Burgers? Yes, have some. It’s pretty much that simple when it comes to pleasing a pedestrian palette. Yet having a professional food critic recommend a particular burger joint doesn’t hurt either. Food Critic Michele Laudig on The Grind: Truly, from my experience, the best cure for burger fatigue happens to…
Courtesy of Modern Steak Modern Steak’s new sommelier is a real winner. A few years ago at a food festival, I overheard a so-called wine expert ranting about how women were lousy sommeliers. “It’s not their fault of course,” he drawled. “It’s all of those hormones! A woman’s ability to gauge the taste…
We just got word that Verde — contrary to what we said earlier this week — will be opening for breakfast this Saturday morning, May 1st…
It’s sad when independent shops close and leave, but not when they move next door and become something more. Such is the case with the old Drip, now the new Toast on 7th Street. Snuggled into a third the space of Drip, Toast has actually expanded its menu by two thirds…
Waiting an hour and a half at Pizzeria Bianco for a pie (albeit phenomenal) doesn’t make the cut for the Fry Girl All-Star Pizza-On-the-Go team. And with Phoenix’s car culture making walk-up slice sellers non-existent, the question of where to find a piece of scrumptious ‘za between forever and immediately…
Thousand-degree coal-fired ovens — supposedly the only ones of their kind in the U.S. — are a unique kitchen feature at The Grind, a new gourmet burger spot/watering hole at 40th Street and Camelback. But you know what would really set this place apart from the pack? Consistency. These days,…
Real cooks can’t stay out of the kitchen. That’s why four of Chow Bella’s regular contributors have concocted four different types of salsa just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Check in next week to see who won the showdown. Now, someone pass the chips. Today’s salsa: Breakfast Taco Salsa…
Music editor Martin Cizmar’s recent blog on his exploits at the Arizona Barbecue Festival left me craving some rib stickin’, finger lickin’ good food. Whether you prefer your ‘cue dry-rubbed Texas style or coated in sticky sweet sauce like they do it in Kansas City, somewhere in Phoenix they’ve got your fave. My…
It’s nice to see Arizona in the news for good reasons these days. Alice Cooper’stown, the downtown rock n’ roll restaurant slash sports bar owned by legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper, has been named one of the Top 10 Celebrity-Owned restaurants by TripAdvisor.com. Cooper’stown comes in at #8 on the list, which also…
Gretchen Gerber Larsen The improviser performs regularly with Valley Fever Improv and has a show with the Improvised Book Club Sunday, May 23 at 7 p.m. at Space 55 What’d you eat for dinner last night? Carne asada tacos, homemade by my coworker’s wife. Favorite food: Navajo tacos Least favorite…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer, and to see if you’ve won a most-awesome prize. Here are a few shots at this week’s trickster, add yours to the comment box below: -…
Like everyone else on the planet, I can’t wait for Iron Man 2. Every day that goes by without seeing Mickey Rourke cracking electro-whips, portable suitcase Iron Man suits, and Monaco sports car racing is like watching an eternity of The Back-Up Plan trailers. What better way to ease my…
There, there, Jamie, at least you tried. You came up $20,000 short of your financial goal to keep fresh food on the plastic cafeteria trays of Huntington School’s youth, some of the parents called bullshit on your healthy school lunches by sending more of their kids to school with bags…
Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Challenge to the Chefs at the Scottsdale Culinary Fest…
A few weeks ago we brought you the Top 10 Foodie Movies. This time around here are five more films where food is a central theme — though not in the most appetizing of ways. Here’s to a group of films keeping the “taste” in tasteless. 5. Delicatessen (1991): Delicatessen…
Downtown Chandler, already bustling with a dozen restaurants bordering its block-long A.J. Chandler Park, is preparing to welcome yet another: Coach & Willie’s. Eric Stoltz, an owner of the downtown Phoenix tavern, says he and his partner hope to open a second location on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue…
At the moment, Mesa is on the music scene radar for re-opening not one but two venues: The Underground and The NIle Theater. Lucky for us, Michele Laudig has scoped out some tasty eateries to traffic between shows. Food Critic Michele Laudig on eating through Mesa: This exciting art and…
America Corrales of America’s Taco Shop joined us for this week’s Chef Chat. Hope you’re in the mood for a spicy side dish, because she’s about to share the recipe for her famous corn on the cob …..
What kind of food’s served up at Lucky Boy? The answer may not surprise you, but the family serving it will…
When I heard that Kathleen Vanesian was reviewing “Stare,” an exhibition of artist Chris Rush’s work currently up at Mesa Contemporary Arts, I was eager to see what the fuss is about. I’ll leave the art criticism to her, but I will say that Rush’s luminous portraits were astonishing, thought-provoking,…
Some families serve up dinners of macaroni casseroles and meatloaf, but for the Nano family — owners and operators of the Lucky Boy burger joint in central Phoenix — it’s daily doses of creamy shakes, fries smothered in chili and cheese, and a burger called the Lucky International that’ll have…
Yesterday we heard from chef America Corrales of America’s Taco Shop. Today the conversation continues. Sometimes, mom really does know best. Growing up in Mexico, America Corrales learned how to cook most of the items on her menu from her mother. Because of these memories in the kitchen, Corrales says she makes…
