I once knew a gentleman who so adored bouillabaisse that he would center an entire day on securing a bowl of the fragrant celebration of fresh fish, shellfish, tomatoes, fennel, saffron and shallots. His health was very poor; plotting plans to track down the signature dish of Provence, France, took…
I’m thinking about homemade prime rib. Which I do surprisingly often. But I’m now thinking specifically about the prime rib that a friend of mine prepared for me not long ago. It’s a strange affinity we have — an almost unnatural passion for that particular cut of beef. I don’t…
It’s beginning to dawn on me: My friends and I have coughed up $500 a head to stare at each other, and we’re thrilled. This is last weekend, and we’ve come together at Mary Elaine’s, the breathtakingly beautiful restaurant at the Phoenician, for a landmark event. For the first time…
Now this is a bummer: I’ve just spent $1.25 for a squat plastic bottle of Glaceau Smart Water, and nothing is happening. My 500 milliliters of snazzy-sounding liquid are almost gone, and I still can’t understand a thing my friend is saying. We’re sitting at a cute little table at…
Maybe I should just recruit the guys at Pita Bistro to help me out. The cafe has a very lovely ladies’ room, but more important, the fellows working here are a whole lot nicer than my renovating rogue. At one point, after I place a large order, a guy I…
Chary’s Place, a Cuban cafe in downtown Phoenix, has become even more authentic. The place is abandoned, and, like many of the restaurants I’ve seen in Cuba, has no food to sell. But all is not lost — owner Chary Castro simply decided that when the time came to renew…
“You make tuna casserole? Someone with your job actually eats tuna casserole?” My friend is incredulous. If I’d told her I whip up a mean Crescenza-cheese-filled pasta pillow with rosemary, white asparagus, garlic and Parmigiano-truffle butter, she’d be nodding knowingly. Yet I’m sitting in front of her at the lunch…
Sushi 101 at Rural and University in Tempe has introduced an all-you-can-eat sushi special for $19.95, but diners had better read the fine print before diving in. It reads, “Restrictions: Leftovers will be charged (at) full price, including rice.” This means that diners who bite off more than they can…
Food decorates my refrigerator like international artwork. Tucked on the top shelf is the crock of Maui strawberry jam I discovered at a roadside stand in Hawaii. Next to it sits the hermetically sealed cup of Meiji yogurt that wandered from the breakfast buffet at Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel into my…
Mary Lou Matta Garza has a bone to pick with a local restaurant reviewer, and she’s chosen an interesting way to publicize her gripes: The restaurateur shelled out some substantial money to run an ad in the offending newspaper. And no, it’s not us. Garza’s restaurant, the historic Matta’s in…
I’d have to be a moron not to go for the deal the Blockbuster guy is offering. I came in for one DVD, but the store is running this special, and the salesman’s got me doing the math. One movie for $4. Two movies for $8. For a limited time…
After several years of attending The Best of the Fest event, I can pretty much guarantee that by the end of the evening, I’ll be nodding off, stuffed to the gills with hors d’oeuvres, an ultra-rich five-course dinner, and lots and lots of wine. Not so in 2002. Dozing? No…
Okay, so it’s a little late. By almost a year. But Iguana Lounge, the intriguing-sounding creation of Spyros Scocos, has finally opened on the former site of the old Greyhound Bus Station at Fifth Street and College in Tempe. This after an original scheduled debut of last August. But hey,…
There’s no language barrier at Yasha From Russia. Despite the deli owner’s heavy Russian accent, I understand quite clearly what he means when he orders me to “get out.” There’s been a spate of Eastern European restaurants cropping up in the West Valley lately, and in most places, I’ve found…
The waitress is trying to explain blinchik. “Have you ever been to IHOP?” she asks. “They’ve got something like it on their menu. Except ours isn’t sweet.” Could she be right? Am I to believe that, alongside pigs in a blanket, omelets and French toast, the fabled pancake chain has…
There’s another migration occurring Valleywide: commuters suddenly crisscrossing the city as never before, savoring our newly (finally) completed freeways. The convenience is great, but I wonder what folks will be missing if they abandon our surface streets for speed. It’d be easy to take I-17 to Thunderbird, and head east…
French food has never been characterized as ultra-healthful, but Christopher Gross is giving it a shot at his Christopher’s Fermier Brasserie in Biltmore Fashion Park. He’s teamed with Kronos Optimal Health Centre and created new nutrient-dense recipes designed to help his clientele have longer, happier lives. The Phoenix-based Centre provides…
Sprghzz. That’s an actual quote. It’s all I can muster after filling my mouth with phik khing, a dish that looks like timid vegetables in a friendly brown sauce. But this sauce is sneaky, so thick with infernal Thai pepper that my eyes are watering. Yeah, the menu warns that…
The burning question of the evening involves cocktails. One pal in my group of revelers has decided that the best drink is the Italian ice-lemon, a liquid candy concoction of lemon gelato, Ketel One Citroen, Triple Sec, sweet and sour, and lemon juice in a sugared-rim martini glass. The other…
How do you start an e-mail war? Within the restaurant community, it’s pretty simple: give Scottsdale bartender and gossipmonger Robert Stempkowski access to the Internet. The tidbit he sent me was basic, about a chef departing a restaurant. Yet it quickly evolved into an electronic barrage of insults directed at…
Some people wander through their lives, wondering why they’re here and what to do with themselves. Others are so clear about their purpose on this Earth it’s almost frightening. Marcus Ridgeway knows why he’s here, and it’s to make ice cream. Not just any ice cream, but frozen custard, which…
It’s been almost two years since the Bistro 24 that Valley Francophiles knew and loved took a turn for the boring. A new chef had arrived in the spring of 2000, and attempted to bring a simplified, more relaxed dining experience to the classically inspired French restaurant that is the…
