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| - Dear Gilbert,
Don't take this the wrong way, but I've never had a reason to come visit you. I'm sure I've skimmed your edges, or skirted just around you many times in the past. Sometimes maybe even on purpose. Sorry. You've probably seen me drive by and thought - "There goes that prick again. Who does he think he is?" But you're miles away. We don't have any friends inside you. You lacked a compelling draw to pull us out of our mid-town cocoon. Until now. So I hope we can put the past behind us and shed our preconceptions about each other and just move on with our relationship. So...
LIBERTY MARKET
What a refreshing, rewarding surprise. A hip, family-friendly, easy-going place to get great food and beverages in a clean, clever setting. The website hinted at its authenticity, but how many times does that fail you??
On the street, it's a nifty setting that harkens back to an Americana that I grew up with in the midwest: water tower, mid-century neon diner signage, real brick, public sidewalks intended for human use, trees, etc. But the building itself is a clean juxtaposition of modern worked into a cool old (by PHX standards) building. Old brick meets steel beams and open space. Everything is functional, not just there to look cool. From the structurally relevant beams to the authentic wood-fired oven, it all serves a real purpose.
We (me, wife and 9mo old daughter) chose our seats at the pizza oven counter and clamped on our baby's magical floaty chair. We immediately struck up a rapport with James, at the oven, and learned that almost everyone we encountered, other than customers, were his family and friends. That's pretty cool. We've now been several times and the food has never let us down. In fact, we've been drawn back almost weekly on our little pilgrimage to keep exploring the menu. I don't see a James Beard award in the future, unless they give one for consistently delicious, honest comfort food. But we're all happy to drive out of our way for a visit that puts a smile on our faces every time.
THAT CHRISTIAN THING
Now, to address something that really shouldn't matter, but often does to many people: "The Christian Thing". Due to the amount of interest in Agritopia and its "Bible-based design", I think most people know going in that this is a Joe Johnston place (Joe's Farm Grill, Real BBQ and now LM) and he's pretty open about his beliefs. I'm sure to the surprise of many who would avoid establishments that clearly identify as one religion or another, there is nothing in-your-face or proselytizing or patronizing about this place's pretty public Christian identity. If anything, the experience speaks volumes about the honesty of their description of their beliefs on the Liberty Market website. Yes, when you know about it going into it, you feel the presence of their faith. But all in a good way.
I almost feel like bringing this aspect of it up was unnecessary, but at the same time, I think it needed to be brought up; simply because of how many people I've talked to who immediately jumped on that angle - "oh, the Bible Thumper enclave in Gilbert", or "sounds kinda Stepford-ish", etc. If you just wandered in without any background info I think your takeaway would just be - "Now that was a friendly group of people and a great meal."
Oh, and check out the bathrooms. It's fun.
So for what it is: friendly, sincere, fresh, honest, well-thought out, comfy, delicious, consistent, complete and did I mention friendly? - 5 stars.
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