favorites near the biltmore

[biga290]

i will be staying at the arizona biltmore next month and will have a car. any suggestions for nearby (within a couple of miles) interesting places for lunch and dinner regardless of cost or cuisine?

[Rubee]

One of my favorite restaurants in Phoenix is close to the Biltmore - Noca. Dinner only. If you click below, it will link to past discussions.

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Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa: Wright's at the Biltmore
2400 E Missouri, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016

[silverbear]

Noca is a great suggestion.

Some others, all within a five-mile radius:

The Parlor -- known mostly as a pizzeria, but all sorts of interesting daily specials in terms of soups, pasta, entrees, etc.

St. Francis -- great new place with an emphasis on oven-roasted foods. Excellent flatbread with figs, roasted chicken, fish stew, etc.

Tarbell's -- Phoenix classic for the past 15 years. Modern American food.

El Napolito -- hole-in-the-wall Mexican in a battered strip mall. Worthwhile for an authentic, cheap meal. Nice mole.

Rosita's Place -- classic Arizona-style Mexican restaurant. Fiery salsas. The green takes no prisoners. Tamales, caldos (soups), tacos, enchiladas -- It's all good.

Gallo Blanco -- simple Mexico City style food served in a casual atmosphere inside the Clarendon Hotel

Fez -- Hipsterish comfort food with a slight north African touch. Doesn't get a lot of love on this board, but I like it.

Aiello's -- southern Italian, but beyond red sauce. Interesting dishes with escarole, beans, etc. instead of just tomatoes and broccolif

Marcellino -- upscale Italian with excellent handcrafted pasta, but also good meat entrees

T. Cook's -- restaurant at the Royal Palms resort. Mediterranean menu with one of my favorite brunches in town.

Postino -- winebar / cafe -- AZB is roughly equidistant between them.

Chelsea's Kitchen -- casual Southwestern / European mixed menu. Great place for brunch sitting on the patio by the canal.

I should also mentioned that I've dine at both of the AZB's on-site restaurants within the past year. Wright's, the more upscale restaurant, served me food that I thought was well prepared but not necessarily exciting. I was more pleased a few weeks ago when I ate at Frank and Albert's, the resort's casual restaurant. It has recently been renovated with an expansive patio. The tortilla soup is particularly good.

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Marcellino Ristorante
7114 E. Stetson Dr. 85251, Old Town Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Postino Winebar
3939 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85018

Chelsea's Kitchen
5040 N 40th St, Phoenix, AZ 85018

Fez
3815 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012

Rosita's Place
2310 E McDowell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85006

Aiello's
5202 North Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012

Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Gallo Blanco Cafe
401 W Clarendon Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85013

Postino Central
5144 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012

[bricap]

Delux in the shopping center on the NW corner of 32nd St. and Camelback. Great burger, and nice touch with the fries in the little shopping cart.

Phoenix City Grill on the SW corner of 16th St. and Bethany Home. Just a really solid place.

Rokerij on the SE corner of 16th St. and Maryland.

After all is said and done, stop in at 5 and Diner at 16th St.and Colter for a shake and listen to some oldies on the little tableside jukebox.

[Poerz]

Three words: Sweet Potato Fries (at Delux).

[biga290]

I actually preferred the regular fries. BTW one order is plenty for two. And they serve half orders if you're not sharing. The Delux Burger with that carmelized onion and bacon thing going on is unbelievable. Also Delux-2-Go next door has really good grab and run sandwiches and side salads. Particularly enjoyed the southwestern pasta salad. I also thought Frank and Albert's at the Biltmore was consistently good across the entire menu with the duck fat fries to die for. They were so good I would order an appetizer order and later a side order. The duck fat withstands higher cooking temps so they come out super hot and crispy. We ate very well during our biltmore stay.

[Namius]

Tex-AZ Grill on 16th St and Bethany, self-proclaimed home of the chicken fried steak. If they have chicken fried turkey it's an amazing special- if not go for the cf steak or chicken. Ridiculous amount of food for $7.

Cherry Blossom Noodle Cafe on Camelback Rd and 6-9th st (or thereabouts), excellent italian and japanese food, get anything but the sushi, any noodle soup is worth getting here, see if you can sneak home some extra banana bread too. If you pick here, forewarning service is extremely erratic in terms of time- they won't be rude but they sometimes take forever getting your check, refill, etc.

Coup De Tartes- quiet lil french place, nice place for lunch surprisingly, really really cozy in converted house. Onion tarte used to be something I got weekly. Highland and 16th st.

Pedro's Modern Mexican Cuisine- on camelback and 10th st, some interesting things like duck tacos and lobster quesadillas, no misses yet there.

Baby Kay's Cajun Kitchen- in the town and country center on camelback rd and 20th st or so. Competent gumbos, etoufee, dirty rice.

[hohokam]

"Pedro's"=Padre's.

Not ground-breaking or life-changing or mind-blowing, but they serve up well-executed renditions of Southwestern and Mexican dishes at reasonable prices. Their carne adovada rivals that served by Los Dos Molinos back in the day and surpasses that at Richardson's IMO.

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Padre's Modern Mexican
1044 E Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ

[Namius]

Thanks for the correction! A quick question, I do love carne adovada and would love to try wherever you think makes its best rendition.

[hohokam]

No problem. :-)

Of the versions I've had recently, I'd say I liked Padre's the best. The smoked red chile pork roast at Sierra Bonita Grill is right up there, though. The adovada I had at Richardson's was fine, but what I remember most was its subtle smokiness, rather than an intense red chile flavor. I remember liking the adovada ribs at Los Dos Molinos back in the day, but on occasion, the heat of the chile was almost too much to bear.

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Sierra Bonita Grill
6933 North 7th St., Phoenix, AZ 85014

Richardson's Cuisine of New Mexico
1582 E. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016

Los Dos Molinos
8646 S Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85042

Los Dos Molinos
260 S Alma School Rd Ste 137, Mesa, AZ 85210

Padre's Modern Mexican
1044 E Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ

[yamalam]

I haven't been to Cherry Blossom Cafe for a while, but I do love that place. The udon soups are my favorite, will have to stop by before the weather heats up, thanks for the reminder.

[azhotdish]

It's a few miles south of the Biltmore, but I would highly recommend La Condesa on 16th St between McDowell and Thomas for excellent tacos, burros and chips & salsa. Particularly, the cochinita & chicken mole.
http://www.lacondesatacoshop.com/inde...