Comments (1) BEST ALTERNATIVE TO MALL FOOD - 2007

Olive & Ivy

The food court at Fashion Square is good for a quick, cheap bite when our blood sugar plummets from too much power shopping. But sometimes, we'd much rather walk a little farther (just beyond the Nordstrom parking garage) and spend a little (or a lot) more for a chi-chi meal at the stylish Olive & Ivy. The bustling, see-and-be-seen atmosphere is pure entertainment, a slice of European-style cafe culture amid the man-made, only-in-the-desert, canal-side complex called the Scottsdale Waterfront. No offense to the pizza and cheese steak purveyors at the mall — we've eaten at those places plenty of times — but if we get a chance to dine on roasted garlic, tomato and pesto flatbread, housemade tagliatelle, or sweet potato agnolotti with Mandarin glaze, we're gonna pounce on it like a crazed shopper at a clearance sale.