Lately I find my tastes changing. These changes ambush me without warning: not long ago I stopped putting Splenda in my tea - cold turkey. I started liking pastrami instead of corned beef. I stopped watching the news on TV. Is this a function of aging? I don't know.\n\nOne of the more dramatic changes has been my growing appreciation of the overall \"character\" of a restaurant. I find myself much more willing to overlook small gaffes in the food preparation if the staff is friendly and knowledgeable, or if the ambience is cheerful and interesting in some way. It doesn't have to be fancy - but it can't be gloomy and boring.\n\nThis was brought home to me today at lunch. Our friend Sue picked a place I had never been to - Spinato's Pizza. It's a family owned and run local chain with four locations. We went to the one at Bell and 16th Street. Sue brought along her friend/employer Lee. It happens that Lee's grandson works in Spinato's kitchen. He always makes it a point to arrive 35 minutes before his shift begins so he can take advantage of employee dinner and he appreciates being treated like family. The place is cute - decorated in red, green and white. There are striped awnings above the booths, and trellises with vines. The chairs are white with green (or red) seats, and the table tops are white with the Spinato logo in the corners. The patio has tables with red-checked cloths. We were warmly greeted , and our server arrived promptly to offer drinks.\n\nKen and I ordered a large Spicy Italian pie ($19.50) with added ricotta. We also got a salad ($3.99). Lee requested garlic bread ($3.99, $4.79 with cheese), and a small spinach calzone, one of the house specialties ($9). Sue got spinach too, but in the form of a \"lil\" (smaller than small) pizza ($7.50). The salads arrived first, notable mostly for their large size. While the ingredients were fresh, there was nothing exciting there. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar served with them were of good quality. The garlic bread, eight pieces in the order, was outstanding - lots and lots of fresh garlic and a generous amount of butter. You have to make sure that everyone you'll be talking to in the next few hours has eaten some too. The staff checked in frequently to ask if we were happy. The pizzas were served on a wire rack, a great idea since the thin crust remains nice and crisp. Instead of slices, our pie was cut into many small squares. I found that for some reason this caused me to eat less. The pizza wasn't loaded down with sauce, and it had plenty of toppings. I tasted Sue's spinach pie and it was really good. The spinach is marinated before being put on the pizza, and there's tons of fresh garlic. Lee's calzone was quite large - he took half of it home.\n\nThe menu isn't extensive. Besides the pizzas (10 varieties, plus design your own) and calzone (there's a spaghetti and meatball one) there are two pastas and five sandwiches. We didn't inquire about dessert. The story behind Spinato's is told on the back of the menu. The family was worried that when they left Chicago for Phoenix, back in the \"70's, they wouldn't be able to find good pizza. What choice did they have but to open their own pizza parlor?! As the family grew so did the number of parlors. While the prices aren't low, you can go to lunchclub.com and get a 25% off the entire bill coupon. Aren't coupons great!!\n\nI have to say that if I was doing a blind taste-test between Stumpy's pizza (see the archives) and Spinato's, I'd probably give the nod to Stumpy's. But if you add in those other factors which have become important to me, as a dining destination Spinato's wins. It's also won awards from Phoenix New Times, the Scottsdale Culinary Festival and City Search.
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