owl launched in 2013 with a 395-square-foot shop, containing a sink, convection oven and three-plate burner, but in short order, lines wound out the door. The move in 2015 to the current, larger location on Mike’s Pike required renovations to start, but offered a patio. Two years later, the bustling dining room pressed the urge to expand again to feed the eastside with a second location on Cortland Street.

“Consistency is most important,” Maniaci says, and her aim has always been, “to serve good quality breakfast food with elevated offerings. We’re not Denny’s, but we are fast. Our high end products make the difference.”

She is a morning person, so breakfast and lunch made sense to get home again to family—her initial tasters for recipe twists on standard fare.

“I enjoy unusual tastes or flavor profiles,” she says. “I eat out everywhere and have a wide palate and love to add things to the menu, whether it’s Indian or whatever tastes wonderful.”

The breakfast tamales are beef or vegetarian, topped with green chili sauce, two eggs, black beans and cheddar and served on mixed greens. Carlotta’s Kitchen, promoting a blend of traditional, yet on-trend recipes, supplies the distinctive tamales. Or as Maniaci describes them, “They are yum, creamy with green sauce. People just love them.”

Veg Out!

Finding great flavor in meatless dishes around town

Written by Gail Collins

Striving for healthful, responsible eating means including more veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Vegetarian dishes often invoke creativity and color urging cuisine in flavorful directions with earthy lentils, creamy cheeses, garden produce, aromatic spices and satiating sauces. Flagstaff has an abundance of such choices on the menus of our ratcheted-up restaurant scene. Here is overview of vegetarian dishes from some innovative kitchens.

Sosoba

This nonstop noodle shop is not just ramen, but a full-service restaurant incorporating authentic dishes with farmers market finds. The starters boast unique concepts: balls of fire mac ‘n cheese; flash-fried cauliflower with madras curry aioli and scallions; steamed edamame dusted with zippy togarashi and more. The salads add inventive goods, like rice noodles, shaved veggies, nuts and seeds plus citrus-soy dressing. But who are we kidding? We’re here for the noodles. The SUV—So, You’re Vegan—piles noodles with roasted veggies, sautéed greens, squash and rayu’s chili-sesame spice for a Japanese curry. The Mothra bowl layers broccoli, peas, cabbage, herbs, sriracha, fried garlic and marinated tofu over the noodles. And Yakisoba is stir-fried carrots, onion, celery, garlic, scallions and herbs in a Thai peanut sriracha sauce. This noodle house is hot on a winter’s day. 12 E. Route 66, Suite 104

Root Public House

This rooftop bar and grill offer peaks views and comfort cooking. Chef and owner David Smith draws on a southern background for inspiration. Root changes up the menu weekly according to fresh accessible ingredients, but vegetarian dishes are always available. One option is the cold, roasted vegetable salad contains seasonal garden goodies tossed in cream cheese vinaigrette with a scattering of fermented black garlic. Of course, there are salads, like the baby greens topped with tempting bee pollen, feta, candied walnuts and carrot vinaigrette. For a savory main, try the ricotta gnocchi with seasonal vegetables, olive, lemon, Black Mesa Ranch goat cheese, plus pecans. 101 S. San Francisco St.

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STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE

Some of the Best of Our Local Dishes

Written by Gail G. Collins

It’s no secret anymore. Flagstaff’s culinary scene is now the envy of much of Arizona. For a mountain town that still does not top 100,000 people, this place has dozens of independent restaurants achieving a high level of dining in their respective categories. After a few years of basking in the recent lineup of hotspots, we thought we would pause to reflect on a handful of signature dishes by our new dining places and expanded or reinvented eateries with a look across the foodie spectrum.

Craving Crepes at Streetside Saigon

In a nod to the French, the classic banh xeo, a crepe, is revamped with shrimp and shitake, that’s a hit at Streetside Saigon. The rice flour crisp is vivid with turmeric, filled with bean sprouts plus chive and served with a field of lettuce and traditional herbs. Tear off some crepe, tuck it into a lettuce leaf with mint and cilantro, roll it and soak up the lively dip—light, crunchy, healthy and flavorful. Not up for the crepe? Try the banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich, which boasts French influence in multiple ways. Streetside slathers their softer-than-baguette bun with pate and hose mayo, piles on tender pork meatballs and a layer of livered carrot, daikon and cucumber for a tongue-teasing combination of tastes and textures. streetsidesaigon.com

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The Art of the Sandwich

Local Restaurants like Toasted Owl Café Upping the Lunch Ante

March/April 2016

Toasted Owl As children, many of us toted a lunch box that held the vital means for lasting an entire school day: the sandwich. Mom understood our favorites and how the right ratio of mayo to mustard mattered. Later, in midnight raids of the fridge, we mastered the exotic use of leftovers, and on the day after Thanksgiving, we constructed the best sandwich of the year. Slow-roasted meat and gourmet relish buttressed by homemade bread embodies the art of the sandwich.

And art it is to assemble a veritable feast between crusts of bread. Bread is the canvas. It is also where art becomes architecture. Whether one prefers Mediterranean flatbread, rustic ciabatta or a granary wedge, the bread should be substantial, not sloppy—a foundation upon which to build. Spreading a condiment over the bread acts as a barrier to mushiness or adds moisture. Next, cheese imparts strength as well as sharp, nutty or velvety appeal. Meat often showcases the perfect sandwich, and greens cap it off. The British Sandwich Association—now, there’s an organization worth its salt and pepper—actually crowns a champion sandwich maker annually. The ingredients need not be elaborate. A recent winner utilized homemade fruit bread, quality butter, soft Lancashire cheese and an artisan pickle. Continue reading “The Art of the Sandwich”