The room and its globe lights.
Chris Malloy
4602 East Thomas Road, #110
At Muse & Market, a new restaurant helmed by MasterChef winner Dino Luciano, the menu is mostly European sieved through vegan and gluten-free flavorscapes. Luciano digs the food of Montreal, French food through the prism of Canada. That is why for breakfast you'll find morning staples with this Gallic-northern inflection. An omelet with leeks and Gruyere. Cinnamon crepes made from almond flour. Eggs Benedict with smoked shiitakes. Come 11 a.m. and the lunch hour, the menu flips to Italy. Cream of tomato soup. Caprese salad. Grilled Caesar. There are a wealth of panini, anchored predominantly with vegetables and fruits. The vegan pastries include dipped biscotti, a "tiramisu cooke" (a coffee cookie with pistachios), blueberry and raspberry turnovers, and others. Muse does your typical espresso-based drinks, pulling them using beans roasted just downtown. Though Luciano brings none of his MasterChef dishes to Muse & Market, he brings his style.
A spread of food from Provecho.
Chris Malloy
901 North First Street
Provecho is a Jalisco-focused Mexican restaurant long on ambition. This ambition isn’t rooted in Provecho’s food – which hews to regional and countrywide staples – but in how its food is executed. As a tenant of The Churchill, the lofty new outdoor food hall at First and Garfield streets, Provecho operates out of a repurposed shipping container. The eatery's focus is the food of Guadalajara. Its kitchen serves torta ahogada, drowning bolilo bread and pork in tomato sauce. It serves a robust beef birria that has a tingle of fall spices. It plates carne enseguida, the slow-simmered beef arriving with beans, and topped with bacon, cilantro, and onions. Sprinkled through the menu, too, are favorites from beyond Guadalajara. Tacos. Esquites made from “just fresh corn, epazote, and a couple of peppers.” Provecho looks to be one of The Churchill's go-to vendors.
Chicken souvlaki buddled in a pita
Chris Malloy
8900 East Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite B1, Scottsdale
Raven Gastropub, an eatery now open in North Scottsdale in the space once home to Lamp Cafe, is cooking its own brand of slightly elevated comfort food. The menu includes somewhat eclectic, elevated pub food (Cuban sandwiches, panzanella, chicken souvlaki), and safe, entree-sized comfort foods (beef short ribs with orzo, cheese-and-bacon-stuffed chicken breast). The former category contains a wealth of sandwiches. Vegetable pita. Pulled pork. That kind of thing. The fish sandwich here is surprisingly enjoyable, with a light, lacy fry and a cloud-light brioche bun. Burgers have nice real estate on the Raven menu. Some get interesting. One has pulled pork, candied bacon, and pork belly on top. Entrees include beef short rib, flank steak with chimichurri, shrimp scampi, and fish and chips. Though the menu at Raven won't revolutionize gastronomy, there are some solid plates to be eaten here.
Parma Italian Roots
20831 North Scottsdale Road, #117, Scottsdale
This new-age Italian restaurant in North Scottsdale has real promise. It will be overseen by Chris Gentile, who comes to Scottsdale from San Diego, where he has run Double Standard Kitchenette. Gentile's brand of Italian is best described as modern regional Italian with West Coast elements. You won't see red sauce and fried squid on his menu, but more innovative dishes. Pizzas made from dough with honey and malt. House-shaped pastas, the gluten-free ones made from a corn masa. The bar's highlight will be house-made Italian-style amari. Gentile aims to source wine largely from California, but also quirky regional varietals from Italy, and even from Mexico's molten hot Valle de Guadalupe. This one looks to be a must for Italophiles.
