Digestif is downsizing. Later this month, chef Payton Curry will be working the display kitchen at the former Sea Saw location on Stetson Drive, pending the sale of restaurateur Peter Kasperski’s two SouthBridge restaurant spaces, the current Digestif and the half-finished space that would have become Mexican Standoff. (Plans for…
Unbelievable. We made it almost all the way to July without going up in flames. But now the heat is on, and compared to the balmy, record-breaking low temperatures of May and June, it feels more hellish than ever. Who wants to slave in the kitchen over a hot stove?…
Ooh, I can almost feel the grease on my fingers at the thought of another Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles. You heard me. Another Lo-Lo’s. In Scottsdale, if you’ll believe it. The expanded second location of Larry “Lo-Lo” White’s popular Phoenix soul food joint — frequented by sports celebs and nameless…
West of Western is no more at the Phoenix Art Museum, but the show must go on. The fifth annual installment of the popular culinary festival took place at the museum this past March. In March 2010, look for an all-new culinary fest at the museum called “Devoured,” sponsored by…
Talk about a sweet gig. Acclaimed pastry chef Tracy Dempsey has just signed on as “guest chef” at Udder Delights, a gourmet ice cream shop in Gilbert (1385 E. Warner Rd., 480-507-3859), in honor of National Ice Cream Month. Owners Sherene Robinson and Casey Stechnij enlisted Dempsey to create new…
Is Scottsdale so 2008? It’s a fair question, given all the Scottsdale-based restaurateurs who are eyeing central Phoenix for their newest ventures for 2010 and beyond. Chef Aaron May, Sam Fox, and Kyle Shivers are the latest to sign on at CityScape, the ambitious 1.8 million square foot downtown development that’s replaced Patriot’s Square…
More to love, baby. It’s always fun to report on a new restaurant opening, but this tidbit is particularly delectable because it’s all about tortas. Tortas El Guero, that is. Last week, the Mexican sandwich shop just opened its fifth Valley location, at 4121 E. Thomas Road (602-840-2889). It’s no…
You want to see locally owned restaurants thrive? Put your money where your mouth is. The folks at Local First Arizona would be happy to help. Once again, they’ve organized dozens of local businesses for the annual Independents Week — going on now through July 5. Visit the website, and you…
Who needs Restaurant Week to get a taste of some of the swankiest spots in town? Instead of waiting until September, lots of local restaurants are promoting special prix fixe deals right now — a great way to sample the offerings at a sweet discount. J&G Steakhouse just announced its…
The new iPhone is a lust-worthy gizmo to begin with, but if you’re into food and wine, there are even more reasons to chuck your Crackberry and give in to Apple: the apps. One of the newest ones, WinePhD, was created by two locals, sommelier Brian Pierce and his business partner/co-inventor Dave…
Been hungry for Thai food lately? If so, call yourself a trendsetter. This is purely anecdotal, but it seems to me that there’s been a visible proliferation of Thai restaurants across the Valley in the past few years, even more so than sushi bars or Vietnamese pho joints. There are…
Four Seasons pastry chef Lance Whipple’s fondant-covered, seven-tiered chocolate praline hazelnut crunch cake — inspired by Rio de Janeiro — won “best in show” at yesterday’s Confectionary Creations and Table Top Decor Competition, hosted at the Arizona Grand Resort by the National Association of Catering Executives. What’s just as impressive…
Joe and Myrah Aiello just dropped a line to say that they’ve finally launched their “back door pizzeria,” a takeout-only pizza biz that they’re literally doing from the back of their Italian restaurant on Central Avenue. There are 16 different toppings available on New York-style and Sicilian pizzas — and…
The Food Network has certainly found its fair share of TV fodder from Valley restaurants; will it find a future TV personality here, too? Maybe so — the popular reality series The Next Food Network Star is coming to town July 8 for an open casting for its 2010 season. “We…
Old Town Scottsdale is having a rough time of it lately. Just up the street from the recently-shuttered Fine’s Cellar is another defunct restaurant, Mandala Tearoom. As much as I liked hanging out and having a pot of tea there, I thought Mandala’s vegan eats were pretty pricey — not…
Food Inc., the documentary film that’s got major, major buzz right now, is indeed opening at Harkins Camelview — but not until July 24, according to Magnolia Pictures. If you want to see it sooner than that, you’ll have to go to pretty much any other major or minor city in…
June 27 will be Barcelona’s last night in business before the North Scottsdale restaurant/club closes for renovations over the summer, reports the Phoenix Business Journal today. Designer Dodd Mitchell is handling the renovation, which is expected to take about three months. No word yet on what the new concept (and, quite possibly,…
What happens when you get a bunch of chefs from notable local restaurants, you put them on a trolley, and you take them bar-hopping downtown? I don’t know, but there should be some sort of cheeky punchline here. Anyway, it sounds like a fun time, and it’s happening tomorrow night…
AZCentral’s list of 20 new restaurants scheduled to open by the end of the year has suddenly been changed to 15 since the story was posted yesterday. Not hard to figure out which five are now missing — it’s the restaurants on Jackson that Bernie Kantak is planning. Should we read between the…
Sometimes Phoenix can be a tough nut to crack. When it comes to finding the most intriguing local restaurants, this is like few other cities. You can’t just head downtown and stumble upon streets lined with eateries. You can’t explore an area and figure it out in an afternoon. Things…
I don’t think “tapas” when I think of NOCA, but the new “Bar Bites” Thursdays are all about the small plates — that is, if you get a reservation to sit at the counter, and if they’re not doing a special tasting menu that night. It’s a fun way to…
For a full week in July (the 20th through 26th), the popular website Yelp will be sponsoring its own restaurant week, Yelp Eats!, showcasing 15 local restaurants that will offer three-course prix fixe menus for only $25 per person. Thanks to the crappy economy, restaurants have been dishing out prix fixe…
