Description
With only a century of history as a state, Arizona isn’t exactly home to very many legendary restaurants. When you want a taste of Phoenix’s past, one name always comes to mind: Bill Johnson’s Big Apple. The restaurant has locations in North Phoenix, Goodyear, Mesa, and on West Indian School Road – and its sauces are sold in grocery stores throughout the country – but the best of the Old West can be found just east of downtown on Van Buren Street. There lies the original restaurant, opened in 1956 by Bill Johnson and his wife Gene, still serving T-bone steak, Grandma’s meatloaf, barbeque pork ribs, and deep-dish apple pies. If you listen closely, you can still hear the echoes of Bill Johnson’s voice booming over the radio as he broadcasts his rebel show right there from the original restaurant, creating the legend not only of great cowboy-style chow but of one of the country’s original shock jocks.
