De la Cruz Bistro, the American restaurant and wine bar scheduled to open earlier this month in downtown Mesa, finally plans to open its doors at 10 a.m. Friday.

The 80-seat eatery, located in the former Posh Nosh space on the northwest corner of Main and Center streets, is owned by Omar de la Cruz, who also owns Mangos Mexican Cafe just a few doors down.

De la Cruz had hoped to open his new restaurant Aug. 13, but a last-minute paperwork mixup forced a two-week delay until final inspections could be completed.

• Previous: De la Cruz Bistro opening soon in downtown Mesa
• Previous: Paperwork snafu delays planned Aug. 13 opening
• Check out de la Cruz Bistro’s menu (pdf)

More than 30 of the Valley’s top chefs will showcase their considerable skills Saturday at the fourth annual Phoenix Cooks! at the Arizona Biltmore resort and Spa.

The five-hour culinary event, spread across three ballrooms, will feature food and wine tastings, chef showdowns, cooking classes and a marketplace.

General admission tickets, $80 in advance and $95 at the door, include all food and wine tastings, as well as access to the marketplace, where visitors can check out gourmet kitchens and purchase cooking tools.

“Iron Chef”-style competitions on stage will pit chefs (Todd Berry of the Westin Kierland Resort pictured above at last year’s event) against one another with baskets of mystery ingredients, kicking off with a 10:30 a.m. battle between Lee Hillson (T. Cook’s at the Royal Palms) and Donald Lemperle (Asia de Cuba).

(more…)

Many Americans, struggling with the double whammy of high prices and job worries, are skipping their usual Labor Day trips, according to the American Automobile Association.

But just because you’re not leaving town doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a few hours of “vacation.” Here are seven East Valley restaurants that will take you on a culinary trip — and have you back home by bed time:

Bavarian Point: Zwiebelrostbraten (a beef filet with deep-fried onions) and huhnerbrust punijab (boneless chicken in a curry sauce) are among the authentic German offerings at this strip-mall restaurant, whose  pub serves up Bavarian beers like Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse and Spaten lager. 4815 E. Main St., Mesa, (480) 830-0999.

D’Arcy McGee’s: Irish and English specialities — such as Irish breakfast, Yorkshire pudding, leek and salmon pie and steak and mushroom boxty — abound at this Tempe Marketplace eatery (pictured at left). Beers on tap include Harp, Strongbow, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny, Erdinger and Hoegaarden. 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway, (480) 557-9087, primepubs.com.

(more…)

Long Wong’s isn’t dead. It’s just grown up and moved to the suburbs.

The legendary Mill Avenue club — Bohemian hangout extraordinaire and ground zero for the local music scene for two decades — was leveled in 2004, but not before passing along its comfortable-casual genes to owners Scott and Cheri Magill’s other venture, Teakwoods Tavern and Grill.

The Gilbert Teakwoods, located in a Fry’s strip mall on the southeast corner of Williams Field and Gilbert roads, is typical of Teakwoods’ five locations in the Valley: welcoming, laid-back, loud and usually packed.

T-shirts and ball caps are de rigeur, and there are a dozen or so TVs showing sports. Patrons square off in Golden Tee golf and Lucky Strike bowling, but the overall vibe isn’t so much sports bar as family-friendly neighborhood grill.

(more…)

Leonidas Fresh Belgian Chocolates & Café is celebrating its recent opening at SanTan Village in Gilbert with a five-day sale.From Thursday through Monday, if you buy a half-pound or pound of chocolates you’ll get another half-pound or pound free. Also, if you buy a gelato, pastry or drink, you get a second free.

The “chocolates and cafe” concept is one of just two in the United States. The other is in Beverly Hills. Info: (480) 899-0281 or leonidasaz.com.

Cadillac Ranch, the second-story restaurant and bar that opened earlier this year at Tempe Marketplace, finally is going to offer draft beer.

Starting Thursday, the venue will have eight beers on tap: Budweiser, Bud Light, Widmer Hefeweisen, Widmer Drop Top Amber, Stella Artois, Shock Top Orange, Coors Light and Pale Moon.

The draft beers will be unveiled during an invite-only party from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, when guests can enjoy one-cent beers. Draft specials will run all night.

Info: (480) 894-1111 or cadillacranchtempe.com.

Humble Pie, the cozy pizzeria and wine bar that’s been drawing crowds since opening in January at Scottsdale’s Hilton Village, is adding a second location.

Owner Tom Kaufman has taken over the former Bravo Pizzeria at Desert Ridge and hopes to transform the space into another Humble Pie by the holidays.

Info: (480) 556-9900 or humblepieusa.com.

Michel Wall (pictured) of Chandler won Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill’s annual Chile Fest dessert contest, for which yours truly got to be one of the three judges.

Wall’s dessert — a chipotle chocolate torte topped with peaches, raspberries and cinnamon vanilla whipped cream — will appear Sept. 2 through Sept. 21 on the menu of all four Z’Tejas restaurants in the Valley.

The limited-time menu also will include four chile-infused entrees. A dollar from every item will benefit the Foundation for Blind Children.

Z’Tejas also will be selling roasted chiles from Glendale’s Crooked Sky Farms during the 20-day fest.

Z’Tejas’s Valley locations include restaurants in Tempe, Chandler and Scottsdale. Info: ztejas.com.

The soon-to-open InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa has announced a few details about its restaurants. The main eatery will be called Prado and feature “wood-fired grilling with a Spanish accent.” Chef Claudio Urciuoli (left), formerly of Taggia, will focus on traditional Andalusian cuisine. Look for an opening in November.

Located at the front entrance to Prado will be M Bar, a Moroccan-inspired tequila and tapas bar. Other dining at the Paradise Valley resort: Crave Cafe, a cafe and gourmet market; Kasbah, a casual restaurant and bar serving the pool; and Joya Spa Terrace & Juice Bar.

Info: (480) 627-3200 or montelucia.com.

Last summer, just after I became the Tribune’s dining writer, I wrote a brief on an East Valley restaurant winning an “Award of Excellence” — signifying it as “one of the world’s best wine restaurants” — from Wine Spectator magazine.

This month, the magazine sent out a media release noting two Valley restaurants had won “Awards of Excellence” for 2008. But this time, however, I decided not to write anything about it — not even a brief.

Why? Well, frankly, something didn’t seem right. After a year of eating at some of the East Valley best restaurants, I realized: 1) Yes, the two local restaurants honored have very good wine lists, but 2) there are others in the East Valley just as good.

So I began to wonder how Wine Spectator was choosing its honorees. Apparently I wasn’t the only one. Robin Goldstein, author of a new book called “The Wine Trials,” also was curious.

So Goldstein made up a fancy-sounding restaurant (”Osteria L’Intrepido”), fabricated a fake wine list and nominated it for an “Award of Excellence.” Of course, to nominate a restaurant required paying a $250 fee to the magazine.

Lo and behold — I’m sure you’ve already guessed this — “Osteria L’Intrepido” is one of the 2008 “Award of Excellence” winners in Wine Spectator.

• Read Robin Goldstein’s story and see the fake wine list

Move over, pumpkins and peaches. There’s a new type of produce making its debut at Schnepf Farms this weekend: Grapes.

But owners Mark and Carrie Schnepf won’t be growing grapes on their 300-acre farm in Queen Creek. They’ll be serving them in the form of wine.

Last November, the Schnepfs opened Fresh from the Farm, a rustic restaurant. On Friday, the couple will unveil a 12-foot bar offering wine and beer on the restaurant’s front patio.

It’s the latest venture for the Schnepfs, who supplement their working farm’s income by hosting seasonal festivals, concerts, weddings and educational tours.

“The patio is surrounded by herb gardens and has a nice misting system,” Carrie Schnepf says. “We’ll have live acoustic music. It’s a very country bar.”

To start, the patio bar will be open 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays — the only days the restaurant is open for dinner during the summer — for what Schnepf calls “the relaxing hour.”

• Read my November 2007 story on Fresh from the Farm

(more…)

If you go to Olive & Ivy, skip the appetizers.

Sam Fox, the Scottsdale entrepeneur who’s launched a dozen successful Fox Restaurant Concepts, no doubt would wince to hear my advice about his stylish eye-candy emporium nestled between Scottsdale Fashion Square and the Arizona Canal.

Not that there’s anything wrong with its California-meets-Mediterranean starters. But trust me: You’ll want more than one slice of Olive & Ivy’s hearty bread. Fresh from the oven and sliced thick, it comes with pesto-infused olive oil and, best of all, it’s free.

On my first visit, I don’t discover how tasty the bread is until after I order an appetizer. I don’t make that “mistake” on subsequent visits. The only challenge is not to spoil the rest of my meal, because most of the entrees I sample at Olive & Ivy are just as impressive.

Take the braised short rib ($27, pictured below), a flavorful and impossibly tender square of beef resting on a creamy bed of mascarpone polenta. The following day, I still can’t get it out of my mind.

• See a slideshow of more Olive & Ivy photos

(more…)

Queen Creek Olive Mill returns to its fall hours this week, starting Tuesday.

The mill will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays for tours and shopping.

Del Piero, the mill’s restaurant, will be open for breakfast and lunch until 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 3:30 p.m. Sundays.

The mill, located on Combs Road just east of Rittenhouse Road, offers 30-minute tours for $5. Products for sale include olives, olive oil, honey, pecans, pistachios and artisan breads.

Info: (480) 888-9290.

• Check out the Queek Creek Olive Mill’s website

Ra Sushi’s happy hour not only is getting longer, it’s spilling over into the weekend.

Starting this week, the Scottsdale-based chain will offer a lower-priced happy hour menu from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Previously, its happy hour was 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays.

Sushi and appetizers will be half-off the regular menu prices. Drinks specials will range from $1 to $5.

“Our new happy hour is just one way to give back to our customers during a tough economy,” Ra Sushi co-founder Scott Kilpatrick says. “We’re bucking the trend of raising prices at a time when costs seem to be spiking everywhere else.”

Ra had 21 locations nationwide, including restaurants in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa and Ahwatukee.

• Check out Ra Sushi’s new happy hour menu (pdf)

I hope you took my advice last month to visit La Hacienda at the Fairmont Scottsdale resort while you still could. The gourmet Mexican restaurant closed its doors today.

The closing of La Hacienda, one of only two Mexican eateries in North America to earn four diamonds from the American Automobile Association (AAA), was not altogether unexpected. It was scheduled to close in April, then granted a temporary reprieve through the end of the year.

There’s been no announcement from the resort about today’s abrupt closing, but it’s long been rumored the fine-dining La Hacienda is going to be replaced by a trendier Mexican restaurant called Mexx Kitchen. Among those reportedly involved in the new place: Hollywood nightlife gurus Rande Gerber (the husband of former supermodel Cindy Crawford) and brother Scott Gerber and celebrity chef Richard Sandoval.

Last year, the resort closed its other fine-dining restaurant, Marquesa, and replaced it with Bourbon Steak, a trendy steakhouse by celebrity chef Michael Mina. It opened in February.

• Read my July 2008 review of La Hacienda

Patti Hannon, the actress who stars in the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts long-running improvisational comedy “Late Night Catechism,” will be the featured guest for an artist-in-residence dinner Sept. 19 at Lon’s at The Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley.

Hannon, who portrays a strict nun simply known as “Sister,” will mingle with guests at a wine reception, followed by a four-course dinner.

Executive chef Michael Rusconi’s menu will consist of an amuse bouche, seared sea scallops with wild boar bacon, grilled beef tenderloin with Queen Creek olive gratin and lemon génoise. Wines will be selected by sommelier Robert Ofstedahl.

After dinner, Hannon will discuss her life and career, and treat guests to an interactive comedy performance.

Cost is $125 per person, which includes food, wine, tax and gratuity. Reservations: (602) 955-7878. Info: lons.com.

Look out, Buffalo Wild Wings. Buffalo Wing & Rings, one of the country’s fastest-growing restaurant chains, will open its first East Valley location in Chandler in mid-October.

The Ohio-based chain currently operates 36 restaurants, 15 in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. It plans to open another dozen by the end of this year and have a total of 85 by the end of 2010.

Besides wings (10 for $7.99), Buffalo Wings & Rings’ menu includes burgers, chicken tenders, gyros, popcorn shrimp and mini corn dogs. No individual menu item is more than $8.

The Chandler location will be on the northeast corner of Dobson Road and Chandler Boulevard.

• Check out Buffalo Wings & Rings’ menu