As if Mill Avenue didn’t have enough corners with empty retail and restaurant spaces, another prime location has just gone dark. According to New Times staffer Benjamin Leatherman, who reported the news on the Up on the Sun blog, The Library Bar & Grill was shut down due to an ongoing lease…

Sometimes happy hour is happy enough with a beverage, and other times food is a must. On a recent night when I couldn’t bear the thought of booze hitting the bottom of my empty stomach, I stopped by Culinary Dropout for a nosh with a friend who’d never been there before,…

If you haven’t checked out Skillet Doux yet, you’re really missing out on some good stuff. Food blogger Dominic Armato, a Chicago native, moved to the Valley with his family five months ago, and turned his attention to local food culture. No stranger to exquisite hole-in-the-wall places, he seeks out…

Planning on getting up dark and early to watch the World Cup? So is Bomberos owner and native Uruguayan Oscar Mastrantuono, who will be opening the restaurant at 4 a.m. daily so that futbol fans can join him in watching all the action. Of course, you already know who Mastrantuono will…

During the week, I’m lucky if I eat breakfast at all. Today I had half a bag of Snyder’s mini pretzels and called it my a.m. meal. The weekend is a different story. I love a good brunch, and I’m happy I finally got a chance to try the new-ish…

I’ll be the first person to admit, I’ve never heard of VitaTops. But a friend just sent me an excited message telling me, “Trust me, this is fucking breaking news! Usually you have to mail order these.”Well alright, then. Turns out, these things are edible muffin tops. (I say edible, I…

This is just a quick tip from one of my favorite food spies.The word on the street is that there’s a new food truck that’ll debut at First Friday, a grilled cheese vendor called Paradise Melt. Considering that The Republic just published a feature on the food truck phenomenon (with a…

Recently, someone asked me if I’d ever changed my mind about any restaurants after I’d reviewed them.Yes, that has definitely happened, although after I write a negative review, I’m not jumping in my car to head back to said eatery. If a place is going to change — whether voluntarily…

A wonderful little restaurant is about to close its doors this weekend. For me, it’s the loss of a personal favorite where I’ve sent countless friends to dine and have enjoyed many plates of tortilla de patatas and glasses of delicious sangria.After dinner-only service from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight…

For the past few weeks, I’ve been deprived of seeing one of my dear friends, who packed up and headed to London and Ghana for three whole weeks. (Lucky, lucky lucky!) Although London intrigues me — and I’m dying to see my friend’s photos of the city — I’m particularly…

Even though you’d never know it to look at his jovial expression, FnB owner Pavle Milic was a ball of nerves leading up to yesterday’s Arizona Judgment, a by-invite-only blind tasting of wines that welcomed a panel of local and national culinary and wine experts.Partly inspired by the legendary “Judgment…

Ooh, shoe shopping at Barneys New York is about to get a lot more interesting. Today is the first Wacky Wine Wednesday event at Fred’s, the upscale department store’s chic in-house restaurant…

The more unusual Chinese dishes are on the dinner menu, but that didn’t stop me from swinging by Lao Ching Hing for a decent lunch that ran me a little more than ten bucks, including a pot of hot tea…