RESTAURANT REVIEW
Conventional wisdom says you won't be able to find progressive cooking in fly-over country. But Kevin Binkley is doing his best to change that at this restaurant our reviewers deem "one of the only true gourmet dining spots in the Phoenix area." Binkley's background includes a stint at the French Laundry, which overlapped with the time Grant Achatz was there, and his clientele is now benefiting from the contemporary culinary techniques on display in dishes like crispy seared foie gras served with quince, butternut squash, peanuts, cranberries, radish, spicy kaffir lime marshmallows and coconut or root beer-braised short ribs with pumpkin and patty pan squash. Locals waxed poetic: "Fantastic, inventive cuisine" and "classy, elegant, upscale and, most important, wonderful" were among the comments we collected.