Where’s Franco?: That’s Franco Fazzuoli, proprietor of Franco’s Trattoria, one of the best Italian restaurants in the Valley. He’s been looking for larger digs ever since his old lease expired and he closed up shop last April. After months of searching, Franco’s Trattoria has found a new home at 8120…
Justin’s Ragin’ Cajun, 13416 North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, 404-2900. Hours: Lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Dinner, Tuesday through Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6 to 10:30 p.m. You can’t live in the Valley very long without becoming aware of a local affliction:…
Cola Wars: Can there be more worthless beverages in the world than Coke and Pepsi? They don’t quench your thirst. And they’re nutritionally empty, except if you require ten teaspoons of sugar (or the equivalent amount of corn syrup) in every 12 ounces of liquid. My adult hostility toward carbonated…
Buddy Ryan’s Bar & Grill, 122 East Washington, Phoenix, 258-4646. Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Earlier this year, a large, round man swaggered into the Valley. He assured us that our years of wandering in the…
Eat Your Vegetables: What’s the question I am asked most often? No question about it: What’s a good vegetarian restaurant? I got that question, but with a different twist, a few weeks ago. A guy called and explained that his wife was a strict vegetarian, but that he himself had…
Taste of the Southwest: Aside from Coyote Grill, I can think of two other Valley restaurants at which judicious ordering can get you a topnotch Southwestern dinner and a dollar or two change from a twenty. One is Z’Tejas Grill at Fashion Square, Scottsdale and Camelback roads in Scottsdale. But…
Coyote Grill, 3202 East Greenway Road, Phoenix, 404-8966. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Years ago, as a Peace Corps volunteer, I spent a few days in a dirt-poor, mud-hut African village–no electricity, no plumbing, no…
I’ve long considered Sonoran-style Mexican food as snoozingly dull, a deadly collection of belly-busting burros, tamales, enchiladas, tacos, chimichangas. But visits to several combination-plate parlors have begun to work away at my south-of-the-border cynicism. In fact, El Bravo has almost turned me into a fan. Without question, this is some…
Moving, Shaking and Baking: The proprietors of the excellent Rancho Pinot Grill have moved out of Town & Country Shopping Center and headed for new digs in Scottsdale. They hope to open in their new location at 6208 North Scottsdale Road sometime in mid-October. There won’t be many changes. The…
Porking Out: Over the past couple of years, I’ve sampled enough smokehouse barbecue to be declared the country’s first ambulatory toxic waste site. After a week like this one, my friends can smell me coming before they actually see me. Here are my choices if you’re looking to eat high…
There’s a branch of the Men’s Movement that urges men to get in touch with their primal, hunter-warrior selves. This group likes to go off for weekends in the woods, where they pound drums, dance naked and generally unleash repressed testosterone. But I know an easier way to get that…
Feeney’s, 6314 North 12th Street, Phoenix, 274-9700. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 4 to 10:15 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11:15 p.m. There’s no accounting for people’s tastes. And I don’t mean likes and dislikes that stem from differences in…
And the Winner Is: Since the New Times Best of Phoenix supplement comes out next week, I thought I’d get the jump on it by putting together a personalized list of prize-winning platters. Here are my selections for the best dishes I’ve consumed over the past 12 months. Starters: Chicken-in-the-blanket…
Goldie’s Sports Cafe, 10135 East Via Linda, Scottsdale, 451-6269. Open Sundays at 9 a.m. during football season. “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in,” wrote Robert Frost. Frost obviously never encountered my televised-sports-hating family. When football season rolls around, home…
New Hunan Restaurant, 1575 East Camelback, Phoenix, 265-9484. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. A couple of years ago, my younger daughter had an epiphany at a Chinese restaurant. She was…
Chinese Class: When I want the kind of Chinese food I used to get on New York’s Mott Street and San Francisco’s Grant Street, I don’t spend much time mulling over the options. It’s clear to me that C-Fu Gourmet is the closest thing we have in the Valley to…
Adventurous Dining: Saluting the 13th-century Italian merchant who spent some 20 years in China, Marco Polo Cafe is certainly aptly named. Although the poet wrote that “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” the proprietors here disagree. They call their cooking “East meets West,”…
It’s Only Money: With their $20-something entrees and $7 desserts, Etienne’s Different Pointe of View and the Chaparral at Marriott’s Camelback Inn can get pretty pricey. But compared to Christopher’s, they’re practically discount operations. That’s because Christopher’s seven-course, fixed-price meal goes for $70–add on another $40 if you’d like wine…
Etienne’s Different Pointe of View, Pointe Hilton at Tapatio Cliffs, 11111 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, 863-0912. Summer hours: Dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m. Going to a fancy restaurant in New York or Los Angeles can be an uncomfortable experience. Those towns are swarming with wealthy, important people…
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…
