Mexican Compromise: Sometimes people want Mexican food with a little less south-of-the-border authenticity than La Guadalupana’s, but with a lot more zip than B.F.I.T.’s (see this week’s Cafe review). In fact, that’s what I was looking for a couple of weeks ago. Some German friends and their kids were visiting,…
Greekfest, 1940 East Camelback, Phoenix, 265-2990. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. For individuals, biology is destiny. Gender, intelligence, height, musculature, temperament–each of us has to…
Bye-bye BYOB: Maybe the Arizona Legislature has a little too much time on its hands. Why else pass a bill, like the one that went into effect last month, forbidding customers from bringing their own wine or beer to restaurants? Our elected guardians are apparently more frightened by the prospect…
The Restaurant, the Ritz-Carlton, 2401 East Camelback, Phoenix, 468-0700. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Most of us nine-to-fivers look forward to the lunch break, but not because it’s the day’s culinary high point. Rather, it’s our only chance to get out of the office, an…
Dish Jockey: When you eat out as often as I do, a dish has got to be pretty good to make you sit up and notice. Here are some that have caught my attention over the past few months: Ahoi phannee at Malee’s on Main, 7131 East Main, Scottsdale–This addition…
Sea Fever: Today’s review of Il Pescatore got me thinking about ethnic seafood. If you’re looking to go beyond grilled salmon or sauted scallops for more provocatively prepared ocean fare, check out these places: * C-Fu Gourmet, 6438 South McClintock, Tempe, 831-8899. Perhaps the Queen of Valley ethnic seafood. Most…
Oyster Grill, 455 North Third Street (Arizona Center), Phoenix, 252-6767. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week. Most people in the Valley have moved here from someplace else. And sometimes they have a hard time letting go of the past. Why else would they…
Backstage Restaurant and Bar, 7373 Scottsdale Mall, Scottsdale, 949-1697. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. What’s the difference between a restaurant run by an individual proprietor and one operated by corporate headquarters? At first glance, none,…
China Chow: When I first came to Phoenix, Gourmet House of Hong Kong was the only place in town to get serious, Chinatown-quality Chinese food. Over the next few years, though, worthy competitors started to spring up, like C-Fu Gourmet in Tempe and Big Wong on West Indian School Road…
8700, 8700 East Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale, 994-8700. Hours: Dinner, 6 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. It’s not very easy to interest Phoenicians in a July auto trip, unless the car is headed to San Diego. But I just visited a couple of distant north Valley eating spots…
Class Act: Stung by a negative review, restaurant proprietors react the same way most people do when criticized: They get angry, defensive and hostile. Not Derick Macdonald, general manager at Red Lion’s swanky La Posada resort. After I bashed brunch there, Macdonald wrote me a letter responding to the review…
High and Mighty: That’s the impression I get from Top of the Rock, the fine-dining restaurant at the Buttes resort, at 2000 Westcourt Way in Tempe. This place continues to deliver one of the best food/setting/view combinations in town. It has a circular room, perched on top of a butte…
Marco Polo Supper Club, 8608 East Shea, Scottsdale, 483-1900. Hours: Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. When it comes to watching summertime television reruns, you know just what you’re going to see: the exact same show you saw the first time…
George and Dragon, 4240 North Central, Phoenix, 241-0018. Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week. If there’s any institution that indisputably proves that humans are social animals, it’s the pub. After all, if the only thing drinkers looked forward to was an alcohol buzz, they…
Well-Bread: In the old days, you’d walk into a sandwich shop at lunchtime and order a BLT on white toast or a ham and cheese on rye. Not anymore. These days, your sandwich bread is much more likely to come directly out of the oven than out of a Wonder…
Mexican Temptation: It was Oscar Wilde who said that he could resist everything except temptation. Me, too. That’s why I find myself constantly drawn to the restaurants at the beautiful Scottsdale Princess Resort. It’s impossible to eat here and not have a good time. Foodies know that the featured dining…
Franco’s Trattoria, 8120 North Hayden, Scottsdale, 948-6655. Hours: Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to close. There are more Italian restaurants in the Valley than any other ethnic type, at all points of the price scale. At the upper end, I don’t think any of them is better than Franco’s…
My wife, Paola, and I rarely get to dine out together. Since we spend the vast majority of our time in the restaurant, that’s where we dine most often. But when we do dine away from the restaurant, we don’t go to critique. Rather, we always search out a place…
On the Waterfront: A recent family trip north to Lake Powell met just about my every prevacation expectation: squabbling kids, expensive lodgings, gorgeous scenery. But I was pleasantly surprised by the dining room at Wahweap Lodge, the lakefront hotel that was the jumping-off point for our excursions. As a veteran…
Lily’s Cafe, 6706 North 58th Drive, Glendale, 937-7757. Hours: Lunch, Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Breakfast and Lunch, Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Wednesday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30 to 7 p.m. When I get the…
Texaz Grill, 6003 North 16th Street, Phoenix, 248-7827. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m. What’s in a name? Plenty. Yes, it’s true that a rose by any other…
Squeeze Me: Everyone knows Phoenix isn’t on the cutting edge of national trends. We get movies six months after they open in Los Angeles, and Howard Stern years after he’s worn out his welcome in other markets. Same with food. Tiramisu still qualifies as an exotic dessert here, and I…
