Give Me a Pizza Your Heart: No one in America had thought to put exotic toppings on pizza until two decades ago, when Wolfgang Puck pushed the envelope at Spago. Suddenly, pizzas heaped with barbecued Thai chicken, goat cheese and escargots became the rage. Still, after all these years, the…
Edward’s of Scottsdale, 9619 North Hayden (Mountain View Plaza), Scottsdale, 480-9223567. Hours: Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to close. “There is no new thing under the sun,” according to Ecclesiastes. So much for unerring Biblical certainty. Obviously, the man has never been to Scottsdale. How else can you explain…
Bay Tripper: It’s easy for food lovers to leave their hearts in San Francisco. It’s even easier for them to leave their wallets there. But when I visit, I don’t blow big bucks eating in this town’s world-class restaurants. I head for North Beach and Chinatown, in search of the…
Cafe Express, 2525 East Camelback (Shops at the Esplanade), Phoenix, 602-522-9199. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Self-service restaurants have never had much of a culinary reputation. Who can think of cafeterias without recalling the dreaded high school lunch hour? Remember reluctantly pushing…
Rules of the Game: One of the great benefits of this job is all the perks I’m offered: fabulous weekends at first-class resorts, stacks of invitations to dine on the house at the swankiest restaurants, bottles of fine wine in my mailbox. And one of the great drawbacks of this…
Tequila Grill, 4363 North 75th Street, Scottsdale, 480-941-1800. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week; bar stays open until 1 a.m. Almost 500 years ago, Spanish explorer Francisco Coronado led an expedition through the American Southwest, searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola…
Witness for the Prosciutto: Should a restaurant reveal a dish’s every ingredient on its menu? That’s the question a reader asked me, after an upsetting experience at an Italian restaurant. It seems the couple, neither of whom ate red meat, ordered chicken parmigiana. They expected a chicken breast draped with…
In New York City, there are more Jews than in Tel Aviv and more Puerto Ricans than in San Juan. Guatemalans in Los Angeles outnumber those in every Guatemalan city except the capital. Count just L.A.’s Iranians, and the city’s population would still top Baltimore’s. Only Warsaw has more Poles…
Future Shock: Remember the movie Soylent Green? It’s set in the nightmarish future, a time of Malthusian misery and want. Everyone’s hungry — there’s almost nothing we’d call food available. Instead, folks are nourished by “soylent green.” The movie’s shocking finale: It turns out that soylent green is made from…
Arisoo, 3002 North Arizona Avenue, Chandler, 4806325655. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m. I’m a Seoul man. Despite the explosion of Asian ethnic restaurants in the Valley, you can still count the number of Korean restaurants here on one…
Gregorian Enchantment: What’s the best restaurant in town? There’s no indisputable answer. But right now, after a memorable revisit, my list of top contenders would have to include Gregory’s Grill. Gregory Casale, a young chef with a very promising future, calls his fare “new world cuisine.” I wouldn’t. I’d say…
Tal’s, 13610 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 480-348-0086. Hours: Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5:30 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday. When is disappointment the keenest? The moment you realize your wildest dreams will never come true? No. People get on with their lives even though…
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, 6333 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 4805968265. Hours: Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Move over, Morton’s. Move over, Ruth’s Chris. Move over, Don & Charlie’s. Move over, Harris’. Move over, Grill at the TPC. The list of topnotch Valley steak houses…
The Write Stuff: The name of the restaurant and the name of the unhappy customer don’t matter. What does matter is how the aggrieved party expressed his annoyance. And how the restaurant responded. Here is an edited version of the correspondence: Dear [Owner], I have enjoyed your establishment for years,…
Four Peaks Brewing Company, 1340 East Eighth Street, Tempe, 480-303-9967. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, 1 to 11 p.m. In spring, the poet says, “a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love.” But once spring turns to summer, just about everyone’s…
What’s New: Sometimes it seems like no one has had an original restaurant idea in the Valley since the Hohokam fished ahi tuna out of the Salt River and brushed on a teriyaki glaze. I don’t know what to think of Edward’s, but no one can accuse this new place…
Kona Grill, 7014 East Camelback (Scottsdale Fashion Square), Scottsdale, 480-429-1100. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to midnight; Dinner, Sunday, 5 to 10:30 p.m. Empires don’t spring up overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day: It took centuries of…
Out and About: This is the time of year when it seems as if I am personally keeping the Valley’s restaurants in business. That’s because I’m in the midst of my annual Best of Phoenix odyssey, which keeps me out six nights a week. Here are some random observations on…
Mastro’s Steakhouse, 8852 East Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale, 480-585-9500. Hours: Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Once upon a time, one of the country’s largest stockyards flourished in the heart of Phoenix. Huge herds of cattle roamed in lots just a few miles from today’s downtown. Nobody…
Summer in the City: This is the time of year when tourists disappear and locals stay home and plant themselves in front of their air-conditioning vents. That makes it tough for restaurants to put fannies in their seats. So several are offering summer specials to lure us out. * The…
Whole Foods Market, 5120 South Rural, Tempe, 480-456-1400. Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Now is the summer of our discontent. It’s the time of year that APS and water-park operators live for, and everyone else dies from. Despite the strenuous efforts of the chamber of…
Barmouche, 3131 East Camelback, Phoenix, 602-956-6900. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Dinner, Saturday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. Mark Tarbell’s eponymous restaurant, Tarbell’s, has been an “in” spot ever since it opened almost five years ago. Despite the…
