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…
Roman Holiday: Italian food is incredibly popular. The Valley probably has more Italian restaurants than any other kind, even Mexican. For sheer combination of value and taste, I don’t think any of them can match La Fontanella. I gave it a huge thumbs up when I reviewed it a couple…
Avanti, 2728 East Thomas, Phoenix, 956-0900. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week. It may be hard for Generation Xers to believe, but life in America once had a certain routine predictability. Workers would count on staying with…
I Heard It Through the Grapevine: If Family Feud surveyed 100 people and asked what came to mind when they thought of “Arizona,” I suspect the top four answers would be the Grand Canyon, cowboys and Indians, cactus and crooked politicians. By the end of the decade, though, boosters are…
Supreme Master Ching Hai Vegetarian House, 4812 North Seventh Avenue, Phoenix, 264-3480. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 4:30 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. Over the years, my bodily temple has taken a considerable beating. It’s been…
How Green and Leafy Is My Valley: My foray into the world of healthful eating made me wonder if our town had a vegetarian organization, a group of like-minded individuals that gets together and maybe compares tofu and sprout recipes. Well, I found a Valley vegetarian group, but it’s not…
