'A Taste of Greece' moves to Tempe
The East Valley's annual Greek Food Festival is celebrating its 25th year with a makeover, including a new name and a new home."A Taste of Greece" will offer something for all ages. Kids can enjoy carnival rides and inflatable bouncers, while everyone can experience live entertainment, vendor booths and, of course, food. The three-day festival will be held at Tempe Town Lake. » READ MORE Updated February 16, 2006
Scottsdale's Pop the Soda Shop celebrates the soft drink Want sex in a bottle? You can get it at Pop the Soda Shop, a Scottsdale store stacked from floor to ceiling with a rainbow of different colored bottles, including Sex Soda and roughly 1,200 other varieties.
» READ MORE Updated February 16, 2006
Flippant chef livens up experience at Kobe's Wait: It's 7:30 p.m. Monday and this sprawling new Japanese restaurant has a spot for four at a teppan table.
Service: With this style of dining, chefs are the center of attention and servers slip in and out without much fanfare. Flames, flying food, a steady flow of one-liners — who can compete with that?
» READ MORE Updated February 16, 2006
Pub eaters won't get burned at Nozzlehead's Wait: A young hostess tells us there is a five- to 10-minute wait at 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday. We look around and notice a handful of open tables that could seat four. The table we end up at has not been wiped down.
» READ MORE Updated February 9, 2006
It's OK to order messy foods on Valentine's Day It's ok to order a messy bowl of spaghetti on valentine's day, says dave sherman, a professional dating coach. Sherman, who lives in Scottsdale with his wife of 17 years, says people should eat what they want on the big date night. » READ MORE Updated February 9, 2006
It wouldn't be Super Bowl Sunday without pizza Forget all that baseball and apple pie talk, America's true passion is pizza and pigskin. Just ask Gilbert resident Matt Schmidt, manager of the Barro's Pizza at Ray and Val Vista roads in Gilbert.
“Our delivery on Super Bowl night is almost double,” says Schmidt, 38, who's worked at Barro's for 10 years.
» READ MORE Updated February 2, 2006
Frank & Lupe's hits the affordable spot in Mesa Wait: At 1:30 p.m. on a Monday, we open the door to the months-old Frank & Lupe's in Mesa. A tall, jet-black-haired man behind the bar looks up and flashes a bright, white smile. The restaurant is empty, so he offers us our choice of tables.
» READ MORE Updated February 2, 2006
Mary Ann & Richie's offers welcoming goodness Wait: We get a friendly greeting from a young host/busboy and a woman behind the bar. Even one of the customers welcomes us — while also warning us that they're watching ‘‘American Idol'' on this Tuesday night.
» READ MORE Updated January 26, 2006
Bistro 1940 serves quality eats at reasonable prices Wait: We rush in minutes before the 11 a.m. breakfast cutoff, sit patiently by the entrance for a moment and, after a cell phone time-check by the guy who seats us, we're given breakfast menus.
» READ MORE Updated January 19, 2006
Spiga drops the ball on dessert, service Wait: We walk in a few minutes before our 8:15 p.m. Wednesday reservation. The bartender/hostess checks on our table. The restaurant is less than half full, but our table is not ready. Strange.
Not one customer leaves during our 15-minute wait. Whack.
» READ MORE Updated January 12, 2006
The ten best additions to the East Valley dining scene While I didn't get to every new restaurant that opened in 2005, I hit as many as I could to come up with this list of the East Valley's best new additions. In no particular order, here are the 10 tastiest newcomers to our ever-expanding dining scene.
» READ MORE Updated January 5, 2006
Food at Sushi Eye is fun to look at - and to eat Wait: The new sushi bar and grill is dead just after 5 p.m. on a Saturday. Service: Someone dims the full-blast lighting after we are seated, which makes a huge difference.
» READ MORE Updated December 29, 2005
Forbidden libations are Tequila Grill's highlight
Wait: There is no wait for four at 7 p.m. on a Friday. Service: We sit unattended for a noticeable amount of time before our waiter finally stops by. He's very professional when he's around, but water refills are slow. After clearing our dinner plates, he goes missing for 10 minutes. Our desserts take nearly 15 minutes to arrive. » READ MORE Updated December 22, 2005
New saloon and grill makes up for average food with killer scene Wait: After doing a few loops around the slammed San Tan Flat parking lot, we find a dirt spot in the dark between a couple of desert shrubs.
» READ MORE Updated December 15, 2005
Meal doesn't match service, atmposphere at Caruso's Wait: We get a warm welcome from an expectant staff at 7 p.m. Luckily, we had double-checked Sunday's closing time before heading out because business is so slow they planned to close early. Thankfully, they are kind enough to stay open for our foursome.
» READ MORE Updated December 8, 2005
Heart Attack Grill puts mighty meat on the plate for those who dare Throw In-N-Out and Hooters in a blender, add a splash of television show “Nip/Tuck” and you have Tempe’s new Heart Attack Grill. The young servers in the small burger joint sport sexed-up nurse outfits (fishnet stockings, revealing tops, super-short skirts, etc.) and cooks wear surgical scrubs.
» READ MORE Updated December 1, 2005
Ethiopian cafes are casual by nature, but Tina's takes it to a new level Wait: We walk in at 7 p.m. on a Saturday, hover by the rack of Ethiopian clothing for a minute and are led to our “mesob,” a traditional, hourglass-shaped woven table.
Service: A boy, age 7 tops, stops by to give us menus and let us know the kitchen is out of yatkilt watt. The kid's all business. It's laughs.
» READ MORE Updated December 1, 2005
Try Carumba! Wait: It’s just shy of 9 a.m. on a Saturday and although the bustling, canopied patio area looks tempting, it’s too chilly in the shade for my desert blood.
» READ MORE Updated November 24, 2005
Hefty tab dulls tasty flavors at new Tempe spot Wait: Despite a pretty prime spot across the street from Sun Devil Stadium, the 2-week-old Saffron is empty at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday. We pass on the bar and pick a table as far from the College Avenue bus belches as possible.
» READ MORE Updated November 17, 2005
Glitches aside, Molly Brannigans is worth the trip to Dana Park Wait: We stroll in at 1 p.m. on a Saturday and grab a table.
Service: Friendly and patient. The waiter brings three rounds of refills, replaces silverware left on appetizer plates and stops by several times to make sure we have what we need and everything tastes good. A manager makes a visit toward the end of our lunch as well.
» READ MORE Updated November 10, 2005
Frank & Charlie's serves up good food at good prices Wait: A cheery Brit greets us at 7:30 p.m. on a Monday, and a young hostess shows us to our elevated booth.
» READ MORE Updated November 3, 2005
Dual's food, scene and service are doubly good Wait: Just after 8 p.m. on a Tuesday, we get a very warm welcome from a manager sporting an untucked striped collared shirt and messy-but-not-overly-so black hair.
» READ MORE Updated November 3, 2005
Noteworthy restaurants finally descend on Mesa This ain't your momma's Mesa anymore.
The nation's biggest little city — it's a few subdivisions away from hitting the half-million population mark — sports its very own P.F. Chang's, Oregano's, BJ's Brewery, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sakana Sushi & Grill, Sauce and Salty Senorita, as well as a buffet of other noteworthy new eateries. » READ MORE Updated October 20, 2005
Fiamma: Just another pretty face? Wait: We walk up the candlelit stairs, and the door to Scottsdale's hottest hotel, The James, is opened for us by a young man clad in shorts and a polo. Our party of four, which has a 7:30 p.m. Friday reservation, is promptly offered inside or outside seating in the half-full trattoria. » READ MORE Updated October 20, 2005
