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| - tucked away in the illustrious ahwatukee foothills lies an exquisite new addition to the phoenix restaurant scene. it's exactly what was lacking in this neck of the woods. or neck of the desert, if you will. it's a place to come for cocktails after work, a place to enjoy a delicious italian dinner and a place where you can dance the night away to live music. the kind of place you go and spend about 3-4 hours at a time, just savoring your night.
they just opened a few weeks ago, so we had no idea what to expect..... but when we walked in, for the first time since i left san francisco, i felt like i was home again. it has a sexy, loungey, elegant but urban feel. the kind of restaurant you would find in a sophisticated world class city, not the remote desert foothills of arizona.
there's a small, intimate patio area set up outside (think couches and candles) but with the temperature in the 100's we opted to sit inside close to the sprawling bar area. the live music hadn't started yet, but we wanted to be near it when it did.
for starters, we shared the au gratin potato dish with pre-dinner cocktails. it was so cheesy and good. for dinner, my dining companion ordered the lobster ravioli and i actually ordered something not on the menu at all. i described what i was craving (a linguine in a light cream sauce topped with chunks of grilled salmon) and they made it exactly how i described. i took half of it home, but then kept thinking about how good it was and ended up finishing it later that night anyway. haha
during dinner, the proprietor of the restaurant stopped by our table to say hello and we ended up chatting for awhile. she's just lovely. apparently her and her husband opened the restaurant and named it after their 4 daughters. hence, the name "le ragazze" which means "the daughters" in italian. she also told us she was from NY, which explained so much about why i liked the overall vibe there. service was top notch, just enough attention without feeling like she was hovering.
after dinner, we stuck around for a few hours with our cocktails to hear the live music which had started. at one point a few giggly girls (who seemed to have consumed a LOT of wine with dinner) got up and started dancing around. it's a happy, festive kind of place though, so people just looked on amused. we didn't stay too late into the night, but i can see things getting really fun in there towards the wee hours.
i may not have lived in arizona for long, but i have been exploring the restaurant scene here quite consistently.... and this was the first time i got excited about a place. i couldn't wait to go back. in fact, we're going again tonight.
ok so, it might be a little out of your way (ahwatukee isn't exactly centrally located) but i assure you it's worth the drive. i promise.
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