It’s what we all look for when choosing a pizza parlor: whether the chef holds a Guinness World Record. The folks at the New Wise Guys in Scottsdale must think so, given the way they emblazon the honor bestowed on chef Robert Tripi in their ads and on the back…
Where’s the beef? It’s on our plates at local restaurants, but it’s costing us more, particularly for the prime, dry-aged cuts of cow Valley restaurant diners so treasure.Americans suddenly can’t get enough of the fleshy food, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association reporting that…
Who goes to an airport to eat unless they have to? Apparently, more people than we realize. There’s a national trend brewing of airports supplementing hot dogs with stuff we actually want, including a new Wolfgang Puck eatery at Chicago’s O’Hare, Sylvia’s Soul Food of Harlem at JFK International Airport,…
There’s a lot to detest about The Breakfast Club, that 1985 movie about the group of high school kids who, forced to serve a day’s detention together, come to realize that despite their apparent differences, they’re all just people. Awww. The film introduced us to Judd Nelson, an actor skilled…
It’s the latest dining game in New York: Show up at a packed restaurant without a reservation, and lie through your teeth to get in. Hot spots like Nobu and Pastis are increasingly frequent victims of surprise parties insisting — often loudly — that they called to stake out a…
What a difference 15 years makes. It was 1986, and the Valley’s cuisine consisted of steak, spaghetti and, on a wild night, maybe a burrito or nachos. But that same year, Vincent Guerithault hit the scene, opening Vincent’s on Camelback, and bringing with him such never-heard-of French-Southwestern tastes as duck…
Arizona’s dining scene is exploding at record levels, bringing unheard of variety and competition to every corner of the Valley. Last year, in fact, Arizona experienced the nation’s third-largest increase in restaurant revenues, and is projected to be among the country’s top three again in 2001. With more than 8,300…
Western Pizza In most circles, any person venturing out of the house after midnight invites suspicion. Little good can come from folks rambling about at this dark hour. Late-night frolickers are getting drunk, they’re cruising the opposite sex with purely physical intent, or they’re looking to pick a fight. How…
Some Ahwatukee residents are up in arms over boobs in their neighborhood. Hooters, to be exact. The restaurant and bar — known primarily for its perky waitresses dipped in skintight short-shorts and tank tops — is scheduled to open this week at 48th Street and Chandler Boulevard. But if members…
Harry, our waiter at George & Son’s Asian Cuisine, is explaining why no chopsticks are included with the cutlery on the tables of this new restaurant. Too many patrons in the upscale north Scottsdale neighborhood have confessed they’re unable to control the slippery sticks, he says, so management decided that…
The bulldozers have been busy on the north side of Camelback Mountain these past several months, churning one of the Valley’s legendary resort properties into dust. Gone is the historic John Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch. Arriving soon is the mystically named — and cosmically inspired — Sanctuary. With it comes a…
There’s a little Liz Habib in all of us. Even the most puritanical in the bungling bunch known as mankind likely has overindulged in alcohol at least once in his life. With New Year’s Eve approaching this weekend, it’s pretty much a given that come Monday, a lot of us…
In-N-Out Burger, 7467 East Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, Scottsdale, unpublished phone number. Also 1525 Dysart Road, Avondale. Hours: Lunch and dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. The Sony PlayStation2 has been packed away, the thrill evaporated just a few…
A recent survey, conducted extensively among people on my speed-dial list, has uncovered a startling finding. The entire state of New Mexico is nothing without its chiles.A half-dozen people answering the phone can’t be wrong. When asked what the cuisine of New Mexico is comprised of, all my study subjects…
Tequila. It’s not just for binge drinkers anymore. Super-premium blends have become super popular with well-heeled inbibers, and in the process, super profitable for some bar owners.At Scottsdale’s Coyote Grill, guests can savor a $145 shot of José Cuervo 1800 Colección, straight or blended in a margarita. Though only a…
Arlene Silver wants to make it clear — very clear — that the Taste of Chicago sandwich store at Scottsdale Road and Thunderbird is not affiliated with the Taste of Chicago at Hayden and Mountain View. Both of the Scottsdale stores were founded by a single owner, but several years…
Sometimes, you just know that things aren’t going to work out. Maybe it’s the body language that clues you in, when your intended won’t look you in the eye or respond to your requests. Perhaps it’s the tone of voice that’s telling of demise — when it’s short, exasperated and…
Over the past month, a number of the Valley’s better-known restaurants have failed health inspections, with dismal scores ranging from 60 to 70. While it’s no surprise to find unsanitary conditions at a no-name dive, it’s unsettling when these fancy or corporate-controlled restaurants slip up so stupendously.Peter’s European Cafe is…
Professional chefs are born different from the rest of us. While the home chef may cook to relax, the professional cooks out of a compulsion to create. We may rummage through our shelves as we go, making do with what’s available, yet the professional won’t start until he has every…
Alligators don’t make good pets. Amazing, I know, but true. As a child growing up in Tokyo, I happened upon a pet store that was selling, along with fuzzy kittens and velvet-furred puppies, baby alligators. In a truly weak moment, my mother bought me one, packaged in a little plastic…
Pity the poor Chilihead. As if Chili’s employees didn’t already have enough grief in their working conditions (they’re barraged with that creepy “baby back ribs” TV jingle), they’ve got to suffer through what’s surely one of the most pea-brained training manuals in restaurantdom.It seems Chili’s corporate management knows no bounds…
We’re picking things out of our tom yum soup at Jax Thai Bar, a Tempe restaurant that’s the newest addition to Mill Avenue’s increasingly cosmopolitan culinary scene. Barklike nubs of galangal, a southeast Asian vegetable that’s a member of the ginger family. Whole kaffir lime leaves, dark green and similar…
