Never underestimate the public’s love of trash. We’ve all seen the styles — ’70s disco wear, jeans that aren’t acid-washed but simply unwashed, stumble-out-of-bed hairstyles and anything related to WWF or reality television. Whatever the reason, it’s suddenly cool to have no class. Now folks in major markets are happy…
It wasn’t so many years ago that the idea of opening a restaurant during the Valley’s summer months was considered crazy. Nobody stayed in town then, preferring to flock to San Diego and cooler climes. Then again, Spyros Scocos has never been known for his conventional thinking. Scocos, co-founder of…
Steve is miffed. A 12-year Valley resident and self-proclaimed weekly reader of New Times, he says he has “never been so enraged by an article to [prompt him to] respond to the paper,” except for my recent review of Seasons in Scottsdale.Really? With all the juicy stuff that appears in…
Sushi Brokers Pity the poor sushi. The once classic combination of pristine fish, vegetables and vinegared rice has been mainstreamed. As the number of traditional sushi bars across the United States has quadrupled over the past 10 years, so has American creativity. Decorator sushi has emerged, with bizarre combinations like…
The restaurant business is full of headaches for owners. For Robert McGrath, the daily aches and pains were indicators of something much more serious. McGrath, chef-owner of Scottsdale’s Roaring Fork, has recently returned to work after battling viral encephalitis, a serious infection that causes acute inflammation of the brain. It’s…
I think I know why American cuisine is often so boring. We’ve never been overthrown by a hostile nation. With such a homogenous pool of settlers, Americans have never been forced to incorporate exotic cultures into their cooking. And so, our national heritage has been allowed to wallow in the…
It’s been another wonderful meal at a local restaurant, and we’re lounging over coffee, basking in the glow of full stomachs and relaxed thoughts. The setting is classy, the service has been superb — all in all, an evening worthy of the $50-plus it’s going to cost us.Our server approaches,…
Our waiter at Seasons is wondering with us where the crowds are. It’s 8 o’clock on a Friday night, and the spacious dining room is speckled with perhaps two dozen guests. It’s like this all the time lately, he laments, and no one can figure out why. It’s a stumper…
The financial controller got the phone call just before lunch on March 1. Eight officials from the Arizona Department of Revenue had stormed Norman’s Arizona at 40th Street and Campbell. They wanted access to all of the restaurant’s files. But Norman Fierros, the eatery’s owner, didn’t know where anything was…
Bar dining isn’t anything new. Since the dawn of professional sports and big-screen TVs, patrons have been swarming bars, seeking a tall cold one. They’re content to cheer a game through with the likes of straight-from-the-freezer-bag bites like cheese sticks, potato skins, deep-fried zucchini and mushrooms, or chicken wings. Hungrier…
What do the well-heeled and hungry want? Great food? To dine at Different Pointe of View, arguably the Valley’s most expensive restaurant, you’d never know it. This place, long on status but short on substance, continues to pack in diners willing to pay exorbitant prices for too-often mediocre food and…
God help the owners of Waldo’s Barbecue. The shop, with locations in Scottsdale and Mesa, has a slogan that parodies P.E.T.A. — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Waldo’s take on the acronym? People who Enjoy Tasting Animals.Waldo’s is a sure-fire target for a recent P.E.T.A. campaign directed at…
It’s the end of an era, with the closing of the historic John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch. It’s a new dawn for Valley hospitality, with the unveiling of the Zen-inspired resort and spa taking Gardiner’s place — Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain. The resort won’t open until October, but its flagship restaurant…
The National Restaurant Association show invaded Chicago May 19-22, bringing more than 2,000 companies displaying often-dubious innovations designed to streamline restaurant operations. A few things the culinary world doesn’t need:• “Salmon pipes” are logs of precooked, processed and pressed fish bits to be served in hot dog buns at discriminating…
It’s so nice to have a slave — um, a server — to cater to our whims as we watch the Philadelphia Phillies kick the Diamondbacks’ butts on a Friday night. In-seat food and beverage service is just one of the amenities of scoring a Clubhouse ticket, the $70-per-seat grouping…
It’s late May, and there are 52 home games remaining in the Arizona Diamondbacks season at Bank One Ballpark. That’s a lot of baseball. That’s also potentially a lot of hours spent driving in circles and a lot of money wasted for sports fans unfamiliar with the best way to…
Journalists sometimes forget how important their readers are. Yet their missives often arrive in our mailboxes packed with helpful comments, and the constructive criticism that offers us the opportunity to better our craft as communicators.Consider this compelling note from a curious gentleman wanting to chat about my recent, unfavorable review…
Michael & Christi’s Heavenly Soul Food Soul food is so simple, it’s easy to overlook as a cuisine in its own right. Yet embracing good old gritty calories, heavy batters, fatty meats, thick gravies and sugars like molasses — what’s not to celebrate? It’s high time that diners salute this…
This town isn’t big enough for two Arcadias.Arcadia Farms Cafe has filed a civil lawsuit against Restaurant Arcadia, claiming trademark infringement and requesting that the restaurant change its name. Arcadia Farms is an award-winning eatery at First Avenue and Goldwater in Scottsdale. It’s been a Valley favorite for its creative…
Crisdee’s Chef Razz Kamnitzer grumbles that chain restaurants use glittery marketing instead of good food to lure customers in the door. What bothers him the most is not that he doesn’t have an advertising budget equal to that of the Olive Garden, but that the public believes the packaged puffery…
The headlines scream that the Diamondbacks aren’t making money. Attendance is down, and the baseball team is struggling. All eyes are on Jerry Colangelo to fix things.I’ve got a suggestion: Rather than pump more cash into hotshot player salaries, give the fans something palatable to munch on while cheering for…
Most restaurateurs follow the adage that the customer is always right. Even if the diner is nuts, the savvy eatery entrepreneur realizes the value in word-of-mouth.Unless you’re Gary Horowitz, owner of the Italian Grotto — a long-standing restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale. In that case, any customer with a complaint…
