Most days, it seems, there’s not much in life I’m sure of. But there’s no doubt in my mind now that this is the best tortilla soup I’ve ever had. Of the countless versions I’ve sampled over the ages, there have been chicken-stock broths that almost brought me to my…
I’ve got an idea for a fail-proof, get-rich-quick scheme. First, eat out. Do it a lot, and be sure to finish everything on your plate. Next, go home and park it on the couch, exercising only your fingers for the remote control. Soon, you’ll turn into a blubbery tub, get…
After days of eating sleep-inducing Thanksgiving turkey, I’m ready for a jolt to my taste buds. And Bradley and I are absolutely starving. After spending the day fastening a new, remarkably heavy metal roof to my barn, struggling in the chill and gusting winds of a wintry Sunday, we’ve worked…
Mom is making macaroni and cheese. The noodles are boiled and drained. The saucepot sits on the stove, heat rising to slow burps of milk, cream and chunked Velveeta. She takes the pan, pours the thick cheese liquid over the pasta, and frowns. “I forgot to put the mustard in,”…
Chu-hai is an evil, evil thing. The base of that Japanese cocktail called chu-hai — an alcohol named shochu — tastes like nothing. Just soft, clean liquid, with a lurking shadow of melon and rice. The shochu spirit is similar to vodka, but more suave. When mixed with any variety…
Choose a three-course meal:
cream of asparagus soup,
cornmeal-crusted ocean
perch, and assorted pastry plate: $13
480-603-1066. Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Reservations required, taken in 15-minute increments.
It’s been the kind of week I’d rather just forget. Nothing’s been going as smoothly as it should. Now I’m camped out at Iguana Mack’s, a new Chandler food hall that describes itself as a “hip dining experience” celebrating the “early Arizona desert oasis: the Roadhouse.” Groovy concept, I’m thinking…
Michael Lewis shakes his head politely as I boast where I’m heading for dinner. Owner of Drinkwater’s Liquor and Cheese in north Scottsdale, he’s wrapping up my purchase of a bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, and hasn’t heard of BYO Bistro, a new restaurant in Phoenix that capitalizes, appropriately…
I hate Qwest. This is not a random pronouncement, but an unwavering truth. If Qwest could be whittled to one person, I’d hunt him down, strap this horrid excuse for a human being into shackles, toss him in a dark shed and subject him to the same torture he’s giving…
Pity the humble chicken. Few edible creatures are so vastly consumed, yet so socially snubbed. We may roast a chicken for our relaxed family table and enjoy it greatly, but in nicer restaurants, we skip it. Real foodies, I hear again and again from my snootier friends, scorn the simple…
Some things are just so male. There are events that fascinate guys in ways I’ll never understand. Like last week, after a squirrel crawled into my car engine, I considered it a bad thing. After driving with me a few blocks, the poor creature didn’t fare well at all. My…
New baby smell. If a manufacturer could package that, I’d buy it by the bucket. And I don’t even like kids all that much. But the owner of Manila Café in Chandler is jostling a teeny child on her arm and stops by our table to show the infant off…
Elisabeth has given me an IV bag, and while she had suspected I would like it, she’s surprised at how very much. It’s a thing we do, my sister and I, bestowing upon each other questionable gifts. (The IV — the intravenous kind, not the Roman numeral — is in…
My guest for dinner at the Four Seasons Resort’s flagship restaurant, Acacia, is finally relaxing. He’s settled back into his oversize, high-backed armchair and is fingering the stem of his wineglass thoughtfully. A lazy grin appears on his face. “You know,” he says cheerfully, “this is all right.” And it…
My tab for three martinis will be $22.50. Plus tax and tip. Ouch. Is it just me, or does meeting a friend for a drink these days require a pretty healthy wallet situation? The two of us plan to make the best of it, loitering at the bar for more…
My friend is visiting from Hawaii, the year-round paradise of Maui. He wants to embrace Arizona despite its bright full sunlight, he’s insisting, with a special emphasis on checking out all my favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall restaurants. (Maui is beautiful, but simple, satisfying Sonoran cuisine has yet to make it to…
This was to be my birthday dinner to remember, a landmark event staged last week at one of the world’s best restaurants, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Chez Panisse, of course, is the creation of legendary chef Alice Waters and, since it opened in 1971, it’s come to be known…
I really should apologize to Cabo owner Chris Harter right now. I should be sharing with the dining public what a great restaurant he’s created (because he has given us a fun, creative, top-notch salute to Mexican seafood). But I can’t stop laughing. Because while Harter has successfully navigated the…
My mom, as always, is thinking. And, as always, she’s come up with a great idea. “A laminated plastic sheet,” she muses, peering over the 13 little dishes of pickles with which our server has blanketed the table. “With pictures. Like they do for sushi, so we know what we’re…
Her eyes are glowing brightly, the way they always do after that third glass of Merlot. It’s a brilliant, giddy look of edges erased, a realization that the craziness of another workweek will be survived. I drink in her expression as deeply and gladly as the Sauvignon Blanc I’m sipping…
I was just trying to make some rice. It’s only about 10,000 degrees outside right now. So who wants to cook and heat up the house even more? Or even eat, really. I’m pretty sure I’m slowly melting, and it doesn’t do much for my appetite. Rice sounded great, cooked…
