Nikki Buchanan

Phoenix

Food Writer and Restaurant Critic, Freelance at Phoenix Magazine

Contributing Writer at Eater Phoenix

Food lover, food writer, animal lover, book lover and part-time farm girl. Contributor to New Times Chow Bella!

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Articles

Arizona Industry Vets Open Highly Anticipated Gastropub in Old Town Scottsdale

2 weeks ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

It takes a village to raise a restaurant. Okay, that’s a slight variation on the original axiom, but it holds true for Liquor Pig, the Scottsdale gastropub that opened less than two weeks ago in Old Town. It’s been three years in the making for owners Steven “Chops” Smith and his longtime friend and sommelier-partner Scott Casey.
Dining Review: Rollin Smoke Barbeque

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

Opened: December 2024Back in 2012, Rollin Smoke got its start as a Las Vegas food truck dedicated to Arkansas-style pit barbecue. Now there are five brick-and-mortar locations under the Rollin Smoke banner (four in Sin City, one here in the Valley), so the “rollin” descriptor strictly applies to smoke, not wheels. RS’s huge, somewhat discombobulated menu offers the usual barbecue sandwiches, platters and meats sold by the pound as well as Southern specialties such as fried catfish and fried okra.
Drink This: The Wench

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

The 1970s were not kind to the tiki cocktail genre. Instead of the layered, complex drinks that originally defined tiki – often involving two different rums, fresh fruit juices and warm baking spices such as nutmeg, clove and cinnamon – bartenders started churning out syrupy Mai Tais and sugar-bomb Singapore Slings.
The Best Bars in Phoenix

1 month ago | phoenix.eater.com | Nikki Buchanan |Chris Malloy

Whether thirsty for a beer on top, a fancy cocktail, or a glass of rich red wine, Phoenix is an excellent place to be. The city is home to over a dozen great breweries, one wildly creative meadery, wine bars both elegant and down-home, and a cocktail scene to rival those in larger cities. One of the most unique aspects of Phoenix’s bar scene is its impressive venues, including one themed after an airplane and another a captain’s cabin serving tiki drinks.
Dining Review: The Guadalupe on Main Impresses Our Food Critic

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

In Mesa, it takes a village to create an endearing Modern Mexican eatery with perfect queso and magnificent mole. by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Rob BallardLast fall, a group of friends and colleagues in the restaurant industry joined forces to acquire Casa Ramos Redux – which, as the name implies, was the second go-round of a longtime, family-run Mexican restaurant located on Mesa’s downtown drag.
Dining Review: Blu Seafood in Gilbert

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

Opened: October 2024This breezy Sonoran seafood restaurant in Verde at Cooley Station exudes an irresistibly beachy vibe, thanks to its high ceilings, huge windows, woven pendant lights and blue accents. It’s also the surf-y sibling to turf-y Origen, a Mexican-style steakhouse parked right next door – both owned by serial restaurateur Martin Hurtado of Buqui Bichi and Miel de Agave fame.
Dining Review: Three Thirty Three is Eye Candy and Overpriced

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

Three Thirty Three, a Modern Asian restaurant at Watermark Plaza near Tempe Town Lake, inspires the kind of slack-jawed awe you see on the faces of Las Vegas tourists – both for the spectacular décor and spectacularly overpriced food. This over-the-top endeavor, which took private equity firm ITR Investment Group $10 million and two years to build, is admittedly something to behold.
Dining Review: Élephante is Delicious Fun

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

Between the dreamy décor, the scene-y people-watching and the exuberant coastal Italian cuisine, you’ll never forget this pachydermic playground in Scottsdale. by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Nanushka PhotographySpontaneity will get you nowhere at Élephante, the white-hot coastal Italian bar-restaurant that opened in Scottsdale Fashion Square this past December.
This Sexy Italian Restaurant Will Replace Sushi Roku at W Scottsdale This Spring

2 months ago | phoenixmag.com | Nikki Buchanan

When Sushi Roku at W Scottsdale closed in the summer of 2023, it was a blow, not only to sushi-philes but also to the pretty people who showed up to show off. Many of those same glamorous customers are likely to be back for Sexy Roman, a high-end Italian restaurant located in the former Sushi Roku space and slated to open in late spring. This will in no way be a casual red-sauce Italian restaurant dishing out the usual culinary cliches.
Best Pizza Restaurants in Phoenix, Arizona

2 months ago | phoenix.eater.com | McConnell Quinn |Chris Malloy |Nikki Buchanan

A conversation about exceptional pizza in Phoenix used to begin and end with Chris Bianco, the humble perfectionist who opened his first Pizzeria Bianco in 1994, won the James Beard Best Chef Southwest award in 2003, and earned more national attention in 2005 when cookbook author Ed Levine declared his pizza the best in the U.S. He set the bar for the Phoenix pizza-makers who followed, proving that pizza made with care and quality ingredients was different and infinitely better.