& Pastry is the spot. The pastry counter of the on-canal Scottsdale location has some circus skills, from a croissant with puff and shatter to passion fruit pavlova and praline eclair. The plated brunch dishes are just as creative. Highlights include a peanut-but- ter-and-jelly French toast on Japanese milk bread, breakfast poutine with pork belly, and a cast-iron duck confit with cher- ries and goat cheese that could masquer- ade as a dinner entree. Drinks are thoughtful riffs on brunch classics, and they tend to disappear fast in the pleasant blur of a meal that reaches everything that the idea of brunch promises, but almost never actually delivers. EEEEE Grand Avenue Pizza Company 1031 Grand Avenue 602-253-6107 grandavenuepizzacompany.com If we have one quibble with our fair metrop- olis, it’s a shortage of late-night dining op- tions that aren’t a Berto’s drive-thru or a chain diner. Thank goodness for Grand Ave- nue Pizza Company, then, which satisfies our craving for great food from a locally owned business well into the wee hours of the morning. Grand Avenue prides itself on its ingredients, like its all-natural pizza dough and house-made toppings and sauces. The result is pies a couple of notches above a lot of the pizzas in this town and pretty much anything else you can order at 2 in the morning. We love the Jimmy Legs, which comes topped with pesto, chicken, bacon, onion, broccoli, tomato, cheddar, and mozzarella, but sometimes we prefer to cre- ate a pie of our own. Fortunately, Grand Av- enue lets us pick our toppings, and the offerings include fresh jalapenos, roasted garlic, and caramelized onions. Whatever time we sidle up to the pizzeria’s order win- dow, we know we’re in for a treat. EEEEE Lon’s at the Hermosa (inside The Hermosa Inn) 5532 North Palo Cristi Road, Paradise Valley 602-955-7878 hermosainn.com/lons Located on the grounds of the historic Hermosa Inn, Lon’s at the Hermosa (and the adjacent Lon’s Last Drop) puts the par- adise in Paradise Valley. The white-table- cloth Southwestern resort restaurant is heavy with colorful umbrellas, turquoise and tile accents, and the clinks of silver- ware and wine glasses — all surrounding the large bubbling water fountain that’s the patio’s centerpiece. Nearby, but in the same courtyard, Lon’s Last has cowboy energy — probably because it’s named for the art on the wall, a Lon Megargee painting of a cowboy watering his horse from his Stet- son hat. There are five outdoor fireplaces, lots of beer and whiskey, a wood-burning oven, and house cocktails like The Last Drop (Tucson’s Whiskey Del Bac single malt whiskey, Luxardo apricot, sweet Coc- chi Vermouth di Torino, and blood or- ange). But if you can catch this sprawling patio in the spring, specifically during that week of blooming yellow palo verde trees, expect courtyard-side flowers in just about every color of the rainbow. EEEEE The Lodge 26 South Farmer Avenue, Tempe 480-967-0578 lodgetempe.com You miss the good old days of Tempe. We get it; we miss that golden, grimy era, too. But something had to take over the space once occupied by Sail Inn, the legendary Tempe rock club. We didn’t give The Lodge, a Sasquatch-themed sports bar that opened in 2015 in the location, much of a chance at first. But six years later, we must admit: It’s a damn solid sports bar. The woodsy theme, sure, whatever, it’s fine. The patio’s nice and spacious too. But we go for the grub. We practically lived here during the Suns’ playoff run, during which time we became big fans of the Nacho Mountain (absolutely huge), the chicken tenders (we are tender aficionados, and 173 SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 f o o d & dr i nk B ES T B A R FOO D B E S T L A T E-NIGHT DINING B ES T RES T A U R AN T P A T IO
