Claim Jumper - Scottsdale

Claim Jumper is another big portion place. It's a little silly. The zucchini appetizer is among the best I've ever had (spears, not slices) and the barbeque chicken sandwich is a nice standard. Husband swears by the chili in a bread bowl, and the kids can split a kid-sized portion of spaghetti and still not finish it. Don't miss the Berried Treasure Martini

Pinata Nueva - Scottsdale

They're not kidding about the pinatas. Nearly every square yard of Pinata Nueva has a pinata in it or on it. It's super distracting, but it was good for the kids to have something to look at. The margaritas are good, the food is OK Sonoran style. Their website is useless.

Arriba - Scottsdale

I like Arriba. It's great on Christmas or Thanksgiving when no other place is open. We went there for breakfast, I ordered chilaquiles, not very good. There is a chicken special, a stuffed breast with peppers and a cheese sauce, which is quite good when ordered with a side of flour tortillas. The bean dip and both salsas are good, the pollo con queso is all right, I like that they have pictures of everything on the menu. The margaritas are huge and taste like chemicals. If you like super spicy, try the Pollo al Diablo or the Hatch Chicken Especial.

Red Robin - Scottsdale

I don't know why the kids like Red Robin so much. The free balloons? The five-alarm burger with turkey instead of beef is the tastiest choice, and you could do worse than the Sand in Your Shorts cocktail.

Z Tejas Grill - Scottsdale

Z Tejas Grill is another one of those places I always want to like, but leave feeling disappointed. The margaritas, of course, are fantastic, but a woman cannot live on margaritas alone. Wait, what am I saying? Anyway, Husband like the shrimp-guacamole appetizer thing and my stacked chicken enchiladas were ok.

Murphy's Grill - Prescott

We stopped at Murphy's Grill for lunch. My turkey melt was unremarkable, but Husband's side of green chili mac and cheese was crazy delicious.

Casa Rincon - Sedona

Seriously, is there any really good Mexican food restaurant in Sedona? It's not Casa Rincon. Pretty cool band, unspeakably bad service, and even worse sopapillas.

Spices - Sedona

When in Sedona, skip Spices. It's a weird place for old people from out of town. The pico de gallo had cucumbers in it, nothing else was pleasantly notable.

Javelina Cantina - Sedona

Javelina Cantina features tasty Mexican and the bossiest waitresses I've ever seen. Ever. The table next to us was full of European businessmen who weren't ordering fast enough, unfamiliar with the menu, so she ordered the food for them, and when they didn't know what to do with the fajitas she brought, she made little tacos for them with her bare hands. Then she brought an unsolicited pitcher of margaritas. Anyway, the food was pretty good, the atmosphere a little cheesy.

Earl's - Scottsdale

Earl's is a prissy, uptight place masquerading as a casual restaurant with pretty good food and very pretty waitresses. I recommend the Cajun Chicken Cheddar sandwich, the shoestring fries, and the Chicken Vindaloo, which I think was a special.

Chipotle - Scottsdale

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Chipotle. But its just too much food for me,and I always regret it. There’s a Chipotle walking distance from our house, and last year we walked down there all the time, and EVERY TIME I’d wish I hadn’t. It’s just too much food. I feel sick for the rest of the day. I get the fajita burrito with chicken, and dump a ton of the chipotle Tabasco sauce in it. It tastes delicious, and then I need a nap.

**note This spell-checker recommends "spotlessly" and "Chippendale" as alternatives for "chipotle"

La Perla - Glendale

Ooooooold school. Like 1946 old school. I can't remember what I ate at La Perla; my notes read, "The food was pretty good, the ambiance was interesting, and the sangria was sad." I remember it being loud, but in a festive way, not annoying, and the food as being passable, decent Sonoran style. I think people like it because it's an old-school Phoenix institution, and that's a good enough reason to love a place, if you ask me.

Jason's Deli - Scottsdale

Kids eat free on Sundays at Jason's Deli, which is always a plus in my book. The Smokey (sic) Jack Panini was good, pepper jack cheese and guacamole, yum.

Carolina's - Phoenix

It's old school, a little scary, don't even think about using their public restrooms, but it's MAGIC. Carolina's just has the best freaking tortillas in the world. Their walls are covered in those "best of Phoenix" signs, dating back to the Late Pleistocene, praising their tortillas. And the enchilada sauce? I could take a bath in it. Get some green chili, in a double-wrapped burrito, or a cheese enchilada, or a chicken taco, and then a bag of tortillas to take home. To eat plain. They're that good.

Islands - Phoenix

I always have a warm spot in my heart for Islands, because it was my first job. That said, the food is just kind of blah. When I worked there in high school, my friends and I would talk about the "Islands feeling", the one you get when you just ate a bunch of really heavy food. There are some bright spots, specifically the cheese fries. Add a little side of ranch, and you're golden. But if you follow the fries with anything but a salad or half a Moa Kai (tuna sandwich)? Islands Feeling. It's not good.

Pedro's - Glendale

I'm a green corn tamale fan, and Pedro's doesn't disappoint. It's a small, old place in Glendale short on glamor but long on charm and good, basic, Sonoran style Mexican. Husband eats nothing but the Mini San Marcos burro (don't get the regular size, you won't feel good it you finish it) and I usually get the green corn tamale with green sauce on top. You have to ask for the chunky salsa with olives in it, and then mix in a little of the table salsa, and it's ridiculously good.

Houston's - Scottsdale

We went to Houston's for lunch. Their website, by the way, is ridiculously unhelpful. Anyway, the weekday lunchtime clientèle is mainly retirees and alcoholics. The drinks are wicked, wicked strong (guess that makes me the latter??) I recommend the Biltmore Chicken Sandwich.

Uncle Sam's - Scottsdale

Consistently poor service with consistently good food, Uncle Sam's will do in a pinch. Wings are OK, beer is cold, pizza is pretty good and the chicken pepper sandwich with hot AND sweet peppers on it it great. Get the half size, you can't finish a whole one. Trust me.

Some Deli in the Wynn Hotel - Las Vegas

I don't remember the name of it, but I paid $14 for a crappy dry sandwich. Skip the deli.

Buffalo Wild Wings - Las Vegas

I'll save you some time with the sauces at BWW. If you like it pretty hot without being too over the top, you want Mango Habanero or Asian Zing. Otherwise, your best bets are gool old "Hot" and Caribbean Jerk. Go ahead and skip the parmesan garlic, it's like eating at your mother in law's house, a bland, heavy sauce on chicken. Not wing-y at all. Trust me. Other menu items to skip- the nachos (totally disappointing) and the Crispy Southwest Dippers. Just go for the wings and you'll be happy you did.

Cheesecake Factory - Las Vegas

I always think I like Cheesecake Factory, but I'm rarely excited about my food when I'm actually there. They do a few things really well : Cheesecake (duh) cocktails (best mojito I've ever had) cheese pizza (surprisingly enough, it's really, really good) Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes, and bruschetta, though I didn't see it on the menu the last time we went. The rest of the entrees are just pretty unremarkable, stuff you could get at any American chain without fanfare.

Tapas - Scottsdale

I'm a sucker for tapas and live music, so Tapas had a lot going for it before we stepped in the doors. The bathroom stall doors are pretty weird, the food is reasonably good (who doesn't love deep-fried mashed potatoes?) but the atmosphere is what makes this a fun place. Try the empanadas and the chocolate and churros.

Pizza Picazzo - Scottsdale

Fancy pants yummy pizza in a pretty restaurant- I'm home. I liked Pizza Picazzo a lot. I don't remember what pizza we had, but it had pineapple and jalapenos on it. It's a cute place, tries a little bit too hard, but it's a nice place to check out.