I love sinking my teeth into perfectly ripe avocado. A single fruit, sliced up, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt, is one of my favorite lazy-girl snacks when I’m craving something luscious but too beat to actually cook. (I also do the same thing with…
Food won’t be the only attraction at soon-to-open Urban 7 in Scottsdale. There will be world beat dance music, showings by local artists, and fashion shows, too. It’s the vision of Frank & Lupe’s owner Teddy Bernal and his wife Diana Prieto-Bernal, who have transformed the nearby Marshall Way space…
Last fall, when Lisa G Cafe Wine Bar owner Lisa Giungo told me she was selling her business to take a break from the hectic pace of entrepreneurship, it initially struck me as gloomy news, especially considering the work she’d put into transforming the Seventh Street bungalow into a cozy…
Could any restaurant in the Valley possibly be generating more excitement right now than tiny FnB, the cozy, convivial spot that ever-gracious front-of-the-house multitasker Pavle Milic opened late last year with chef Charleen Badman? Not in my book. Local food fanatics are raving about this place, where something as humble as braised…
Just got a last-minute copy of St. Francis’ menu for tonight’s farm and blessing dinner, with organic produce provided by Duncan Trading Co. — pan-roasted sea scallops with lincoln leek puree, beets, and citrus is calling my name . . . FarmBlessing_1Up.pdf…
What a major, major coup for downtown Phoenix. Bob Lynn, the creator of La Grande Orange Grocery — which brought new life to east Phoenix and spawned a busy hub of eateries at 40th Street and Campbell — will be launching a new gastropub by the end of the year…
If rock ‘n roll had an official drink, what would it be? I’ve had countless beer-drenched nights in the more than two decades I’ve been going to rock shows, but these days, a little vino with my music suits me just fine (even if I can’t take a wine glass…
Arizonans have an understandable affinity for all things cold and sweet — hello, that’s a survival mechanism most of the year! — so it’s no surprise that ice cream giant Haagen-Dazs is focusing on our state (along with California, Florida, and New York) to test out a new line called…
St. Francis chef-owner Aaron Chamberlin is hosting a special event on Wednesday, and he doesn’t even know what’s on the menu yet. That’s because he’s waiting to see what kinds of exotic organic produce farmer Patrick Duncan will drop off for his Brophy Farm to Table Dinner. Chamberlin will cook…
The evolution of Mill Avenue continues. While retailers might’ve taken the biggest economic hit along downtown Tempe’s walkable stretch (witness the sad row of empty storefronts just north of P.F. Chang’s), the restaurant scene is burgeoning. Open since Friday, Robbie Fox’s Public House is the newest addition to the mix, giving Rula…
From high-end burgers at swanky steakhouses to chains like Smashburger and Five Guys making their way into the local market, the lust for hamburgers shows no sign of ending. That’s what restaurateur Lobby Syregelas is betting on with his new concept, Lobbys Beef, Burgers, Dogs, which opened late last year…
Man, oh man, was this a hard one. Toughest competition yet. I’ve been angsting all week about picking a winner for our Dip Showdown, where Chow Bella’s ambitious cooks all brought in their own tempting dip recipes, in anticipation of our country’s most dip-worthy holiday, the Super Bowl. (Yes, I…
I have a sneaking suspicion that Chow Bella readers don’t really need an excuse to eat Vietnamese cuisine, but just for fun, why not celebrate the lunar new year at Mekong Plaza’s Tet Festival this weekend? The Mesa Vietnamese shopping center (66 S. Dobson) is already home to a handful of…
Ever been to Pike Place Market in Seattle or Oxbow Market in Napa Valley? Those are models for POOL, a new collaborative market that’s in the works in Mesa. It’s anticipated to open this spring.The 41,000-square-foot space at Stapley and Main Street, which used to be a Mervyn’s, has room…
The urge to eat a good cheeseburger struck me like a lightning bolt the other day — funny how one’s body sneakily finds a way to get back at you for too many days of granola and salads and yogurt. I wound up at Five Guys Burger & Fries on Mill…
I decided to swing by Tammie Coe for a latte and a treat this morning, curious to see the shop’s recent remodel. Even before I walked through the door, the changes were evident, with more umbrella tables and seating on the sidewalk. It feels a lot more like a mini-cafe…
Congrats to “food philosopher” Nikki Buchanan on her two-day-old baby, The Wild Lavender. The longtime local restaurant critic, who freelances for The Arizona Republic’s “Everyday Dining” beat and spent the better part of her career with Phoenix Magazine, just launched her own blog, where she’ll be writing about all the…
I was skeptical. By now, don’t we all have steakhouse fatigue? After three celebrity chefs opened upscale temples to premium beef over the past two years, the news that yet another high-end steakhouse was in the works invited collective head scratching. The fact that Modern Steak is located at a…
No wonder food critics are feeling introspective. Between publishing’s industrywide troubles, the ever-increasing speed (and seemingly decreased value) of online information, the mushrooming presence of food blogs, and the unexpected closure of foodie bible Gourmet Magazine, the future looks like one big question mark — or, for someone like me who’s navigating the busy intersection…
Does the food tax leave a bad taste in your mouth? It’s not too late to do something about it. Yesterday, the Phoenix City Council voted 6-3 to approve a two percent tax on groceries, intended to raise an estimated $62 million over two years to preserve the jobs of cops, firefighters, and other city employees…
Chef Aaron May says he was “being cat and mouse about it,” but his new gastropub Mabel’s on Main opened quietly a week ago, in the Old Town Scottsdale space that used to house Mabel Murphy’s (7018 E. Main). Right now, there are a dozen “gourmet bar snacky” menu items…
