Category: Arizona

AmericanArizonaDog FriendlyRating: ExcellentUnited States

Culinary Dropout – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:04 AM

With a name like Culinary Dropout, you might expect an edgy and provocative venue, something hip and trendy where all the beautiful blonde  women of Scottsdale come to mix with bad boys.  That expectation might be reenforced by Old Town Scottsdale website which describes Culinary Dropout:  “From the chefs on the line with silver-studded ears and Mohawk hairdo, to the inked-up, decked-out bar staff mixologists shaking and stirring some of the most creative cocktails, we’re all dropouts here.”  Instead, we found a rather innocuous vibe, akin to maybe Chili’s on a slightly rowdy day. Most of the diners were coupled, some…

AmericanArizonaBreakfastDog FriendlyFarm to TableUnited States

The Farm at South Mountain – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:05 AM

There are two indulgences we miss when we visit Tempe: New Mexico’s incomparable cuisine and the coffee we wake up to every morning.  My sister Anita assures us there are now several restaurants in the Valley of the Sun which serve New Mexican cuisine that is more than passable though we have yet to visit any of them.  While our landlords graciously provide a coffee pot, we don’t ever seem to remember to pack our beloved Douwe Egberts coffee from the Netherlands.  Okay, maybe that’s just an excuse to visit Black Rock Coffee in Tempe which serves a very good…

ArizonaDog FriendlyItalianRating: ExcellentUnited States

Italian Daughter – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:03 AM

“I am my father’s daughter, the Italian daughter” proclaims restaurateur Melissa Maggiore-Meyer on the Italian Daughter’s website.  As the daughter of famed Phoenix chef and restaurant impressario Tomaso Maggiore, it seems almost predestined that she would follow in her father’s Sasquatch-like footsteps.  At an early age, Melissa’s father taught her the beauty and joy a great meal can bring to one’s life.  She cherishes the memories of gathering around the table with family and friends, sharing stories, laughter, wine, and of course, a great dish of pasta.  Her love for the cuisine of her Italian heritage was cemented by extensive…

ArizonaMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Chilte – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Me Vale Madre.”  If you grew up speaking Spanish–or maybe just being around Spanish-speaking people–you probably know it’s a derrogatory term.  Essentially, even though the phrase inludes the Spanish term “madre” which means “mother,”  it’s telling someone you don’t give a fu…fudge.  “Me Vale Madre” is Chilte’s mantra.  It’s the restaurant staff basically saying “we don’t care that we don’t meet your conceptions of what Mexican food should be.  We’re going to do it our way.”  How can you not love that?  I asked our server to explain to my Kim what that mantra means and he gave us a…

ArizonaAsianMichelin Recognized RestaurantsMichelin: Selected RestaurantRating: N/R (Not Rated)ThaiUnited States

Glai Baan – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“We are a “Very Thai” kitchen, focusing on street food and snacks that you would commonly find while visiting Thailand. Most of our dishes are best shared and many dishes are from the Isan region (northeastern), where they like their food spicy. We source our produce and meat locally when possible, and we do not use MSG.”  When I read that introductory statement on Glai Bann’s website and menu, I nearly danced with joy.  Over the years I’ve become increasingly frustrated with Thai restaurants in that the balance of flavors–sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy–has skewed overwhelmingly toward sweet.  The culinary…

ArizonaGelatoItalianPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Romanelli’s Italian Deli – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

It didn’t dawn on me until after our visit that how fitting it is that Romanelli’s Italian Deli is located on Dunlap Avenue.  Visit Romanelli’s with any degree of regularity and you’re bound to be afflicted with Dunlap’s Disease.  Dan “The Tire Man” Marsh describes it as “Done lapped over the belt” disease.  The symptoms include “a sudden need to unbutton your pants after a meal (a classic blowout!), an inexplicable gravitational pull towards comfy sweatpants and the inexplicable disappearance of your feet when looking down.  Among the causes of Dunlap’s Disease are visiting Romanelli’s frequently. In naming Romanelli’s 2023’s…

ArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesFine DiningFood Network Eats New MexicoMichelin Recognized RestaurantsMichelin: Selected RestaurantRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Hush Public House – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

During a February, 2024 episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, host Guy Fieri asked Chef Dom Ruggiero what type of cuisine her served at his North Scottsdale restaurant Hush Public House.  Chef Ruggiero explained Hush features “New American,”  a term which basically “let’s me do whatever I want.”  Chef Ruggiero could have said “Martian” and it’s unlikely he would have received any argument from the periphrastic  host.  In part that’s because Chef Ruggiero is a former United States Marine.  With tatooed guns nearly the size of Hulk Hogan’s, he still looks like he could take on a regiment of terrorists single-handedly. …

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

Fabio on Fire – Peoria, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the early ’90s, a mesomorphic V-shaped woman’s man with the mononymous name Fabio garnered worldwide recognition for his appearance on the covers of hundreds of romance novels.  With his flowing mane, chiseled physique and aquiline nose, Fabio Lanzoni was lusted after and admired–at least by readers of romance lovers.   The idyllic man perceptions were reinforced when Fabio revealed that he cooks (albeit with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, a product he’s been hawking on television for more than a decade). When I told my Kim, we were headed to the western enclave of Peoria, Arizona to dine at…

ArizonaBurgersIce CreamRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Delgadillo’s Snow Cap – Seligman, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The quirky small town of Seligman, Arizona, is home to the longest surviving and preserved stretch of Route 66, an expanse which runs 160 miles to Topock, Arizona.  Almost equidistant between Kingman and Flagstaff, Seligman is considered (by Arizona legislative decree) the “birthplace of Historic Route 66.”  Credit that designation to Angel Delgadilla, a  soft-spoken Seligman barber and his brother Juan, a railroad worker who led efforts to preserve Route 66. When the town was bypassed by Interstate 40 in 1978, the brothers formed the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. Soft-spoken though the brothers might have been, the Delgadillos…

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

The Dhaba – Tempe, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

I joked with our friend Kris Lincoln about the irony of introducing an Indian to Indian cuisine.  I’m going to pin that paradox on Christopher Columbus.  Legend has it that Columbus used the term “Indian” to refer to the original inhabitants of the American continent.  It’s widely believed (though more romanticized than accurate) that he used the term “Indian” because he was convinced he had landed in “The Indies” (Asia) where he hoped to discover a new source of wealth,  Whether attributable to confusion or an education system that often perpetuates mistaken beliefs, the label “Indian” has stuck. That misnomer…

AmericanArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesDog FriendlyFarm to TableRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Joe’s Farm Grill – Gilbert, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When primitive men, women and asgender people crossed the Bering Straits to escape global freezing, they eventually made their way to the Phoenix area.  Ever since, their progeny has been trying to figure out how to escape global scorching which transpires on most summer days (seven or eight months a year).  They built Biosphere 2, the world’s largest controlled environment.  They built a swimming pool in Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  When compelled to leave the air conditioned confines of their homes, Phoenicians risk third-degree burns from their car doors and  flee to their summer homes in Prescott…