High hopes: Chef Michael DeMaria and business partner Brandon Maxwell at the future site of two new restaurants So it was true after all. A month ago, I’d gotten word that chef Michael DeMaria would be closing Michael’s at the Citadel to make way for a new restaurant venture. When…
Krimpets: Best snack ever After sending a few emails back and forth about hoagies, I found out from a fellow East Coast native that Tastykakes, some of my favorite junk food from back home, are actually available at Corleone’s cheesesteak places around here. Has anybody else spotted them lately? I…
On one of the recent nights I visited Skye, the flashy new fine-dining destination in Peoria, the place was abuzz with rumors of a celebrity in the house. One of my friends did a little reconnaissance on her smoke break. “So, I was standing there, minding my own business,” she…
I love how Changing Hands Bookstore has been doing more cookbook and food-related events lately, especially since they feed guests instead of merely making them drool over the pretty pictures. This week’s big event is a reception and dinner with chef Roberto Santibanez, a Mexico City native and culinary director…
It’s pretty obvious from my recent review of Pink Taco that a little sexual innuendo goes a long way in the restaurant biz, even when the food’s an afterthought. Now there’s a new game in Scottsdale, promising an even ballsier menu (accidental pun, but it works) than Pink Taco. I’ve…
I could probably devote my entire job to visiting all the Japanese places opening around the Valley these days. Even for an avid sushi eater like me, it’s a lot to keep up with. How’s a girl supposed to tell them apart? Well, short of going there, it sure helps…
Twenty-five years ago, when Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso published the The Silver Palate Cookbook, they had no idea it would make them famous. But people took to it for both its accessibility as well as its variety of sophisticated dishes made easy. Now a classic, their recipe collection has…
The fish was big, but not this big! …you see the chef hoist a three-foot-long section of fish onto the counter, still intact! I’m talking skin, fins, tail ‘n all. My friend and I met up for lunch at Hana Sushi, that brand-new place at the NW corner of 7th…
Johnny Chu’s so excited about his upcoming projects that he’s gotten me all excited, too. The chef/owner of Fate, the hip Asian eatery on 4th Street between Garfield and Roosevelt, has had a busy last three months, traveling all over the place for culinary research. And next month, he’ll be…
For all I’ve heard about Pink Taco in the year since it opened, there hasn’t been a peep about the food. Numerous feats of PR brilliance have landed the restaurant in the national media spotlight — Pink Taco CEO Harry Morton’s famous spat with Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross over the…
My copies of the Lonely Planet Barcelona and Buenos Aires editions went like hotcakes, but I still have two of the Bangkok guides left. Please write to me if you want one! I keep looking at them and now I can’t get “One Night in Bangkok” out of my head…
Courtesy of the James Beard Foundation Cheers to the winner: Chef Nobuo Fukuda savors the sweet taste of victory. Yeah, Arizona messed with Texas — where all of this year’s other James Beard “Best Chef — Southwest” nominees are from — and came out ahead. At last night’s 2007 James…
Lonely Planet digs up a few hotel gems. There’s no rule that says I can’t make a New Year’s resolution in May, right? Well, from now on, I’m going to start giving away more free stuff to Chow Bella readers. I’ll make it as easy and painless as possible –…
This morning, my voicemail box was bursting with messages about The Big Chill, and a lot of the callers wanted to know the same thing: Where is Arlecchino? (Most people said they liked the piece, but one guy had the nerve to say that my omission of an address was…
I’ve always been amused by the way overachieving types tack together their job titles and hobbies with a bunch of slash marks. It’s never good enough to be one thing — you need to be at least two or three. Models want to be actors, actors want to be musicians,…
Just got this note from a hungry New Times reader (see below). I can think of a lot of great meat-free Mexican dishes out there, but honestly I haven’t paid much attention to who makes truly vegetarian rice and beans. Does anybody have any suggestions? If so, please comment so…
After wracking my brains to come up with a happy hour destination yesterday — I ended up at Durant’s, happily — I thought I’d blog ‘n bitch about how too many of my central Phoenix favorites are closed on Mondays. Drives me crazy. But I’ll save that one for another…
DIY Vietnamese noodle soup? Sign me up. The other day, I got a lovely email from Ken Brown, who read my recent review of Dragonfly Vietnamese Kitchen and decided to drop a line. “I’m the Will Rogers of VN (or SE Asian or Korean) restaurants,” he writes. “I’m so glad…
Finger lickin’ good: Ethiopian food by the handful at Blue Nile Yes, I’ve been a blog slacker the past few days. I’ve been an email slacker, too, and a flat-out voicemail ignorer (is that a word?). Next week, you’ll see why. Anyway, yeah, I’ve been a little sidetracked, but not…
It’s a total pain to get anywhere in Tempe, especially when you’re hungry. More and more over the past few months, I’ve found myself avoiding restaurants I’ve frequented for years, unless I could stop by at an off time, or think of a clever route around the mess caused by…
You never know what you’ll learn when you’re inconspicuously munching on fried ama-ebi heads and yellowtail sashimi. The other night, I felt lousy, like I was coming down with something. I’ve been blaming my occasional cough on allergies, but this felt like a real cold. At times like that, I…
There’s a reason they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I don’t think it has anything to do with getting your metabolism revved up. To me, it’s because breakfast food is the only thing that’s appealing ’round the clock — morning, noon, or night…
