Given perfect hindsight, most of us would have been a whole lot smarter when we were 12 years old. To this day, I dearly wish I had been. At this tender time of my life, I was living in Japan, land of gorgeous gardens, show-stopping fashion and some of the…
If you’ve ever toured the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, you’ll feel right at home at Monti’s La Casa Vieja in Tempe. Picture hunkering wooden walls, patch-painted but inescapably old. Imagine yawning galleries hung with portraits of ancient, macabre and deceased former residents. Visualize mismatched furniture, creaking doors, alarming discrepancies in…
One of my best resources for reviews of one-of-a-kind, out-of-the-way restaurants is word of mouth. Usually, these places don’t have the funds for elaborate marketing or benefit from having a big-name chef backing them. So when a friend mentions Mangos Mexican Cafe to me, I perk up at her description…
I grew up in a condiment-free household. It’s sad, but true. Our house was in a salad-dressing-free zone. Sauces were used only if they were imperative to the construction of a dish, and even then, sometimes not. Mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce or salsa on our food? Never. Even spices…
My dining companion is messing with my head, or, should I say, my palate. He swears there’s lemon in the complimentary pre-dinner plate of iced watermelon we’re enjoying at the Green Leaf Cafe.I pluck another chunk of fruit, but there’s no lemon flavor here. I even dip my fingers in…
By the time you read this, chef Erasmo “Razz” Kamnitzer will be packing up his pots and pans and getting ready to shutter his eponymous Razz’s restaurant as he does every summer. From May 20 to September 1, the popular eatery goes dark as Kamnitzer and his family take some…
Gourmet of Russia, 4515 North 16th Street, 602-263-0200. Hours: Lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Dinner, Saturday and Sunday, 5 p.m. to midnight.
Acacia at the Four Seasons, 10600 East Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale, 480-515-5700. Hours: Dinner, nightly, 6 to 10 p.m. (to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday). My dining companion and I are debating whether to order wine this evening. Not whether we want it, because of course we do. But whether…
Ironwood Café, inside the Heard Museum, 2301 North Central, Phoenix, 602-252-8840. Hours: Breakfast and Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. As drivers on I-10 approach the Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street exits, signage directs them to Phoenix’s downtown cultural mecca. Longtime…
Va Bene Ristorante Italiano, 4025 East Chandler Boulevard, Phoenix, 480-706-4070. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, daily, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Va Bene owner Sasha Cosic welcomes us warmly, leading us through small clusters of tables, inviting us to “sit, please, and enjoy.” He…
New York has its bagels, pretzels and pizza. Chicago has its hot dogs and sliders. San Francisco has its sourdough. And the Valley doesn’t have its fry bread. It’s a perplexing situation. While less than three percent of the Valley’s 2.7 million residents are Native American, fry bread is an…
Quiessence Culinary Center, 6106 South 32nd Street, 602-305-8192. Hours: Dinner, Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., October 1 through June 1. Sometimes, you must admit, eating out can be such work. First, there’s figuring out what you’re hungry for. Chinese? Italian? American? Mexican? Then, you have to navigate the menu, with…
Pho Bang Restaurant, 1702 West Camelback Road, Suite 14, 602-433-9440. Hours: Lunch and dinner, daily, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Our host, Lee, has brought my dining buddy the wrong soup, and he knows it. Yet, he’s grinning from ear to ear, and when we mention the error, his smile…
The Landmark Restaurant, 809 West Main Street, Mesa, 480-962-4652. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 3 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Our waitress recently relocated from Florida and her teenage daughter isn’t pregnant. It’s a relief, because it…
Medizona, 7217 East Fourth Avenue, Scottsdale, 480-947-9500. Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m. You have to listen very carefully to catch the delicate melody of Pink Floyd wafting from behind the small bar at Medizona. The haunting strains of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” float like slender ghosts…
Timothy Michael’s Hideaway, 2999 North 44th Street, 602-667-3001. Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. “There once was a lady named Anne, who thought she came from Iran. But she got on a camel, and . . .” I…
If someone said he could help you save up to a quarter of your business costs each year, you’d listen, wouldn’t you? Especially if it was a professional peer giving you advice. If you’re a famous chef in a fancy Phoenix restaurant, the answer, apparently, is no. While high-end restaurateurs…
Meat. Fat. Salt. Flour. Potatoes. Cabbage. If this list doesn’t make you drool, German dining probably isn’t for you. If you like green things other than garnishes on your plate, traditional Teutonic food isn’t likely to rise über alles among world cuisines in your estimation. But if you (like me,…
Royal Barge, 8140 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale, 480-443-1953. Hours: Lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 5 to 9:30 p.m. If my nose starts to run by the third bite, I know that I’m eating real Thai…
¡Cantina! del Pedregal, 34505 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 480-488-0715. Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily; Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m. daily. The most overworked utensil in my kitchen is the blender. As part of my never-ending search for the perfect margarita, I’ve burned up a number of noisy…
Lon’s at the Hermosa, 5532 North Palo Cristi, Paradise Valley, 602-955-7878. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, nightly, 6 to 10 p.m.; Ranch House Breakfast, Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Julia Child is convinced that we have taken the fun out of food. This…
Classic Italian Pizza, Lake Country Village Shopping Center, 1030 East Baseline, Suite 156, Tempe, 480-345-8681. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; closed Monday. The world is divided between those who can live on pizza…
