Here, then, in no particular order, are my 12 days of Christmas, my memorable finds of 1991. God bless them, every one!
1. Nina L'Italiana Ristorante Veteran pasta-maker Nina Vincenti's family-run enterprise on Phoenix's far-north side is indeed a gift, pure and simple. Born and raised in Puglia, the boot-heel region of Italy, Nina cooks food that is simultaneously Southern and Adriatic, which is to say, divine. There is no set menu. Daily selections are based on market availability. Typically, Nina makes one or two pasta dishes and also offers fish, seafood, beef and poultry dishes. Located in a former nightclub, the restaurant's atmosphere is bright, sharp-edged and casual, but Nina's heavenly offerings and her attentive, tuxedo-clad waiters more than compensate for this incongruity.
Nina L'Italiana Ristorante, 3625 East Bell Road, Phoenix, 482-6167. Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; Brunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Sunday. Closed Monday.
2. Big Wong IImagine gorgeous, authentic, Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine. Lobster with ginger and green onion, clams with black-bean sauce, mayonnaise shrimp with candied walnuts. Now imagine finding magical dishes like these in a restaurant that is attractive and unpretentious, where the food tastes as good as it looks and smells. Welcome to the world of Big Wong. The chefs are from Hong Kong, the seafood is fresh and the rumor is that the rest of the Chinese chefs in town come to eat here after hours. Make sure you ask for the "Chinese" menu, a long, photocopied list of translated items, and be adventurous. This is Hong Kong gourmet like Phoenix has never seen before.
Big Wong I, 616 West Indian School, Phoenix, 277-2870. Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Friday and Saturday.
3. Seafood Market and Restaurant Dana Centrella and partner Pablo Reynoso are up to fishy business in this small Mesa restaurant. The fish here is always fresh, never frozen, and prepared fat-free in Rair hot-air ovens that cook it at 500 degrees Fahrenheit with "winds" up to 40 miles an hour. Prices are inexpensive to moderate, which makes this nautically restrained restaurant the perfect place to expand one's deep-sea likes and dislikes. At the Seafood Market and Restaurant, not only can you taste the fish, you can also afford it.
Seafood Market and Restaurant, 1318 West Southern, Suite 11, Mesa, 890-0435. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 3 to 8 p.m., Sunday.
4. Vagara BistroBenny and Debbie Chan's Toronto transplant is a warm, intimate place for the two of you to enjoy dinner out--without the kids. The service is attentive, cordial and professional enough to make you feel pampered, and the food is interesting. Swiss chef Roland Oberholzer updates classic continental dishes without falling into trendy traps. His cuisine is traditional, yet inspired. The cultured ambiance is conducive to romance or to simply renewing old acquaintances, like your spouse.
Vagara Bistro, Hilton Village, 6137 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-9928. Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday; Dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
5. Barbara'sBarbara's is one woman's personal vision of what a French restaurant should be. The woman is Barbara Anguenot. Her north Scottsdale salon is feminine without being excessively frilly, French without being snooty or uncomfortably expensive. In hiring Gerald Aimee, formerly of La Marmite in Carefree, she has brought in a chef who cooks classic French fare in a manner that revives interest in dishes that have been done to death. The combination works to produce a French restaurant that is traditional, accessible and vibrant. Vive la Barbara!
Barbara's, 10321 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-5181. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Hours beginning January 1992: Lunch, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m. Closed Sunday.
6. Los Dos MolinosAtmosphere isn't everything, but with the opening of its new location on South Central, Los Dos Molinos becomes a true contender in the fight for Valley dining dollars. No more cramped quarters in Mesa. The white adobe residence of cowboy/movie star Tom Mix has been renovated to showcase Vickie Chavez's New Mexico-style Mexican cooking, which is the hottest you'll find this side of Albuquerque. There's a lot of heart in this festive restaurant, and it shows.
Los Dos Molinos, 8646 South Central, Phoenix, 243-9113. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Closed Monday.
7. Pho BangAuthentic Vietnamese cuisine is what's served in this clean, pink restaurant with the red-and-white-tiled floor. While the menu isn't the largest in town, it provides more than enough variety for the average adventurous American palate. The specialty of the house is pho, a fragrant North Vietnamese-style beef-and-rice-noodle soup. If you're new at the game, Pho Bang's informed, mostly bilingual and never condescending waitstaff can be trusted to help you choose something you'll like. Pho Bang, 1702 West Camelback, Suite 14, Phoenix, 433-9440. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday through Sunday.
8. Korean RestaurantScottsdalians and East Phoenicians no longer need to drive long distances to satisfy their kimchee cravings. Housed in Papago Plaza, this family-run restaurant cooks up authentic Korean cuisine in a white-tablecloth environment. Count on Korean Restaurant, formerly located on West Van Buren, for spicy and hearty soups, barbecued beef, noodles, seafood and more. And don't worry about not being able to take the "heat." Okhui Lee and family take the conservative approach: They won't let you order it any spicier than they sense you can stand it.
Korean Restaurant, 1414 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 994-5995. Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 2 to 10 p.m., Sunday.
9. Siamese KitchenThe hottest, most flavorful Thai food you'll find in the Valley. Siamese Kitchen has been under new ownership since the summer of 1990. The restaurant still isn't much to look at, what with its Creamsicle-colored vinyl booths and tiny layout, but the food is. Here you'll find fragrant, lemon grass-coconut milk soup with a kick, incendiary beef laab and Thai curries that'll cure whatever ails you. It's not difficult to make food hot; retaining the flavor of individual ingredients takes talent, however, and the folks here have plenty.
Siamese Kitchen, 4352 West Olive, Glendale, 931-3229. Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday; noon to 3 p.m., Saturday; Dinner, 5 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.
10. Arcadia FarmsThis quintessential ladies' lunchery on one of Scottsdale's quiet back streets offers irresistible items like focaccia-bread sandwiches, oriental chicken salads and homemade desserts (like lemon poppy-seed cake and fruit tarts) to diet for. I mean, die for. Same difference. Whether you're lunching beneath the pine boughs on the patio or dining inside the attractively appointed eatery, you'll be tempted by nearly everything. That's the point.
Arcadia Farms, 7014 East First Avenue, Scottsdale, 941-5665. Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday.
11. Euro CafeLike missionaries, Romeo and Janice Taus have carried the gospel of Nick Ligidakis' cooking from Golden Cuisine of Southern Europe to Mesa. As at the Tower Plaza mother ship, the food is large, flavorful and Mediterranean-inspired. Though this tiny restaurant is more of a sandwich, salad and pizza place than a full-fledged restaurant, Euro Cafe deserves mention here because it makes the East Valley a more palatable place to live. Euro Cafe, 1111 South Longmore, Suite 3, Mesa, 962-4224. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday; noon to 8 p.m., Sunday.
12. Gabriel'sLocated on the second floor of Dial Corporate Center in downtown Phoenix, Gabriel's looks expensive, but isn't. The decor is stately (dark wood and forest green, chandeliers, wall tapestries, elaborate silk floral arrangements, heavy silverware), but the menu is moderately priced. With a tiny nod to Southwestern ingredients, here you'll find pasta, fish, burgers, steak, salads, sandwiches and scrumptious homemade desserts for much less than you'd expect to pay in such an attractive setting. Now, aren't you glad there's a Gabriel's? Don't you wish everybody could offer great atmosphere with incongruently low prices?
Gabriel's, Dial Corporate Center, 1850 North Central (second floor), Phoenix, 207-2070. Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday; Dinner, 5 to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
