Be My Valentine: If your sweetie requires high-end, high-up dining, you’ve got lots of choices. Among the best: Top of the Rock (the Buttes, 2000 Westcourt Way, Tempe, 225-9000): Dark enough to take the other woman–or man–this circular room furnishes a beautiful, 360-degree view of the Valley. But the food…
Terrace Dining Room, Phoenician resort, 6000 East Camelback, Phoenix, 941-8200. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 6 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m. Guys, let me tell you what your sweetie doesn’t want for Valentine’s Day…
Nogales Nibbles: You can stay north of the border and get in some pretty entertaining noshing and sloshing, too. The sloshing takes place at Arizona Vineyards, a real hoot. The wine masters here eschew noble grapes like Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir–“too expensive,” they say. Instead, they buy table grapes…
“Seftel,” barked my editor, “are you interested in doing some foreign travel and eating?” You bet I was. Visions of wandering about France, Michelin Guide in one hand and thousands of expense-account francs in the other, danced through my head. Or maybe the boss had something more exotic in mind,…
La Locanda, 10201 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 998-2822. Hours: Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. Some scientists speculate that biology is the key to understanding human happiness. Chemical balance, smooth neurological function, even something in our…
Food for Thought: I’ve spent a few days digesting a thoughtful new book about Americans’ attitudes about eating. It’s titled Consumed: Why Americans Love, Hate and Fear Food, by Michelle Stacey (Simon & Schuster, $22). Her conclusion: When it comes to mealtime, most of our notions about what’s on the…
Chevys, 2650 East Camelback, Phoenix, 955-6677. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Wall Street, they’re called analysts. At the racetrack, they’re called touts. In the business world, they’re called consultants. They’re all people who claim they can make…
The appearance of Chevys on the glitzy Camelback corridor continues a disturbing trend along this high-profile strip. While several glittering, one-of-a-kind restaurants still dot the stretch between 20th and 40th streets–Christopher’s, Vincent’s, RoxSand, the new Tarbell’s–the street seems headed in an increasingly dubious direction. First of all, it’s becoming home…
Fish The tasty, nonthreatening seafood fare at China Legend reminded me of the time I watched a graduate-school pal of mine at Berkeley prepare a Chinese fish dinner. A lanky, Midwestern blonde, Ann had spent years in China, and now was pursuing a Ph.D. in Chinese literature. She had also…
Bamboo Garden, 9201 North 29th Avenue, Phoenix, 944-2388. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday. A lawyer’s task is to make sure justice prevails. But the quest for justice becomes a lot more satisfying after the client agrees…
Dough Boy: If I were presumptuous enough to make a small addition to the Lord’s Prayer, it would be this: “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily…
Jazelle’s Restaurant, 3422 West Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, 841-4776. Hours: Lunch, Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. The first week of January is like a seven-day morning after. Pants are tight, wallets are thin, holiday hopes are behind us. And by…
Rawhide Steakhouse, 23023 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 502-1880. Hours: Lunch, Friday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. This time of year fills most of us Valley residents with dread. That’s because those aren’t sleigh bells we hear jangling–it’s our nerves…
Happy New Year: Did you make a killing in derivatives in 1994? Spill hot McDonald’s coffee on your lap and collect a cool half-million? Vote Republican? If so, you’ll enjoy celebrating at these gourmet Valley resort restaurants. Arizona Kitchen, Wigwam Resort, 300 East Indian School, Litchfield Park. An exceptionally imaginative…
Lakeshore Restaurant, 14011 North Bush Highway, at Saguaro Lake, 984-5311. Hours: Breakfast and Lunch, Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, Wednesday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Weekends aren’t what they used to be. Once,…
Tip Talk: For some reason, tipping arouses violent emotions in some people. They resent it with a passion, and, in a way, I can understand their feelings. After all, the reasoning runs, we already have to throw in an extra 7 percent of the bill to pay the tax. Why…
Palm Grove Food Court, Dial Corporate Center, 1850 North Central, Phoenix, 207-7107. Hours: Breakfast and Lunch, Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eating out hasn’t always been my occupation. In my former life, in fact, eating out was how I escaped from the rigors of work. I always…
Inn Season: At this time of year, most Valley residents need a flashing “No Vacancy” sign to put in front of their homes. That’s because the relatives you purposely moved thousands of miles to get away from somehow manage to track you down for a visit. My usual technique for…
Marque Bar and Grill, 8700 East Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale, 994-8700. Hours: Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. I don’t have too many hang-ups about a restaurant’s setting. Once I sit down and get the menu in my hands, I’m pretty well focused on the food. Unless…
Euro Blast: Bodies at rest tend to remain at rest, and mine is no exception. So whenever I get the urge to drive beyond the Broadway curve to Mesa, I generally lie down until the feeling passes. But a trip to Euro Cafe made me glad I fought through inertia…
L’Ecole, Scottsdale Culinary Institute, 8100 East Camelback, Scottsdale, 990-7639. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Friday, reservations from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Giving students hands-on experience in real-world situations sounds like a useful training technique. Unless, of course, the victim the students happen…
Reading, Writing and Halibut: L’Ecole and the Culinary Arts Dining Room are not the only places in town to chase down gourmet eats prepared by student-chefs. Believe it or not, there’s a Phoenix vocational high school, Metro Tech, with a culinary arts department. And it offers one of the better…
