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Dom Ruggiero, the chef-owner of wildly popular Hush Public House in North Scottsdale, has a knack for figuring out where the market is under-served, and a good restaurant is needed. Case in point: North Scottsdale was a dining desert until Ruggiero opened Hush and resolved the problem in 2019. From day one, the place was packed with customers who loved Hush’s laidback vibe and Ruggiero’s sophisticated version of comfort food. Now, he and his wife...

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Photo by Nikki Buchanan   Key Lime Pie at Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn The weather has been perfect for eating outdoors, and what better place to do that than Lon’s? I had a great lunch there the other day, one of the standouts being this key lime pie, topped with whipped cream, lime zest and toasted coconut. The graham cracker crust was especially buttery, and the tart custard filling, creamy with condensed milk, had...

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The Vanilla Gorilla interior | Photo by Nikki Buchanan   If you’re up on urban slang, you probably already know that “vanilla gorilla” is the term for a big, burly white guy. It’s also the shared nickname of feuding UFC fighters Chase Sherman and Jason Witt. More importantly, in my food-and-drink-loving world, it’s the moniker for a terrific new tap room and bottle shop that sits alongside Hush Public House in North Scottsdale. For all...