The Fair Trade Cafe Would Like to Clarify Some Points About Its Former Tenant, The Sweetness, Going Out of Business: “We Gave Him Various Opportunities…He Rejected All of Our Offers”

At the end of September, The Sweetness, the ice cream shop located inside Fair Trade Cafe’s First Avenue and Roosevelt location, shuttered after being open less than a year. “It’s not out of business. It is just homeless for the time being,” says owner Jesse Robinson on The Sweetness’ website…

Aaron May Dishes On Being a Chef, a Restaurateur and a Party Boy

Aaron May Praying Monk 7217 E. 1st Street, Scottsdale 480-398-3020 www.scottsdalemonk.com See also: — Celeb Chefs Matt Carter, Beau MacMillan and Aaron May Cooking Up Four-Course Brunch at Superstition Farm — Aaron May Heads Kitchen at Former Renegade Canteen, Now Called Renegade Tap + Kitchen — Tastemaker #76: Anthony Patafio…

Upscale Italian Restaurant Coming to North Scottsdale

New York-based Bice Restaurant Group, which operates a chain of 30 restaurants in the United States and internationally, has got its sights set on North Scottsdale. Specifically in the Citadel on the northwestern corner of Pima and Pinnacle Peak roads, where it intends to open Bice Ristorante, a high-end Italian…

Chimi Challenge: Macayo’s vs. El Molino

Everybody tells the same story about how the chimichanga was invented: somebody accidentally dropped a meat-filled burrito into a fryer. And according to the publicity machine for Macayo’s Mexican Kitchen, that somebody was its founder Woody Johnson, who opened his first restaurant here in Phoenix in 1946 and made serendipitous…

10 Best Things I Ate in September

Oh, hey, hi there! September’s officially in the books. Which means it’s a perfect time to look back on all the great food I ate and share some of my favorites. There’s a little of everything here — new restaurants, reviewed restaurants, and places I’ve popped into just because. It’s…

Five Things to Eat and Drink This Weekend

Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out what’s on our plate. See also: – La Fonda Restaurant Resurfaces in New Tempe Location: Grand Opening Celebration This Weekend – Timo: Happy Hour Report Card Complimentary Wedding Cake at Los Sombreros The woman…

Miller Market on 1st Street Held at JAM in Old Town Tonight

Tonight — from 5 to 8 pm — Shauna Kupetz of JAM and Traci Zitzer of Urban Table Larder (a cool provisions store within JAM) are co-hosting their second Miller Market on 1st Street,, which Kupetz maintains is not a regular farmers market but rather a community event bringing art…

Ncounter: Mediocrity Strikes (Again) on Tempe’s Mill Avenue

Mediocrity. It’s one thing Tempe’s Mill Avenue doesn’t need any more of. And when it comes to restaurants, let’s face it: Mill’s selection of street eats seem more apropos to safe and sensible pant suit suburbia than walking distance from thousands of students attending one of the nation’s largest universities…

AndyTalk: Baby Bok Choy, Your New Favorite

I’m sharing three baby bok options that take less than 10 minutes from start to finish. In any of the recipes you can use full size bok choy, cut into one-inch pieces, but it’s less tender and will take four minutes in the skillet instead of two.

Beaver Choice Moving to Mesa in February

“Choosing a restaurant is like choosing a husband,” says Hanna Gabrielsson, “you just know which one is right for you.” See also: Beaver Choice Serves Up Swedish Fare That’s Too Good to Keep Secret Tastemakers 2012: Hanna Gabrielsson Gabrielsson, owner and chef of Beaver Choice, the quirky eatery in Tempe…

Meat Shot Glasses. Yeah, You Read that Right. And We’ve Got the Recipe.

It just doesn’t make sense: There’s meat, there’s alcohol, and yet for some reason, our stomachs are turning. See Also: Ten Favorite Phoenix Meat Shops Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shot Glasses. That’s Right. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shot Glasses. Chocolate-dipped Bacon S’mores & Coconut Cake at Beckett’s Table What may be the…

Ncounter: Another Run-of-the-Mill Restaurant on Mill

This is an average sandwich: It is called a Gruyère Ham Stack. Classified as a hot sandwich, in this case, it is merely warm. The “stack” portion of its moniker might better refer to its overabundance of arugula than the ham, which tastes more of salt than pork. The Gruyère…

VegCo Market, 100% Plant-Based Store Opening Early 2013

For a while now, we’ve been hearing about a 100% plant-based supermarket planning to open in early 2013 in a space just south of Central and McDowell. It’s called VegCo and they already have a big social media following with over 1500 likes on their Facebook page. See also: -…

What’s Your Go-To Beer?

Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here. When it comes to sucking down a cold one, we…

DIY Pumpkin Latte

I’ve been seeing pumpkin recipes on Pinterest for over a month now. I’m not sure why, but I’ve chosen to resist it. “It’s too dang early!” But not anymore… See also: – Iced Coffee All Day, Every Day – Thanks to Pinterest – Whipping Up that Bourbon Chocolate Milkshake from…