Heart Smart: Valentine’s Day is the restaurant industry’s second-biggest day, right after Mother’s Day. (It makes sense: Everyone has a mother; not everyone has a sweetheart.) But if my e-mails, letters and telephone calls are any indication, Valentine’s Day is number one when it comes to generating customer complaints. What’s…
Pinnacle Peak Patio, 10426 East Jomax, Scottsdale, 585-1599. Hours: Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m. Every year, when the calendar flips to January, you can count on three things here in Arizona: 1. A Mesa legislator,…
Where the Buffalo Roam: Once upon a time in this town, mozzarella cheese meant the hard, stringy, tasteless blobs that stretched across a cardboard-crust pizza. About a decade ago, local Italian restaurants began to acquaint locals with the fresh version, which is more like what you’d find in Italy. It…
Getting Oriented: The Asian stock markets are crumbling. But here in the Valley, the Asian food markets are booming. The latest entry is cause for real celebration: 99 Ranch Market, a 29-unit, California-based operation, with outposts in Honolulu, Las Vegas and, now, Arizona. Arizonans, accustomed to mom-and-pop ethnic shops, haven’t…
The Grill at the TPC, Scottsdale Princess resort, 7575 East Princess Drive, Scottsdale, 585-4848. Hours: Breakfast and Lunch, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week; Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 6 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m. Whiskey glass in hand, Dean Martin used to…
Apadana Shish Kabab, 2515 North Scottsdale Road (Wilshire Plaza), Scottsdale, 945-5900. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. In the summer of 1977, my…
In the Cards: If you answer, “Reservations,” when someone asks you what you’re making for dinner, you probably already know about two well-established dining programs, the Entertainment Book and Dining a la Card. I’ve just become aware of a third: Preferred Restaurants of Scottsdale and Phoenix, which is starting its…
Isn’t That Special?: I got a letter from a perplexed reader asking for my opinion about an unhappy dining experience. Her group was eating at an upscale Italian restaurant, a place they visited several times a year. The server went through the list of specials, but she didn’t volunteer the…
Roaring Fork, 7243 East Camelback, Scottsdale, 947-0795. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. I can really empathize with the beleaguered head of the United States Patent Office a hundred years ago…
Pita Jungle, 1250 East Apache, Tempe, 804-0234. Hours: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Turn out the lights, the party’s over. The mistletoe, the get-togethers, the holiday dinners, the gifts, the bowl games, the New Year’s Eve celebrations are all behind us. It’s…
Restaurant News: There seems to be no letup in the number of entrepreneurs who believe opening a restaurant in the Valley is the path to fame and fortune. Here are some of the ventures I’ll be checking out this year: Restaurant Hapa: A husband-and-wife team–he’s worked at RoxSand, she at…
It’s the season for fantasy. But I don’t fantasize about the meek inheriting the Earth, smooth sailing on the rush-hour Squaw Peak Parkway or mandatory IQ testing for Arizona legislators. My job requires me to dine out 200 nights a year. So, not surprisingly, my fantasies tend to be about…
Organ Stop Pizza, 1149 East Southern, Mesa, 813-5700. Hours: Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. ‘Tis the season to be frazzled. It’s not easy coping this busy time of year. And anyone who has kids knows that their long school vacation–will…
Message to Santa: Peace on Earth? Goodwill to men? A winning PowerBall ticket? Some things, I’ve learned, are beyond even Santa’s powers. So I’ve scaled back my Christmas wish list. All I want these days is for Saint Nick to make eating out more enjoyable. But my suggestions seem to…
Paradise Bar & Grill, 401 South Mill, Tempe, 829-0606. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Life in a university town can be incredibly appealing. Anyone who has ever wandered off-campus in Ann Arbor, Berkeley or Madison…
Gross Out?: Right now, chef Christopher Gross, the acclaimed culinary heavyweight behind two of the Valley’s best, and best-known, restaurants, Christopher’s and Christopher’s Bistro, is cruising with his wife Paola off the coast of Latin America. I don’t know what kind of weather they’re currently experiencing. But they can expect…
Il Forno, 4225 East Camelback, Phoenix, 952-1522. Hours: Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Someone once said God must love poor people–after all, He made so many of them. Well, I’d say that God must love going out to Italian restaurants, at least when He visits the…
Apple of My Eye: Every once in a while, someone comes up with a business plan so staggering that the mere contemplation of it leaves you short of breath. That’s what happened to me when, after a recent trip to the north Phoenix Chompie’s, I peeked in on the new…
Phone Mail: When you dish out criticism on a weekly basis, as I do, you’ve also got to be able to take it. I have no problem with honest disagreement. But I was upset with a recent message left anonymously on my voice mail: Howard Seftel? Are you the one…
Man, the Bible says, cannot live by bread alone. But if you grew up in this town, or came here more than five years ago, you certainly haven’t needed to take Saint Matthew’s word for it. That’s because, until quite recently, you stood as much chance of finding a decent…
Arizona Burrito Company, Gateview Shopping Center, 6941 North Hayden, Scottsdale, 922-9466. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Remember the “Me Decade”? The…
Hail to the Chefs: Interested in having Christopher Gross come over to your house and cook for you and your guests? Maybe you’d prefer Vincent Guerithault (Vincent’s), RoxSand Scocos (RoxSand), Eddie Matney (Eddie’s Grill), Fred Yamada (Sushi on Shea), Michael DeMaria (Michael’s), Razz Kamnitzer (Razz’s), Donna Nordin (Cafe Terra Cotta)…
