If there were a year for husband-and-wife team and ex-Manhattanites Joe and Myrah Aiello, 2012 may be it. In addition to recently closing their namesake restaurant, Aiello’s East Coast Italian Dining, and searching for a new spot in which to re-open it (possibly the One Lexington building in midtown), the…
Stacy Phipps is having a tough year. The owner and pit master of Stacy’s Smokehouse says the second location of his barbecue joint in Scottsdale, which closed at the beginning of the year and was only open for around six months, cost him around $120,000. “I had customers, but I…
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…
The first time I met Joe Aiello, he was singing. It was about four years ago at Aiello’s on Central Avenue, the namesake Italian restaurant he owned with wife Myrah for nearly five years until the restaurant shuttered in early June. I was having dinner with my husband and some…
Humble Pie, the locally owned casual pizza chain with four locations, has announced it will open a fifth restaurant in July with three more to follow, bringing its total number of pizza joints in the Valley to eight. Humble Pie’s most recent opening was at Scottsdale’s Kierland Village in February…
Oh my, the name of the new pizza restaurant coming to Scottsdale is a bit odd indeed. True, it does not sound as lewd as the former Chewy Balls in Houston or as disgusting as The Golden Stool in London or even as outright offensive as Hitler’s Cross in India,…
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. Whether it’s for education, entertainment, or a dose of “reality,”…
Perhaps one of the nicest things about Mexican chilaquiles is that you don’t need a special occasion to eat them. As in homes throughout Mexico, this traditional Mexican dish and forerunner of modern nachos is served up for breakfast or brunch somewhere in the Valley every day. Simple, versatile, and…
While frequenters of Tempe’s Mill Avenue might not be holding their breath for the opening of yet another ice cream joint (Philadelphia-based Rita’s Italian Ice is slated to open Wednesday, June 20, next to Mellow Mushroom), they may be excited to know there’s a new place to grab some a.m…
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…
For those who would classify themselves in the “need amazing brunch, will travel” set, saddle up those mimosa glasses and head for Carefree. Cafe Bink, the accessible and affordable sister restaurant to Binkley’s, from chef-owner and 2012 James Beard Foundation Award finalist Kevin Binkley, has announced it will start serving…
This week, I received a press release from Cooking Light, the “the nation’s leading epicurean magazine brand with the largest audience, most epicurean editorial and the most recipes.” Fab. It stated that for its July issue, the magazine had named Phoenix’s historic Coronado District one of its “Hidden Gems &…
Upward Projects, the group comprising Craig DeMarco, wife Kris DeMarco, and Lauren and Wyatt Bailey, hasn’t officially released the information yet, but I’ve learned that the owners of Windsor and Churn and the three-restaurant mini-chain, Postino, are planning to open two additional concepts in the north Central Phoenix area. The…
What’s a Dottie’s True Blue Cafe? Google it and chances are you’ll see the San Francisco eatery pop up as one of the best breakfast spots in the city. For nearly 20 years, the classic diner from chef-owner Kurt Abney has been hailed as much for its fresh-baked pastries and…
Aiello’s East Coast Italian Dining, the Italian restaurant in Central Phoenix which closed earlier this month after being in business for nearly five years, looks as if it may resurface in a new location closer to downtown Phoenix. Owned by husband-and-wife team and ex-Manhattanites Joe and Myrah Aiello (who also…
Greek and (especially) Mexican food are standards on the Valley’s culinary scene, but it’s a rare occasion when they’re spotted in the same dish. Enter the Mexican Gyro, a mash-up sandwich of the most mighty and mouthwatering kind…
Walmart is the biggest corporation on the planet. The aggressive discount retailer has run countless mom-and-pop stores out of business, been criticized for using overseas sweatshops to make its products, and tagged for hiring illegal immigrants and making them sleep in the back of stores. So when it decides to…
Do a search for the best breakfast spots in San Francisco and Dottie’s True Blue Café is most likely to be in the top 10. For nearly 20 years, the classic diner from chef-owner Kurt Abney has been hailed as much for its fresh-baked pastries and jalapeño corn bread as…
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…
New Yorkers are certainly no strangers when it comes to obscene wait times for meals, but, hey, it’s different in the Valley. So whether you have reservations or not, is waiting for a table at a popular restaurant worth it in the end? I asked Valley chefs and restaurateurs how…
For newcomers to African cuisine, why not make the first dish one of the most delicious? Yassa chicken (known as yassa au poulet) is a traditional chicken dish from the Casamance region of Senegal in West Africa. Prepared with lemons and onion, it is one of the most popular dishes…
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…
