Local food blogger Dominic Armato is a gastro-geek on a mission. He wants to build a grassroots coalition of people who are passionate about food, and to that end, he has launched a discussion board called PHXfoodnerds.com His aim is to bring Phoenix food-lovers together for food-related events, impromptu restaurant…
Fava beans — quite possibly the spookiest legumes of all time. Remember Hannibal Lecter, who scared the bejeezus out of Clarice (and the rest of us) when he deadpanned, “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti”? And then that little slurpy noise he made after?…
Larry White, Jr. Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles 10 W. Yuma Street, Phoenix 602-340-1304 and 2765 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-945-1920 www,loloschickenandwaffles.com This is part two of my interview with Larry White, Jr. (Lo-Lo), the owner of Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles. In case you missed it, you can read part…
Okay, so you took Chow Bella’s advice and went out to a local farm to pick some peaches. Now you’ve got a crap-ton of them, they’re getting softer by the minute and you’d like to use ’em before you lose ’em. Enter chef-owner Justin Beckett of Beckett’s Table, who has…
Larry White, Jr. Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles 10 W. Yuma Street, Phoenix 602-340-1304 and 2765 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-945-1920 www.loloschickenandwaffles.com This is part one of my interview with Larry White, Jr. (Lo-Lo), the owner of Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles. You can read part two of the interview here…
Larry White Jr. (better known as Lo-Lo) has big plans for the original Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles, the hugely successful business he opened in a tiny house in downtown Phoenix 10 years ago. By Labor Day weekend, the fried chicken king will have moved the original operation to a larger…
It’s soft-shell crab season now until the end of summer, which means we’re going to be seeing lots of it on local menus — usually served lightly battered and deep-fried, always eaten whole. The good news? No futzing around with crab-crackers. The bad news? Having to eat those beady little…
Arizona Spring Restaurant Week begins on Saturday, May 19, and ends the following Sunday, May 27, and my response to that supposedly good news is a great big whoop-de-do. If memory serves, we had another Restaurant Week in September. Do we really need two of these blowout tent sales in…
Spring is fast becoming a distant memory, but Dwayne Allen and Danielle Leoni of The Breadfruit and Rum Bar captured a lovely bit of it and stuck it in a jar. About two months back, they found a lemon tree loaded with blossoms (more on that momentarily). What they eventually…
Lori Hashimoto Hana Japanese Eatery 5524 N. Seventh Avenue 602-973-1238 www.hanajapaneseeatery.com This is part two of my interview with Lori Hashimoto, co-owner and sushi chef at Hana Japanese Eatery. In case you missed it, you can read part one of my interview with Lori Hashimoto of Hana Japanese Eatery, which…
Lori Hashimoto Hana Japanese Eatery 5542 N. Seventh Avenue 602-973-1238 www.hanajapaneseeatery.com This is part one of my interview with Lori Hashimoto, co-owner and sushi chef of Hana Japanese Eatery. You can read part two of the interview with Lori Hashimoto of Hana Japanese Eatery here. To understand Lori Hashimoto, you…
When news broke last week that Urban Grocery and Wine Bar was closing, it didn’t take long for the rumor to start circulating that an undisclosed chef had expressed interest in the space. Turns out, the rumor was true. Aaron Chamberlin, chef-owner of St. Francis, confirms for Chow Bella that…
It’s been nearly a week since news broke that the Urban Grocery will be closing Saturday, May 12, at 5 p.m. Now that the dust has settled and tempers have cooled, it’s easier to see why. And why it’s highly unlikely — despite all petitions, protests, and the creation of…
The Chef: Christopher Gross The Restaurant: Christopher’s Restaurant The Animal: Pig The Dish: Pied de cochon Chef Christopher Gross can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear — or a pig trotter for that matter. And he does it often, featuring pied de cochon (the pretty French word…
Sleepy Cave Creek wakes up fast Wednesday afternoons, when a Valley cooking legend with a hard-to-forget stage name shows up at Janey’s Coffeehouse with 50 loaves of freshly baked bread. Joe Daigneault is only Joe Daigneault to his creditors and his mother. To the rest of the world, he’s Mad…
This just in: Valley chef Kevin Binkley — the guy pretty much everyone agrees owns the best restaurant in Arizona — did not win the 2012 James Beard Best Chef Southwest award this year. Instead, the honors went to Paul Qui, executive chef of Uchiko in Austin, Texas. Last year,…
In this new series, Chow Bella blogger Nikki Buchanan shares what’s hot right now — and we’re not talking about the temperature. Whether it’s the latest trendy ingredient or the right dish for the season, she’ll give you the backstory and where in town you can find it. It’s official…
Friday afternoon, Dan Klocke, board president of Community Food Connections — the group that runs the Downtown Phoenix Public Urban Grocery and Wine Bar — announced the grocery will close May 12. Calls and messages Friday to executive director Cindy Gentry and others associated with the grocery have not been…
Social media experts often recommend that restaurateurs get interactive with customers through Yelp, Facebook, and Twitter. Well, how’s this for good old-fashioned interaction? Chrysa Robertson, chef-owner of Rancho Pinot in Scottsdale, does what she calls “backyard barter” — encouraging customers and friends to bring her the surplus fruits and veggies…
When pizza guru/restaurateur Chris Bianco brought chef Claudio Urciuoli onboard to run his generically named Italian Restaurant — which opened in Central Phoenix last January — the partnership promised to be interesting, at the very least. Both men have earned stellar reputations for their meticulous sourcing, and both have definite…
Editor’s Note: We inadvertently reported that Breakfast Club hadn’t yet opened at CityScape. The error has been fixed. Chef-restaurateur Aaron May got a little surprise late last week from RED Development, the commercial real estate company behind CityScape in downtown Phoenix. The larger-than-life owner of Vitamin T, a taco shop…
May 27 no doubt will be a dark day for Tucson food lovers. Two of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants — Janos and J Bar — will serve their last suppers on May 26 before permanently shuttering their doors at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. In a phone…
