Posted: 11/19/2007 12:59:39 PM EDT
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Well, quite a few months ago I made the mistake of mentioning to my gf that I took my mom out to dinner in my dress blues before I got stationed out in Okinawa. So, now guess what she wants when I come home for Christmas? Talk about f'ing myself. Anyway, what are some classy (expensive) places that I can take her out to eat where i won't be out of place wearing dress blues(suit and tie type joints)? No seafood places and preferably no steak houses (she used to work at Ruth's Chris so we'll be getting plenty of cheap steak anyway). I'll be staying in Chandler, so the closer to there the better, but a little drive is no big deal. |
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El Charro is nice. We ate at Mancuso's a bunch when it was at the Borgata but haven't tried them since they moved up north. www.mancusosrestaurant.com/summit/index.htm |
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Ocean Club, bit of a drive up in Snottsdale, but nice and $$. Affiliated with Mastro's steak place. Fleming's in Chandler is nice, but is mostly steakhouse. The Keg by the mall ain't bad. Steak at Mastro's makes Ruth's Kris look like hamburger, but $100 a butt if you go easy on drinks |
There's always the E-Club on base at LAFB.  Actually whoever mentioned the Melting Pot would be spot on. Great food, atmosphere, and prices are nice. Plus, when you get the Chocolate Fondue Dessert she'll be all over you. Just be careful b/c they put me and my g/f in the back private booths and well one thing led to another with the end result being the waitress got a nice shot of my g/f's boobs. She just laughed and wanted to know if we wanted the curtains closed. I said, "Hell No. I'm an ARFcommer babe." Okay so the part about what I said isn't true, but it made you laugh right? Actually, I did say "that's okay we'll behave for a while. Thanks though."
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+1. that would have been my first choice... instant recipe for AZ bubble bath: 1. eat bean burrito 2. get gf in bath 3. add bubble soap 4. let beans do the rest 
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It's b/c you didn't order it in Spanish. That woulda impressed her I'm sure. |
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The best restaurant in Phoenix (at least for Italian food, but I'd argue .period.) is Marcellino Ristorante on I believe 12th street and Northern, you can take the Northern exit on the 51 and be there in less than 5 minutes. They've won best upscale italian from the New Times for all 3 years that they've been open, and they deserve it like no other. All the pasta is made by hand from scratch, and the chef/owner used to have a restaurant in Rome then in NYC and now here, a real Italian. His wife, who runs the front end of the place, will make your date jealous. Other than that I recommend Sophie's Bistro (somewhere around 24th and Indian School), Zinc Bistro (at Greenway/FLW and Scottsdale) and an old standby House of Tricks which is has outdoor garden dining that is gorgeous this time of year and located near the Borders in Tempe by the ASU campus, not far from the mosque there. Other than that there is always Durants and el Chorro, but those are sort of like steak houses and classy without really being interesting. If you want somewhere a little livelier and different, but not as classy or romantic, try either of the Havana Cafe locations, one at I think 64th st and Bell rd and the other at 44th ave and Camelback. *Really* good Spanish and Caribbean food there. God damn I miss non-Chinese food. |
Hmm, Marcellino looks very promising. What's the dress code like there? I'm gonna be wearing dress blues so I don't wanna feel out of place in my monkey suit. |
You wouldn't look out of place, a lot of people wear jackets. Dress blues are classy, and its a classy restaurant! |
I may have to check this out. My standards for Eye-talian food are set pretty high -- my step-mom is Roman (if I call her Italian I'll get smacked), and I've spent some time visiting my dad and her in Rome (he retired there). So much of what is called "Italian" food here really isn't. Here's a clue... if you eat at Olive Garden, you aren't eating Italian.  For mafia-like ambience you can't beat Avanti. |
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Looks like I'm going here: Mosaic However, I'm definitely taking the lady out to Marcellino's for another date and am probably gonna hit the Roaring Fork and Claim Jumpers as well. Thanks fellas! |
Well, it went well. Food was good, and the lady looked good too. Our meal with drinks ran about $200, but I was lucky enough to have some random person pay for $150 of my meal and the manager covered some of our drinks, so the bill amounted to $21! w00t! (and I got pie too!)
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