onemoneygirl

Yes, i trust the posters here more than chowhound!

I am in Phoenix on business for several nights. Where to have dinner? Starting tonight! There is not one book in my hotel room that shares any tips about the area and I have a few hours before I get desperate enough to try the concierge! Meeting friends who are also from out of the area and like a variety of foods. Nice ambiance... dressy casual and a good wine list is a must! TIA.

ksucat

Downtown PHX my favorite is Durants..very old school with great steaks, strong drinks and a very loyal local following.

www.durantsaz.com

Bill_H

The two best dinner places in the area are probably Binkley's (eclectic cuisine) and Kai (southwestern cuisine with Native American influence) but neither is near downtown and both are expensive. Binkley's is in Cave Creek, Kai on the Gila River Indian reservation south of town, but easy to get to via freeway.

Kai is the highest rated restaurant in the state, one of only 21 Mobil/Forbes Five Star restaurants in the USA.

A good resource is the local newspaper's site at http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/dining/ ... in the left column click on, say, 'critics ratings - 5 stars', then on a cuisine and the map shows the locations of the places meeting your criteria. So to find, say, Mexican places rated 4 star or higher just click on those two lines and it shows 30 total, with 8 near downtown.

Another good resource is Opentable. You can leave a review here after dining and these seem pretty accurate to me, based on the places we've eaten. Start here for 'Best Overall Restaurants': http://www.opentable.com/best-phoenix-restaurants ... then click to see the top 10 for 'ambiance' or 'best food' or 'notable wine list' or whatever you are interested in.

Here are the sites for Binkley's and Kai if you want to see if the menus are of interest:
http://binkleysrestaurant.com/
http://www.wildhorsepassresort.com/d...orse-pass.html (Kai, which is at this resort)

ksucat

Also wanted to add close to downtown PHX is a couple of my fave's.

J&G steakhoue at the Phoenician Resort on Camelback..get the $19 burger and beer item..one of the best and they have a great wine list.
(this is a Jean George restaurant)

T.Cooks at the Royal Palms Resort next door on Camelback..this is one hell of a resort and the piano bar is wonderful.

Lon's at the Hermosa..go here for breakfast/brunch..awesome!

Bills rec's are spot on too!

www.lons.com
www.royalpalmshotel.com
www.phoenician.com

onemoneygirl

Durants doesnt have a table until 8:30 which would be fine for me but too late for my friends. Would the bar be fine for drinks and appetizers for a few hours?

onemoneygirl

Maybe the phonecian or T.Cooks will work for us... I think that Binkleys and Kai, although they look wonderful are more than we need for our friends night out! lol

ksucat

You can have drinks and app's..great relish tray at Durant's and tell them your going to report back to Fodor's..right this way.
Good size bar with booths too..eaten in the bar many times!
This is a classic place with the burgundy booths and the paintings of rubesque woman..its so old school with how old money days were in PHX.

If you go to J&G's the burger beer special for $19 with I think its served with truffle fries is a huge hit and a deal at Jean George with views of the PHX skies and busy.
T.Cooks is awesome and after dinner drinks to with a very hip bar with the singer and stand up drummer..these resorts are very close by.

onemoneygirl

Thanks! We're going to take our chances at the bar at durants.. will hit one of the others tomorrow night! May friends are here for only two of the nights... after that I'll be shopping or having room services with the remote! Thanks again. I'll report back!

ksucat

Cool..look forward to your report back!
Hope you went through the kitchen..its the entrance from the parking lot..real presidential.

onemoneygirl

WOW!!

We started at Durants and it was packet at 6:30... over a one hour wait in the bar and not a seat to be had... so we started friving towards J and G's at the Phoenician... the waitress said they werent crowded. Got there in time to sit at a table in the bar and enjoy the view...

we all had the cheeseburgers... with vodka tonics and margaritas... it was wonderful. I do have to tell you that the truffle mention had me pretty excited... and those are only on their seasonal winter menu!! lol Not this night! We will have to go back.

Had coffee on the back patio near the firepit. Coculd have stayed several more hours but my friends had spent the day in Tempe at a Salsa Festival and they were beat.

We may try Durants tomorrow night or go back to the phoenician to enjoy an earlier dinner.

Thanks SO much for the wonderful recommendations! The ambiance was perfect and the service was great.

CAnt thank you enough.

ksucat

Excellent!

It's a fun place and the burger deal is a good one..sorry they didn't have the truffle fries..what was served with the burger?
Love the firepits outside and looking out at the city.

If you go again tonight, swing by T. Cooks at the Royal Palms for drinks before or after...gorgeous resort and the huge plumeria tree you can always grab a flower to put behind your ear and feel like your in Polynesia.
The bar set up is great.

Carolina's for dive Mex near the airport is cheap and a local tradition and one of the best..closed on Sunday.

www.carolinasmex.com