Went here for dinner for the first time in 4 years. I sometimes forget North is a more than viable option for Italian food. I think part of it is the valet parking kind of deters me. Anyway, I'm giving them props for consistency. They claim to make all their pasta themselves and it certainly tastes like that. They have good spaghetti bolognese. This most recent visit, I was excited to have their arancini. The crisp rice balls with marinara sauce aren't a typical item on a lot of Phoenix's Italian restaurants. They were warm and crispy. For an entree, I had the stozzapreti with parmesan cream sauce, chicken and mushrooms. I went to Italy a couple months ago and spent more than a week there. I'm no expert but the food at North tasted pretty authentic. I also like that they have zucca (zucchini) chips, which are thin and fried. You can snack and snack on them but they don't have the same filler-effect as bread or potato chips.
The ambience, like most Sam Fox restaurants, feels modern and warm. You can pretty much see people with their grandparents or their hipster friends here. I look forward to bringing a dog to try out their patio when the weather cools down.