Q. I enjoy trying really interesting wines with dinner, but am not confident of my knowledge. Where’s a place with great food and staff with topnotch wine recommendations? A. It’s hard to go wrong at Wright’s in the Arizona Biltmore resort. The restaurant has a new sommelier, Barbara Werley, and…
Most days, it seems, there’s not much in life I’m sure of. But there’s no doubt in my mind now that this is the best tortilla soup I’ve ever had. Of the countless versions I’ve sampled over the ages, there have been chicken-stock broths that almost brought me to my…
Growing up, I couldn’t help forming a deep connection between delicious Mexican food and the movies. That’s because every Sunday, the Salcido Esparza family enjoyed a really good home-cooked meal followed by a trip to the only Spanish-language cinema in Livingston, a rural farm town in central California. I’d stuff…
Forget the ho, ho, ho. The holidays at my house find me belting out choruses of pho, pho, pho. That’s pho, as in the traditional noodle soup of Vietnam. The stuff is beloved to me, and it’s become my winter tradition. What better way to greet the shivery season than…
I’ve got an idea for a fail-proof, get-rich-quick scheme. First, eat out. Do it a lot, and be sure to finish everything on your plate. Next, go home and park it on the couch, exercising only your fingers for the remote control. Soon, you’ll turn into a blubbery tub, get…
In my younger, more militant days, I remember being scandalized by a vintage Warner Bros. cartoon, “The Timid Toreador,” which featured Porky Pig in a Mexican sombrero and carrying a large pot. The porker was selling tamales on the street and singing, “Hot tamales, hot tamales, got ’em boiling in…
The aroma of fresh-baked muffins curls through the air — a heady fog of carrot-ginger, corn-cheddar, and banana. The baker has just pulled the tray of miniature-sized treats from the oven and will let them cool for a few minutes before she doles them out to her waiting crowd of…
Q.I’d like to do something different for New Year’s (no hotel buffet) but don’t have a ton of money to spend. What’s something cool and cheap? A.Go early bird to the party at Sapporo, the hot-spot sushi club at Scottsdale Road and Thunderbird in Scottsdale. A 5 p.m. seating is…
While I was traveling through Mexico on a bus, I spent countless hours looking out the window as we drove through villages, townships and cities. But what sticks in my mind are the ranchos we passed and their rows and rows of corn and overgrown nopal cactus. When I think…
Call it a Spanish invasion. At the same time Bistro Madrid (see review in this issue) opened in Ahwatukee this spring, Ibiza Café threw open its doors within rock-tossing distance of the canal at Scottsdale and Camelback. Named after an island off Spain’s coast, the restaurant isn’t all authentic Spanish…
After days of eating sleep-inducing Thanksgiving turkey, I’m ready for a jolt to my taste buds. And Bradley and I are absolutely starving. After spending the day fastening a new, remarkably heavy metal roof to my barn, struggling in the chill and gusting winds of a wintry Sunday, we’ve worked…
Q. I’m looking for really good, something-special bread for my Christmas party. Any suggestions? A. I’ll be filling my pantry with specialty loaves from Arizona Bread Company (70th Street and Shea in Scottsdale; and Scottsdale and Pinnacle Peak roads in Scottsdale). Delicious holiday blends include French with Normandy apples, sugar…
Mom is making macaroni and cheese. The noodles are boiled and drained. The saucepot sits on the stove, heat rising to slow burps of milk, cream and chunked Velveeta. She takes the pan, pours the thick cheese liquid over the pasta, and frowns. “I forgot to put the mustard in,”…
I slipped on the steep cobblestone street as I tried to catch up with her. With the speed of a jack rabbit, her barefoot steps moved with short and quick motions. “Margarita, please wait for me,” I implored, fearing that I might lose sight of her. It was starting to…
Never underestimate the power of word of mouth. I rely on it heavily when choosing where to eat. If, for instance, a chef tells me he despises some new place, I’m there in a heartbeat. The latest place to hate seems to be The Table, a tiny two-dozen-seat bistro just…
Q.I feel so stranded in Fountain Hills. Where can I find good, authentic Italian food? A.Skip over to Olives Big City Italian on North Saguaro Boulevard, overlooking the eastern foothills of Fountain Hills. Signatures include baked-on-site focaccia and olive bread with pesto, “pastabilities” (create your own pasta plate), “drunken calamari,”…
Chu-hai is an evil, evil thing. The base of that Japanese cocktail called chu-hai — an alcohol named shochu — tastes like nothing. Just soft, clean liquid, with a lurking shadow of melon and rice. The shochu spirit is similar to vodka, but more suave. When mixed with any variety…
Yes, it’s true. Once, a very, very long time ago, I got married to a good ol’ boy from Kentucky. His mama spoke with a thick accent and his daddy talked like Archie Bunker. When Randy’s father first met me, he turned to his son and genuinely asked, “Where in…
I’ve just hired a CPA and am quite optimistic about the future. He promises he can make my money management — both dollars I’ve got — a breeze. I came in seeking advice on how to wrangle a major investment: not buying a house, but eating dinner out in north…
I was watching television the other day. The usual commercials were playing, one after another. Then one hit me hard. A man was telling me about the wonders of his pizza. How his cheese was real and his ingredients the best. He boasted of having a special pizza on sale…
Former Arizona governor John Fife Symington III was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and now he’d like to stick one in ours. Ever since he abruptly resigned his political post in 1997 after a federal fraud conviction of using false financial statements to obtain loans, he’s been…
Choose a three-course meal:
cream of asparagus soup,
cornmeal-crusted ocean
perch, and assorted pastry plate: $13
480-603-1066. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Reservations required, taken in 15-minute increments.
