Category: Arizona

ArizonaBarbecueDog FriendlyUnited States

Big Nate’s Family BBQ – Mesa, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man” ~Genesis 2:21-22 Ever since God took a rib from Adam and created Eve with it, Adam and Eve’s male desccendents have been craving ribs almost as if wanting to replace the one God took. Whether short ribs, baby back ribs, spare ribs, St. Louis style ribs, or any other type of of rib, the scions of the first couple have a rapacious appetite for ribs, the meatier the better.  NOTE:  Because both men and women have the same number of ribs (24: 12 on each side of the rib cage) God must have replaced the missing rib on Adam and Eve’s progeny. One of the most prolific paramours of ribs is my friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver.  Together we’ve journeyed far and wide in search of Korean style beef short ribs and beef ribs, his two favorite types of beef ribs.  When he and…

ArizonaBurgersDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

The Chuck Box – Tempe, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“I’ll have the great big one,” the barrel-chested behemoth behind me chortled.  One of his companions, a bookish nerd followed up with “I’ll have the big one.”  Not to be outdone, several male Arizona State University (ASU) students took turns ordering either the “great big one” or the “big one.”  Each order was followed by raucous laughter as if they were the first students ever to place their orders for burgers named for their respective sizes (the burgers, not the students’ manhood).  Not one of them dared ask for “the little one” for fear of being humiliated or even ostracized by their fellows.  “What a brilliant marketing strategy!,” I thought as I, too, ordered a “great big one” even though I wasn’t that hungry The great big one, as you may have surmised, is the biggest burger available at The Chuckbox, an ASU area institution and one of the oldest businesses in Downtown Tempe.  Now in operation for nearly half a century, it’s been continuously owned by Frank, formerly an executive for a now defunct burger chain.  When the chain wanted him to move, Frank decide to remain in Phoenix to focus on his family, and create a new, and…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistArizonaDog FriendlyJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Cocina Chiwas – Tempe, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Chef Armando Hernandez is my new hero.  In an interview with the Phoenix New Times, he was asked about “authentic Mexican cuisine.”  His retort was scathingly brilliant: “It’s very difficult for me to have these conversations, especially among our own people, about what’s considered authentic.  “They’ll be like, ‘Well, my Grandma-’ and I’m like, yeah, I’m not your Grandma though.”  Those of us who grew up in the Land of Enchantment when our distinctive cuisine was widely labeled “Mexican” remain somewhat in the dark about differences between New Mexican cuisine and that of our Southern neighbor.   It was only rather recently that cognoscenti determined New Mexican cuisine is different enough from Mexico’s to warrant its own label–New Mexican. Perhaps because of the mislabeling, commonly held misperceptions persist as to what constitutes Mexican food. Most New Mexicans insist virtually every one of our sacrosanct dishes has to include red and (or) green chile.  That brownish-red stuff Mexican restaurants serve doesn’t look or taste like the “real stuff” that comes from Hatch, Chimayo, Deming, Lemitar and other communities whose sacred earth bestows its blessings on us every autumn.  New Mexicans tend not to know what mole is.  Chile that’s gone bad?…

ArizonaDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)Soul FoodSouthernUnited States

Sugar Jam – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

I often describe my youth in rural, agrarian Peñasco as “bumpkinly naïveté.”  I may have been book smart (and insolent) enough to intimidate some of my teachers, but insofar as experiential smarts, I was one pretty sheltered guy.  The very first black people I ever saw up close were Drew and Shane Roebuck, gazelle-quick running backs for Menaul High School.   I wanted to kill them…not because they were black, but because I couldn’t catch them.  You see, I had a reputation as a fierce tackler.  It didn’t matter the race, ethnicity, religious affiliation or favorite breakfast cereal, I wanted to tackle everyone in a uniform that didn’t have Peñasco’s blue and gold. In basic military training for the Air Force, I shared close quarters with young men of every demographic.  It was the start of many beautiful friendships.  Over the course of an entire military career, many of my best friends were black.  Some of those friendships were borne of proximity and job, but flourished from the heart.  Even today–some 28 years after my retirement–fond recollection of such wonderful black friends as Dwayne (not The Rock) Johnson, Patrick Fields, Michael Gordon, Moe Myers and so many others remind me…

ArizonaPizzaRating: OutstandingUnited States

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

I don’t often refer to myself as a “restaurant critic” or “restaurant reviewer.” My preferred gloss is “observer and essayer on the culinary condition.”   Yep, that’s a high falutin bit of ego-stroking, but it’s accurate.  One of the things I’ve observed during frequent trips to the Phoenix area–both while employed at Intel and while snowbirding over the Christmas and Festivus holidays–is that middling quality chain restaurants tend to find a home in the Valley of the Sun an year or two before figuring out they would be smash successes in Albuquerque. Another salient obseration is that some pretty highly regarded East Coast and Midwest restaurants and chefs don’t like the cold either…or maybe they’re following the exodus of snowbirds wanting to escape the miserable winter weather.  Ted’s Hot Dogs, a Buffalo refugee turned Valley mainstay since the 1980s was among the first.  Grimaldi’s, a New York City institution which can trace its lineage to America’s pizza pioneers, followed suit a few years later.   Strewn across the Valley are such Chicago transplants as Lou Malnati’s, Rosati’s Pizza and the perpetually mispronounced Portillo’s.  Every one of these restaurants has maintained a presence where they got their starts, but are also…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistArizonaDog FriendlyJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMediterraneanRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Source – Gilbert, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When Chef Claudio Urciuoli posed for a photograph with Source’s baker Ryan and chef Trevor, he sported a smile.  I joked with him about his stern countenance and he assured me that he really does have a sense of humor.  Despite the dissolution of his partnership at Pa’La, the acclaimed chef has every reason to smile.  He’s once again doing what he wants to do, operating a restaurant whose approach and raison d’etre are encapsulated in this statement from the restaurant’s website:  We are an ingredient driven, community centered, counter service restaurant, wine bar, and retail shop. Chef Urciuoli does indeed have a sense of humor and a personal warmth that really came across during our conversation.  He shared his vision for a casual Mediterranean restaurant where it’s all about the quality of ingredients.  He pointed out that Source is a counter-service affair with baked goods front and center at the counter and a menu suspended overhead.  All tableware is compostable save for wine glasses.  That speaks to his commitment to doing his part for the environment.  It irks him how relatively little the water-starved Valley is doing to conserve water.  He also believes much more could be done to…

ArizonaBurgersDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Matty G’s – Chandler, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the inspirational 1989 movie, Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner stars as an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella. As a farmer, Ray has fallen on hard times.  While standing in his corn field one day, he has a vision of a baseball field where part of his cornfield is.  A disembodied voice (credited by IMDB to “The Voice”) tells him, “If you build it, he will come.” Ray then sets out to make the baseball field of his vision a reality.  All the while, he is spurred onward by the voice urging him that if he builds it, “he” or “they” will come. To the initial consternation of his wife and friends, Ray builds the baseball field. Ray’s friends and family were eventually won over to Ray’s vision when they began to see Shoeless Joe Jackson taking to the field along with the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series.  The scene culminates with James Earl Jones’ character, Terence Mann, uttering the oft-paraphrased words: “Ray, people will come, Ray.  They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom.  They’ll turn up in your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re…

ArizonaAsianFusionRating: ExcellentUnited StatesVietnamese

Cyclo Vietnamese Cuisine

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Justina Duong’s effusive personality, easy elegance and chic fashion sense could fill a room–and they often did.  From the moment Justina launched Cycle on Chandler Avenue, the captivating chef and hostess extraordinaire didn’t just have guests.  She had an audience, a throng of admirers (mostly men).  She had peeps. Charming, gracious and attractive, the belle femme made guests feel at home, becoming as much a draw as the wonderful cuisine on her menu.  I had expected to once again enjoy banter with Justina when visiting Cyclo for the first time in a few years only to learn Justina sold the restaurant four years ago.   With Justina no longer there to capture the rapt attention of her guests, I noticed a lot of things.  For one thing, Cyclo is much smaller than I had remembered it to be.  I wondered if Justina’s larger-than-life personality made Cyclo feel like a larger venue.  We noticed new art on the walls.  Two lovely Vietnamese women attired in traditional flowing ao dai walked under a flowering Tao tree with a cyclo parked nearby.  Mostly what we noticed were the alluring aromas emanating from the kitchen.  These mouth-watering sensations have probably been there all along,…

ArizonaDog FriendlyItalianPizzaUnited States

Cibo – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Inasmuch as they’re both Romance languages, there are a lot of similarities between Spanish and Italian.  Because Spanish was my first language, if spoken slowly enough I can probably understand thirty-percent of what is spoken in Italian.  Alas, not all Spanish and Italian terms are lexical cognates.  That is, they don’t have the same etymology or derivation.  For example, the Italian term “mangia” means “eat up” (naturally, it’s one of my favorite Italian words) while perhaps its closest Spanish equivalent is “come.”  Another Italian culinary term every self-respecting gastronome recognizes is “cibo” which translates in English to “food.” In Italy, life revolves around the preparation and enjoyment of good food (cibo buono).   Hmm, maybe I should have been born Italian?   As a gastronomo prolifico (the Italian AND Spanish translation for both words), I feel a profound connection to Elena Davis who writes the fabulous blog Cucina by Elena in which she shares recipes and memories of having grown up in Lo Stivale.  She’s a lady after my own heart.  Take this paragraph:  “In Italy, if we aren’t eating, we are probably talking about eating.  The word Mangia (verb: mangiare), pronounced man-juh, definition: eat-up!!”  Yes, you literally say it…

ArizonaFine DiningFrenchRating: N/R (Not Rated)The Best Thing I Ever AteUnited States

Zinc BIstro – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Are you sure we belong here,” my Kim asked as we strolled along Kierland Commons, an upscale Main Street lifestyle center.  “Of course, we belong here,” I replied just as a shiny, brand new Bentley parked in the spot we were walking past.  We certainly don’t have that kind of money (not even close), but we have a great equalizer.  Just by batting his brown eyes, our debonair dachshund The Dude had the couple on the Bentley clamoring to pet and stroke him, all the while uttering oohs and aahs at the softness of his fur and the sweetness of his smile.  Whether you own a Bentley or a Hyundai, our Dude will own your heart.   Based on the adulation he received that evening, The Dude could have run for mayor of Kierland Commons and he probably would have won (unless Maricopa Country’s election shenanighans rig it against him).   His peeps included the wait staff as well as diners at adjacent tables.  Everyone wanted to meet our four-legged fur baby.  Whether or not my Kim and I belonged among all the well-heeled, it was obvious The Dude makes himself–and by extension, us–at home wherever he goes.   Now,…

ArizonaDog FriendlyItalianPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante – Glendale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In a Phoenix.org feature published in November, 2022, David Tynda declared that Phoenix is a top city for pizza. “I say to people that I believe Phoenix is the pizza capital of the U.S. and I wait for them to slap me across the face,” said Tyda, the co-manager of Phoenix Festivals.  The Matador Network agreed: “Phoenix is a slice of pizza heaven. Yes, that Phoenix, the one where it’s nearly hot enough in the summer to cook said pizza on the sidewalk. While Chicago and New York were dueling it out for pizza supremacy, Phoenix was quietly building an army of pizza joints that could dethrone Naples.” Not that very long ago, most of the nation’s crusty cognoscenti conceded “It may not be New York or Chicago, but the pizza’s not bad,”   a culinary equivalent of saying a girl isn’t very pretty, but she’s got a great personality.  Only a critic with masochistic tendencies would dispute the superiority of Pizzeria Bianco, but every other pizzeria in the Valley of the Sun barely warranted a mention on any national dialogue about pizza.  Most conversations about pizza in the Valley of the Sun still begin with Pizzeria Bianco, but alongside…