Food fare:
Dining critic Dominic Armato profiles some highly anticipated restaurant openings.
For Valley restaurant geeks, late summer is Christmas Eve, looking at a pile of presents that will unwrap themselves one by one over the coming months.
In terms of openings, the peak restaurant season in Phoenix isn’t shaping up to be quite as nuclear hot as last year, which is probably a good thing. Questions remain over whether there is enough business to sustain the exploding volume of Valley restaurants.
But a slight dip in quantity has nothing to do with quality, and there are some exciting prospects coming down the pike. Some notable trends:
» Our collective fever for new Italian restaurants seems to have mostly run its course.
» What we’ll call “augmented expansion:” Second locations that seek to bring a little more to the table, literally and figuratively, rather than simply replicating the original.
» None of our most anticipated are located on Seventh Street in central Phoenix or in downtown Gilbert. Has the wave finally broken and rolled back for two of the Valley’s hottest restaurant hubs?
Whether brand new, gently revamped or making a triumphant return, here are 15 new spots we’re excited about. Projected opening dates are listed in RST (Restaurant Standard Time), which is subject to any number of potential delays.
Pa’La
When: September. Where: Phoenix. What: The collaboration between chef Claudio Urciuoli (Noca, Italian Restaurant, Noble Eatery) and restaurateur Omar Alvarez (Tortas Paquime, Paquime Street Food of Mexico) needed a little more time in the oven than anticipated. But the duo are right on the brink of opening Pa’La, a counter-service restaurant. The blackboard menu will feature sea-
food and vegetable-focused dishes that draw from Italian and South American traditions and lean heavily on a woodfired grill and oven. They’ll open with lunch in early September, and dinner hours will follow.
Details: 2101 N. 24th St., Phoenix.
Chef Lounge
When: September. Where: Scottsdale. What: In what could be taken as a harbinger for the evolving texture of the Valley’s restaurant scene, creative fine-dining touchstone Posh has closed, but Josh Hebert’s Chef Lounge has risen in its place. Though not a traditional restaurant, this new culinary co-working space has quietly hosted a couple of dinners, and things will really start to roll in September, when Hebert expects to release a fall schedule of pop-up events, wine dinners and cooking classes.
Details: 7167 E. Rancho Vista Drive, Scottsdale. 480-663-7674, cheflounge az.com, facebook.com /chefloungeaz.
Mowry & Cotton
When: October. Where: Phoenix. What: As part of a massive renovation, The Phoenician has shuttered Il Terrazzo and will replace it with Mowry & Cotton, a more laid-back proposition. An unfussy, contemporary menu — courtesy of chef de cuisine Tandy Peterson (Il Terrazzo, Cafe Bink, Binkley’s) — will join playful cocktails in a Western-themed space intended to be casual and communal.
Details: 6000 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. 480941-8200, mowryand cotton.com.
Shaanxi
When: October. Where: Mesa. What: The folks who took over House of Egg Roll in 2015 and later converted it into Shaanxi Garden have made quite a splash, but their next project may be even bigger. In July, Shaanxi Garden was revamped again to feature a Chongqing-style menu and was renamed Let’s Eat Noodles. But Pingping Xiao, Changhai Huang and Noel Cheng soon will open a new restaurant, called Shaanxi, and are bringing in a heavyweight lineup of chefs from the ancient Chinese capital of Xi’an. Expect late nights, live music and lots of fresh noodles and dumplings.
Details: 67 N. Dobson Road, Mesa, shaanxibiang biang.com.
Starlite BBQ
When: November Where: Downtown Scottsdale.
What: Demand for barbecue shows no signs of slowing, and the team behind Ocotillo will try their hand this fall. Starlite BBQ will be a dinner only affair, serving smoked meat that combines local influences with elements of different barbecue traditions. The meat arrives alongside a lengthy list of beers, wines and craft cocktails.
Details: 7620 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale. starlitebbq.com.
Taco Chelo
When: December. Where: Downtown Phoenix.
What: Restaurateur Aaron Chamberlin, chef Suny Santana and artist Gennaro Garcia are turning this taco shop into a collaborative effort in a new development called The Blocks of Roosevelt Row. Santana’s menu will feature a short list of small plates and tacos built on tortillas made from corn that is nixtamalized in-house. Settled amid a forthcoming crush of high-rise condos, the trio hopes to combine food and art into a modern Mexican landmark that will help preserve the neighborhood’s character.
Details: 501 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, tacochelo.com.
Tempe Public Market Cafe
When: December. Where: South Tempe. What: Tempe Public Market Cafe could be considered a second location of Aaron Chamberlin’s immensely popular Phoenix Public Market Cafe, a similarly styled community gathering hall featuring local products, baked goods and three squares a day. Much of the menu will mirror its downtown progenitor, but the Tempe version will feature a wood-fired oven rather than a rotisserie, giving it a slightly different angle.
Details: 8749 S. Rural Road, Tempe, tempepublicmarket.com. Welcome Diner When: December. Where: Downtown Phoenix.
What: Welcome Diner’s newest iteration has met with some delays, but Michael Babcock, Jenn Robinson and Sloane McFarland have just broken ground on their second Garfield venture and plan to open before the end of the year. The Southern-diner theme remains, but the larger space will allow for an expanded menu that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Details: Southwest corner of 10th and Pierce Streets. Phoenix, welcomediner.com. ShinBay / Sizzle When: Early 2018. Where: Downtown Scottsdale.
What: Acclaimed chef Shinji Kurita soon will return, partnering with HL Concepts’ chef and restaurateur Hyunwook Lee to reopen ShinBay and a second location of Lee’s Korean barbecue restaurant, Sizzle, in a new bifurcated building in downtown Scottsdale. The new Sizzle, while larger, will mirror the original at Desert Ridge Marketplace. The original ShinBay closed in July 2016 at Scottsdale and Indian Bend roads. The new version will go the opposite route, downsizing to a 15-seat counter where chef Kurita will focus on his meticulously prepared omakase.
Details: Southwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Second Street, Scottsdale. Roland’s When: Early 2018. Where: Phoenix. What: Nadia Holguin and Armando Hernandez of Tacos Chiwas have
teamed with Chris Bianco to bring a new restaurant to the century-old Roland’s Market building, now undergoing renovations near downtown Phoenix. The menu, currently under development, will be a collaborative effort built around whatever happens when the trio gets in the kitchen together and starts cooking.
Details: 1505 E. Van Buren Road, Phoenix.
Little Miss BBQ
When: Early 2018. Where: Sunnyslope. What: The second Phoenix location of Scott Holmes’ nationally acclaimed barbecue joint will be a bit of a spin on the original, adding dinner hours, more meats and sides, and a whole lot more seating and parking. Besides trying out a few new dishes, Holmes’ goal is to make Little Miss BBQ more accessible to diners who are put off by the long lines of the original, while maintaining the same level of quality.
Details: Northeast corner of Seventh Street and Townley Avenue, Phoenix, littlemissbbq.com.
The Larder + The Delta
When: Early 2018. Where: Downtown Phoenix. What: Chef Stephen Jones recently parted company with DeSoto Central Market, closing his six-stool, Southernfood counter. But Jones expects to close on a new downtown location soon and is aiming for an early 2018 opening. We’ll see how Jones makes the transition to a full-service restaurant for a red-hot kitchen that deserves its own space. Previously, the “Guy’s Grocery Games” champion worked at Nobu Restaurant, Tarbell’s Restaurant, The Boulders and Hotel Palomar.
Details: Facebook.com/thelarder andthedelta.
Leoni’s Focaccia
When: Spring 2018. Where: Downtown Phoenix. What: After their plans at The Blocks of Roosevelt Row fell through, Danielle Leoni and Dwayne Allen took a “tactical pause” as they transition their Italian-inspired Scottsdale sandwich shop to a full-service downtown Phoenix restaurant. But the husbandand-wife duo behind The Breadfruit & Rum Bar are closing in on an alternate location nearby, and anticipate a spring 2018 opening.
Details: Leonisfocaccia.com.
Terra Farm & Manor
When: Spring 2018. Where: Prescott National Forest. What: Development continues apace at James Porter’s culinary wilderness retreat, combining a restaurant, lodge, farm, ranch, culinary school and exclusive resort into one package. The site is 23 miles northwest of Prescott in the middle of Prescott National Forest. Terra Farm & Manor is on track for a full launch in spring 2018, Porter said.
Details: Terrafarmandmanor.com.