Along with the debut of a new Nike flagship store at Scottsdale Quarter this week came an announcement of the North Scottsdale mall’s fall/winter 2010-2011 restaurant lineup. Eleven new restaurants are in the works, joining Oakville Grocery, Brio Tuscan Grill, and Primebar: Coal Burger: coal-fired burgers, just like the name…
Leave it to Joe Johnston, local tastemaker extraordinaire, to casually Tweet about a cool new website that’s suddenly become my time-suck/online shopping obsession of the moment: Terrain. It’s a home, garden, and gift store from the evil geniuses at Anthropologie, where I have a weakness for vintagey cocktail dresses. Heaven…
Amid a flurry of new restaurant openings on Mill Avenue, Downtown Tempe welcomes yet another newcomer — Diverti Bar & Grill — whose grand opening is today. Remember the short-lived Sucker Punch Sally’s, which didn’t last six months in the former Ruby Tuesday’s at the corner of Mill Avenue and…
The banner outside says “coming soon,” but the sidewalk sign says “now open.” Yes, Fresh Gourmet to Go is now officially open for business, and although the name implies a takeout joint, this is actually a cute cafe as well. Located at 110 E. Roosevelt, in the building just west…
A big highlight of my summer was a weekend trip I took to Los Angeles with a couple of adventurous friends who were just as eager to eat and shop their way through ethnic neighborhoods as I was. We skipped the haute cuisine hot spots to hit up Little Tokyo,…
The original Ahwatukee location of the Mexican grill, at 4747 E. Elliott Road, got plenty of Guy Fieri love for its carne asada and carnitas tacos on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and Guy’s Big Bite. Although the menu here features the same kind of traditional recipes that Los…
I love a little news tidbit with my morning caffeine ritual. So I’d heard that Royal Coffee — Hayes McNeil’s fab java bar inside the Phoenix Public Market — was opening another spot in Phoenix, at Biltmore Fashion Park. The ritzy mall has had a lot of turnover and change…
[jump] There are daily lunch specials as well as menu items especially for kids. Daily happy hour, from 4 to 7 p.m., features half-priced cocktails, beer and wine, plus discounted appetizers. And for quick take-out, “Jimmy’s Back Alley” is open all day. Located at 4233 N. Scottsdale Rd., Jimmy Woo’s…
Earlier this year, Postino got the ball rolling with its $20 deal for a bottle of wine and an order of bruschetta on Monday and Tuesday evenings after 8 p.m. Ever since word got out, the Arcadia and Central locations have been banging until closing time on those nights. Now,…
Six months ago, fans of German food and drink had to cry into their beers when Black Forest Mill closed its doors after developing a raucous reputation for late-night dance parties. While the deejays have since moved on to other venues, the restaurant (4900 E. Indian School, 602-957-0152) is ready for a…
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had dinner at Fuego Bistro, a tiny eatery tucked away in a courtyard off of 7th Street, so I stopped by for a recent dinner to see if the food was as good as I’d remembered. What a tasty little meal! I really enjoyed…
It’s the end of an era at SouthBridge, where one of the Scottsdale retail and dining development’s flagship eateries, Estate House, is set to become a second location of a popular North Scottsdale casual dining spot, with an in-house gourmet market and catering business. Following the October 17 closure of the…
Calabria Italian Kitchen, the joint that closed its doors on Roosevelt and was replaced by Lola Coffee, has been resurrected in another CenPho location — the former Cafe LaBella spot at 7th Street and Virginia — and I’m happy to report that the sandwiches are just as good as ever,…
Looking for a place to eat on your way to (or from) Sky Harbor that won’t break the bank, that’ll won’t throw off your schedule, and that isn’t a fast-food joint?Join the crowd. I’ve gotten more requests for suggestions on this front than just about any other restaurant-related question, and…
An historic 1929 mansion in South Phoenix is about to get a new life as a restaurant. Pat Christofolo, owner of Santa Barbara Catering and The Farm Kitchen at The Farm at South Mountain, is teaming up with her chef son, Dustin, to open The House at Secret Garden, on October…
Award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda is gearing up to start omakase dinners at his Heritage Square eatery, Nobuo at Teeter House, in two weeks. For the uninitiated, omakase is a chef’s choice tasting menu. At his now-defunct Old Town spot, Sea Saw, Fukuda made a name for himself with creative Japanese fusion…
Along with the official grand opening of Canteen Modern Tequila Bar on October 15 and 16 (the place soft opens tonight), developer DMB Commercial just announced three more eateries in the works for downtown Tempe’s Centerpoint on Mill. First up, for mid-October, will be Dog Town Chili Dogs, next to…
I’ve had my share of fun at chic, trendy sushi spots around town, where the upbeat vibe and eye-candy clientele are just as interesting as any of the nigiri that lands on my plate. A few years back, it seemed they were becoming almost as ubiquitous as wine bars and…
It sounds like things are going really well for Sima and Marcellino Verzino at their stylish new SouthBridge location of Marcellino Ristorante Italiano. The couple recently returned from a trip to Italy and are “thriving” after five months in business, they tell me. This week, they’re amping things up with…
Out with the old, in with the new? Uh huh. Along with checking its website (down) and calling its number (disconnected), I just confirmed that Fenix Eatery & Bar has officially closed — and there’s already something new in the works for the space at 40th Street and Camelback. Turns…
It’s surely a sign that North Scottsdale’s DC Ranch has lost its buzz when a new restaurant called DC Steak House opens in Chandler. The new eatery, which debuted last Friday, fills the void left by the short-lived Fat Cat, and before that, 98 South, in a primo spot along San Marcos Place’s…
Well, here it is, folks: The new macaron flavor that Essence Bakery made us wait for. It’s organic key lime. I can only imagine how tasty these are, considering how much I dig their meyer lemon macarons. Are they like tiny bites of key lime pie? Gotta get me some…
