Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun - American Southwest - page 427

427

Sassi ITALIAN If you've had to forego this year's vacation in Italy, then don't
miss an opportunity to have a meal at this Tuscan villa transplanted to the Arizona desert.
Every room in this beautiful, sprawling building is gorgeous and has a distinctive char-
acter of its own. The menu is not your standard southern Italian menu, so don't go
looking for spaghetti and meatballs (although you might find an excellent papparedelle
pasta with pork ragu or meatballs cooked in white wine). Instead, try the wood-oven
shrimp with prosciutto or a dish with the house-made sausage. In fact, the best thing to
do here is order a bunch of dishes and then share everything, as any good Italian family
would.
10455 E. Pinnacle Peak Pkwy., Scottsdale. & 480/502-9095. www.sassi.biz. Reservations highly recom-
mended. Primi $16-$25; secondi $24-$38. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Tues-Sun 5:30-9 or 10pm.
Expensive
Mosaic Finds NEW AMERICAN The Pinnacle Peak area of north Scottsdale
boasts one of the Valley's greatest concentrations of excellent, high-end restaurants, and
this just may be the best of a very good bunch. Okay, so dinner here is going to set you
back quite a bit, but the food is superb, and if you come before the sun goes down, you
can soak up some of the best desert views in the Valley. Chef/owner Deborah Knight is
one of the best chefs around and likes to show off her culinary creativity with a menu
that changes regularly and is always provocative and daring. How about chilled pink-beet
soup with prickly-pear puree or steak medallions with Navajo fry bread and a green chile
and cheddar biscuit to start things out? For an entree, you might order a wild-game
mixed grill with huckleberry-lingonberry sauce or grilled steelhead with fennel pollen
and roasted fennel. You get the picture; this is a foodie's nirvana. There are also excellent
and highly creative vegetarian dishes here.
10600 E. Jomax Rd., Scottsdale. & 480/563-9600. www.mosaic-restaurant.com. Reservations recom-
mended. Main courses $26-$40; tasting menu $70-$90 ($110-$130 with wine). AE, DC, DISC, MC, V.
Tues-Sat 5:30-9 or 10pm.
Moderate
Café Bink NEW AMERICAN This casual spinoff from the legendary Binkley's
in Cave Creek is your best bet for lunch in Carefree. The menu is limited and a bit pricey
at lunch, but the food is perfectly and beautifully prepared. There's a wonderful mush-
room soup on the menu, and the corned beef, available as a Reuben sandwich at lunch
and with cabbage and apples at dinner, is another good choice. If your tastes are simple,
Amy's Bolognese is a good bet. If you've got expensive tastes but can't get a table at Bin-
kley's, go ahead and order the foie gras terrine here at Café Bink.
36889 N. Tom Darlington Dr., Carefree. & 480/488-9796. www.cafebink.com. Reservations accepted
only for 6 or more. Main courses $10-$23 lunch, $15-$23 dinner. AE, DISC, MC, V. Tues-Sun 11am-9pm.

13

Inexpensive
Greasewood Flat Finds AMERICAN Burgers and beer are the mainstays at this
rustic open-air restaurant in the Pinnacle Peak area of north Scottsdale. Located down a
potholed gravel road behind Reata Pass steakhouse, Greasewood Flat is a desert party
spot where families, motorcycle clubs, cyclists, and horseback riders all rub shoulders.
Place your order at the window and grab a seat at one of the picnic tables. While you
wait for your meal, you can check out the old farm equipment. This place is the antith-
esis of Scottsdale posh, and that's exactly why I love it. Only in Arizona could you find
a place like this.