Binkley's Restaurant in Cave Creek is one of this area's hottest culinary tickets, and it's no wonder -- chef-owner Kevin Binkley crafts his ever-evolving menu with obsessively sourced top ingredients, graces customers with a flurry of exquisite amuses-bouches between courses, and oversees a doting, well-trained staff.
Indeed, Binkley's is the height of Arizona's destination dining -- the James Beard Foundation recognized as much recently, when it announced that chef Binkley is a nominee for the 2008 Best Chef: Southwest award -- but now hungry devotees can get a bite of Binkley's cooking in a more casual, affordable environment: Cafe Bink, which just opened last night.
With the exception of a fois gras terrine with brioche, orange marmalade, and watercress, which will run you $24, everything else on the menu is under $20. Highlights include housemade corned beef with braised cabbage, apple, carrot, and whole grain mustard sauce, and quiche with bacon, blue cheese, and spinach.
For now, the restaurant, located at 36899 N. Tom Darlington Drive in Carefree, opens at 5 p.m. daily for dinner (closed Mondays); lunch service is expected to begin the first week in March. Reservations are currently unavailable; call 480-488-9796 for more information.
