Eliana’s, 1627 North 24th Street, Phoenix, 225-2925. Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Life has a way of throwing cherished myths right back in your face. I’ve had a hard time coping with reality at least three times. First, I learned there was no tooth fairy. Later,…
Yamakasa, 9301 East Shea, Scottsdale, 860-5605. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. Some adult experiences are guaranteed to be unpleasant on the first attempt. What novice ever lighted up a cigarette, took a…
Christopher’s Bistro, 2398 East Camelback, Phoenix, 957-3214. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to close; Dinner, Sunday, 5 p.m. to close. Phoenix is a casual restaurant town. Leave it to status-conscious Los Angeles matrons to wrap themselves in furs, even if it’s 70 degrees outside. Let New…
Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe, 808 East Jefferson, Phoenix, 262-9256. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Is there a cardiologist in the house? A week of down-home, Southern-style soul food has worked some serious damage on me. After all, just driving past these lairs…
Miro’s, 4025 East Chandler Boulevard, Phoenix, 759-6088. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Friday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Out in the south Valley, beyond Ahwatukee and north of the Gila River Indian Reservation, the desert is particularly harsh…
Little Shanghai, 4017 East Indian School, Phoenix, 957-7666. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.; Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. My father liked to tell the story about the archaeological expedition on a dig in a remote, godforsaken location. One of the team…
Pion Grill, Regal McCormick Ranch, 7401 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-5050. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Maybe it takes an outsider to appreciate just how distinctive, how unlike any other region, the Southwest is. I’ve lived here several…
Tasty Kabob, 1250 East Apache, Tempe, 966-0260. Summer Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. In the late 1970s, just before the shah’s fall, I spent two years in Iran working for…
Taste of India, 1609 East Bell Road, Phoenix, 788-3190. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. About the time most of our ancestors were running around in loincloths, scribbling on cave walls and throwing rocks at woolly mammoths,…
The Seafood Market and Restaurant, 1318 West Southern, Mesa, 890-0435. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2 to 8 p.m. People, like animals, have instincts to tell them when they ought to flee. When the saleslady says, “The…
Jetz, 7077 East Camelback, Scottsdale, 970-6001. Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. In the 50s, guys searched for “broads” in smoky clubs and coffee houses. The best pickup line? “Do you dig Jack Kerouac?” In the 60s, guys looked for “chicks” at sit-ins and happenings. The best…
Bistro La Chaumiäre, 6910 East Main, Scottsdale, 946-5115. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. No people on Earth care more about food than the French. They plan meals with the same attention to detail that the Joint Chiefs brought to the invasion of Iraq. And mealtimes in France…
Rosa’s Taco Shop, 328 East University, Mesa, 964-5451. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Everyone knows there are only three conceivable reasons to venture out for Mexican food. Two of them are that it’s cheap. The other is that it’s filling. Some argue that tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas,…
RoxSand, 2594 East Camelback (Biltmore Fashion Park), Phoenix, 381-0444. Hours: Lunch and dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, lunch, noon to 4 p.m.; dinner, 5 to 9:30 p.m. In Hollywood, it’s called “high concept.” If you want to…
Malee’s on Main, 7131 East Main, Scottsdale, 947-6042. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Wednesday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. Eating, anthropologists tell us, has meaning far…
Eddie’s Grill, 4747 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, 241-1188. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. In a woman, it’s always been the potent combination of beauty and brains. In a ballplayer,…
Terrace Dining Room, Phoenician resort, 6000 East Camelback, Scottsdale, 423-2530. Hours: Sunday brunch, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A few minutes before the Phoenician’s Terrace Dining Room opened its doors for Sunday brunch, I spied a large meeting taking place inside. Managers, chefs, busboys and hostesses, like athletes before the…
La Hacienda, 7575 East Princess Drive (Scottsdale Princess resort), Scottsdale, 585-4848. Hours: Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 6 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m. Not too many years ago, dining in ethnic restaurants promised an evening of cheap, homey fare on Formica-topped dinettes. Oriental cuisine…
Ristorante Sandolo, 7500 East Doubletree Ranch Road (Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch), Scottsdale, 991-3388. Hours: Dinner, 6 to 10:30 p.m., seven days a week. Gondola rides make me very nervous. In the old neighborhood, a gondola trip was the fourth step in a four-step program. Step one: waking up next…
House of Tricks, 114 East Seventh Street, Tempe, 968-1114. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m. It’s amazing what insights you can get when you’re strapped into a dentist’s chair. For the past few weeks, I’ve been undergoing treatment…
Luby’s Cafeteria, 4550 East Cactus (Paradise Valley Mall), Phoenix, 494-9722. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. I can’t set foot in a cafeteria without thinking about The Goon. The Goon remained an 11th grader throughout the LBJ presidency. For three years, in my tough New York…
Citrus Caf‚, 2330 North Alma School, Chandler, 899-0502. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. Ignore the fact that you’re in Chandler, where washing your recreational vehicle is considered a cultural statement. Forget about the strip-mall location, flanked by a Sizzler and a slew of depressing, empty storefronts. Focus…
