n e a r a r c a d i a La Fontanella Italian Restaurant Award-winning rack of lamb, ossobuco, homemade gnocchi, manicotti and ravioli, great Dover Sole, and homemade Berto’s Gelato. Served in an Italian villa- like dining room. Serving dinner every night, 4:30- 9:30 p.m. See our ad in the dining section 4231 E. Indian School Rd. • 602.955.1213 La Fontanella $44 Italian Treat Tee Pee Mexican Food Tee Pee’s Wall of Fame tells you everything you need to know about this family owned and operated eatery, which has been woven into the fabric of Phoenix for nearly 40 years. Tee Pee has served its home-style Mexican dishes to world-famous comedians, athletes and even Presidents, and they all come back for more. See our ad in the dining section 4144 E. Indian School Rd. • 602.956.0178 3647 E. Indian School Rd. • 602 957 2112 Manuel’s Mexican Restaurant & Cantina Zipps has plenty of parking, cold beer and scratch food to satisfy thirsts and hungers for miles around. Zipps Arcadia offers a huge outdoor patio fully equipped with misters, gas heaters, a fi re pit and of course plenty of TV's. It’s the ideal spot for dining or drinking on a nice sunny day. See our ad in the dining section 4121 N. 44th St. • 602.840.0630 Pete’s Fish & Chips Pete’s Fish & Chips has been serving up tasty burgers and their famous fi sh and chips since 1947! Family owned and operated, Pete’s has eight convenient locations throughout the Valley waiting to serve you and has earned the title of Phoenix’s fastest fi sh! See our ad in the dining section Pizza Re From Pizza Re a la Taglia (by the cut) to our speciality pies, if you're hungry for hand-crafted pizza, we've got you covered. Dine-in & take advantage of our low corkage fees for beer & wine or order to go and we'll hand craft your pizza to order. "Pizza Re...until we eat again." Daily from 11am-10pm. www.pizza-re.com. See our ad in the dining section 2902 E. 68th St., Suite 100 • 480.949.6838 3 locations to serve you • www.humblepieusa.com Humble Pie Experience our amazing ‘wood- fi red’ pizzas with unique and traditional ingredients, fresh starters and salads, a truly great wine selection, seasonal cocktails & beers, and polished yet unpretentious service. See our ad in the dining section 3961 E. Camelback Rd. • 602.95.GRIND (47463) The Grind The Grind serves American coal fi red cuisine, featur- ing quality burgers, fi sh, chicken, steak, weekly spe- cials, salads, appetizers and desserts. You’ll also fi nd craft beers, an extensive wine list, classic cocktails and milkshakes. www.thegrindaz.com. See our ad in the dining section 7051 E. 5th Ave. • 480.699.8001 5th and Wine Downtown Scottsdale’s favorite restaurant disguised as a wine bar, located in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale. We pride ourselves on serving a wide array of simple, fl avorful, food at moderate prices. Our atmosphere is comfortable, warm and equipped with an extensive wine bar, complete kitchen and fabulous dining space. Open at 11am daily. www.5thandwine.com . See our ad in the dining section Revo Burrito Another delicious concept from Lenny Rosenburg’s Restaurant Group, creators of Zen32 and Delux. It is our mission to provide all-natural, delicious, Mexi- can food in a fast-paced, yet casual dining atmosphere. You can call-in your order and pick it up at the takeout window, which has its own parking spaces right in front. See our ad in the dining section 3154 E. Camelback Rd. • 602.522.6255 El Chorro Lodge Located at the base of Camelback and Mummy Mountains, this Valley favorite offers an ideal setting in which to savor classic Southwestern- inspired cuisine, gather with friends over drinks and live music or enjoy a relaxed weekend brunch. Experience Arizona Destination Dining at its best! See our ad in the dining section 5550 E. Lincoln Dr. PV • 480 948 5170

Page 35 January 2012 NEIGHBORHOOD BURGERS The Grind 3961 East Camelback www.thegrindaz.com Delux 3146 East Camleback www.deluxburger.com Arcadia Tavern 4801 East Indian School www.arcadiatavern.com In a neighborhood battle of burgers, there are no losers By Dale Messmer Sometimes you can’t beat a burger. It’s just such a personal relationship, what with toppings, different kinds of meat, ambience, and the truly important question: fries with that? The only real rule is that it should be illegal to put ketchup on a burger unless you are less than 5 years old. After that, I say chow down and let chow down. Arcadia has a booming burger business. So many choices, even if doctors say limit your beef intake. At the risk of leaving out a truly great burger somewhere else, I usually end up in one of three very good places when I’m craving cow on a bun. Disagree if you wish, but if so, please share your favorite place so I can add to my somewhat limited list. Arcadia Tavern “It’s all Good in the Hood” they brag, and I’ll agree, whether you’re talking burgers or lifestyle. When it comes to the former, there are many reasons to choose the Tavern for a burger fi x. I like the Build Your Own Burger cards that let you check off toppings for the kitchen. Not a matter of mistrusting the server or the cook. It’s just fun. And speaking of fun, I love the messy Hangover Burger ($12), a half-pounder (as are all four of the offerings) topped with an over-easy egg. Includes applewood smoked bacon, carmelized onions, grilled tomato and jack cheese. The Tavern Burger ($11) is interesting, with two quarter-pound patties crimped together around a blend of jack and cheddar. And they have sweet-potato tots. Tiny pieces of heaven. Many of my interns, young vegetarians that they are, tell me the veggie burger is good. I’ll take their word for it. There’s also a Rocky Point Burger ($12) with guacamole, pico de gallo, jalapenos, sour cream and pepper jack cheese. Never had one of those, either, but let me know if you like it. The fourth house burger is the Bacon Bleu Burger ($12) with bacon, avocado, baby greens, tomato, carmelized onions, bleu cheese crumbles and mayo. Not fond of the last two items personally, but I have experts in such matters that tell me the burger is superb. Delux One of two favorites within blocks of each other on Camelback, Delux serves a proprietary blend of all-natural U.S.D.A. Choice beef from Niman Ranch. The cows are vegetarians from family owned farms. No hormones. No antibiotics. Lots of taste. In addition, the beef is ground daily at the restaurant, and patties are hand- formed. The signature Delux Burger is topped with maytag and gruyere cheese, organic arugula, and a mixture of carmelized onion and applewood bacon. It’s served on a locally baked demi-baguette or in a lettuce wrap, your choice. The menu recommends medium rare, which works for such quality beef. I prefer the Standard Classic Burger, which is just what you would think. Lettuce, tomato, pickles and cheese. Can also be wrapped in lettuce if you wish. Those are the only two burgers on the menu unless you count a turkey burger on a wheat bun, but beef quality doesn’t need more offerings. Both are $10.50. Turkey is $10. The biggest basket of fries in the hemisphere (it’s shaped like a deep shopping cart, the kind from those warehouse stores) is $5, served with ketchup and house aioli. Mix them up with sweet-potato fries for another buck. The Grind Down the street, The Grind touts 1,000 Degrees of Separation. Their custom coal- fi red ovens cook at 1,000 degrees, compared with 500 from a traditional gas oven. That means it takes a short time (approximately four minutes according to the menu) to cook, and the high heat gives the burger a fl avorful crust, even at medium rare. The smoke from the oven adds a nice fl avor, too. It’s also the tallest burger you’ll see most anywhere. They look like they were built by an architect: piled high with toppings, stabbed with a long wooden stick to keep everything together. The Steak House BLT Burger ($10) is as expected: bacon, iceberg lettuce and brilliant red, locally grown tomatoes. Also carmelized onions and house steak sauce. Two special aspects also separate The Grind. “Herbed fries” ($4), both French and sweet-potato, are the best in town. And no matter how full you are, don’t miss the Warm Doughnuts ($6), a plate of fi ve 1-inch beauties with a pot of salted caramel sauce. Yum. Hilton Village 6149 N Scottsdale Rd 480.556.9900 Desert Ridge 21050 N Tatum Blvd 480.502.2121 Central Phoenix 2333 N 7th St 602.229.1289 C 2 w w w . H U M B L E P I E U S A . c o m Italian Treat for 2... $ 44 00 ★ 2 Soup or Salad 2 Soup or Salad ★ + ★ 2 Dinner Entrees 2 Dinner Entrees ★ 20 entree choices included + ★ Full Bottle of Wine Full Bottle of Wine ★ from proprietor’s selection Open Mon–Sun 4:30 - 9:30pm 4231 E Indian School Rd • Phoenix 602.955.1213 • LaFontanellaPHX.com Expires January 30 Expires January 30 th th . Not valid on New Years Eve. Maximum 6 people per table. . Not valid on New Years Eve. Maximum 6 people per table. Not valid with other offers or special events. Valid only with payment in cash. Not valid with other offers or special events. Valid only with payment in cash. INCLUDES INCLUDES Best wishes to you and your family... Best wishes to you and your family... for a happy, healthy Christmas for a happy, healthy Christmas Season and a better New Year! Season and a better New Year!