Order in the Court: Eating out is the national pastime. But suing runs a close second. And more and more people are taking restaurants to court, especially since a woman who carelessly spilled McDonald’s hot coffee onto her lap was awarded $2.9 million (later reduced to $680,000). Ponder these recent…
New Eats: We don’t need census takers to tell us the Phoenix population is exploding. Just check out all the new restaurant openings. The places below either recently opened their doors or are about to begin business. Razz’s: The former chef de cuisine at Different Pointe of View, Erasmo Kamnitzer,…
Cafe Patou, Papago Plaza, 7049 East McDowell, Scottsdale, 423-1700. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Next Thursday, Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season. It’s the time of year to count our blessings and remember those who are less…
Le Gourmand, 12345 West Indian School, Litchfield Park, 935-1515. Hours: Dinner, Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. There are many reasons to venture out to thefar west Valley. You can visit grandma and grandpa in Sun City. You can get your kicks driving mile after mile in the left…
Small Talk: There’s been a lot of discussion recently about sealing off Arizona’s border. Those in favor of strict frontier controls argue that the state is being flooded with people who don’t share our work habits, customs and values, who threaten our quality of life. If the alien wave isn’t…
Shannon Alexander’s, 4855 East Warner, Phoenix, 8936525. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10p.m. My friends know I like to be hospitable. If my pals are hungry, they know they can come over and eat…
Chocolate Heaven: Along with power, sex and notoriety, nothing feeds more imaginations than chocolate. For some complex physiological reasons, eating chocolate generates an incredible sense of satisfaction and well-being. I speak from experience, because I just came back from one of the most mesmerizing shops in the Valley: Pee-Wee’s Imports…
Sebastian’s, 1926 West Deer Valley Road, Phoenix, 516-0718. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. It shouldn’t take an MBA from Harvard to see that launching a steak house in New Delhi isn’t a sound investment strategy. Savvy entrepreneurs…
Hunger in the Night: I got a call from a reader who doesn’t get off work until well after 9 p.m. His problem: finding dinner somewhere besides a fast-food drive-through or coffee shop. “Everything’s closed up by 10 during the week,” he complained. “Can you find something for me?” It…
Running Wilder: The 120 miles between Phoenix and Tucson have to be the most uninteresting stretch of landscape in the state. The drive goes a lot more quickly, however, if you know a meal at Janos awaits you at the end of the road. This beautiful restaurant, set in a…
Thee Pitt’s “Again,” 14620 North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, 996-PITT (7488). Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. For some men, it’s the flowery whiff of Chanel No. 5. For others, it’s…
How Green Is My Valley: Too bad Phoenix does not yet have a delicatessen support group, where deli-starved folks like me can find a sympathetic ear for their cravings. (“Hello, my name is Howard, and I love knishes.”) Another hugely disaffected set of Valley diners–vegetarians–is much better able to soothe…
Bomans New York Kosher Style Restaurant & Deli, 3731 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 9472934. Hours: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, 7:30 a.m. to 9p.m., seven days a week. Every time I spend a few days visiting friends and relatives in New York, I feel good about my long-ago decision to move…
Angel’s Diner & Bakery, 1440 South Country Club, Mesa, 644-1963. Hours: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. I once read about a Londoner recalling his boyhood years in the early 1940s. The city was under almost daily assault from Germans rocket attacks and bomber…
Retail Roundup: You can judge a city’s sophistication by its museums, symphony, theatre, libraries and professional sports franchises. But the variety of its retail food outlets is a pretty sure-fire measure of status, as well. By that standard, Phoenix is definitely headed in the right direction. Three new stores show…
Maria’s When in Naples, 7000 East Shea, Scottsdale Promenade, Scottsdale, 991-6887. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Some things in life can make me happy out of all proportion to the tangible benefits they actually confer. Could…
One of the questions I’m most frequently asked by friends and fellow foodies is where I eat when I dine out. The truth is I seldom have the opportunity to try different restaurants. Not that I don’t enjoy dining out–I love it! But with Vincent’s open six or seven days…
Iowa Cafe, 5606 East McKellips, Mesa, 985-2022. Hours: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Breakfast and Lunch, Saturday, 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Think of the three most popular types of ethnic restaurants in town. They’re from countries…
Food for Thought: I’ve been reading a new book, Becoming a Chef, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, which offers recipes and reflections from some of the country’s best chefs (Van Nostrand Reinhold, $29.95). I haven’t tested any of the recipes, but I am impressed by the wisdom that inspired…
Oriental Gourmet, 322 East Camelback, Phoenix, 285-0353. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Six years ago, when I first came to town, I asked a friend who’d been living here since 1974 for some pointers. Where’s a good neighborhood…
In Luis Buuel’s Belle de Jour, Catherine Deneuve plays Severine, a young Parisian housewife. Her husband is a rich, great-looking doctor (Jean Sorel) who adores her, and toward whom she is frigid. She drifts into an afternoon job as an upscale prostitute in a swanky brothel, where she finds fulfillment,…
For Whom the Bell Tolls: The trip back from northern Arizona to the Valley along I-17 may satisfy your longings for scenery, but it doesn’t offer much hope for tamping down hunger pangs. There’s the wonderful Rock Springs Cafe, at exit 242 by Black Canyon City. But by that point,…
