I feel so ashamed. I’ve just read an interview with Peter Benchley, author of that ’70s sea shocker, Jaws. It seems he’s done a 180 on his view of great white sharks recently, discovering over the past decade that they are actually shy, scaredy-pants fish that only attack people they…
If I hear about one more “for the Soul” book, I think I’m going to scream. Not only is there that instigator of all the madness, Chicken Soup for the Soul, there’s now the baffling Chicken Soup for the Dental Soul and the completely inexcusable Chicken Soup for the Backstreet…
Tee Pee Tap Room, 602 East Lincoln Street, Phoenix, 602-340-8787. Hours: Lunch and dinner, daily, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. On game nights, restaurant remains open one hour after game ends. Downtown Phoenix dining hasn’t gotten much respect, historically. Not only has the restaurant quality traditionally been pretty weak, but…
Some pretty funky history is happening in downtown Scottsdale these days. Since the opening of The Velvet Room in late March, the Old Town neighborhood has been jettisoned back to the 1940s and the “Golden Age of Jazz.” The supper-club concept has been reincarnated here, pairing the evening meal with…
Given perfect hindsight, most of us would have been a whole lot smarter when we were 12 years old. To this day, I dearly wish I had been. At this tender time of my life, I was living in Japan, land of gorgeous gardens, show-stopping fashion and some of the…
If you’ve ever toured the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, you’ll feel right at home at Monti’s La Casa Vieja in Tempe. Picture hunkering wooden walls, patch-painted but inescapably old. Imagine yawning galleries hung with portraits of ancient, macabre and deceased former residents. Visualize mismatched furniture, creaking doors, alarming discrepancies in…
One of my best resources for reviews of one-of-a-kind, out-of-the-way restaurants is word of mouth. Usually, these places don’t have the funds for elaborate marketing or benefit from having a big-name chef backing them. So when a friend mentions Mangos Mexican Cafe to me, I perk up at her description…
I grew up in a condiment-free household. It’s sad, but true. Our house was in a salad-dressing-free zone. Sauces were used only if they were imperative to the construction of a dish, and even then, sometimes not. Mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce or salsa on our food? Never. Even spices…
My dining companion is messing with my head, or, should I say, my palate. He swears there’s lemon in the complimentary pre-dinner plate of iced watermelon we’re enjoying at the Green Leaf Cafe.I pluck another chunk of fruit, but there’s no lemon flavor here. I even dip my fingers in…
By the time you read this, chef Erasmo “Razz” Kamnitzer will be packing up his pots and pans and getting ready to shutter his eponymous Razz’s restaurant as he does every summer. From May 20 to September 1, the popular eatery goes dark as Kamnitzer and his family take some…
Gourmet of Russia, 4515 North 16th Street, 602-263-0200. Hours: Lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Dinner, Saturday and Sunday, 5 p.m. to midnight.
Acacia at the Four Seasons, 10600 East Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale, 480-515-5700. Hours: Dinner, nightly, 6 to 10 p.m. (to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday). My dining companion and I are debating whether to order wine this evening. Not whether we want it, because of course we do. But whether…
Ironwood Café, inside the Heard Museum, 2301 North Central, Phoenix, 602-252-8840. Hours: Breakfast and Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. As drivers on I-10 approach the Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street exits, signage directs them to Phoenix’s downtown cultural mecca. Longtime…
Va Bene Ristorante Italiano, 4025 East Chandler Boulevard, Phoenix, 480-706-4070. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, daily, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Va Bene owner Sasha Cosic welcomes us warmly, leading us through small clusters of tables, inviting us to “sit, please, and enjoy.” He…
New York has its bagels, pretzels and pizza. Chicago has its hot dogs and sliders. San Francisco has its sourdough. And the Valley doesn’t have its fry bread. It’s a perplexing situation. While less than three percent of the Valley’s 2.7 million residents are Native American, fry bread is an…
Quiessence Culinary Center, 6106 South 32nd Street, 602-305-8192. Hours: Dinner, Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., October 1 through June 1. Sometimes, you must admit, eating out can be such work. First, there’s figuring out what you’re hungry for. Chinese? Italian? American? Mexican? Then, you have to navigate the menu, with…
Pho Bang Restaurant, 1702 West Camelback Road, Suite 14, 602-433-9440. Hours: Lunch and dinner, daily, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Our host, Lee, has brought my dining buddy the wrong soup, and he knows it. Yet, he’s grinning from ear to ear, and when we mention the error, his smile…
The Landmark Restaurant, 809 West Main Street, Mesa, 480-962-4652. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 3 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Our waitress recently relocated from Florida and her teenage daughter isn’t pregnant. It’s a relief, because it…
Medizona, 7217 East Fourth Avenue, Scottsdale, 480-947-9500. Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m. You have to listen very carefully to catch the delicate melody of Pink Floyd wafting from behind the small bar at Medizona. The haunting strains of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” float like slender ghosts…
Timothy Michael’s Hideaway, 2999 North 44th Street, 602-667-3001. Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. “There once was a lady named Anne, who thought she came from Iran. But she got on a camel, and . . .” I…
If someone said he could help you save up to a quarter of your business costs each year, you’d listen, wouldn’t you? Especially if it was a professional peer giving you advice. If you’re a famous chef in a fancy Phoenix restaurant, the answer, apparently, is no. While high-end restaurateurs…
Meat. Fat. Salt. Flour. Potatoes. Cabbage. If this list doesn’t make you drool, German dining probably isn’t for you. If you like green things other than garnishes on your plate, traditional Teutonic food isn’t likely to rise über alles among world cuisines in your estimation. But if you (like me,…
