SECOND HELPINGS

Restaurant Revelry: If you spend as much time as I do eating out, you’re bound to have some bizarre experiences. I’ve observed almost everything while seated at a restaurant table, except the delivery of a child and a mob hit. Take the recent newspaper immolation I saw at Capers. A…

SPREAD ‘EM!

Marquesa, Scottsdale Princess resort, 7575 East Princess Drive, Scottsdale, 585-4848. Sunday brunch: 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lots of folks will be spending big bucks this Sunday on a brunch worthy of Mom. Not my pal Bob. He hates those opulent brunches. “There are so many choices, so many strategies,”…

THE HIGH-END THE MIGHTY

Arizona Kitchen, Wigwam resort, 300 East Indian School, Litchfield Park, 935-3811. Hours: Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m. The mystery behind the disappearance of the Anasazi Indians, the Southwest’s original inhabitants, has long puzzled students of the region. They’ve hypothesized that disease, war or drought put an end…

SECOND HELPINGS

Critical Notes: Elin Jeffords, whose New Times column gave birth to serious restaurant reviewing in the Valley 17 years ago, is back in the dining-out-for-pay business. After her seven-year stint here, Jeffords moved to the Arizona Republic, which she left with some acrimony in 1991. Since then, she’s occupied herself…

SECOND HELPINGS

Grill Talk: When I first sampled the fare at Eddie’s Grill about a year ago, chef Eddie Matney’s New American cuisine really impressed me. A return visit has left me even more impressed. This place is terrific, from breadbasket to dessert, from service to decor. First of all, Eddie’s Grill…

CRUST ALMIGHTY

Beulah’s, 2022 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, 252-5303. Hours: Lunch and Dinner, Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pizza sure has changed since I was a kid in the old Brooklyn neighborhood. Back then, pizza was dished out in no-nonsense style…

ASIA MAJOR

Mikado, 7111 East Camelback, Scottsdale, 481-9777. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. Just hint to my family that Chinese food is a dinnertime option, and you can see them mentally chowing…

SECOND HELPINGS

McSushi and a Happy Yaki Soba Meal: Given the dreadful nutritional fare at most fast-food operations–oily fried chicken, greasy pizzas, fat-laden burritos and artery-clogging burgers–you’d assume there might be a niche in the health-conscious 90s for a reasonably priced, reasonably nutritious, quick-service meal. And what ethnic fare is better suited…

SECOND HELPINGS

French Resistance: The Valley restaurant scene has become a great deal more sophisticated over the past few years. These days, there’s lots of offbeat ethnic eating–witness the El Salvadoran fare at Eliana’s Restaurant, the Persian food at Tasty Kabob, the Vietnamese cuisine at Pearl of Asia and the Mexican seafood…

SECOND HELPINGS

French Resistance: The Valley restaurant scene has become a great deal more sophisticated over the past few years. These days, there’s lots of offbeat ethnic eating–witness the El Salvadoran fare at Eliana’s Restaurant, the Persian food at Tasty Kabob, the Vietnamese cuisine at Pearl of Asia and the Mexican seafood…

PARDON THEIR FRENCH

6th Avenue Bistrot, 7150 East Sixth Avenue, Scottsdale, 947-6022. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5:30 to 9 p.m. According to a national foodie magazine, French bistro fare is poised to become the dining rage of 1994…

SECOND HELPINGS

French Resistance: The Valley restaurant scene has become a great deal more sophisticated over the past few years. These days, there’s lots of offbeat ethnic eating–witness the El Salvadoran fare at Eliana’s Restaurant, the Persian food at Tasty Kabob, the Vietnamese cuisine at Pearl of Asia and the Mexican seafood…

PARDON THEIR FRENCH

6th Avenue Bistrot, 7150 East Sixth Avenue, Scottsdale, 947-6022. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5:30 to 9 p.m. According to a national foodie magazine, French bistro fare is poised to become the dining rage of 1994…

PARDON THEIR FRENCH

6th Avenue Bistrot, 7150 East Sixth Avenue, Scottsdale, 947-6022. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5:30 to 9 p.m. According to a national foodie magazine, French bistro fare is poised to become the dining rage of 1994…

SECOND HELPINGS

Food, Glorious Food: The 16th annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival gets under way in a couple of weeks, running from April 12 to 17. It doesn’t look like anyone will leave hungry. The festival, presented by the Scottsdale League for the Arts, benefits the arts education programs in Valley public schools…

HOOKED ON CLASSIC

Vagara Bistro, 6137 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-9928. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. If you’re searching for a town on the cutting edge of the 21st century, Phoenix probably won’t make your short list. After all,…

HOOKED ON CLASSIC

Vagara Bistro, 6137 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-9928. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. If you’re searching for a town on the cutting edge of the 21st century, Phoenix probably won’t make your short list. After all,…

SECOND HELPINGS

Food, Glorious Food: The 16th annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival gets under way in a couple of weeks, running from April 12 to 17. It doesn’t look like anyone will leave hungry. The festival, presented by the Scottsdale League for the Arts, benefits the arts education programs in Valley public schools…

HOOKED ON CLASSIC

Vagara Bistro, 6137 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-9928. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. If you’re searching for a town on the cutting edge of the 21st century, Phoenix probably won’t make your short list. After all,…

SECOND HELPINGS

Food, Glorious Food: The 16th annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival gets under way in a couple of weeks, running from April 12 to 17. It doesn’t look like anyone will leave hungry. The festival, presented by the Scottsdale League for the Arts, benefits the arts education programs in Valley public schools…

SECOND HELPINGS

Food, Glorious Food: The 16th annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival gets under way in a couple of weeks, running from April 12 to 17. It doesn’t look like anyone will leave hungry. The festival, presented by the Scottsdale League for the Arts, benefits the arts education programs in Valley public schools…

HOOKED ON CLASSIC

Vagara Bistro, 6137 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 948-9928. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. If you’re searching for a town on the cutting edge of the 21st century, Phoenix probably won’t make your short list. After all,…