Best Vintage Restaurant for Kids 2013 | Sugar Bowl | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Jamie Peachey

What more can you ask from a restaurant than the Family Circus stamp of approval? Bil Keane's art has graced the menu at Sugar Bowl, the ice cream parlor that's been satisfying young and old alike since 1958. In fact, the late Keane featured Sugar Bowl many times over the years in his long-running comic strip. But that's not the only reason to stop by. The menu not only features rich ice cream and classic treats, like sundaes and the signature "Camelback Soda," but also hits all the other food groups with kid-friendly burgers and hot dogs and salads or a tuna melt for the adults. A big room adjacent to the vintage soda counter is perfect for a birthday party — and, of course, the whole place is dolled up in Pepto-Bismol pink. A Scottsdale classic.

Nothing much has changed about the McDowell location of Red Devil since we started eating there in the 1960s, and that's fine by us, because this local treasure makes some of the best pizza in town. There's nothing gourmet about the fare or the digs — just good, classic Italian cooking by the same family for more than 50 years. Over the years, other locations have popped up, and the food's always good at them. But for us, nothing's quite the same as sitting in one of the old booths in the McDowell spot that we've frequented since childhood.

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