- I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Arizona."

The show where Arizona residents recommend their favorite restaurants.

Coming up, we have guests who are passionate about their picks.

They've dined at all three and are ready to share their reviews with each other and with you, right here on "Check, Please!

Arizona."

(upbeat jazzy music) - [Copenhagen Announcer] Support comes from Copenhagen, featuring contemporary furniture from around the world.

Copenhagen is dedicated to providing comfort, craftsmanship, and customer service, located at copenhagenliving.com.

Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers.

Personlized cancer care through medical and radiation oncology.

Focusing on supporting all of you.

Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers outsmarting cancer one patient at time.

(jazz music) - I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Arizona."

In this episode, it's Arizona PBS staff picks, from Mexican fast casual to fine dining, and finally, Italian comfort food.

Let's meet our guests.

Catherine Anaya is the host of "Horizonte."

She's a mom of four, and her free time is spent traveling with her husband, working out, and running marathons.

Fun fact, she was an extra in the movie "The Doors."

Paola Bovin is a longtime sports writer who is now the director of Cronkite Sports Bureau.

She grew up on Chicago's South Side and is a huge fan of nineties hip hop.

Paola also had a brush with fame when comedian Tom Arnold asked her out, but stood her up so he could go on a date with Roseanne Barr.

Big mistake.

But first up is Ted Simons.

He's the managing editor and host of "Arizona Horizon."

When he was in college, he actually worked at Arizona PBS.

In his spare time, he enjoys running and hanging out with his wife and their three cats.

And when he takes off his microphone, he visits a fine dining restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale.

This is Virtu Honest Craft.

(bright classical music) - Virtu Honest Craft is my baby.

I describe it as Van Halen meets Mozart.

It's a really, really loud symphony with attitude on a plate.

(dramatic music) Virtu actually means, in a Machiavellian term, for a leader to have all the attributes to achieve greatness.

And that's what we try to do here every day.

I wanted to bring honesty back to the craft of cooking.

I wanted to really just cook good food presented beautifully, and I wanted to elevate the peasant cooking that I grew up with, because that's what southern Italy really is all about.

We have our prefixed menu where you can do a three course menu or more if you'd like.

And then we have a la carte menu, obviously, where you can just choose what you want.

Some of the dishes you can find here is our staple, obviously, the octopus.

That's what put us on the map 10 years ago.

And that one is a charred octopus with some lemon chickpeas, some Calabrian chili butter, a little side salad with some arugula and fennel and a lemon vinaigrette, lemon and olive oil.

The rest of the menu though changes constantly.

So there's, you know, you can come in a week span and not find the same menu.

When you walk into the property of the Bespoke Inn, which is where we're located, you are transported immediately to a Mediterranean villa, whether it's in the south of France, south of Italy.

It's just you don't feel like you're in Scottsdale, Arizona anymore.

The outside patio is very green.

It's very lush.

It's just, it's beautiful.

It's romantic.

I think what inspires me most is my childhood, my memories, you know, being in the kitchen with my mom, eating some of the best food I've ever had in my entire life.

And it's also a team effort.

And my current chef, Kelly Fletcher, who is amazing in his own right.

So when we talk about things and we bounce ideas off of each other, it's just, it's magic on a plate.

We made it to 10 years because our ideology, our philosophy has never changed.

You're a guest in my home.

We're gonna treat you that way, and we're gonna always push the limits to be excellent.

(gentle music) - So Ted, Virtu is a legendary place.

How did you find it?

- Well, honestly Mark, I'm not sure about this because I know we had the proprietor on "Arizona Horizon" for Restaurant Week with Steve Chuku.

We do that every year.

- Uh-huh.

- And I know he was on, and I got a feeling that that's kind of what rang a bell.

So we went to it and we had such a good time.

Now this is a special occasion place for us.

- Yes, it is.

- It's not a place you can, we at least can go to.

- What makes it special occasion?

- Good food, great atmosphere, not cheap.

Okay, so it's a little pricey.

Not crazy pricey, but a little pricey.

So much so that it becomes a special occasion restaurant.

- What did you start with?

- I started with a burrata.

They have what they have, the price fix meal.

You know, you have three, like a small plate, a large plate, and a dessert.

So that's what we went ahead and did.

You can order a la carte, but we like the price fix because we get a little bit of everything and wine pairings with it as well.

- Ooh.

- So, yes.

And so we had the burrata with a great wine and the bread with the burrata, let me tell you, the bread is so good.

It's so beautiful.

For the entree I had the smoked duck and the smoked duck, you have to see it to believe it.

It's like a combination of modern art and a crime scene (group laughs) because it's got beet sauce and the beet sauce, it's splattered on there, again, like modern art, but it's almost like holy smokes.

It is so, it rounds off the smoked duck beautiful.

- It's a Jackson Pollock plate.

(group laughs) - A lot of splash, but really good.

- So what did you start with, Cathy?

- So I started with the burrata as well, and it is so creamy.

It has pine nuts in it.

It has goat cheese in it, which if you put goat cheese in anything for me, you have me.

But it, the bread.

- [Ted] Yes.

- I mean I had to ask for a second piece of bread.

- [Ted] So did I.

- Because it was just so delicate and fresh.

But we had just gotten back from Italy.

So our standards were very high and the burrata was just as good as what we had in Italy.

- Wait a second, Catherine, I have to bend over and pick something up.

You just dropped that there.

Oh, you got back from Italy?

(group laughs) Oh, that's really lovely.

Just threw that right in there.

So, okay, so what else did you have?

- So I also had what's called calamaretti, and it was a two pasta.

It had golden tomatoes in it, which, you know the tomatoes in Italy are something to die for.

So I was ready to try that.

And it also had zucchini in it.

Really tasty.

I mean, I just, I loved it so much.

That goat cheese just sends it to a whole other level.

- Paola, what did you start with?

- First of all, I'm now starving.

Thank you.

(group laughs) But the, yeah, I went with the burrata too and I could like roll myself up in it.

It was so creamy and the, it had a, I think a fig, like a fig in there and walnut.

And it was so delicious.

And as they were saying the place, it is pricey, but it is not pretentious.

And that's what I really liked about it.

- Paola, what'd you have for your main course?

- So they were scallops.

I think they're capesante.

Is that the right pronunciation?

And I've been to restaurants and ordered scallops and it's so hard I think, to get 'em right sometimes.

They overcook 'em.

They undercook 'em.

I've had one that was cold.

These were to perfection.

It was just grilled and it's swimming in this sort of soy kind of buttery sauce.

And they were huge.

- [Ted] Yeah, mushroom soy.

It was like shiitake mushroom soy sauce.

- [Paola] Soy sauce, yes.

And it was fantastic.

- The atmosphere, it's impossible to overstate.

You walk in, it's in downtown Scotts, old town Scottsdale, but a part of old town Scottsdale that is somewhat sedate and somewhat quiet, somewhat forgetable.

It is sedate and it is quiet.

You'd never know you were there, but you're in Old Town Scottsdale.

The parking, I have parking karma, so I can't speak for anybody else, but we've never had a problem parking on the street.

And you walk in and sometimes, and Paola, as a sports reporter, you know this, sometimes when you arrive at a baseball game, you kind of walk in and the minute you see the green field, the baseball, it's like everything just kind of changes.

When you walk into here, you know, to the left is inside the restaurant, to the right is outside and you walk, it just, it's like a load is taken off.

- [Mark] It takes you away.

That little patio, that outdoor area.

- [Ted] It really does.

- [Catherine] It's kind of a destination type of place.

- Let's get a little sweet here.

What'd you have for dessert?

- Well, I didn't have dessert but my husband did.

- [Mark] Okay, did you taste it?

- He had the budino.

I had to taste it, of course.

- There you go.

- It was a butter scotch pudding that was out of this world.

I had to really restrain myself for getting, you know, more than one taste.

But I told him, I said, you didn't even breathe.

You ate that so fast.

Because he really loved it.

It was pretty special.

- I had the same thing and I couldn't, I tried to eat it slowly, but it was just so creamy.

It's sweet but not overly sweet.

And just the perfect portion size for.

- It's like the best creamy custard ever.

- It is, it's amazing.

- Really is.

- Sticky toffee cake.

- Mmm.

- Done.

- Three words, over.

It's done.

- [Catherine] You had us at sticky!

- [Ted] Oh my god.

(group laughs) With gel and the gelato.

First of all, it's fantastic.

It's just, but after you've had everything else, it's such a perfect topper.

It's such a perfect ending to everything.

- We do a little pro tip thing here.

So a couple of words or one sentence of what is, it's a hack for you, the pro tip and it's your place.

- First of all, just go.

Secondly, don't rush.

Enjoy everything, savor everything.

- Paola, your pro tip.

- Oh my gosh, I, just definitely eat outside.

I think you just get a completely different experience.

And I'm sometimes wary of the sort of prefix menu, but it was a way to go 'cause I just got to try a little bit of everything.

- Also takes the decisions away.

It's kind of fun.

- Absolutely.

- Take me on a ride.

- Yes.

- My pro tip is to park right in front if you can.

- [Ted] Yeah.

- Because I have good karma when it comes to that too.

But definitely sit outside.

They don't rush you out of there either.

Which I really liked as well.

- Oh, that's good.

- If you wanna try Virtu Honest Craft, it's located on Marshall Way, just south of Second Street in Old Town Scottsdale.

The average meal is $125, and they prefer guests make reservations.

(jazz music) Our next pick is Catherine.

She found this place when her son was playing sports in high school.

For years now, it's been her special spot.

This is Habanero's Mexican Grill and Cantina.

(upbeat music) - Habanero's is a Mexican place.

It's very casual.

We serve breakfast, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salads.

We even have a little section which is vegetarian.

Mainly our menu is open like all day.

Either breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So if you come at night, you want breakfast, we're still doing it.

We make everything from scratch.

Everything is cooked to order, and it's fresh.

So Habanero's was owned by Arturo Diaz was my husband.

He passed away four years ago.

So I just wanna continue his legacy.

I just wanna make sure everybody gets, you know, takes care of.

If somebody come in for first time, they should try, I would say parrillada.

It's a four type of meat.

It's chicken, chorizo, steak, and carnitas and we have a side of rice, beans, guacamole, sour cream, tortillas, like making your own tacos.

I will say lafter enchiladas is my favorite on the seafood side.

I like shrimp tacos.

Nachos is one of those because you have a little bit of everything.

Like I said, it's hard to say one thing.

We have variety of top shelf tequilas.

I guess the favorite one here is the house margarita.

So we make it in the house and we use a good tequila.

At least doesn't give you a hangover.

(Adriana laughs) This place has been 11 years old already, and we keep working on improving.

And you feel like family and hopefully we can keep going.

And this is how it is, Habanero's.

- So Catherine, what makes this place special for you?

- Well, first of all, real solid, authentic Mexican food is not easy to find even here in Arizona.

But this place is a hidden gem because it is not only fresh, not only authentic, but it is so tasty.

And when I say tasty, I'm talking about the kind of meat that I used to get in Mexico when I was a kid or that my great-grandparents made.

I have yet to find it that good outside of Mexico until this place.

- I have to agree.

That barbacoa when I was there, oh my god.

I was like, I can drink it.

- Well you have to try the carnitas.

That's my favorite.

- Carnitas, okay.

- Well is that what, your go to there?

- That's what I go there for.

So I'm kind of a nacho snob.

- [Mark] Okay.

- And I really judge a Mexican restaurant by its nachos, unfortunately for some people.

But this place does it right.

They give you a huge plate.

It's smothered with chips and beans and cheese and guacamole and sour cream.

And then you've got the meat that pretty much takes up the entire plate.

Now I opt to go for something a little lighter.

So I'll do, I'll ask for light cheese.

I'll ask for black beans instead of pinto beans.

And I'll say no sour cream.

You never walk away feeling like you just had something greasy.

And you can watch them cooking it right there.

- [Mark] That's so cool.

- In front of you.

It's very cool.

But on top of that, I never feel guilty about eating the whole thing.

So my husband looks at me and he says, where did that go?

Like where do you put that?

But I, you know, I try to eat good all week so that on Friday when we belly up to the bar at Habanero's, we can have the nachos and he has the carne asada burrito.

- You said you're a nacho snob.

I'm a happy hour snob and I, so I happened to go there on a Tuesday.

So it's Taco Tuesday and everything's a dollar off.

And I had this, this is my favorite drink of our restaurants, this jalapeno margarita that had chunks of jalapeno floating in it.

The glass was like the size of, you know when you win a goldfish at a fair?

- [Catherine] Yes.

- That's what it was in.

It was an amazing way to start the meal.

And then I had some queso to start and it was smooth and creamy.

- [Mark] Oh, I had that too.

- [Paola] Ugh, so good.

- [Mark] I just took a spoon out.

I was like, no, the chip, the chips aren't, yeah, no, no, no.

- No, by the end you're like, yeah, go.

It was great.

- [Mark] It was awesome.

- [Paola] So good, yeah.

- [Mark] Oh, what did you start with?

- Well we went for lunch so we did not have a margarita.

- Oh, you're lost then.

- Yeah, I was gonna say yeah, I don't know, maybe we should have, but we did not.

And we really liked the place.

It was a nice, had a nice neighborhood feel to it.

It was friendly, and the food was really good.

I had the lobster enchilada.

- [Catherine] Yum.

- I'm gonna repeat that, lobster enchilada.

(group laughs) It was wonderful.

And it looked, it looked nice.

It was good presentation.

I mean, they're not fooling around here.

The enchilada was fantastic.

My wife had the nachos.

- [Catherine] Loved them?

- And when they brought 'em out we were like, who's going to eat all of that?

- Me, me, me!

- Catherine.

- All of it.

(group laughs) - [Ted] So much food on that nacho plate.

- So I had tacos.

This was Taco Tuesday.

And what I loved about this place was the options.

You could order at a counter and take it to go.

You could sit a restaurant and they'd come wait at you.

And even for the tacos, I had a blackened shrimp taco.

I had a lobster taco and al pastor taco and I got all of them on different tortillas.

One was flour, one was corn, one was wheat.

So I was able to mix it up a little bit, and I loved every single one of 'em.

And I loved sitting there watching them sort of cook in the background too.

I could smell the food they were making.

- [Mark] And the al pastor there, I don't know if you all had it, but you know, normally that can be a little sweet 'cause of the pineapple marinade.

I found it to be savory and delicious and tender.

- [Paola] Same.

- [Mark] Really good.

- It's a family run restaurant.

So they have pictures of the family up on the wall, which I like.

And they're very friendly.

The service is great.

- Sometimes you go to a Mexican restaurant and they bring out the chips and salsa fine but they didn't bring it out.

And I thought, hmm, all right, they're not giving us free chips and salsa.

What's this all about?

Well we ordered chips and salsa and now I understand because they're special.

The chips have a sweet flavor to them that is different than most chips that I've personally had.

And the salsa, the sauce, the red sauce and the green sauce were both flavorful.

And the red wasn't like, let's see how fast I can burn your tongue.

- So Catherine, this is your place.

What's your pro tip?

- Well definitely go for happy hour.

Sit at the bar.

It's great to watch them cook your food and you can see just how fresh it is.

Also order a margarita.

They're as big as your head.

(group laughs) And I would also say that if you're a vegetarian, they have a great vegetarian menu.

So you can still enjoy Mexican food without the meat.

- That is a great pro tip.

- Yes.

- [Mark] Thank you.

- Yeah, I'll follow that up and do what I did a Tuesday at like five 'cause you not only get the happy hour price as a dollar off tacos, but you also get happy hour drinks.

And I thought of all our restaurants, this is definitely the best bang for the buck.

- Indeed.

That's the best bang for the buck.

Mine is don't be afraid to go for lunch.

- Okay.

- I mean I granted, you guys wanna drink the night away.

You go right ahead.

That's your life.

I can't tell you how to live.

- He's making us sound like lushes here.

- Yeah, but if you go for lunch, it's a great atmosphere.

It's relaxing.

And just get the lobster enchilada.

That's the pro tip.

- [Mark] Done.

- Just get it because it's fantastic.

- I didn't, I'm in.

(group laughs) If you wanna try Habanero's Mexican Grill and Cantina, they're located near Scottsdale and Shea.

An average meal is about $12 and they do take reservations.

(jazz music) Our last restaurant choice belongs to Paola.

She learned her love of food from her Italian mother.

So it's no surprise she picked a spot that's a culinary love letter from a daughter keeping her father's legacy alive.

This is The Italian Daughter.

(gentle music) - The Italian Daughter is a neighborhood Italian restaurant that focuses on traditional, classic Italian dishes that I grew up enjoying.

And I opened it as a homage to my late father, to Maso Maggiore.

We have such a wide variety of food, ranging from very traditional Sicilian dishes like stuffed squash blossoms, arancini, caponata, fresh seafood.

We also have fresh pasta, pizza.

It is so hard for me to pick a signature dish.

However, if I had to pick just one, I think the cioppino is something that really speaks about who we are.

It was one of my father's favorite dishes and we follow his recipe and just add a little something extra to make it our own.

I really wanted the vibe to speak to Italian hospitality.

Then when you walk through the door, we want you to feel like you're family.

We have live music seven nights a week.

We have crooners, we have rockers, we have pianists.

Throughout my career, I have opened eight restaurants on my own and of course been part of my father's legacy of restaurants.

But I think to me, The Italian Daughter holds a special place in my heart.

Unfortunately, I lost my father almost three years ago.

I really wanted this new restaurant to reflect who I am and reflect my, who my father was and who I am as an Italian daughter.

(gentle music) When my guests come to The Italian Daughter, I want them to feel like they are at my home.

That they are the most important person in the room.

And when they leave, I want them making a reservation to come back the next week.

(gentle music) - So Paola, how did you find The Italian Daughter?

- There was a lot of buzz in my neighborhood when it opened up and because of the bloodlines of that great restaurant, right, you mentioned it is, everybody was talking about it and I had to go and you know, I'm known among my friends as sort of the queen of happy hour 'cause I like happy hours and they have a great one there.

So I thought, I'm gonna try this place.

- Well tell me about the happy hour because I was there during it.

But I mean my experience is like, wow, there's a lot of people here.

- People get there early to get a table in the bar and they have great music.

I think it starts like 5:15 and they have all these great foods that are on the regular menu that are maybe a little bit smaller.

The prices are great and you see the same people there over and over and over, which is always a great sign.

- What did you have?

- Oh, so I just, I had to go with sort of my favorites, which was the prosciutto parma and the burrata.

The soft one, yes.

And the presentation was unbelievable.

It was like a work of art and then it had some olives in it and it was just, the burrata was so soft and smooth and it was huge.

I mean it was, if this was, you know, just supposed to be my appetizer, could have had it for dinner.

It was great.

- So what did you have Catherine?

- I had the involtini of eggplant.

I love eggplant parmesan and involtini is rolled.

- [Mark] Yes.

- So it was like three mini burritos, but it was eggplant parmesan, and it had ricotta and it was delicious.

And like you said, the portions because we ate in the lounge bar area are really big and it's a great price point.

So love that.

My husband had the blackened lamb lollipops.

- [Mark] Ooh.

- He loves lamb.

But you know, he's very particular about them and he loved this dish.

- So blackened, so did it, I didn't have those.

Did it have a blackened spice on it?

- [Catherine] It did, yes.

It was delicious.

- [Mark] Wow.

- So we would definitely go back again because I didn't know that the restaurant was there and it's not too far from our neighborhood.

And like you mentioned, the history with being owned by Tommaso's daughter and seeing all of the family photos in there, it was very nice.

- [Mark] Yes, Melissa Maggiore, Tommaso Maggiore's daughter.

- [Catherine] Yes, yes.

- [Mark] She is just so wonderful.

- [Catherine] What a great family.

- So what did you have?

- Well first of all it's great that the restaurant is so close to you two.

It is a drive and a half for me, but it was worth it.

We went up there and for an appetizer we had the Tuscan kale along with an Italian sausage soup.

That was so good, that my wife is now on the hunt for a way to prepare Italian sausage soup.

It was fantastic.

It was really, really good.

For the entree, we had the bistecca fiorentina and I don't know what that means, but it was a steak, and it was really good.

- [Catherine] Mhm, that's all you need.

- Yeah, we really enjoyed it and the atmosphere was really cool.

It felt like a neighborhood restaurant, but for that neighborhood, if that makes sense.

- [Catherine] Mhm, yes.

- Very busy.

So busy, we ate in the bar.

It's like everyone must have eaten in the bar area 'cause that's where we ate as well.

But I did wanna say one thing, our server was wonderful.

- Ours too.

- Mine too.

- And I, some, it's amazing how a server who pays attention, is pleasant, how that influences a meal.

And between the food and the atmosphere and the server, we just had a great time.

- What did you have for your entree, Paola?

- So I was sticking with things my mom made and so it was a linguini vongole, which is the little baby clams.

And I wanted to just pick up that thing and drink the broth.

It was so good.

And I'm ashamed to say I got home and there were like splatters all over my shirt because I was like, slurping up the linguini.

- [Catherine] I think that means it's good.

- It was good.

I literally had to throw the shirt out.

That's, it was worth every second of it.

It was, it was just delicious.

And the, just the mix of the garlic and the juice, it was awesome.

- Did you have dessert, Ted?

- I did, we had something called zuccotto.

And from what I understand, it's pumpkin cake.

- [Paola] Mm.

- They could call it anything they want, but it was really good.

It was, it wasn't too sweet.

It wasn't too much.

It was a perfect ending tour.

It just felt like everything was just about right.

- Did you have a dessert?

- I did not have a dessert.

I didn't even have any wine, but my husband did.

- Did your guest, your husband?

- My husband ordered the pinot noir and he said it was fabulous.

It was an Italian pinot noir.

- And I went with the sambuca because, you know, the digestive reasons of course.

- [Mark] Of course.

- For no others.

It was delightful, yeah.

Ended the meal perfect.

- I wasn't driving so they put a little nip of the sambuca in my coffee.

- Ohh.

- And you know, Gino, the manager's like, you gotta have it, the New York style espresso.

And I'm like, what is that?

He comes over with the bottle, brrr.

(group laughs) - I'm gonna ask, have to ask for that.

- This is your place, Paola.

- [Paola] Right.

- So what is your pro tip?

- Yeah, so I've mentioned the happy hours.

Get there early because it will be packed by five.

So if you can get there at 4:30, get there early and get a table and just take your time and enjoy.

- So Ted, what's your pro tip?

- My pro tip is when you mentioned the music, don't be afraid of sitting too close to, there's a guy playing guitar, playing seventies songs.

It was great, and it wasn't too loud.

It's so nice to go to a restaurant where the music and just the noise level is maintained and he did a nice job.

And so don't worry too much about the music, just get as close as he can.

- The music is there seven nights a week.

I think that's a pro tip in and of itself.

And the particular person that was playing that night turns out he's the bass player for Stevie Nicks.

So he's on the road with her and he's there, I think he said like twice a week when he's not on the road.

- If you want to try The Italian Daughter, they are located on Scottsdale Road just north of Pinnacle Peak Road.

An average meal costs $50, and they do take reservations.

I wanna thank Catherine, Paola, and Ted for joining me at the table.

And thank you for joining us at "Check Please Arizona."

If you'd like to share your favorite restaurant, head to our website, azpbs.org/checkplease and nominate your must eat at spot.

Who knows, you could be joining me at the table.

Be a part of the foodie conversation in Arizona on social media, using #checkpleaseaz.

Join us next time when three new guests make their recommendations right here on "Check Please Arizona."

I'm Chef Mark Tarbell.

Have a delicious life.

(gentle music) - [Whitfill Announcer] Whitfill Nursery, proud to support eight, Arizona PBS, a valley tradition since 1946.

Over 200 acres of Arizona-grown citrus trees and palms, complete custom design and installation.

And Whitfill Nursery still does the digging.

whitfillnursery.com.

- [Announcer] Hospice of the Valley, Medical, social, and spiritual care for patients nearing end of life And support for their families.

A not for profit community hospice hov.org (jazz music)