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Hope you’re hungry because we’ve got another searing scribble fromDLT‘s proudly-persnickety contributor, Eric Eats Out. Check back the first Wednesday of every month as Mr. Eats OUt never fails to shock us. What’s in store for this month? $60,000 Rent? Read on…

Do you really care when a restaurant closes?  It probably depends on which restaurant it is, but I can’t think of any recent restaurant closing that has made me pine for its return.  You won’t be the first to call me a “cynic,” yet, more often than not the restaurants that closed shouldn’t have opened in the first place.

Case in point: Parc Central, a fancy-shmancy place for “progressive American cuisine” that opened – and closed – in the Scottsdale Quarter development, across from Kierland Commons.  Tucked away on the side of the development underneath the parking garage, it was hard to see and offered nothing new, innovative, or particularly well-crafted.  Never mind the cavernous size of the place; I called its demise within a week of its opening.  I’m sad for the employees that lost their jobs, but did anyone really think this place was a good idea?  I guess so.  What the hell is “progressive American cuisine” anyway, and why do I need to pay $20 an entrée to eat it?

Roughly 100 yards to the south of Parc Central sits Dominick’s, a soon-to-open high-end steakhouse being developed by the original founders of Mastro’s.  (They eventually sold out and made a killing.)  According to The Arizona Republic, Dominick’s Steakhouse will be paying $60,000 per month in rent.  Think about that.  Roughly $2,000 per day for the privilege of being able to open your doors, and that’s before paying any wages, buying food, supplies and the alleged $6 million being spent to outfit the joint.  Am I missing something?

Maybe it’s just me, but I thought all the $30,000 Millionaires in Scottsdale already had their BMWs repossessed and maxed-out their home equity lines of credit before they got foreclosed upon.  Is there really enough money in this town to sustain yet another high-end steakhouse in a development with no track-record, surrounded by several other high-end steakhouses within a few miles?  If the economy has suddenly rebounded, then the news media sure has missed a big story.  This Dominick dude better serve a really great piece of beef if those numbers are going to add up.

Again and again, I find myself scratching my head.  Although there are always exceptions, the restaurants that succeed in the long run have great food, in a convenient location, priced right with a menu that appeals to a relatively broad audience.  One could reasonably argue that such a formula contributes to the “dumbing down” of food…the Olive Garden-ization of America.  But I don’t agree.  They don’t call what chefs do the “culinary arts” for nothing, but at the end of the day a restaurant is a business.  It is designed to make money.  In the relatively low-density sprawl of metro Phoenix, is there really a high enough concentration of food enthusiasts to support niche restaurants on a large scale?

That isn’t to say that there isn’t a reason to try.  The food at Binkley’s, in Cave Creek, certainly pushed the envelope and he has managed to thrive.  There are “mom and pop” places throughout Phoenix that serve great authentic ethnic food.  Hodori, a Korean restaurant in Mesa, immediately comes to mind but there are many others.  And before Christopher Gross came to town, well-prepared French food was hard to find.

Truth be told, the only restaurant closing that I’m still upset about is an Israeli place called Sabuddy that served the best falafel in town.  It had zero atmosphere, but the food was great, the staff friendly, and the prices were such that you could eat there a few times a week without hesitation.  I still grumble every time I drive past it.

Besides, how does one define a “good” restaurant?  Is it inherently authentic?  Is the food of a higher quality?  Is the service better?  Is it more consistent?  I took a philosophy class in college where we spent an entire semester trying to define “good”…..and we never did.  And therein lies the problem.

What’s good for me might not be good for you, but I know it when I taste it.

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