While I did not have the same depth of top restaurant dining as I did in September and October, November still provided top notch restaurant dining, from old standbys to new discoveries. I had my usual fine meals at local standbys Cafe Lazio, Max London's and The Chocolate Mill, supplemented by some excellent restaurant food in Arizona. Though not in my top three, The Cameron Trading Post in Cameron, Arizona was outstanding, and a very pleasant surprise. My top three for the month:
Noca – Phoenix, Arizona. Noca is owned and run by my good friend, Eliot Wexler. He, Chef Christopher Curtiss and their staff do a tremendous job creating a unique fine dining experience in an otherwise ordinary Phoenix strip mall. Aside from the well conceived, well crafted food using top notch ingredients, the meal was made extra-special by the company, including my wife, my two eldest sons and my three best friends from high school and their spouses. Life is good.
Cafe Lazio – Queensbury, N.Y.. Chef Adriano Di Mario's cooking has become a personal favorite and a regular destination for me. My top Lazio meal this month, though was the special crab and clam sauce over pasta that he prepared specially for me. Right up there with that was another occasion at which I had a fabulous old school Veal Piccata.
Matt's Big Breakfast – Phoenix, Arizona. The place is tiny, but the food is big in every way, not least so in flavor. This breakfast and lunch restaurant defines good, down home American cooking using top notch ingredients and using them well.
There will be more detail forthcoming on my Arizona meals including a visit to the Grand Canyon and El Tovar Hotel. Stay tuned!
Not only are the restaurants in Phoenix great, but so is the Sightseeing. Read more at http://www.sightseeingreview.com/phoenixarizonasightseeing.php
Posted by: sightseer | December 03, 2009 at 09:38 AM