Overview & Rationale
The Artisan staff reviews restaurants whenever we have an opportunity to travel. For the most part these will be in the Western United states and Italy. As we travel across the United States, we will review any restaurant that we feel fits into our mission statement.
We will generally review Italian restaurants, or those with a Mediterranean flavor. This is the area in which we specialize. We can offer the most objective reviews where we know what the food is supposed to taste like. Since we usually visit restaurants that we ferret out via contacts in the area, or the food literature, we usually dine at the better restaurants. Thus, most of our reviews, will be positive, and will try to provide visitors with the flavors and textures of a particular establishment. There are exceptions. Occasionally we find that, in our opinion, a restaurant is not deserving of its current rating, and we shall say so. Since The Artisan has no ties to any publication, newspaper, or professional organization to which we must answer, we can be as independent as we choose.
It is not always possible, nor always desirable to eat in fine restaurants. On this page, we shall note places to eat that are likely to meet the needs of many folks as they travel. These places can be diners, road houses, or hotels. They will not always represent fine dining experiences, but they will represent good value, well prepared food and a clean environment. Usually they will be less costly that formal restaurants.
We were not impressed with the service at the Boulders, north of Scottsdale. It is allegedly, one of the world's great resorts. We stopped there for a late afternoon glass of overpriced wine, and had we not gone to fetch the server, may had expired from thirst. Not a good sign in a place where the rooms rent for $500+ a night.
If you are traveling anywhere except California, and you see a Cracker Barrel, stop if you are hungry. These roadside restaurants are clean, the food is good and the prices are very reasonable. We have eaten in them across the USA.
Last updated on: 02/04/04 11:39:27 PM