ccl1111's Profile
For Toshi sushi fans (Kaygetsu): last chance to have his sushi ever before he retires in October
Saw mention of Kaygetsu which I love so hit this thread. Thank you, thank you, thank you, KK! Here on business (as I was when I went to Kaygetsu years ago) and hit Kappou Guomi tonight stemming from your recommendation. It was amazing.
Had the unagi sunomono which was incredible. Fatty, warm sweetness of the unagi was awesome with the cool vinegared vegetables (cucumber, daikon, lotus root) & peaches. One of those dishes that just floors you.
And the ochazuke with ikura was phenomenal too. Delicate flavors but paired together perfectly. The swap of a gorgeous bonito broth for tea was also wonderful.
Other 2 things I got I also loved (bonito sashimi & agedashi mochi) but the first two I mentioned just floored me.
Thanks!!!
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Kaygetsu Restaurant
325 Sharon Park Dr Ste A2, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Family dinner in Scottsdale
I have a 6 yr old and a 3 yr old who have been eating around AZ for a long while. The 6 month old doesn't count in this case. :)
Our kids love the following places:
FnB - make sure you get a res if you go here. We used to go here all the time with the kids but it's gotten so busy that there is no way you can just pop in. They're great with food nerd kids who behave.
Crudo - while the atmosphere is kind of bizarre - in the front of a hair salon - the kids go nuts on the crudos. Also cool to kids.
Noca - amazing food. Great to kids.
Petite Maison - little more casual but our kids crave their mussels. Also super nice to kids.
Iruna - kind of fun with the small plates & have been cool to the kids.
Posh - again our kids love it, a bit fancier & they're very cool.
The problem is that you're way, way in north Scottsdale. All of these places are in old town (since we live nearby).
With the attitude at Binkley's, I would expect they would be cool with kids as long as yours are well behaved. I'm guessing that if you have adventurous eaters that are used to going to restaurants, you're not going to have a problem. Binkley's has a pretty casual atmosphere and they have always been crazy nice.
I haven't been yet but Cafe Bink is a more casual outpost by the same people. I've been hearing good things lately. Might check that out.
You might also check out Andreoli. It's a bit further north. Very casual. Killer food. If Dom's around, I'm sure he'll pipe in on it.
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Binkley's
6920 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Cafe Bink
36889 N Tom Darlington Drive, Carefree, AZ 85331
Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Petite Maison
7216 E Shoeman Ln, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Crudo
7045 E 3rd Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Petite Maison
Metro is now closed.
We were blown away by Petite Maison when they opened & then I think it went through some growing pains. We've consistently had excellent food there for many, many months now. It's one of our family faves.
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Petite Maison
7216 E Shoeman Ln, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Scottsdale Corridor...any restaurants there worth trying?
In my opinion, you'd be better served by driving a bit south. Old Town has a bunch of excellent spots now. Nothing up north really moves me.
FnB
Crudo
Posh Restaurant
Petite Maison
The Mission
Iruna
These are all great and great value.
Other spots in old town that people love that I haven't been to in a while, ever or only a time or two:
Cowboy Ciao
Marcellino's
Citizen Public House
Cafe Monarch
In addition, I think Noca would be worth the drive. I
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Cowboy Ciao
7133 East Stetson Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016
The Mission
3815 North Brown Avenue, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Cafe Monarch
6934 E 1st Ave Ste 102, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Posh
7167 East Rancho Vista Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Petite Maison
7216 E Shoeman Ln, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Marcellino
7114 E Stetson Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Crudo
7045 E 3rd Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Citizen Public House
7111 E. 5th Avenue, Suite E, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Delux v ? Burger place
I've only had 1 burger at The Grind and it was awesome. Unfortunately I've been hearing the mixed feedback as well from people I trust.
Restaurants serving local and organic menu items
Depends on your kids, I guess. My 3 & 5 yr olds love FnB, Caffe Boa and Gallo Blanco. Morning Glory Cafe is great too. The Farm is amazing for kids. The kids haven't been to Quiessence yet but they'll love that too.
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Caffe Boa
398 S. Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281
Quiessence
6106 S 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85042
Morning Glory Cafe
6106 S 32nd St, Phoenix, AZ 85042
Gallo Blanco Cafe
401 W Clarendon Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85013
FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
What is the single best restaurant in Phoenix?
Different strokes, I guess.
I've been to FnB a number of times and I've never had a bad dish. While the plating isn't like Binkley's I've never thought it to be sloppy in the least. I crave FnB daily and it seems each visit puts a new dish in my head to obsess over - right now it's the lamb t-bones.
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Binkley's
6920 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ 85331
FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
What is the single best restaurant in Phoenix?
Yeah, with drew on this. Every time we leave Binkley's we've pretty much eaten ourselves sick. Typically do the tasting menus and with the amuses, we always overeat.
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Binkley's
6920 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Review: Passover Seder at Eddie's House (Scottsdale, AZ)
The Eddie's House offering at the Best of the Fest (drew his table) was lackluster as well. He wasn't there and the dishes were composed by his chefs. I'm actually not sure if he had any input at all. The food itself was crazy complicated with little emphasis on ingredients. The scallop, shrimp shumai dynamite dish was even referred to as "Ra inspired".
When seeing the preparations taken by other chefs (Binkley's, T. Cooks, etc.) and seeing Wagyu, foie, etc. on their menus, it was disappointing to say the least. I think they were also the one restaurant that didn't bother brining stemware either so we rocked the hotel's throwback small, narrow thick rimmed glasses.
The tickets were a gift and I think a coupon code was used so maybe that came into play with our table draw? Was very interesting to say the least.
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Eddie's House
7042 E Indian School Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
What is the single best restaurant in Phoenix?
Interesting on Binkley's. While I have not been to The French Laundry, I have heard that comment more than once. It wasn't from anyone on these boards though so I can add a grain of salt to it. I can't wait until the time I have my own TFL experience to draw on.
I will say that our experiences at Binkley's though have been wonderful.
Having been born and raised here, I've always been on the hunt for great Phoenix food. While I was aware of a good deal of it, Binkley's and my Chowhound find that same night after our first meal there are two of the things that banished my despair toward Phoenix as strip mall, chain hell.
Moving back after living in DC, Orange County and Hawaii, I had started to get depressed until Chowhound helped me find so many of our great local spots.
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Binkley's
6920 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ 85331
What is the single best restaurant in Phoenix?
The food we've gotten at the last few visits we've has been very different from our initial experiences. I was over the moon with the onion soup the first few times I had it. Then the last 3 times back it seem flavorless in comparison. I mentioned it to the server who replied that he had heard similar comments and questioned who was making it. With how much of an impression it made on me on earlier visits, I ordered it the next two times hoping that it was just an aberration but got the same. The last time in, the steak tartare was underseasoned and the moules were less than fresh.
While I definitely wouldn't say any of the experiences were bad, they just didn't live up to the expectations my first few visits set. Maybe I was unreasonable? Initially, Petite Maison flew to the top of my favorites list, a bonus being how close we live to it. I wish I was but I'm just not compelled to return as I was early on.
Staff Meals/ Reverse Happy Hours
Posh is @poshrestaurant. Last Thursday, they had foie, the wild boar bacon, shrimp chawan mushi and brandade shells. The food was great and it was a blast. I believe it will be changing up every week.
Zinburger - Biltmore Fashion Park (first visit)
While I can't handle Fox restaurants, I think you and ejs1492 have good points. We used to go to Bloom years ago (maybe 8 or 9) as it was right near our office & I liked it. Then the quality just started slipping and we stopped going. The problem for me is that in recent years, Fox seems so focused on the business, the concept, that there is no heart and soul in the restaurants anymore, even the new ones. I get that not everybody lives and dies for food though and that he serves a purpose.
The good news is that places like Olive & Ivy and Culinary Dropout keep leave us space to slip in at the magical spots like FnB.
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FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Culinary Dropout
7135 E Camelback Rd #125, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
What is the single best restaurant in Phoenix?
IMO Petite Maison has been slipping a bit. For a staff meal, gotta be FnB. Word is that Posh is going to start doing staff meals too (on Thursdays). Love that FnB & Posh are playing nice. I'm super psyched as I love Posh & and all 3 of those are a stone's throw from the house.
For the OP, definitely can't go wrong with FnB. Casual but it just flat out rocks. Charlene Badman is an amazing chef and Pavle & his folks are wonderful. Gotta be the best value mentioned. That & Pizzeria Bianco.
Since he has one night, might want something more splurgey though. While I love FnB to death, Binkley's is a pretty awesome AZ experience too. Have heard some say they liked it better than The French Laundry (at a fraction of the price).
If geography becomes a factor, Noca & Quiessence are absolutely stellar as well.
Kind of sounds like the OP might be flying solo. If so, FnB, Posh & Noca all have counters around their open kitchens which I love too.
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Pizzeria Bianco
623 E Adams St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Binkley's
6920 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Quiessence
6106 S 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85042
Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Posh
7167 East Rancho Vista Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Petite Maison
7216 E Shoeman Ln, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
new to phoenix
Good call by johnseberg on Kampai. Quality authentic sushi. Been going there for 15+ years though I live 45 minutes away. Yuki-san is great. If I lived that close, would be there constantly.
chef looking for late night restaurant and more
Ditto the FnB too. For certain.
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FnB
7133 E Stetson Dr, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Where's the best Cheapinese?
I work right next to China Lite and for "Cheapinese" it does the trick. : )
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China Lite
6941 N Hayden Rd Ste B2, Scottsdale, AZ 85250
China Lite
6140 W Chandler Blvd Ste 3, Chandler, AZ 85226
Review: Mayo Hospital Cafeteria (Phoenix, AZ)
That's funny. I actually worked at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale for Marriott Management Services way, way, way back. While I wasn't involved with the food service, I remember having a meal there my first partial day & thinking the cafeteria was surprisingly decent. That's been eons and I've never been to the hospital itself but you've gotten me interested.
POSH Scottsdale - ugh, what an expensive disappointment
Interesting. We had a great meal there. We actually did the large tasting - was our anniversary. Think we had 15 or 16 courses without a miss. The wild boar bacon (cooked for 24 hrs in duck fat I think) was unbelievable. We also thought their bruleed foie gras preparation was wonderful. I need to do a write up on it but just thought I'd chime in.
Las Vegas cheap, fun eats for college students?
Make a reservation at Lotus of Siam. Often touted as best Thai in US. I just know I love it and it's reasonable. And with 10 people you'll be able to try a lot of dishes.
I'd also check out Raku or Ichiza (izakaya style). Raku is kind of small but you can do it reasonable and the food is awesome. Haven't hit Ichiza but maybe better for 10 college students? Think it's a bit bigger & supposed to have a fun atmosphere. Have read the food is good.
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Ichiza
4355 Spring Mountain Rd Ste 205, Las Vegas, NV 89102
Aburiya Raku
5030 Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89146
Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave Ste A5, Las Vegas, NV 89104
Caffe Boa (Tempe) - now with Chef Payton!
I've been twice in the past week & we've had some great food. I think Chef Payton is still working on the staff and things will just improve and improve as time goes on. We are huge fans of his and had amazing meals when he was at Digestif.
Highlights for us were the tajarin pasta with scallops (awesome), pate, radish salad, arugula salad, panzanella salad, roasted veal marrow bones and Payt-n-bake fried chicken.
I'm super excited to see him in a bigger spot where he has the ability to do more as he did in the past. This will be one of our regular haunts for sure!
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Caffe Boa
398 S. Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281
Vegas "LOS" question
shamu613 has some good recs. Love the prawns ocha. Drunken noodles w/chicken are great.
One of my favorite things that I've ever had is the softshell crab salad (special). Amazing. The Nam Ka Tod is another oft recommended dish. We love it (crispy rice mixed with minced sour sausage, green onion, fresh chili, ginger, peanuts, and lime juice). They also have amazing coconut ice cream and amazing sticky rice for dessert.
As LVI said too, they are great at giving help/recommendations.
O.M.G. (noca heirloom tomato tasting)
Killer review!!! Totally agree with your sentiments about NOCA. Wish we'd made the heirloom tasting too!
Fish & Chips - Scottsdale
We actually went & it was weak. All the cool English stuff is off the menu. Menu is pretty bland/boring & the execution wasn't great. I'd be happy to go to Zipp's right next door over Clancy's anytime. So bummed.
Phoencian Bread @ OTFM question...
As hohokam said, it's the Phoenician staff, namely Chef Ben. They definitely have a much larger variety at OTFM than they do at the Ice Cream Shop. I do know that you can call & order most varieties directly from the restaurant though. It's an outside the normal operations thing but they do oblige.
Would definitely try to get down to OTFM and see what they have there. Happened to get a defaulted special order this week of cottage cheese & dill dinner rolls that are brushed with melted butter & sprinkled with sea salt right after they come out of the oven. Amazing!!!
We get about 4-6 loaves from them every week. Different varieties from time to time.
Hot dogs phx/scttsdl
There's a cart that does Chicago dogs at OTFM. Not bad. They don't move very fast btw.
Still have a couple places to try but luckily the Mrs. got tired of searching & replicated a mighty fine Chicago dog herself.
Old Town Farmer's Market (Scottsdale)
Today the market took another step. Went from the existing box formation to 3 rows. Looked a little cramped but it appears they'll be able to support a lot more vendors.
Heard amazing news as well. Heard that in the summer, OTFM is going to move from it's current spot to directly below in the underground parking garage. Love this idea. One of the bummers of being a farmer's market lover in the Phoenix metro area is that it gets brutal in the summer months. Downtown Market at least has the fans, evap coolers & shading. Helps a bit but going underground in the summer months should make OTFM quite comfortable. Heard talk of fans, misters, etc. also being brought into the equation.
Totally psyched about it.
Do have a couple other recent finds to share as well. The lemon custard/Bubble Up float from Sweet Republic is amazing. Perfect as the days are getting hot. Today we got lucky & someone didn't pick up their special order from Phoenician Bread. We scored some cottage cheese/dill bread rolls which had been brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sea salt. Chef Ben is awesome. Also officially addicted to Digestif's frittatas. They've become a weekly staple. Today's pancetta/gorgonzola was super yum. The garnishes also stand way out.
Fish & Chips - Scottsdale
With the Mrs. being from Australia, we're big fans of good fish & chips.
Hit a local neighborhood dive & actually had some good ones so figured we'd share.
The place is called the One Eyed Dog and is on Miller & Camelback. It was formerly another bar but not too long ago changed into an English pub. We've been in the strip mall a million times but hadn't tried it since the change or in its previous incarnation.
Total neighborhood local dive. Very casual, which I like. Small patio with a firepit (portable) outside that was lit. Inside a huge circular bar in the middle of the restaurant was definitely the most prominent feature. Very casual vibe with TVs showing sports throughout, and posters giving it some English character.
It was quite busy and the crowd was very mixed. After being there for a good while, the Mrs. & I agreed that it was an interesting place to people watch. There were a good number of seniors concentrating on their food, some super casual young folk drinking & hanging out & some middle aged folks that looked to be kind of on the prowl. Definitely had a huge local feel. The server said they have a ton of regulars.
As far as the food, we did 3 orders of the fish & chips (cod). They also had a couple walleye dishes. The fish & chips were great. The fish & chips totally got the Mrs. approval. In recent visits to places we've really liked in the past, we've come across dry fish with way too much batter. This definitely wasn't the case. The fish was moist, mild & tasty. The batter was light but crispy. Just right. The server said the owner was from York and they make their batter the traditional way every morning. The fries also passed the Aussie test. Nice big "chips". Malt vinegar, HP & the other necessities were also available. They also had some nice beer on tap (Boddington's & Tetley's were 2 that stood out in my mind).
They also had some other interesting things on the menu that we need to go back & try: Scotch egg, shepherd's pie, bangers & mash, bangers, beans & chips. No pasties or sausage rolls.
All in all, it was a good time & we'll definitely be heading back.
Old Town Farmer's Market (Scottsdale)
As OTFM is one of the highlights of our week, just wanted to share some updates.
As mentioned still coming in the original review, Sweet Republic and Seacat Gardens are now at OTFM.
Sweet Republic has been there for a few weeks and comes with their super cool orange & white bus (NW corner). They've got a selection of 7 or 8 ice creams & sorbets, their homemade granola, cookies, coffee, tea and other drinks. So psyched they're there!
As of this week, Seacat Gardens is now back to stay at OTFM. James Porter of Tapino will be hanging out with Carl (Seacat) and using his ingredients in a dish or two. The word is that Seacat's awesome heirloom tomatoes will be there in 2 or 3 weeks (5 or 6 varieties). He's growing 14 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. And I'm sure we'll see other interesting, gorgeous produce to come. Glad to see the "Gucci Gardner" at OTFM as some call him.
There are also a few egg vendors now. You still have to get there reasonably early but the Butter lady has a selection of eggs of different sizes. Super tasty. The goat lady usually has eggs early too.
As far as new finds, in addition to the killer lemonade by Rancho Pinot, they had an amazing pink grapefruit mint cooler. I don't even like grapefruit and I was jumping the wall to get some of our neighbors' grapefruits today to try to mimic (with permission of course).
Also like the tasty chorizo burrito by Gil's of Taos. Tried a couple other of the burritos & the chorizo is definitely our favorite.
As far as the other faves, of course we frequent McClendon Farms (amazing produce), Phoenician Bread (about 4 weekly must have varieties), Digestif (for Payton Curry's hand pulled mozzarella & awesome frittatas) and Rancho Pinot (juices & killer sandwiches/soups) without fail.
Will be so sad if the market does close for the summer. At present, we've heard they may try to keep the market open year around & employ some shading although it will be sad to see McClendon absent for the few months he stops selling.
Local restaurant for dinner within walking distance of Scottsdale W
Silverbear has a good point. If it were me, I would head South from the W and head down to 5th Avenue or Stetson and then head West and cross Scottsdale Road. Wouldn't try to head out the W entrance and head West, as there aren't sidewalks the whole route.
By doing that too, I think you're going to head toward the area where the better restaurants are as well (imo). Big fan of Digestif, Sea Saw, Fine's Cellar, Kazimerez, Cowboy Ciao. Canal is good too. Haven't been to Estate House. Heard inconsistent reports about Metro Brasserie. For my tastes, the stuff north of the canal isn't on the same level.
