Bink’s Midtown…

We were fortunate enough to be invited to a family and friends pre-opening dinner at the new Bink’s Midtown this past weekend.  Kevin and Amy Binkley own two of our favorite restaurants, Binkley’s in Cave Creek and Cafe Bink in Carefree.  They are now bringing their combined talents into Phoenix with Bink’s Midtown off of 24th Street and Osborn Road.  We have been following along on their progress and were excited to finally get to see what they have created.  The menu, much like the restaurant, is a happy marriage of the best of both of their other ventures.  The dishes were a mix of Kevin’s wild inventiveness along with the wonderful comforts of Amy’s great dishes from the cafe.  (Happiness… her Bolognese is on the menu here!)  The restaurant is in a restored home that has been beautifully converted into a bright, airy dining room and bar with a large patio out front and a smaller one in the back.  It is both elegant and relaxed.  The white walls inside are lined with framed portraits of different vegetables and a few of some of the farmers that Kevin and Amy work with.  Everything about Bink’s Midtown is about the vegetables, so much so that the shirts on the servers declared that this is the “Year of the Vegetable”.  As evident from their menu, they are very dedicated to sourcing locally and serving organic, in-season fare, even including a selection of nice Arizona wines.

Over the course of the evening, we were happy to sample from many of the menu offerings.  Some of the highlights for me included the Roasted Parsnip soup with poached pear, the Citrus Salad with honey, miners lettuce and hazelnuts, the 5 Spice Duck Breast with grilled grapes.  Sean loved the Flat Iron with red wine and shallots and Aidan devoured the Cider Braised Pork Cheeks with roasted apples.  Bob and I are both absolute fans of Amy’s Bolognese up at Cafe Bink’s, and we both were thrilled to find a new twist on it.  The Bolognese at Bink’s Midtown is served over a garlic bread – bread pudding, which was to die for.

For Phoenicians who haven’t made it to one of Kevin and Amy’s restaurants before, they will soon understand why so many of us have happily made the trek up to Carefree and Cave Creek.  It was a beautiful meal and evening, and a wonderful way to celebrate our friends and their new place.  It was also fun to see this on the wall of a restaurant that so wonderfully celebrates vegetables…

Bink’s Midtown opens this week starting with dinner service only, but will open next week for lunch and weekend brunch as well.  Our best to the Binkleys!

Bink’s Midtown
2320 East Osborn Road
Phoenix, AZ    85016
602.388.4874
www.binksmidtown.com