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Phoenix
Scottsdale
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Phoenix
Big City BBQ & Grill — (480) 844-1010; 1425 South Alma School Road; Mesa, Arizona (largest suburb
of Phoenix)
Amenities: Newly opened sister restaurant to Big City BBQ of Tempe (480-756-5702; 5118 South Rural Road)
has added a bar and grill to their acclaimed barbecue and soul food menu.
This location has a bar and more than a dozen tables for one/two — including several hi-tops — perfect
for solo dining.
Cuisine: Award winning soul food, barbecue, and grilled meats prepared by Executive Chef, Rasshad Brown.
The menu includes Arizona's largest selection of grilled and smoked meats plus traditional side dishes from the
old South.
All barbeque selections are delightfully spiced and rubbed for up to 48 hours, then smoked for up to 14 hours.
Price: Dinner Entrees — $8-12
Neighborhood: Fiesta Mall Area, next to the Hilton Hotel
Pizzeria Bianco — (602) 258-8300; 623 East Adams Street, Phoenix, Arizona
Amenities: What is the name of the first pizzeria to be honored by James Beard? What pizzeria has had
the honor of strutting its stuff at James Beard? Pizzeria Bianco! Not only does it make its own bread and mozzarella,
but also it's very solo diner-friendly. Solo businessmen and women have discovered they have a choice when they
have a yen for Pizzeria Bianco — the main restaurant or a wine bar next door.
The restaurant is situated in an historic home, one quarter of which is devoted to an old wooden bar, seating
nine. A favorite of solos, the area is very comfortable. The wine bar sports eight-nine seats and is where people
gravitate for wine and appetizers.
Cuisine: Rustic Italian
Price: Dinner Entrees — $9-13
Neighborhood: Historic City Park
Tarbell's — (602) 955-8100; 3213 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona.
Amenities: Solo diner comfort was uppermost in chef/owner Mark Tarbell's mind when planning this restaurant.
“Certainly women, but men too, are intimidated about going out to dinner alone,” said Tarbell who confesses to
having traveled alone “a lot” and who remembers being ignored as a solo.
His restaurant is open, filled with “action and animation” and offers great seating for solos. It's easy to
get into conversation with couples or other solos at the curved bird's-eye maple bar, seating 20, that overlooks
an open kitchen and allows you to see everyone.
Another solo favorite is a bank of high bistro tables along the windows. Tarbell determined “from day one” that
his restaurant was going to pay special attention to solos to make them welcome. “There are no rules about what
solo diners can and cannot do,” he said. “You can come in for ‘just a pizza’ or ‘just a beer.’ ”
He also believes it's important to time a solo meal properly. “If a solo is lost in reading, we'll slow down
meal service. But when he or she is not, we'll quicken the pace,” he said. “When you are dining alone, the minutes
are fatter.”
Their traveling regulars include lawyers who are trying cases locally. One treats himself to “the greatest wines”
when he visits. With the Argon gas system in place, he enjoys half a bottle one night and can look forward to the
rest in equally pristine shape the next.
Cuisine: American — big, bold flavors, drawing ingredients from local organic farms.
Price: Dinner Entrees — $14-33
Neighborhood: Camelback Corridor
Scottsdale
Roy's-Scottsdale — (480) 905-1155; 7001 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Amenities: "Bar area seating" in this satelite of Roy's (SoloDining.com, the newsletter — Nov/Dec98)
is as important for solos as it is in Hawaii. A few solos reserve ahead (It's booked two to three weeks in advance.)
for table seating in this 4-top only restaurant, but many join bar devotees, those who are dining (full menu available)
or awaiting tables, in an area which includes 10 stools at the bar and seven tables. The pizza bar blessed with
gregarious chefs and seating for 12 is another option, as is the patio, weather permiting.
Cuisine: Euro-Asian
Price: Dinner Entrees — $19-30
Neighborhood: Central - Heart of Resort Area
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