The paella valenciana at Mimita’s Cuban Café in Chandler may be one of the Valley’s best edible outcomes of the saying “Good things come to those who wait.” As long as it’s understood that the wait is two hours and that it’s best to call in the order. After that,…
See also: Matt’s Big Breakfast: New, Bigger Location Now Open Chef and restaurateur Matt Pool’s been a busy man lately. Last week, the chef-owner of Matt’s Big Breakfast, the popular breakfast and lunch spot in Central Phoenix, opened the restaurant’s new and bigger location a few doors north of the…
A man calls a fast-food joint in Kentucky, tells the manager he’s a cop and that an employee has stolen from a customer, and convinces the manager to strip-search the employee. Sounds ridiculous, right? Wrong. It really happened. The true story is the premise of Compliance, the psychological thriller (opening…
Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here. The long, hell-hot summer may have many of us feeling…
“We apologize for any inconvenience. Please feel free to visit Szechwan Palace as well as Hong Kong Express in the market.” That’s part of a sign on the door of the Golden Buddha at the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix. The restaurant, which served a Cantonese and Mandarian menu and…
In what may be the biggest and brunch-iest news of the year, celebu-chefs Matt Carter (Zinc Bistro and The Mission), Beau MacMillan (Elements at Sanctuary), and Aaron May (Praying Monk, Over Easy, and Renegade Tap & Kitchen) are joining forces to whip up a four-course brunch for hungry guests at…
The Shops at Gainey Ranch will soon be getting a taste of Northern Italian fine dining with La Prima Donna, a new restaurant scheduled to open in early September. From restaurateur Giovanni Leonel, whose resume includes positions at Tomaso’s, Eli’s American Grill, and Gianfranco Ristorante, the 120-seat La Prima Donna,…
What better way to show our love of food than to create it using yarn? These knitted creations — a hamburger, pizza, even shrimp — may not taste like the real thing, but they’re cool enough to drool over anyway. And our number one pick, from the Delectable series by…
When it opened in Tempe last summer, Taco Migo was a 24-hour fast food joint that served alcohol. A few months later, it reinvented itself and became a casual, sit-down restaurant with a new name: Migo’s. And now it appears that Taco Migo, or Migo’s depending on the time frame,…
For the culturally-conscious coffee sipping types, a new shop coming to downtown Phoenix in September promises to mix the java with the justice — specifically for coffee farmers in Rwanda. Set to open at 6 a.m., Tuesday, September 4, Eighth Day Coffee & Culture, located at 828 North 2nd Street…
See also: Matt’s Big Breakfast Moving to Bigger Digs: Twice the Space and Its Own Loo For those still wondering what to do this holiday weekend, checking out the new and bigger location of Matt’s Big Breakfast might be reason enough to drag your late-sleeping ass out of bed. Check…
If you’re from or familiar with the Sunnyslope area, chances are you’ve driven by El Rinconcito del D.F. a million times, but have never stopped. Not as well known as its neighbor, Oaxaca Restaurant, which resides in the Let It Roll Bowl bowling alley, El Rinconcito has been content with…
See also: 10 Corporate Food Trucks Totally Bogarting the Mobile Kitchen Scene, Man In what may be the Valley food truck scene’s shark-jump moment, a Scottsdale golf club has exited the fairway and merged onto Trend Route 101 with its own roving mobile kitchen. Introduced in February, the food truck,…
When it comes to places to score kaiten-zushi, or conveyor belt sushi in the Valley, don’t count Sushi Eye in Motion as one of them — at least not anymore. The Chandler restaurant at 58 West Buffalo Street shuttered later last month, leaving Sushi Station and Teharu Sushi as the…
El Rinconcito del D.F. in Sunnyslope is less a restaurant and more a Mexico City street scene that’s found its way indoors. A hangout for the neighborhood’s locals, it’s a place where giant, creamy licuados and bottles of ice cold Sidral Mundet flow as easily as the conversations of families…
See also: Chef Peter DeRuvo Shares What’s in Store at Davanti Enoteca For those who missed the early August opening of Scottsdale’s Davanti Enoteca, the newest home (and third location) of the Italian restaurant from Chicago-based Francesca’s Restaurants Group (which also brought Mia Francesca to the Valley), you now have…
Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here. As the popularity of cooking continues to rise, so does…
Looking for a primo parantha? How about a terrific tawa aloo? If you’re in Tempe you can get them both, as well as several other types of Indian street food, at the Dhaba Cafe, the new fast-casual eatery from The Dhaba, the Indian restaurant specializing in the foods of the…
Cupcakes, the food trend that, like your ex, keep coming back no matter how many times you’ve said it’s over, are in the Valley’s news scene once again — and this time, they’re arriving in the form of the nation’s biggest franchise…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
Most of us typically hit up Roosevelt Row for some live music or a little art ogling, but come September, RoRo will be serving up some culture of the hell-hot kind: that of the chile pepper. From 4 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, September 29, RoRo’s first Chile Pepper Festival…
Look out Alice, Rascal Flatts, the award-winning American country band who’ve sang with Justin Bieber, are developing their own fashion line, and, according to Forbes, pulled down 45 million big ones in 2010, have their sights set on a new venture: a restaurant chain. And where better to put a…
