Sweet Life: O.J. goes free. Bill Bidwill buys out Buddy Ryan’s contract for millions. Shielded by trust funds and a rich wife, Fife Symington may walk away from a mountain of debt. Just “desserts”? These creeps will never get theirs. And we won’t be getting ours, either. That’s because the…
Reviewing the Situation: The proprietor of a Scottsdale restaurant wasn’t too thrilled with my review of his place. He sent me a civil letter assuring me that what I had experienced was “a reflection of what the restaurant was and not what it has become.” Then he went on: “I…
Cozymel’s, 7373 East Shea, Scottsdale, 5962150. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Stick a compass point at the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. From that center spot, draw a circle with a radius of…
Old Town Tortilla Factory, 6910 East Main, Scottsdale, 9454567. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Dinner, Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. There seem to be two types of restaurantgoers. The first are the restless adventurers–diners who…
Book Notes: Sometimes I think the next best thing to good eating is good reading about eating. If you share that view, you may want to take a look at the current issue of Granta (Winter 1995), called Food: The Vital Stuff. Granta is an English quarterly magazine, packaged as…
Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman: Let’s dip into the mailbag and give the readers their 32 cents worth. One correspondent, a proprietor of a west-side restaurant, thinks I am too hard on that section of town. She was responding to a review I wrote about Sebastian’s, a fine-dining place out…
The Barn Steak House, 6508 West Bell, Glendale, 9795811. Hours: Dinner, Tuesday through Sunday, 4p.m. to close. Nature’s ceaseless, unchanging seasonal rhythms bring a welcome predictability to what seems to be a capricious, chaotic world. It’s comforting to remember that each spring, the swallows return to Capistrano; each summer, the…
Centro Cafe & Bakery, 2831 North 24th Street, Phoenix, 224-9235. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Friday, 11a.m. to 9 p.m.; Dinner, Saturday, 4 to 9p.m.; closed Sunday. We’re only a few days into 1996, and my resolution to carry out my resolutions is already wearing out. For instance, in…
Just Desserts: If you want to begin the year on a sweet note, I recommend a visit to Global Village Pastries and Java. It’s a small sandwich-and-pastry shop that operates out of a nondescript Bell Road strip-mall storefront. (There’s also a branch in Carefree.) Though the setting is low-powered (at…
The fantasy doesn’t end on December 25. A lot of the holiday spirit spills over into the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Despite the inevitable spats, most families have made it through the annual get-together without bloodshed. At this early date, the bills still haven’t come to spoil…
Weight Watch: During this pre-New Year’s week, masses of people will be making resolutions to go on a diet in 1996. Yes, it’s important not to be grossly overweight. But the mania for counting calories and fat grams is getting out of hand. Especially when we’re eating out. In response…
Our Gang Cafe, 9832 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, 870-4122. Hours: Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 4:30 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4:30 to 11 p.m. Today’s Jeopardy! answer: Sleep ’til noon, whine about boredom and eat a week’s worth of groceries as an afternoon snack. The correct question: What do…
Message to Santa: Peace on Earth? Goodwill toward men? A Christmas bonus? Some things are beyond even Santa’s powers. Recognizing Santa’s diminished capacity, I’ve scaled down my Christmas wish list thisyear. The following 12 nonnegotiable changes in restaurant behavior are the minimum I’m willing to accept in 1996. If Santa…
New Mandarin Delight Chinese Bistro, 5380 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, 274-5204. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, 5to 10 p.m., seven days a week; Sunday brunch, 11:30a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Like most grown-ups who’ve managed to survive their youthful follies, I look back on my…
Rim Shot: My friends know I’m no lover of the great outdoors. My idea of a wilderness experience is staying at a hotel that has no room service between midnight and 6a.m. But just before the feds closed the park, my friends talked me into a hike to the bottom…
Great Outdoors: This is my favorite time of year. I’m buoyed by pre-holiday cheer, the end of Thanksgiving leftovers and perfect weather for dining alfresco. There are problems, however, with eating outdoors in the Valley. It seems like almost every place with patio chairs, umbrellas and heaters overlooks either a…
All That Jazz, 333 East Jefferson, Phoenix, 256-1437. Hours: Lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5p.m. to 1 a.m. “The man that hath no music in himself,” wrote the poet, “is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils…
I don’t have to tell you that first impressions can make or break a restaurant. How many times have you been treated to haphazard service, long waits or so-so food on your initial visit to an eatery? These are not things we forget. Bad first impressions can often turn into…
Double Trouble: The Valley’s incredible growth has tempted lots of restaurant owners to try to boost their profits by opening second branches of their successful restaurants. It’s a risky proposition, as at least three proprietors have discovered in the past fewmonths. The operators of Indian Delhi Palace (original restaurant: 5050…
Sinbad, 1731 West Baseline, Mesa, 730-9964. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 9p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. The Middle East and Mesa have a surprising amount in common. Geographically, the two areas share the…
Wrigley Mansion Club, 2501 East Telawa Trail, Phoenix, 955-4079. Sunday brunch: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A deluxe European vacation? Private schools for the kids? Fancy digs in a pricey community? Unless you’re a bankrupt governor, you probably can’t afford these things. But working stiffs who pay their debts can…
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…
