Photography by Andrea Smith D’licious Dishes, a market-style restaurant

Queen Creek: Foodie Frontier
Queen Creek has become something of a foodie destination, thanks to the Queen Creek Olive Mill (which includes an extensive retail shop and café), Schnepf Farms and The Pork Shop, a carnivore’s dream. Crews have been known to organize carpools out to these places to stock up.

Then last year, The Deli opened on a dusty stretch in an unassuming strip mall just off Power Road south of Riggs Road, serving homemade fare with local ingredients. Their sumptuous sandwich meats are roasted on-site, and they buy fresh produce from the farmers’ market held there on Saturdays.

The latest surprise is Trophy’s Steakhouse, a handsome restaurant housing all 29 of the North American big game “trophies” in taxidermied splendor. Dine under the gaze of elk, buffalo or sheep, or gawk at the polar bear in the center of the room.

Owner Kevin Dettler shot all of the game himself, and he lists where and when they were taken on table cards. He and his wife, Becky, and sons Brett and Kiel, opened the place April 7. The family is from South Dakota; this is their first restaurant. Chef Rob Bowser serves up steaks, pasta and plenty of – you guessed it – game meats, including elk and buffalo sliders and smoked antelope sausage.

Carter’s New Corner
Downtown Phoenix also continues to be a hotspot for new restaurants, thanks in part to Matt Carter, chef/owner at Zinc Bistro and The Mission in Scottsdale.

Customers shopping at Luci’s Healthy Marketplace

He’s part of a team of owners at 905 Modern Asian (formerly Fate), which should have seen a remodel and new menu with a broader variety by now. In June, he expected to open Canteen next door at 901 N. Fourth St., a gastropub featuring charcuterie, cheese, sandwiches, boutique wines and handcrafted cocktails, with braised meats and other hot foods by fall.
Ultimately, he’d like to open 412 Garfield as a slick, vintage-modern taqueria.

“I think we are going to have a new dining scene [Downtown],” says Carter, who grew up in the historic Encanto district in central Phoenix.

Tapas Pop Up All Over
Tapas and “small plate” dishes have been a worldwide trend for a while now (it was even the centerpiece on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen in March), but it’s really starting to take off lately. It’s still one of the top-10 trends for 2009, according to a survey of chefs by the National Restaurant Association.

Cork in Chandler, Sea Saw and Sol y Sombra are a few places doing the upscale version, but some other spots offer petite plates for paltry prices. Morton’s Steakhouse hopes patrons will make “mini meals” of their $5 bar bites during “power hours” (4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 to 11 p.m. daily); Famous Dave’s is dishing out select $3 appetizers (including ribs and rib tips) from 3 to 6 p.m.; Brio has $2.95 apps at happy hour; and Malee’s on Main sells half portions of their Thai favorites all day at a $5 to $6 discount off the full plate price.

Market Watch
“Market” style restaurants also are a growing concept. La Grande Orange Grocery, Liberty Market, Good Eats Grocer and Kitchen, Luci’s Healthy Marketplace, The Kitchen and D’licious Dishes all cater to the grab-and-go crowd. For winecountry fans, an Oakville Grocery is slated for the new Scottsdale Quarter across from Kierland Commons.