New Hunan Restaurant, 1575 East Camelback, Phoenix, 265-9484. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. A couple of years ago, my younger daughter had an epiphany at a Chinese restaurant. She was…
Chinese Class: When I want the kind of Chinese food I used to get on New York’s Mott Street and San Francisco’s Grant Street, I don’t spend much time mulling over the options. It’s clear to me that C-Fu Gourmet is the closest thing we have in the Valley to…
Adventurous Dining: Saluting the 13th-century Italian merchant who spent some 20 years in China, Marco Polo Cafe is certainly aptly named. Although the poet wrote that “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” the proprietors here disagree. They call their cooking “East meets West,”…
It’s Only Money: With their $20-something entrees and $7 desserts, Etienne’s Different Pointe of View and the Chaparral at Marriott’s Camelback Inn can get pretty pricey. But compared to Christopher’s, they’re practically discount operations. That’s because Christopher’s seven-course, fixed-price meal goes for $70–add on another $40 if you’d like wine…
Etienne’s Different Pointe of View, Pointe Hilton at Tapatio Cliffs, 11111 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, 863-0912. Summer hours: Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m. Going to a fancy restaurant in New York or Los Angeles can be an uncomfortable experience. Those towns are swarming with wealthy, important people…
Marble Slab Creamery, Town & Country Shopping Center, 2045 East Camelback, Phoenix, 957-8576. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight. Hello. My name is Howard, and I’m an ice creamoholic. Summertime holds the worst terrors. I see people drinking shakes, licking…
Transcontinental Divide: Is there a more interesting restaurant in this city than RoxSand? After a recent return visit, I’d have to say no. By any standard, it’s a sophisticated, snazzy-looking place. You can pass several enjoyable minutes staring at the offbeat, attention-getting art. I get a kick gazing at the…
Yo, Vinnie!: As a restaurant critic, it’s almost second nature for me to dispense advice about where to eat. Arouse me from the deepest slumber and give me 30 seconds, and I will glibly come up with a dozen restaurant choices, of all types, in any price range, for every…
Esperanto, 9393 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, 661-6499. Hours: Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m. Even if you’re not Italian, it’s almost impossible to think about Italian food without picturing Mama in the kitchen, endlessly stirring steaming pots of pasta and sauces…
Chic to Chic: When I first encountered the Valley branch of Cafe Terra Cotta, a Tucson culinary landmark, about a year ago, I had mixed feelings about the experience. I gushed about the Southwestern-themed food–prime ingredients, inventive preparations and a bouquet of aromas. But the Borgata-based restaurant had a decidedly…
La Pila, 2020 North Central, Phoenix, 252-7007. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. The prospect of dining at a Mexican restaurant makes me feel just like I do whenever I have to attend one of my kids’ innumerable…
Zur Kate, 4815 East Main, Mesa, 830-4244. Summer Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. When it comes to fine dining, serious gastronomes are about as likely to book a tour of central Europe as Sierra Club members are to organize…
Hops! to It: About 18 months ago, I had a rather hit-and-miss meal at Hops! Bistro and Brewery. I loved the beers, but the food had some occasional glitches. Prices, too, I thought, leaned toward the high side. But the dishes have been somewhat revamped, and a new chef, from…
Siamese Kitchen, 4352 West Olive, Glendale, 931-3229. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. If Las Vegas ever put up a betting line on life, it would be six-to-five–against…
The High and the Mighty: Is there anything more disgusting than big shots trying to toss their weight around? I don’t think so, either, which is why I’m passing on this story sent in by an irate reader. She and her husband stopped for lunch at a popular downtown chop…
The Salt Cellar Restaurant, 550 North Hayden, Scottsdale, 947-1963. Hours: Dinner, 5 to 11 p.m., seven days a week. It’s not easy to run any kind of restaurant in the Valley. But operating a seafood place has to be the toughest. That’s because fresh fish furnishes so many opportunities to…
Shrimp Nostalgia: After I discovered that Fisher Kings Seafood and Market doesn’t offer fresh shrimp, I wondered where in town I could find it. I called the two likeliest suspects, the Seafood Market and Restaurant in Ahwatukee and AJ’s Purveyor of Fine Foods. Each has a superb retail fish section,…
Planet Hollywood, Biltmore Fashion Park, 2402 East Camelback, Phoenix, 954-7827. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. The Hollywood big shots have come and gone. The Arizona Republic has found other stories for page 1. The flacks have called off their public relations assault. Finally,…
Restaurant Roundup: Another Valley institution has gone to that great happy hour in the sky. For years, Scottsdale rib house Don and Charlie’s has put out the mother of all happy-hour buffets. People would line up a half-hour before the doors opened, then rush in and demolish the high-quality freebies…
Shish Kebab House, 5039 West Olive, Glendale, 937-8757. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Without a doubt, the most misleading word in the English language is “authentic.” That’s because most people confuse authenticity with quality. I’ve heard orchestras play Beethoven on original instruments, aiming…
Middle East Agreement: You don’t need to be a census demographer to recognize the Valley’s growing diversity. Just check out the number of Middle Eastern restaurants–at least a dozen now, by my count. I have three favorites. Cafe Istanbul is based in Tempe, at 903 South Rural. Despite its name,…
Palm Court, Scottsdale Conference Resort, 7700 East McCormick Parkway, Scottsdale, 991-3400. Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, 5 to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week. The traveling salesman is an American archetype. He moves from city to city, peddling his wares by day, passing his nights in frayed…
