Croissant at Wynn cafe? I assume you mean the Terrace Cafe? A better alternate would be Bouchon at the Venetian, but Terrace Cafe does have a mean sour cream coffee cake.

In fact, breakfast or brunch at Bouchon (Thomas Keller) isn't very pricey, you definitely get more than your money's worth in food quality and the meal will hold you through the better part of the day. By dinnertime we only needed a couple of small plates.

Petit Fromage at 7th Ave & Missouri (inside D'lishous Dishes) had a great selection of cheeses when I was there in December, including grass fed from several sources.

Thanks for the replies! Though I've been meaning to get the Mission Sunday pig for a while now, we never seem to get to that part of town at the right time. Must do that soon. Also need to keep Postino Central brunch on the list for at least another week, as we won't be able to make it in time for brunch this week. In the meantime, if anyone does try their brunch, please do report.

Please say this is relatively new, because as many times I've done lunch and happy hour there, I did not know until today that Postino served weekend brunch. The menu looks pretty good. Thinking of trying it out this weekend, at Postino Central. Done Maizie's Cafe enough times, so something different might be nice. Does anyone know if Postino does a good job at brunch?

Sorry to be the buzzkill, but my internal mom alarm went off when I saw your post. Just in case you end up looking for an alternate, Cracker Jax is a good family place, but being in N. Scottsdale it will probably change your food venues.

Humble Pie north of the 101 on Tatum is good for a handmade pizza & wine lunch stop. Carolina's North (Cave Creek/Cactus) will be worth your while but only if you promise to get one of their freshly made buttered tortillas! Zinc Bistro at Kierland Commons is very good. There were lots of changes at DC Marketplace (Pima/Thompson Peak) this year with a few new places, though I haven't tried them yet. It's been a fairly light year for new restaurants in N. Scottsdale.

All good recommendations for post-amusement fun. Hopefully you already know C&C can be a dangerous place on a Sat night.

Unfortunately, I haven't had good experiences at Postrio and horrible ones at Aria. However, there are many other excellent choices at Palazzo, including Cut and Morels, and they used to have pre-theatre menus. The pre-theatre menus were posted on the hotels' websites.

Agree with the others that I'll be staying away from PM until further notice. Honoring a res is important. Others can do it. Not to rub it in but Zinc always did a great job at honoring my reservations.

Ouch - A 50 minute wait with a res would be a deal breaker for me. Was it for an inside table? I've noticed a couple of parties waiting for one of the few inside tables well after their res time because the diners wanted to linger.

I believe the request was for the Clinic on waaay east Shea, but your bringing up the Mayo hospital in Phoenix raises an excellent point. Mayo sometimes divides services between their clinic and hospital. Good eating spots near the hospital may indeed be in order.

Now I hadn't heard of Benedict's Cafe, which is really a sin since I live practically next door. Must fix that now. Anything stand out as a must try?

I suspect you're looking for more elegant surroundings, but just in case you don't mind the more typical take-out atmosphere many of the mexican places have, check out Carolina's North at Cactus and Cave Creek. Best overall mexican food in that part of town, and without question the best tortillas in town. If you can make it down to Camelback and 32nd Street, Noca would be an excellent choice.

Just got back from Vegas and had breakfast at Bouchon. I called the restaurant before we headed over, and they said they don't take reservations for breakfast. However, they were able to tell me there wasn't a wait at the time. In fact, when we did show up the restaurant was almost empty and we were able to snag a beautiful table by the window. This was on a Tuesday morning around 9:30am. It was the best restaurant experience we had this trip btw. Wonderful.

Let us know what you think of these places and if you find any others. Restaurants change so fast around here, what's good today may not be tomorrow. We need constant updates to stay in the know. Enjoy!

It's just a matter of personal taste. I've spoken with many others who love the N. Scotts. location. What I perceived as flippant service and poorly made food seriously put me off. However, you can't beat the price in that neighborhood.

Sounds like you're in my neck of the woods. Silverbear's right about homey being sparse around here; mainly because it usually requires a neighborhood with some history and things here are newer. Below is a list of places to try that at least meet the price and quality requirements, if not exactly spot on the atmosphere front. I think they're all pretty well covered in the board if you look them up.

Floyd's Kitchen closest to what you're looking for - across street from PV Mall http://www.floydskitchen.com/
Chino Bandido http://www.chinobandido.com/
Carolina's North on Cactus http://www.carolinasmex.com/
Over Easy Scotts. (not my favorite, but is the fav of many others) http://eatatovereasy.com/
Javinos wine bar/restaurant http://www.javinos.com/
ABC Bistro 74th St/Shea

Since you're from NYC, I'm not even going to attempt to list italian or pizza places ;-)

My mistake on the location of your hotel. The W is right by Scottsdale Fashion Square, which is further east than I thought. Restaurant recommendations are the same, however, though Noca is a bit further west and The Mission is about 1/2 mile south of you. No need to waste your time at any of the restaurants in Fashion Square, but there are very good places just south of the mall. Too bad you're not looking for French, but if you change you mind Petite Maison would be my #1 pick and it's right by your hotel.

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Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Petite Maison
7216 E Shoeman Ln, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Although I've never been, I've been told by several people that Scratch at Miller and Indian School (Fry's shopping center) will do a good job on that sweet tooth, and are open until 9 Wed-Sat. It's been on my list of places to try for a while now, but just haven't been in the neighborhood when that sweet tooth hit.

The Country Club has always been one of my favorites, too. Just got back from Vegas and after reading your review of the french dip I am kicking myself for not ordering it! The chipotle burger was execllent, but still.

Eating at the Country Club was always most special for breakfast or brunch. However, they now only serve lunch and dinner Mon-Sat. Sunday is now limited to a fixed price brunch for $59 a person; a poor value in my opinion. So lunch it was this trip, and it was wonderful.

Wonder if they'll overnight that french dip to me? ;-)

One word. Bouchon.

I think the W is east of 44th Street on Camelback? If so, that's an excellent location for restaurants; centered between 2 clusters of very good places. In the group of restaurants west of you is Noca at 32nd St. and Camelback. East of you is The Mission which, though not specifically Mexican, offers excellent Latin American food that's more upscale than the typical Mexican restaurant around here. There are plenty of other very good places as well that others will no doubt chime in on.

The CH link to Noca is working, but not Mission. Here's a link to their website: http://www.themissionaz.com/

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Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Funny - my dad always swore by Popeye's chicken. I never got it either, mainly because I've been so indoctrinated that one bite of fried food is instant death, but apparently some chicken places have a following.

I did end up at the Tamale Store, and must thank all of you for the excellent recommendation! Their shop is located north of Cactus on Cave Creek, so if you're familiar with the area, you know it's a fairly humble location and the shop is tucked away in one of the many small strip malls on Cave Creek. There's a tiny, tiny customer area up front with a tiny table and two chairs. Most of the kitchen is visible from the front, and it looks very organized and clean. Staff was very friendly and helpful, and told me they had green corn and bean and cheese available to try at that time - I went with the green corn.

The tamale was a good average sized tamale and well formed. The masa was cooked perfectly, though it had whole pieces of corn in it that for some reason didn't go with the texture of the masa in my opinion. Still very good, though. The best part was the cream cheese filling; a good amount throughout the center of the tamale. I could hear the kitchen staff laughing as they heard me say, "so good" after every bite. I must have wolfed it down in less than a minute.

Decided to order some red chile beef and, because the owner said it was their best seller, green chile pork for Christmas. They must have a few dozen different kinds of tamales on their menu, but my family likes to stick with the familiar. Picked them up the next day. I don't know how each were priced, but three dozen came to $73 - about average price for tamales, and much cheaper than the ones we've been getting from Sylvia's La Canasta.

Both the beef and pork tamales were so good. Like the green corn, the masa texture was perfect - not grainy yet not too mushy. Both were generously filled with the meat, but not so much that there wasn't enough masa. The beef red chile was perfectly seasoned and wasn't spicy hot at all. The pork with green chiles was an even bigger hit with great flavor and just the right amount of burn. Yum. My guests said they were the best we've ever had. A couple of guests are justified tamale experts: the one that grew up making tamales with her family was jealous of the chef, and the one that was in the restaurant business in Santa Fe said they were as good as any he's had there. Success!

Thanks again, Chowhounds!

There's a Pita Jungle not too far from Westworld, et. al., across the street from Desert Ridge at Tatum and the 101. Not sure where you're staying, but none of the auctions are in Tempe, so that will require a bit of a drive.

Petite Maison for breakfast or lunch may be a good option. I suspect their price point for b-fast is better than dinner. Generally speaking, stay away from the restaurants in Scotts. Fashion Square, but there are some places you would probably enjoy just south of SFS on the south side of Stetson. Also check out Razz, north on Scotts. Rd by Shea Blvd. Can use Restaurant.com coupons, or Razz also has specials from time to time.

In checking The Tamale Store's website, their shop at Cave Creek and Sweetwater isn't too far from me. Think I'll stop in and try one. Two added bonuses: their website says Monday is Buy a Dozen Get 2 Free day. And...while I'm in the neighborhood...may as well stop in at Carolina's for a buttered tortilla.

Will let you know how it goes!

How in the world did that one slip under my radar???!!! Didn't even know there was a tamale festival. Any vendors there that blew you away where I can still go to pick up some killer tamales?

Being Phoenix lifers, we always order tamales to serve for our Christmas Eve party. My mom always took on the job bringing them, and typically got them from Sylvia's La Canasta. They were consistently good, though I wouldn't say they blew me away.

This year my mom is passing the job onto me, and I'm hoping to serve some tamales so good they'll make my guests cry. Ideally, someplace in the northeast Valley, or central Phx will work too if needed. I do love Carolina's - could that be the answer this year?

Another question - we have always picked up the tamales already cooked. Do you get a better result if you get them frozen and cook them yourself?

Thanks so much for what is clearly your honest opinion. I often wonder if reviewers feel pressured to give restaurants the benefit of the doubt in their write-ups when they feel they have a poor experience.

As an aside, I used to frequent Shula's in South Florida years ago, but stopped when the service and food slipped significantly. Wondered if the new one here would be ok, but it sounds like more of the same.

Cafe Bink just up Scotts. Rd. from you in Carefree does a lovely breakfast, and I think it's just Sundays they do their eggs benedict. Many also love breakfast at Over Easy, just south of you on Bell Rd. My experience wasn't so good, but I could have caught them on a bad day. Carolina's can't be beat; just preset your expectations about their very basic atmosphere. After Carolina's food any Mexican place in Scottsdale will disappoint (Mission excluded- different type of Latin food). Pinnacle Peak Patio is a tourist trap, and I heard it's either closing very soon or is already closed, but I don't have a good alternative steak place for you. Another option is Petite Maison in downtown Scotts. very romantic and cozy french bistro with excellent food.