North of Scottsdale in the Phoenix-area is the town of Carefree, Arizona. When I think of Carefree,…read moreI immediately think of the English Rose Tea Room as I've traveled about an hour to have afternoon tea there (48 miles from my house). I'm sure there are other places to explore, but due to distance I don't often get out that way. I'd recommend visiting as it's a small town and I've heard great things about. Plus, who doesn't love a town with a beautiful tea room?

Unexpected surprise while driving past this morning's frontier town…read more The homes are predominantly constructed in the adobe style and are absolutely gorgeous, surrounded by desert flora. Visit the small botanical garden! It's worth the detour.

100% of the Profits from Whiskers & Wine go to the Foothills No Kill Animal Shelter…read more For a $25. Donation you had the opportunity to partake in light food, generous pours of wine,Beer, Live Jazz Music, A silent auction and the opportunity to find a new furry best friend in the beautiful Carefree Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion. Some pet dogs also attended. Unlike other festivals of this nature I've been too this one was really well organized and the people just flowed in actually before opening time and everyone was more than ready to handle the crowd. (that is unusual and is not the norm) They had more wine flowing than food serving. Guess that makes sense after all it's called Whiskers & WINE not Whiskers and Food. I was surprised that Sassi Restaurant was pouring Obscure Italian Wine instead of serving food. I wasn't the only one blind sighted about the food selection. One woman next to me asked Grimaldi's for 5 pizza slices but they came here to pass out Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil Appetizers. The most popular food selection was Hummus Dip. Four kinds were served. The Carefree Bistro set up a mini buffet of many appetizers. Z's Asian Bistro, Venus Cafe and Giordano's also participated in donating their foods and time. The wines they poured were HIGHER quality than another a few other festivals I attended over the past year. (The West Side Festival and the Channel 8 festival) Arizona Stronghold, Brix Wines, Cellar 13, PRP, Sassi & Foothills were the Wine Sponsors. Mudshark Brewery sponsored Beer. The live music was good and they provided water and had nice clean bathrooms nearby. Parking was easy, close and there wasn't a fee.

This was my first time dining at Pizzicata (Mesa location), and the live music is what initially…read moredrew me in. The patio views are beautiful, and the weather made it such a great spot to sit outside in the evening. The live music was a perfect touch...not too loud, so you could still have a conversation comfortably. The owner even walked around and spoke with guests, and both he and his wife were incredibly friendly. You can tell they really take pride in the entertainment they provide and in making sure customers have a great experience. As for the food, it reminded me a lot of the pizza at A Modo Mio Cucina Italiana, which is just a few streets away. If you've had and enjoyed their pizza, you'll likely enjoy Pizzicata as well. I ordered the Jennifer calzone, and it was okay. I would try a calzone again, but with different toppings. I added a meatball for an extra $3, and honestly, it didn't quite hit the spot compared to homemade meatballs. The calzone had a lot of ricotta and not a lot of other ingredients in it, so if you're not a big ricotta fan, this probably isn't the best choice. That said, the ricotta itself had a different flavor than other ricotta I'm used to. The calzone doesn't come with sauce inside, and the side of sauce is pretty small. I was charged $0.50 for an extra... I probably could've used two or three sides of sauce since the calzone had none. That being said, the sauce itself was excellent... very close to the flavor of sauce that my family makes. This sauce really gave the calzone a good Taste, it just needed more! We also tried the mozzarella sticks, and those were good. Overall, the atmosphere is beautiful, the space is a nice size, and the staff is warm and welcoming. It seems like a good place to bring kids, although when we went (Thursday around 6), I didn't see many. The decor is lovely, and the overall vibe makes it a place I'd come back

I can't believe we haven't visited Pizzicato until now. Service was wonderful and the food was…read morespectacular! We will definitely be back.

My wife & I have been dining at Giordiano's Restaurant in Carefree, Az every other Tuesday for the…read morelast 5 years. It in my opinion the best Italian restaurant in the Phoenix area & we moved to Az from the NYC area. Richard & Jane Beshar

Extremely disappointing experience, particularly due to the owner's behavior…read more Mistakes happen in restaurants, and we are very understanding when they do. Unfortunately, what made this experience so disappointing was the way our very reasonable complaint was handled by the owner. We did not receive what we ordered and politely brought it to the restaurant's attention. Rather than simply acknowledging the mistake and correcting it, the owner became defensive and then proceeded to complain about our table to other customers in the restaurant. It was incredibly unprofessional and, frankly, quite uncomfortable to have the owner discussing our complaint with other tables instead of addressing the situation directly with us. We were made to feel as though we had done something wrong simply by pointing out that we had not received the food we ordered. As the owner, you set the tone for the entire establishment. Customers should never be made to feel embarrassed or criticized in front of other diners for raising a legitimate concern. A simple apology and professional handling of the situation would have completely changed our experience. Unfortunately, the owner's attitude and handling of the situation left a far worse impression than the original mistake itself. Good customer service is about how you treat people when something goes wrong--and in this case, that part was seriously lacking. We will not be returning and would caution others to be prepared for a very different level of customer service than we expected.

I love this market and restaurant! They have a great variety of olive oils, specialty foods,…read morepremade meals, beauty items and wine -- my favorite! I especially love that you can sample many of the oils, jams and BBQ sauces before buying. I ordered from the Del Piero Kitchen and enjoyed the Mill Meatballs, which had great flavor, and the garlic Parmesan frites -- YUM! I also had a Hugo Spritz. A little sweet for me, but still refreshing. There are plenty of tables for small and larger groups, plus a bar where you can order drinks. I was tempted by the premade pasta and sauce dinners to take home, but decided to buy some wine instead. It was busy inside and quieter outside since we visited in mid-August, but they had the misters going. I can imagine how great the outdoor space and events are when the weather cools down. Definitely need to come back in the fall!

Queen Creek Olive Mill is one of those places where I tell myself, "I'll just have something…read morelight," and somehow end up ordering half the menu. No regrets. On this visit, we had the Melabella, Charred Mozzarella & Pesto, and Classic bruschetta, along with the White Mountain Pizza, Olive Farmer's Caesar Salad, and their special Meatball Sandwich. I usually stick with my favorites--the Drunken Tomato & Pepperoni pizza or Olive Farmer's Rigatoni Bolognese--but decided to branch out. Everything was delicious! You can tell they use quality ingredients, including flour imported from Italy, and it really makes a difference. Honestly, it's hard to go wrong here. Special shoutout to Wendy, the manager, who is always so friendly and helpful. The entire staff is welcoming and makes every visit enjoyable. Great food, great ingredients, and great people. At this point, I should probably just set up a permanent table! P.S. Don't forget the gelato! It's THAT good.

Alberto's was awesome, expensive, and in every way a delightful experience. I can't believe I've…read morelived in the area for seven years and never made my way to this quaint and homey little gem. Other reviews on this place seem to run to extremes of awesome or horrible. Put me solidly in the awesome camp. We were immediately and graciously welcomed. Water, wine, comp snacks, and daily special offerings were immediately provided. It just felt good being in a quaint and slightly ecclectic, but thoroughly Italian Mediterranean ristorante. The large open hearth brick oven provided the warming pleasure of open flame and a slightly smokey background wafting aroma. The comp snacks of bread, olive oil and basil, and red beans were a meal unto themselves. Alberto's wine list was reasonably extensive with many Italian offerings at every price point. The diverse and traditional culinary offerings were thoroughly Mediterranean diet specialties. Be sure to listen to the specials. I put the menu down the instant I heard veal osso bucco. Nothing further to decide, except for an appetizer. We chose the bruschetta which was everything one could desire. Fresh fresh fresh. My Osso Bucco was roast for 11 hours to absolute tender perfection. My wife had the seafood soup, a rich and tasty tomato based play on chiopino. We sincerely loved our running dialog about the food with the owner. Personal, sincere, and gracious. The tiramisu dessert was one of the best I've ever had as well. Punctuating the entire experience was my espresso, as authentic and rich, and satisfying as could possibly be provided. Alberto's isn't for everyone, and not if you are looking for inexpensive formula Italian fare. Don't get me wrong, I like Olive Garden too, but authentic, sophisticated, hand crafted awesomeness comes with a price. Alberto's is well worth a visit.

Old restaurant in need of some upgrades. Ordered Veal Picatta, a bad cut of meat. Over cooked and…read morelacking flavor. They were in a hurry to close (hour early) which made for an unpleasant dining experience. I would not return to this restaurant. BF had a pasta dish, very small for the price.

Patrick the bar tender is awesome! Drinks and food were delicious! My husband loved the sausage…read morepizza and I loved my chicken piccata and pear martini!! We will definitely be back!

I came in because owner posted on Facebook today that calzone was 5-6 lbs and tall with lots of…read morericotta. I ordered the biggest with 4 fillings and it was pretty flat, little ricotta and under 3lbs total (see photo). The dough was a little flat and chewy underneath - it is a folded pizza. Good American-Italian food but I was disappointed comparing it to what they advertised. The Facebook description sounded like one of those calzones in Italy with very inflated Neapolitan dough but it was a normal American one instead.

This was a lot of fun and an insightful tour! Our guide James Beach was a TON of fun and made the…read moretour worth it. He had a lot of stories and history about the area which was interesting to learn about the area. We stopped at about 5 restaurants and the food from each of the restaurants was really good at each stop. If you are looking for a fun tour to learn more about the Scottsdale area, this is a good one. Be ready for a lot of walking though, and wear comfortable walking shoes!

Our tour was a great introduction to Old Town Scottsdale! Our guide, John (or James as he was known…read morefor our tour!), was such a great host. He shared so much background not only about the food but about Scottsdale itself. The stops were well planned and provided a great variety of items to sample. Our trip included pizza, tacos, a pasty, macarons, gelato, margaritas, beer, tea, popcorn and spice blends. I also thought the price was really fair for what we got. Highly recommend Taste It Tours and our guide John!

Luke is the coolest tour guide out! We had the best time for our friends bachelors! Great tour and…read moregreat drinks and great services!

Luke and Shelby made sure we had an awesome experience. We tasted several different types of beer…read moreand learned a bit about the brewing process. Met wonderful people and had a lot of laughs and conversations. Would do it again.