Spotlight: Phoenix Restaurants

What’s Hot at these Phoenix Restaurants?

Trish Hendrickson

Notable Happenings at Phoenix Restaurants

The 4th Annual Arizona Taco Festival comes to Phoenix with more than 50 teams participate in the taco-making challenge for fans to sample and savor their creations October 19-20, 2013. This two-day contest is not for the faint-of-taco –The event will be filled with music, food, and fun including, Lucha Libre Wrestling, Boutique Tequila Expo with more than 100 types of tequila, Hot Chili Pepper Eating Contests, Chihuahua Beauty Pageant, Surf Band Music Showcase, Mariachi Contest and more.

The Gladly in Phoenix may have just opened this September, but even before its grand opening, the restaurant generated major foodie buzz spearheaded by the team that started Citizen Public House – Chef Bernie Kantak and partners Andrew Fritz and Richie Moe. With a menu filled with eclectic adventures of American cuisine, fans of Chef Kantak will not be disappointed.  Buzz-worthy mains include The Pigstrami sandwich, Five-Spice Duckling with fermented black bean mole, pickled raisins and masa polenta, and Yellowtail with avocado Tzatziki, crispy chickpea cake and herbed oil.

Nook, an Arcadia hot spot, opened in late September. Located in Gaslight Square, Nook’s superbly crafted menu features deliciously addictive items to fit any occasion. Created by Chef Nick Larosa, the menu features starter standouts like broiled langoustines with lemon, garlic and Calabrian chile aioli, and Poutine, a delectable dish of crisp french fries topped with sinful brown gravy and melty cheese curds. For lunch or dinner, craveable bruschetta options feature creative concoctions like melt-in-your mouth short ribs with mushroom duxelle and port demi reduction or shrimp with triple cream Brie, chanterelles, garlic, lemon and butter. Pizza aficionados and co-owners Frank Vairo and Tagan Dering offer Porco e Funghi with mozzarella, parmesan, sweet sausage, mushrooms and basil, and the Quattro Stagioni with ricotta, parmesan, roasted tomato, spinach, garlic, artichokes, mushrooms and olives. Diners in need of their next sugar fix can cap off their evening with habit-forming desserts from renowned Valley pastry chef Tracy Dempsey, whose Chocolate Salami with homemade creme fraiche and cherry biscotti will astonish the taste buds, while her Bread & Butter Bread Pudding with apple-cranberry compote and caramel ice cream are sure to make your sweet tooth soar.

Super Foods meet wine at Insider’s View Dinner Series hosted 1,800 feet above Phoenix at the iconic Different Pointe of View mountaintop restaurant at Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, the Insider’s View Dinner series offers intimate monthly dinners through May. Each dinner features conversations with prominent California winemakers and a  two-hour interactive dinner with Different Pointe of View Chef Anthony DeMuro preparing all four courses for each guest entirely tableside – a fete for any accomplished chef. This season, each menu will feature powerful super foods paired with top wines from California’s wine country.

Join deseo's Master Mixologist for “Muddle Mania” at Westin Kierland Resort and learn the art of Muddle Drink-making in deseo's signature Muddle Bar – a skill to impress friends at your next party! Price includes light appetizer, Muddle Drink, recipe book and a muddler. The class is offered every Wednesday and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. for $22 per guest.

The Sundown Cookout at Rawhide Western Town and Steakhouse is a great excuse to break out those cowboy boots. Kicking off Saturday, Oct. 19th, come and share an unforgettable moment of the old Wild West for a tasty meal cowboy style.   Enjoy a mouthwatering chuck wagon supper with all the fixin’s including mesquite-grilled steak, ribs or chicken, cowboy bean, potatoes and old timer’s bread.   There is enough adventure for the whole family to enjoy; live country music and entertainment, tales of the Old West, line dancing, cowboy games, marshmallow roast and much more.

The Mix Up Bar, an imaginative complement to the treasured legacy of T. Cook’s, is reinventing the original T. Cook’s Lounge at Royal Palms Resort and Spa. The Mix Up is an innovative cocktail destination showcasing a hand-crafted, garden-to-glass beverage menu, live entertainment, inventive small plates, all in a handsome and re-designed atmosphere. The Mix Up brings a new, energetic and fresh cocktail concept to the scene at Royal Palms – and the Phoenix area. The Mix Up will deliver cocktails crafted with an often unexpected “mix” of the season’s freshest ingredients, herbs, juices and seasonings. Thoughtfully guided by Kim Haasarud, founder of nationally acclaimed beverage consulting company Liquid Architecture, the signature garden-to-glass beverage program will highlight inventive, yet approachable, cocktails to the new bar concept.

Umami, the much-anticipated ramen hotspot conveniently tucked between bustling Mill Avenue and ASU’s Tempe campus is now open. Eager diners will have Umami in their regular restaurant rotation for co-chefs and owners Matt Marlowe and Jared Lupin’s authentic Japanese dishes with a balanced combination of traditional flavors and new world influences shown in every detail. Tediously-made broths are concocted fresh every day with serious attention given to each spice, stir and sip. In addition to tasty ramen, Umami dishes out fresh bento boxes that will change with the seasons, an endless supply of sake, craft beers and house-brewed slow-drip iced teas. Look forward to Happy Hour coming mid-October and hungry Mill Avenue crowds will love Late-Night launch later this fall.

 

Media Contact: Trish Hendrickson, Email: [email protected], Website: www.visitphoenix.com.

 

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