Fall is here, and restaurateurs Valleywide seem in the mood for makeovers – redrawing their menus and renaming their restaurants to stay on top of the market.
EAT WITH YOUR EYES: REBRANDING MANIA
Fall is here, and restaurateurs Valleywide seem in the mood for makeovers – redrawing their menus and renaming their restaurants to stay on top of the market.
J’s Kaiyo -> WOK ‘N ROLLl
Chef Jason McGrath’s 1-year-old izakaya, which won a rave review from our dining critic Nikki Buchanan last January, has “had some work done,” in Scottsdale parlance. You can still get sushi and Japanese cuisine, but there’s a new emphasis on “chef-driven Chinese food” – code for orange chicken, kung pao beef and other Chinese-American standards. jskaiyo.com
Crudo -> TBD
After shuttering his Seventh Street cookhouse, Okra, last fall, chef Cullen Campbell is boldly renaming and reconceiving his celebrated nouveau Italian restaurant in East Phoenix. Look for a more global outlook and grazing-friendly price point. Name TBD. crudoaz.com
D’Vine Bistro -> ST. AMAND KITCHEN AND COCKTAILS
Named after the patron saint of winemaking, brewing and bartending, the new iteration of this Chandler wine bar has a more modern, cosmopolitan look and food program (think: pan-roasted rib-eye) with an added emphasis on mixology. dvinebistrochandler.com
