Drink ThisDrink This: Sotol So Good
Nikki BuchananMarch 3, 2022
At Sotol, a fun rooftop bar in downtown Gilbert, sotol is the bright, grassy foundation for its signature cocktail called Sotol So Good.
Nikki Buchanan, Author at PHOENIX magazine - Page 3 of 17
Find down-home Caribbean cooking at this priceless Phoenix mom-and-pop.
Food & DrinkReview: Aftermath
Nikki BuchananMarch 3, 2022
With few hiccups, this new modern American eatery from the boundary-pushing co-creator of Hush Public House screams excellence.
Food & DrinkReview: Sottise
Nikki BuchananMarch 3, 2022
From Restaurant Progress prodigy TJ Culp comes the impossibly quaint French wine bistro you need.
Photo by Nikki Buchanan People had told me — if I’m remembering right, Rene Andrade was one of them — that I should check out Testal Mexican Kitchen a small Chihuahua-style restaurant on Grand Avenue, not far from Andrade’s own. And they were right. It’s been open a little over a year, and I’m sorry I didn’t find it sooner. It’s housed in a cool, angular building with huge windows (surely, there’s some architectural...
Desert Digest2022 James Beard Nominees Revealed: Hashimoto, Bianco and Assorted Hot Takes
Nikki BuchananFebruary 23, 2022
Lots of talented people represented here, lots of evidence that Phoenix has become a bona-fide food town.
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Fata Morgana Mediterranean Cuisine
Nikki BuchananFebruary 16, 2022
Photo by Nikki Buchanan What drew me like a spell to a new Mediterranean restaurant in North Scottsdale? Weirdly, its name — Fata Morgana, which sounded exotic yet vaguely familiar. As it turns out, Fata Morgana is the Italian word for the sorceress Morgan le Fay, who was King Arthur’s half-sister and his antagonist. She could work all sorts of magic, including creating mirages in the ocean. Now, here’s where it gets interesting: the ocean...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkCassie Shortino Cooks for a Good Cause at Dirty Drummer Fundraising Event
Nikki BuchananFebruary 10, 2022
If you’re up for eating great food, listening to great music, having a great time and doing some good while you’re at it, here’s a great idea: drop by the Dirty Drummer on 44th Street near Oak on Saturday, February 26 for a fundraiser benefiting The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation in Boston. “Huh?” you may be asking right about now. Hang on and I’ll give you the backstory in a minute,...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Buddha’s Ritual
Nikki BuchananJanuary 26, 2022
At 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon, Buddha’s Ritual in North Scottsdale entertains a small, relaxed crowd — six or seven jeans-clad guys in their 30s having a beer-y business lunch and three pairs of 20-something women nibbling light bites and sipping cocktails. The garage doors are open, and a breeze blows across the bar, riffling the napkins as two equally young barkeeps make photogenic herb-laden cocktails for a photo shoot that will announce Buddha’s soon-to-launch...
Photo by Nikki Buchanan I don’t know about you, but a Caribbean vacation sounds pretty good to me right now. Short of hopping a plane to Jamaica, the next best thing might be a trip to Ms. Martha’s Caribbean Kitchen at 19th Avenue and Northern. The restaurant sits on the west end of a lovely ’40s-era Spanish Colonial building (the former Good Shepherd Home for Girls), and owner Martha Laurencin keeps the religious theme...
Drink ThisDrink This: The Colonel’s Flip
Nikki BuchananJanuary 11, 2022
Riffing on the traditional flip, Rough Rider general manager4 Jarrett Reynolds created this sexy sipper that breathes elegance and romance.
Food ReviewsReview: Pa’La Downtown
Nikki BuchananJanuary 11, 2022
Much more than a sit-down version of Claudio Urciuoli’s original seafood counter on 24th Street, this swank Downtown charmer ventures into excitingly global territory.
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Aftermath
Nikki BuchananJanuary 11, 2022
Charles Barber looks happy tooling around in his new restaurant, a sleek North Phoenix spot he named Aftermath to reference what came before and what comes next for him. As you may already know, he partnered with Dom Ruggiero to open Hush Public House in 2019, Barber running the front of the house, Ruggiero manning the stove. The place was a runaway hit and remains wildly popular, but after two years, Barber was ready to...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkNew Year, New Kitchen Lineup for Elements at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa
Nikki BuchananJanuary 3, 2022
There’s been a seismic shakeup at Elements at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, but the changes should be positive for all concerned, including us diners. Food Network super-star Beau MacMillan has resigned his longtime position there as executive chef, and Landon Post, the resort’s banquet chef for the past eight years, has taken MacMillan’s place. MacMillan has morphed to culinary advisor for the restaurant/resort, where he hopes to continue to build the Sanctuary brand,...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Sottise
Nikki BuchananDecember 21, 2021
Sottise exterior | Photo courtesy TJ Culp Just in time for a little holiday frivolity, TJ Culp, chef-owner of Restaurant Progress, and his partner Esther Noh have launched Sottise, a winsome wine bar and restaurant in the Roosevelt Row arts district. Its French name, which means “folly” or “foolishness,” reflects the couple’s lighthearted approach to this venture: “Yeah, we’re a French-inspired wine bar, but let’s not take ourselves too seriously here when there’s wine...