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Nikki's Restaurant Reviews BLOG |
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July 2008
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Recently in Nikki's Picks CategoryKierland Commons Located just east of North, Bar North is a tiny, clean-lined box of a wine bar, all windows and high ceilings and noise. If you can't hack the chatter, there's always the great patio overlooking Kierland's water feature. Here, the furniture is comfy, the people watching primo. Like its sister restaurant, Bar North offers Italian-inspired food, lig... 3531 West Thunderbird Road, Phoenix If you know and love Filipino food -- run, don't walk -- to this clean, pleasant bakery-cum-restaurant, stashed in the corner of an aging stripmall. Owners Tess and Tony Menendez are culinary school grads who worked as pastry chefs in various Valley resorts, but now they're doing their own thing, offering classic European desserts (think eclairs and tiramisu) as well as Filipino sp... 1755 E. Broadway Road, Tempe Ted Liaros of Ted's Hot Dogs was a Greek immigrant who started selling hot dogs in Buffalo, New York in 1927. Lucky for us, his son Spiro decided to bring the popular, well-established concept (boasting eight locations in western New York) to Tempe in the 80s. Just like the other stores, the Tempe Ted's specializes in hot dogs of every description -- foot longs, jumbos, cheese dogs and c... 7114 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale A digestif (pronounced "dee-jess-teef") is a liqueur, often herb-based, taken after dining as an aid to digestion. Now, if that definition conjures fusty old restaurants and fusty old men, forget about it. With its Mid-Century Modern design, fun cocktails and hybrid menu (Southern California meets Italy), Digestif is anything but old school. Well, I take that back. Chef Payton Curry ... 6149 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale Tom Kaufman of Rancho Pinot and a few of his restaurant-biz buddies have put together this terrific neighborhood restaurant specializing in upscale pizzas and good wine. Although the casual, warm-toned dining room is plenty inviting, the best seat in the house is on the outdoor side of the indoor-outdoor bar. From this vantage, you can catch a breeze while surveying the whole dinin... 620 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale Ooh la la, this adorable little shop brings a bit of Paris to Scottsdale, turning out dainty sandwiches, quiches, simple side salads, gorgeous pastries and the prettiest, most buttery jasmine-butter cookies you will ever eat. Thank heavens owners Duc and Noelle Liao (he's a fashion photog; she's a former model) left their dreary lives in France to come to Scottsdale and raise a f... 9719 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale Vocalist Khani Cole and her husband/manager/drummer Mike Florio have teamed up with Michael Lepore (chef-owner of the former Leccabaffi) to create Vocé, a restaurant and night club that's almost as sultry as Cole herself. The former Leccabaffi space is now a comfortable, dimly lit lounge, while Lepore's restaurant (reminiscent of the narrow, old-school Italians back East) stands to the... 2028 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix This tidy, unpretentious little restaurant, whose configuration suggests a former Pizza Hut, specializes in sabor Cubano -- Cuban flavor -- at a reasonable price. A two-sided buffet in the middle of the room offers a frequently changing selection of Cuban specialties such as yuca, moros, congris, empanadas, ropa vieja, chilindron (beef with roasted peppers), arroz con pollo, picadillo,... 8 South San Marcos Plaza, Chandler "What's so special about a brew pub?", you might reasonably ask. Well, one visit to SanTan and you'll have your answer. Owner and brew master Anthony Canecchia, who learned a thing or two about brewing at Four Peaks (arguably the Valley's most popular micro-brewery) brings great vibe, great food and great beer together at this noisy, casual, neighborhood spot, located in the heart o... Over Easy Aaron May, the talented chef behind Sol Y Sombra, has opened a breakfast restaurant in a former Taco Bell, offering sophisticated comfort food for die-hard breakfast lovers. And it hasn't taken long for breakfast lovers to find him. Get there after 9 a.m. on the weekend, and you'll probably be waiting for a table in the tiny, yolk-colored interior or out on the encl... |
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