Highlights and Lowlights: Nation’s Restaurant News, an industry magazine, recently asked top chefs about their best-selling and worst-selling dishes. The ingenuity and appeal of the popular dishes jump right out at you. Who could resist cold-smoked Thai-pesto rack of lamb, served over jasmine rice with peanut sate and Zinfandel glaze?…

The Stockyards Restaurant, 5001 East Washington, Phoenix, 273-7378. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, 5 p.m. to close, seven nights a week. During the last generation, certain forms of once-tolerated behavior have come to seem much less benign. And for good reason. Light up a…

Look Back in Hunger: This week marks my fifth anniversary on the restaurant-review beat. During these 260 weeks, I’ve had more than 1,000 meals out, at more than 600 different establishments. Most of the time, there’s been nothing very memorable about the experience. But there have been occasions that stick…

Joe’s Crab Shack, 1604 East Southern, Tempe, 730-0303. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Someone once said that the special genius of the capitalist system is that no one invented it. What does that mean? It…

Heart Smart: If your sweetie requires high-end Valentine’s Day dining (see Cafe column on page 73), consider setting the alarm bells off on your Visa account at these swanky spots: * Chaparral Restaurant (Marriott’s Camelback Inn, 5402 East Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley, 948-6644): Like your love, the dishes here…

The Latilla, Boulders Resort, 34631 North Tom Darlington Drive, Carefree, 488-9009. Hours: Dinner, 6 to 9:30 p.m., seven nights a week. Gentlemen, get out your wallets. Guys have it easy on most of their gals’ special days. It’s your anniversary? Pick up a $3 bouquet of flowers from someone standing…

Say Cheese: I’ve just come across a terrific book that’s probably the last word on cheese. It’s Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins (Workman, $16.95). Jenkins is a cheese whiz. He started his career at Dean & DeLuca, New York’s famed specialty food shop, where he developed the magnificent cheese section…

Zinzibar, 3815 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 990-9256. Hours: Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. Back in the early 1990s, when this town was in deep recession (remember the “Bank Foreclosure” signs nailed in front of residential and commercial property all over…

Restaurant Update: There’s no letup in the rush to open new restaurants in the Valley. Among the establishments I’m looking forward to checking out: * The Famous Door: It’s in the old Daa’s Thai location, at 7419 Indian Plaza in Scottsdale, just down the street from Don & Charlie’s. According…

Mining Camp Restaurant & Trading Post, 1U2 mile off Highway 88, four miles past Apache Junction, 982-3181. Hours: Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. Open November through May. Every year about this time, Arizonans can count on three things: The Cardinals will be…

European Bistro, 2530 West Camelback, Phoenix, 249-1123. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The conversation flagged at the table next to us, as the couple turned their full attention to polishing off dinner. At meal’s end, the fellow put down his fork and delivered…

English Only: Eating a bad meal puts me in an unpleasant mood. And reading a bad meal makes me almost as upset. Maybe it’s the former professor in me. But whenever I see a menu full of glaring grammatical and spelling errors, my stomach turns as if I’ve just been…

Al Amir, 8989 East Via Linda, Scottsdale, 661-1137. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday. The Middle East is a bubbling caldron of conflict. The region always seems on the verge of…

The Claim Game: It seems like every restaurant these days devotes a portion of its menu to “good for you” items. Here you’ll see all sorts of appealingly healthful adjectives, as in “cholesterol free,” “low fat” and “reduced sodium.” You’ll also notice descriptors like “diet plate,” “high fiber” or “lighter…

Budget Deficit: How was your 1996? Did you buy Suns season tickets, hoping to scalp them at a profit? Were you a big-time contributor to the Dole campaign, looking to land an ambassador job? Did you predict a stock-market crash and sell short? Unless your name is Symington, if you’re…

China Chili, 3501 North Central, Phoenix, 266-4463. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Saint Nick is long gone. The tree is down. The presents are put away. The wreaths and lights have been stowed in the garage until…

It’s the season for fantasy. Peace on Earth. Goodwill toward men. Understanding bosses. Kindly landlords. Unindicted political leaders. Sometimes my mind wanders off into restaurant fantasy. One of the few drawbacks of this job is the love-’em-and-leave-’em relationship I have with this town’s best restaurants. Sure, occasionally I get some…

Days of Swine and Roses: A couple of months ago, I wrote an unfavorable review of JQ’s Bar-B-Q, a Scottsdale rib house at 6929 North Hayden. Unhappy with my assessment, the proprietor tacked up the column and asked clients for their reactions. He sent me several pages filled with their…

Tucchetti, Town & Country Shopping Center, 20th Street and Camelback, Phoenix, 957-0222. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11:15 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11:15 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Someone once asked W.C. Fields if he liked children. “Only…

Message to Santa: Peace on Earth? Goodwill toward men? A Christmas bonus? Some things, I guess, are beyond even Santa’s powers. For five years running, I’ve been sending Santa a Christmas letter of restaurant demands. He hasn’t been listening. If the old boy and elves don’t deliver pretty soon, I’m…

Yamakasa, 2051 West Warner, Chandler, 899-8868. Hours: Lunch, Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Let’s play reverse Family Feud. We surveyed 100 people and asked them: What doesn’t come to mind when you think of…

Tea for Two: I had such a wonderful time doing afternoon teas at the Phoenician, Ritz-Carlton and Tessa’s (see last week’s Cafe column) that I couldn’t resist taking another excursion. This time it was to downtown Phoenix, at the Teeter House in Heritage Square, 622 East Adams. It’s one of…