Archive for May, 2008
May 30th, 2008, 3:36 pm by Jess Harter
 The combination of gourmet pizza and fine wine in a casual setting seems to be more popular than ever. In January, Tom Kaufman (Rancho Pinot Grill) and partners opened Humble Pie (read my review) in Scottsdale. In March, Julian Wright (Jax Thai Bar, The Library) launched La Bocca Urban Pizzeria (read my First Taste) on Tempe’s Mill Avenue.
The latest addition to the list: Fired Up Pizza & Wine, which just opened on the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.
Owner Terry Sprehe’s strip-mall eatery exudes an upscale vibe with 11 polished-granite tables, beige suede chairs, a stone tile floor and maroon and creme walls. A bar accommodates another dozen people, and a glass-enclosed wine room offers more than 60 labels.
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Posted in: Scottsdale | 3 Comments »
May 30th, 2008, 12:20 pm by Jess Harter
 Pischke’s Blue Ribbon, a fixture of the downtown Scottsdale dining scene for more than two decades, will close Sunday and be replaced by a new restaurant from acclaimed chefs Robert McGrath and Aaron May.
The new casual concept will feature what McGrath and May characterize as Texas hill-country cuisine. No opening date has been announced.
Under original owner Chris Pischke, then-named Pischke’s Paradise drew huge crowds for 20 years with its eclectic 300-item menu, surf hut decor and Hawaiian-shirt-clad staff. Pischke, a larger-than-life figure to his many customers, died of an apparent suicide in 2006.
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Posted in: Scottsdale | 1 Comment »
May 28th, 2008, 12:16 pm by Jess Harter
More than a century ago, a red-brick building known as The Pacific Creamery produced pasteurized milk and ice for the early residents of Tempe. One can imagine what indulgences both were in the late 1800s.
Today, the Mission Revival structure still stands on an off street where the east edge of Arizona State University fades into well-worn residential neighborhoods. As the home of 12-year-old Four Peaks Brewing Company, it continues to produce something special: premier microbrews and pub grub.
Both are served on one of the East Valley’s most popular patios, a hodgepodge of rustic wood tables shielded by sun-beaten umbrellas where college students and senior citizens alike enjoy a laid-back atmosphere. There’s also seating in the warehouse-like interior, which can get very loud when crowded, which it often is.
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Posted in: Tempe | 6 Comments »
May 27th, 2008, 2:29 pm by Jess Harter
The InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley isn’t scheduled to open until August, but it’s hired a chef to head its yet-to-be-named signature restaurant. Their choice is Claudio Urciuoli, who spent less than a year heading Taggia at Scottsdale’s FireSky Resort & Spa, then spent an ill-fated two months at Different Pointe of View at the Pointe at Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix.
Posted in: Paradise Valley | Post a Comment »
May 27th, 2008, 2:16 pm by Jess Harter
Jeff Flancer, whose small Gilbert eatery Flancer’s has been serving delicious sandwiches and pizzas for the past eight years, finally has opened a second location. The new Flancer’s, which features the same menu, is located on the southwest corner of McKellips and Higley roads in northeast Mesa. Info: (480) 396-0077.
Posted in: Mesa | Post a Comment »
May 27th, 2008, 11:02 am by Jess Harter
If newly opened Eddie’s House truly represents, as intended, what it’s like to eat in chef Eddie Matney’s home, there’s one obvious question: How does he ever get any of his guests to leave?
Love him or hate him — and there are plenty of people in either camp — Matney, one of the lions of the Valley’s culinary scene in the ‘90s, shows he’s still a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen.
His first Old Town Scottsdale restaurant is a casual, comfortable retreat. Aubergine and mustard walls and wasabi green chairs compose a food-themed palette. Chandeliers made from recycled wine barrels hang like giant whisks. Accents range from the home-inspired, such as the shower curtains that provide privacy in the restrooms, to the personal, including Matney’s family tree painted on the wall.
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Posted in: Scottsdale | Post a Comment »
May 21st, 2008, 2:54 pm by Jess Harter
 It’s Friday happy hour, and recently opened Blue Wasabi Sushi & Martini Bar in Gilbert is packed. Alex Ortiz is lucky. He and his wife, Leslie, manage to find seats at the bar, where they order one of the stylish SanTan Village restaurant’s signature sushi rolls.
“I’ve had sushi all my life,” says the 45-year-old aerospace products sales manager, who moved to Mesa three years ago. “It’s not real heavy and you don’t get bloated. It’s better-tasting food. We usually go to Ra at Dana Park, but some friends told us about this place last night and we had to check it out.”
For people like Ortiz, who eats sushi once or twice a week, these are boom times in the East Valley. A little more than a decade ago you could count the number of sushi restaurants on one hand. Today, there are more than 100, and new ones are opening every month.
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Posted in: Ahwatukee • Chandler • Gilbert • Mesa • Scottsdale • Tempe | 3 Comments »
May 21st, 2008, 12:43 pm by Jess Harter
 New York City has a new most expensive burger. The Wall Street Burger Shoppe is offering a Kobe beef burger (pictured at left) with black truffles, seared foie gras, aged Gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and — get this — flecks of actual gold on a brioche bun. The cost? A cool $175.
The restaurant’s owner tells The Associated Press the pricey burger is a favorite of Wall Street types who want to impress their friends. She says she sells 20 to 25 per month.
New York’s second-most expensive burger is Daniel Boulud’s, which has an ground sirloin exterior with a filling of boned short ribs braised in red wine. It’s topped with toasted parmesan, fresh horseradish mayonnaise, tomato confit, fresh tomato and frisée lettuce and sells for $150.
Both are bargains compared to the burger at Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The Kobe burger, stuffed with foie gras and black truffles and served on a brioche truffle bun, will set you back $5,000. But, as a bonus, the price includes a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1995.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
May 21st, 2008, 11:39 am by Jess Harter
Pita Jungle, the funky Mediterranean eatery that’s been a favorite Tempe hangout for 14 years, has opened a Gilbert location on Williams Field Road, just west of Val Vista Drive. Along with a Mesa location that opened in March, Pita Jungle now has six restaurants in the Valley, with another soon to open in Glendale.
The Gilbert location,1431 W. Williams Field Road, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Info: (480) 814-2535.
Posted in: Gilbert | Post a Comment »
May 20th, 2008, 2:53 pm by Jess Harter
I don’t often write about restaurants in Phoenix, but I’ll make an exception for a James Beard Award-winning chef. Christopher Gross opens his new place, Christopher’s Restaurant, today at Biltmore Fashion Park.
Located between Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, the 120-seat restaurant features Gross’ French-influenced American cuisine. Sommelier Paola Embry oversees the in-house lounge, Crush, which offers an after-hours menu until 2 a.m.
Christopher’s Restaurant is located on the center’s lower level; the chef’s Christopher’s Fermier Brasserie closed earlier this month on the upper level.
Christopher’s dining room is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Info: (602) 522-2344.
Posted in: Phoenix | Post a Comment »
May 20th, 2008, 11:54 am by Jess Harter
Courtney Rundio, a 9-year-old from Mesa, has been selected to appear in Red Robin’s annual kids’ cookbook. The book, available at redrobin.com for $5 through Aug. 10, benefits the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Rundio’s Cactus Jack Cristo Burger, one of 50 recipes selected from more than 10,000 entries, is made with a hamburger patty, prickly pear cactus jelly, fried jalapenos, pepper-jack cheese and cilantro coleslaw on a battered cornmeal-jalapeno roll. Rundio also was featured in last year’s cookbook.
Another Valley resident, 6-year-old Gavin Foerstner of Phoenix, also made this year’s book with his Apple Jack Burger topped with a sauteed apple slice, bacon and pepper jack cheese.
Posted in: Mesa | Post a Comment »
May 20th, 2008, 10:58 am by Jess Harter
D’Arcy McGee’s, a new Irish restaurant and pub at Tempe Marketplace, has pushed its opening back one day. It now will open Friday.
Posted in: Tempe | Post a Comment »
May 19th, 2008, 3:37 pm by Jess Harter
Urban Campfire, Robert Stempkowski’s barbecue and comfort food joint on the southeast corner of Rural Road and University Drive in Tempe that was the subject of false closure reports in March, will close its doors Saturday, but not for good.
Stempkowski and partner Steve Wolff recently won a protracted legal battle with Greasy Tony’s, the building’s former occupant, over a liquor license dispute. With that behind them, the pair are moving ahead with renovations of the building’s well-worn interior and patio during the slow summer season.
Look for Urban Campfire to re-open Aug. 8.
Posted in: Tempe | Post a Comment »
May 19th, 2008, 12:21 pm by Jess Harter
 Eddie Matney has dazzled Valley taste buds for 22 years, and his well-regarded restaurants — such as Kous Kooz, Eddie’s Grill, Eddie Matney’s and Eddie’s Art Museum Café — shared one trait: They were all in Phoenix.
Wednesday, the 47-year-old chef, who has spent the past year cooking at a private country club, returns to the public arena with the opening of Eddie’s House, his first Scottsdale restaurant.
The dinner-only restaurant, which will feature Matney’s trademark Mediterranean-influenced American cuisine, takes over the former Cook n’ Jack’s building on the northwest corner of Indian School Road and Marshall Way.
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Posted in: Scottsdale | Post a Comment »
May 19th, 2008, 12:16 pm by Jess Harter
Coconut Bliss, an organic vegan ice cream from the Pacific Northwest, is now available in Arizona. Made from a base of coconut milk and agave syrup, it’s being sold at Natures Finest Natural Foods in Mesa (1925 E. Brown Road) and Whole Foods Market in Scottsdale (8688 E. Raintree).
Posted in: Mesa • Scottsdale | Post a Comment »
May 19th, 2008, 12:06 pm by Jess Harter
 After arriving in Arizona in 1986, Eddie Matney established himself as one of the Valley’s first celebrity chefs, hosting a weekly cooking segment on TV and writing a monthly magazine column while opening a string of restaurants, including Steamers, Kous Kooz, Eddie’s Grill, Eddie’s Art Museum Café and Eddie Matney’s.
The 47-year-old Massachusetts native with a larger-than-life personality spent the past year cooking at the private Golf Club Scottsdale. Now, he’s returning to the public arena. On Wednesday, the Paradise Valley resident launches Eddie’s House in Old Town Scottsdale.
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Posted in: Scottsdale | 1 Comment »
May 16th, 2008, 8:51 pm by Jess Harter
Quick – how many Paradise Bakery & Cafe stores are in the Valley? On Monday, it’ll be 33 as the Scottsdale-based chain opens its first Queen Creek restaurant.
The new 4,500-square-foot restaurant, 21202 S. Ellsworth Loop Road, will have Paradise’s traditional menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods. It also will offer free Wi-Fi access.
Info: (480) 751-6170 or paradisebakery.com.
Posted in: Queen Creek | Post a Comment »
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