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And another one two bite the dust. Remember all the hype about Downtown Phoenix replacing Scottsdale as the Valley’s food-forward epicenter? Well, so much for that as it appears several promising signs of life in Downtown are now on life support. The latest is that Verde and PastaBAR, two stylish, chef-crafted and critically acclaimed eateries have both closed suddenly (although the crows have been circling at PastaBAR since famed founding chef, Wade Moises left back in August).

Meanwhile, a flurry of new restaurants and nightclubs opening in Old Town, prove that reports of Scottsdale’s demise appear to be greatly exaggerated.

Of course, these latest Downtown dumpster fires come on the heels of chef Matt Carter (Zinc Bistro, The Mission) closing his ambitious Asian eatery, Nine-05. Although, as we broke the news right here, he seems to have landed on his feet with a new project under way inside the old Zen 32 space in the Biltmore area.

And back in Scottsdale, the good news keeps on coming, as several high-profile chefs have opened new restaurants. And even the long-troubled Southbridge Scottsdale seems to have found some stability, anchored by the new The Herb Box and the five-star Italian that is Marcellino’s Ristorante.

Returning to Phoenix, it’s not all doom and gloom as the amazing Nobou at Teeter House continues to shine in the shadow of its always-packed neighbor, Pizzeria Bianco. Meanwhile, several new eateries, including chef Aaron May’s, Vitamin T, continue to bring sizzle to CityScape. Let’s just hope, it won’t be just another $900 million victim of the Downtown Phoenix curse.

Image via Nick Bastian’s Flickr

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