Phoenix Restaurant Tips by suzyav8trix

Restaurant Name: Latitude 30

Nice mid-size restaurant on the south side of Phoenix (but not in Awautukee) that is also convenient to Tempe. Excellent bar menu. You can very easily make a meal on a couple of appetizers -- say the ahi tuna and a kobe burger -- and if you do it during "happy hour" when their price is 1/2 off, it's not only good eating but inexpensive, too! The food is excellent and the drinks are good -- no better or worse than comparable restaurants/bars and comparable prices, also. The bar is dark wood, but well lit without being intrusive. Nice tables for 2 - 4 and conversation "pit" areas, too...

Now, the restaurant is gorgeous. Medium dark woods and hunter greens and some florals and white tablecloths -- almost, just almost formal looking, yet it doesn't feel stuffy. Personally, I have not eaten in the restaurant (just the bar) but my husband has and he raved about the food. It is a bit on the pricier side -- a good place to be taken by a supplier maybe? -- but it's intimate enough of a setting that it could be nice for a celebratory meal such as a birthday. Maybe if I get that raise I'm up for...I wouldn't mind celebrating here!

Also note, this is probably the best restaurant on or in the Pointe at South Mountain/Phantom Horse resort.

Favorite Dish: From the bar menu, in my personal order of preference, I can highly recommend the following: 1. Ahi Tuna, 2. Kobe Burger, 3. sesame grilled chicken... My husband also liked the tiger prawn spring roll -- I cannot comment because I'm allergic, but it looked really good! Bring a few friends, get here early, enjoy your favorite wine or beer or mixed drink, go grazing on appetizers and you can eat well, very well, for not a lot of money!

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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 602.431.6472
Address: 7777 South Pointe Parkway; Phoenix, AZ 85044
Directions: Just off of Baseline Rd, about 1/4 mile west of I-10 just inside the Pointe at South Mountain resort.
Website: http://www.lat30dining.com/menus.htm

Restaurant Name: Postino Wine Cafe

Postino ("post office" in italian) is in a space that once was the post office for the Arcadia area of Phoenix. It no longer resembles its past except for the giant windows (garage-style doors) where the postal trucks used to load up, that are opened up to the spring breezes and summer nights. The colors are dark wood, aged cement floors, olive, ochre, & red walls -almost oriental feeling, not Italian,yet modern. They always display fresh flowers (even the restrooms have flowers in them) The space could feel very industrial yet, somehow the colors, the flowers, and the lighting make it feel more intimate.

Between 11am and 3pm is "happy hour" when all the wines by the glass are $5. And these are large "pours" - 6-8 oz - which are normally priced $7-$12 the rest of the day.
Postino only serves wine & beer (no hard alcohol). Oh, and food!

The bruschetta ($10) is fantastic. Crusty Italian bread spread with olive oil and rubbed with garlic topped with your choice of about 10 different things -- choose 4! They'll slice them into 2 or 3 or 4 pieces so that each and everyone in your group can sample. Other appetizers include a cheese plate, antipasto, NY grilled cheese, and of course, more olives! They also serve FRESH salads ($7 - $8) . Add the prosciutto or turkey (a buck or $2 extra) and you have a meal! Served on fococcia or ciabatta (get the ciabatta), the excellent sandwiches to choose from include prosciutto, or turkey, or artichoke, or there's the "grosso" or big, if you can't decide. They're served with a side salad or incredible homemade chips. If you have room, the deserts are all sweet, but not too sweet and seem to have a lightness about them (not in calories, but "feel") I'm particulary fond of a chocolate hazelnut torte.

Split anything with your dining partner(s) -- they'll even bring you an extra plate and don't mind cutting it into the appropriate number of pieces, etc.

You'll also find a variety of soft-drinks, coffee, tea, iced tea, mineral water (San Pelligrino), and real lattes & espressos.

Favorite Dish: I really like it here on a Saturday afternoon. I come with hubby and friends and enjoy the wine, the food, and the conversation. I feel good when I'm done, never stuffed or bloated. Just satisfied and content and relaxed. Life is good.

Open 11 -11; closed Sundays.

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Theme: Wine Bar/Wine Tasting
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 602.852.3939
Address: 3939 E. Cambell Ave
Directions: Arcadia district; just west-southwest of the corner of Cambell & 40th St
Website: surprisingly, they don't have one...
Other Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/mus