Seems like every restaurant in town is doing special holiday prix fixe menus, and going all-out with luxury ingredients and prices to match. Looking for a special-occasion meal with family or your sweetheart? Take your pick — there are some amazing options. It’s to be expected this time of year…
With spots like Lemongrass Thai, Thai Rama, Thai Basil, and Thai Elephant, Tempe is already jam-packed with a lot of Thai dining options, but hey — wouldn’t you just say, “The more, the merrier” if the food is good? Oh, yeah. So welcome Tasty Thai, another place to get your…
Last week I met up with three girlfriends for a fabulous early Christmas treat: a tamale-making class at Barrio Cafe. Chef-owner Silvana Salcido Esparza led a full house through a step-by-step tutorial on creating these scrumptious, bite-sized versions of the traditional Mexican holiday food, and she was a real hoot –…
Christmas comes a little bit early for the folks at Over Easy, who will be featured tonight on The Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Chef Aaron May’s retro-inspired diner, which started off as a breakfast joint but now serves equally decadent lunch fare, is in the spotlight…
Sushi Eye, the popular Tempe sushi restaurant known for its whimsical makizushi like the Orange Blossom roll and Booty Booty roll — plus an upbeat, contemporary vibe — has left its longtime digs on Elliot Rd. and moved to a bigger space in nearby Ahwatukee. Chef-owner Richard Cho hopes to keep the same cozy vibe as the original,…
I wish I had more time to surf the web and find new blogs to read, so thank goodness Chow Bella has outgoing fans who love to share their favorites (along with news, gossip, and their latest dining adventures — I love all of this, btw). A “long-time reader of…
Patrick Boll’s plans weren’t under wraps for long. After finishing his six-month-long stint as chef de cuisine at El Chorro Lodge just a few days ago, he couldn’t immediately go on the record about his new job. But the press release just came out, and it’s official: the Arizona native,…
From Queen Creek Olive Mill extra virgin olive oil to Maya’s salad greens to Meat Shop meats, there’s a lot of good stuff to discover if you want to eat local foods. Even if you want to drink like a locavore, homegrown beers are easy to find, and Arizona wines are growing in…
Pop the Soda shop was always the place where you could find those rare, nostalgic beverages that seem to pre-date beverage behemoths like Pepsi and Coke. Birch beer, sarsaparilla, Moxie, and countless kinds of cola filled the shelves of the longstanding store in South Scottsdale. Now that location has finally closed…
I feel like Charlie finding the Golden Ticket wrapped inside a Wonka Bar, still giddy from my friend’s birthday dinner at Durant’s last night.Yours truly is now the proud owner of a “free lifetime desserts” token. Such a thing seemed mythical to me — the stuff of urban legend.A decade…
Chef-owner Justin Beckett’s much-buzzed-about new eatery, Beckett’s Table, focuses on upscale comfort food. It must be a sign of the times that the most highly anticipated opening of 2010 wasn’t for a high-concept, cutting-edge eatery, or yet another celebrity chef-owned steakhouse. It was for a neighborhood restaurant serving straightforward, unfussy…
Houston’s at the Esplanade closed its doors last night, reports the Phoenix Business Journal, after many years as a favorite haunt for the Camelback Corridor business crowd. Just up the street, though, its sister eatery, Hillstone, has finally opened its doors in a brand-new building situated where Chevy’s Fresh Mex used…
Here’s a kooky gift idea for someone who likes food, is a sucker for cuteness, and has a slightly twisted sense of humor. It’s called a Haminal — a whimsical animal bred to fit perfectly inside a can, according to the story in the accompanying book…
A good friend got word that the cafe at the brand-spanking-new Musical Instrument Museum in North Phoenix (off the 101 and Tatum) was serving up unusually creative fare and using a lot of local ingredients, including MJ Bread, produce from Maya and Seacat Gardens, Queen Creek Olive Oil, meat from…
Two restaurant industry vets have just opened a sleek new Thai restaurant in an Arcadia space that used to be a fast food joint.SaBai Modern Thai, at 4121 E. Thomas Rd., is owned by husband-and-wife team Eric and Atchara (Holly) Willis. He was a manager at Wrigley Mansion for a…
After local philanthropist Jacquie Dorrance bought El Chorro Lodge and sank millions of dollars into a gorgeous renovation, the legendary restaurant opened this past February with new operating partners, Tim and Kristy Moore (formerly of Continental Catering), a new executive chef, Charles Kassels, and plenty of hype and hoopla.But the vast…
I got a laugh at the cover of the Williams-Sonoma holiday catalog.Notice the headline? “Handmade for the holidays.”At first, I thought, isn’t that nice? Giving homemade treats as Christmas presents? I had a momentary vision of spending a leisurely day making goodies to give out, perhaps putting them into some…
Have you been dining out more in 2010? If so, you’re not alone. This past year has seen a slight boost for the state’s restaurant industry, according to a story in this morning’s Republic business section. The Arizona Restaurant Association anticipates annual revenue to total $8.6 billion for 2010, an…
It’s a mac ‘n cheese lover’s dream come true: Seven “cheftestants” serving up their most evil-genius mac ‘n cheese recipes for fame, glory, and bragging rights. All you have to do is show up, stuff your face, and pick your favorite for the People’s Choice award at the Mac ‘n…
A famous name didn’t get Maria Maria very far. The upscale Mexican eatery at Tempe Marketplace — created by legendary musician Carlos Santana and named after his Grammy-winning song — has closed; its phone number is disconnected and the location is no longer listed on the restaurant’s corporate website. The first location of…
As if December didn’t bring enough reasons to throw a party, the folks at Slow Food Phoenix are celebrating local bounty, the people who produce it, and even people who write about it.Local scribes/foodie gals-about-town Sharon Salomon and Gwen Ashley Walters each contributed articles about Phoenix’s food culture (originally published…
Wood-fired cooking is de rigueur at countless Valley restaurants these days, but sous vide preparations are still uncommon enough to catch my attention.What’s sous vide (“under vacuum”)? It’s a method where foods are vacuum-sealed in special plastic bags and cooked in a water bath at a steady temperature that’s much…
