“Isn’t the Thai trend over?” The question comes from a sincere associate, one who really enjoys a good culinary craze, and I know what she means. It is certainly true that Thai food has been part of the recherche restaurant scene for at least the past half decade. Anyone with…

The Phoenix area has a lot of Thai restaurants, at least two dozen. Isn’t this just a little strange? After all, Thailand’s not exactly one of the world’s largest or most populous nations. And it’s easily 10,000 miles away from Arizona. So what’s the connection? Do Thai restaurateurs consciously set…

H.I. Ribsters is an otherwise likable restaurant with a fatal flaw. It’s a limited-menu barbecued rib and chicken emporium that serves really mediocre ribs and chicken. This is barbecue of the blanched and baked-with-liquid-smoke variety, resulting in blah-flavored products that even reasonable tenderness and a decent smoky hot sauce cannot…

I have no political authority to do this, but I am hereby nominating the Wigwam Resort’s Arizona Kitchen to be our official state restaurant. Here is an ultimate dining experience; one that unites authenticity with artistry, pride with imagination, style with comfort, and fabulous flavors with visual panache in a…

Dammit if they don’t blow my reservation again. This makes The Phoenician zero-for-two in welcomes, and I really cannot believe the laxity. They are so cordial and courteous on the phone and then, when you get there, it’s “who are you?” Because the room is not full, at least the…