John Dunbar, a sous chef, cooks in the restaurant kitchen of a storied hotel where he also teaches classes. In some ways, this is not unusual for him, because he has worked in many high-end restaurants here: Vincent Guerithault on Camelback, Lon’s at the Hermosa. But his new job is…
Willo Baking Company is credited by many for bringing world-class bread to the Valley. Since it opened in early 2000, Willo has become the baker of choice for most of our area’s fine restaurants, charming connoisseurs with its commitment to from-scratch loaves baked daily without preservatives. Now, owner David Lacy…
Niko’s is an upbeat, upscale entree into the Valley’s Greek dining scene. Expect glitz. Expect glamour. Expect high prices, high quality and high fun. Just don’t expect stunning Greek cuisine. This restaurant is more about atmosphere than authenticity, and its patrons don’t seem to care. The place is packed.Niko’s opened…
Sometimes finding great Mexican food turns out to be an adventure.One of the most amusing versions I’ve ever had was in Krakow, Poland, last year. In a spiffy new restaurant on the fashionable Rynek (Market Square), I ordered a beef taco: gloppy ground meat on a floppy corn tortilla smothered…
Professional chefs aren’t like regular people. While most people may be happy to putter around the kitchen now and again, many chefs find it almost impossible to tear themselves away from their grill and saucepans. Leaving their home on the range is an almost painful experience.Some call a chef’s fierce…
Drive the route to Cave Creek at dusk, when the sky fills with glowing stars and the coyotes howl in the distance, and you’ll find Cave Creek’s own French restaurant, Le Sans Souci, and its diminutive owner, Louis Germain.The place is so tucked away that it’s easy to miss. The…
When Rustico first opened in 1998, the restaurant was under the direction of Maria Ranieri, chef-owner of the always excellent Maria’s When in Naples. Unfortunately, this meatball fell far from the spaghetti tree. Rustico was panned by critics as boring, then ignored by diners. The eatery never took off. Last…
August has brought angst for lovers of Scottsdale’s Café Terra Cotta. The classy, casual Southwestern restaurant closed last week. After almost a decade of wowing Phoenicians with chef Donna Nordin’s creations (the best garlic custard in the universe), the eatery fell victim to increased competition.Guess we’ll just have to make…
All dressed up with no place to eat. That’s the lament of so many would-be diners in the far west Valley. The rest of the Valley is hardly sympathetic. If residents want creative dining in their neighborhoods, they should live in the right place. At least that’s what local restaurant…
A few years back, falafel had as much of a chance of making it in Phoenix as finding a lasting peace in the Middle East. The crispy fried vegetable balls are foreign, meatless and roll off a bun like marbles off a table. Not your usual cowboy fare.But while there’s…
After more than a decade of serving authentic Cajun cuisine to the Valley, Baby Kay’s closed its Scottsdale location this week. It’s business as usual at the Phoenix location, however, in the Town & Country Shopping Center at 20th Street and Camelback.The Scottsdale shop was an outdated building, says Baby…
Now this is the way to do dinner and a movie. No standing in line. No $7.50 ticket. No $3.75 soft drink. No $5 sack of stale popcorn. No $20 for steak after the show. And no struggling to carve out four or more hours to fit it all in…
When he walks into Pizzeria Uno at the Arizona Center, it’s not hard to believe that Lenny Kohm just came in from the Arctic wilds. With his grizzled beard and plain work clothes, this slight, thin man might have wandered in from a Jack London story, or maybe a Robert…
The cartoon mice in Steven Spielberg’s Pinky and the Brain want to take over the world. Valley restaurateur Deborah Knight wants to bring the world to us, in her restaurant Mosaic, opened this week in north Scottsdale’s Troon neighborhood.Knight, chef and owner, has crafted a menu that emphasizes “global delicacies”…
It’s hot. And sticky. It’s the time of year where the only appealing recreation is to curl up in a ball in a dark corner and mutter about how Mother Nature is tormenting us with her radiance set at full blast. This is the time of year that makes dining…
Legend goes that once upon a time, parents set the rules of dining-out etiquette for their children. No elbows on the table. Sit up straight. Be clean. These were the days when a restaurant meal was a special experience, an event to be savored maybe just a few times a…
On a brutally icy afternoon last February, my husband and I wandered the streets of Manhattan’s Tribeca, looking for warmth and something light to eat a couple of hours before a dinner date.”I know where we can get martinis and munchies,” I shouted over the roar of traffic. If you’ve…
It’s just after noon, and I’m waiting outside a cafe for a French blonde. I’ve been told she has a scar on her cheek. Needless to say, I’m feeling rather Graham Greene-ish.A few minutes later, Michèle Laroque shows up, wearing an elegant pantsuit and sneakers. As we shake hands, I…
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…
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…
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…
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…
