You’ve been holing up and watching too many Phoenix Suns games on TV, folks. Meanwhile, Stoudemire’s Downtown has been hurting for business (as well as dealing with a rent dispute with its landlord, according to ABC 15). The restaurant just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The eatery is owned…
Calling all carnivores in the Camelback Corridor: Hot meat is on the way. Burger chain Smashburger, which recently made Arizona inroads with a Tempe location that debuted this fall, plans to open another restaurant at 1949 E. Camelback Rd., #164, in February 2010, according to its new Series 12 liquor…
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: Pistachio Martini at Roaring Fork Hot Tamales in Time…
5th and Wine, the new restaurant from the folks behind Humble Pie pizzeria, is open for business now, and the proprietors have passed along their new menu for Chow Bella readers to drool over: 5th%20and%20Wine.pdfLocated at 7051 E. 5th Ave. in Scottsdale, in the spot that used to be Fine’s Cellar,…
Seems like every year I tell Chow Bella readers when to get their vote on with local food mag Edible Phoenix’s Local Hero Awards, where readers are invited to participate in recognizing the area’s hardest-working food producers by simply submitting write-in nominations on the mag’s website.This year, I’m a little…
Since I first visited Japan 18 years ago, I’d only ever seen the faint outline of Mount Fuji through the clouds. Last week, though, I got a clear view of the iconic Fuji-san on three different occasions — too exciting! This was the first one, taken from the window of…
Sweets and holidays go hand-in-hand, and Tammie Coe Cakes has made their collection of cupcakes, cookies and cakes even sweeter with winter-themed goodies…
We walked in to Z Tejas expecting a Winter menu full of heavy, comfort foods. Stuffing your face with carb and fat-laden dishes is why we celebrate the holidays, right? What we found instead were dishes that provide that satisfying sense of holiday comfort with a fresh edge more akin…
This week’s cafe column uses the phrase “style over substance” to describe Hula’s Modern Tiki. Talk about being off to a bad start. Writer Wynter Holden, filling in for critic Michele Laudig, on Hula’s Modern Tiki: The coconut shrimp rolls arrived so overdone that I was surprised our server didn’t…
Get ready to say a mouthful as the Scottsdale Culinary Institute changes its name to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Maybe we should be excited–Julia Child, who was featured in the now-on-DVD movie Julie & Julia, attended the Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. There are currently nearly 30…
Few foods remind us of our childhood as much as fluffy, thick french toast. On Saturday mornings when we’d been especially good lately, Mom would soak some leftover bread in thick, eggy batter and serve french toast piping hot with cinnamon sugar or maple syrup, depending on our mood. It was wonderful. This week,…
I’ve been going to Japan every year for quite a while now, but I never get tired of a plate of sashimi this gorgeous. This was just the first of many courses at the fabulous Yamadaya, an izakaya near the famous Tsukiji fish market that chef Nobuo Fukuda had recommended…
Editor’s note: Michele Laudig is on vacation. Her column will return next week. A couple of weeks ago at lunch, a foodie friend and I lapsed into our monthly debate on the merits of Emeril vs. Rachael Ray. Emeril’s a fine chef, though I’d rather follow his recipes than watch…
We’re headed into Wednesday night, and that means the Downtown Phoenix Public Market on Central Ave. will be opening in less than an hour. From 4-8 p.m. this evening, the market is hosting two free wine tastings. Sam and Dana Pillsbury of Pillsbury Wine Company will be pouring wines from their Arizona…
Headed to Glendale for a game, but don’t want to deal with screaming bar crowds or kitschy tropical decor? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we’ll profile a hot West Valley restuarant that’s big on elegance, romance and traditional Italian food. We’ll also have the scoop on a local chef…
At Caffe Boa, executive chef Payton Curry (whom we profiled yesterday in Chef Chat) uses farm-fresh, local ingredients in his dishes, and these two recipes are no exception. The Fall Panzanella Salad features products that are in season right now, so if you want the freshest dish available, head to a…
You might think Valley diners are all about greasy Mexican food or gigantic chain restaurant-style portions, but a new study by Dole Fresh Vegetables claims Phoenicians are among the top salad eaters in the nation…
Early this morning, a small kitchen fire broke out at Durant’s, the legendary lounge that hosted the likes of Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne in its heyday. The blaze was quickly contained by firefighters, but there was some minor damage to the building’s roof and ventilation system. No one was…
Thanks to Payton Curry, the 30-year-old executive chef at Caffe Boa, the Valley’s dining scene is becoming more local-oriented due to his “locavore” approach. And to think that he almost didn’t make the move to the Valley. “I was scared shitless,” Curry says about moving here from San Francisco. “One of…
Ed Mabrey The CEO/founder of Black Pearl Productions LCC, which is the parent company for Black Pearl Poetry Tempe Thursdays and Black Pearl Poetry Phoenix Fridays, as well as the home of the ASU Sun Devil Poetry Slam Team, the Phoenix Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Team, and the Phoenix…
Word has come in from family in Denver that the temperature’s in the single digits. We’d swear it’s that cold here. We even have the long johns out, and we’re taking a vow to stay indoors til spring. Looking to curl up with good blog? Let us recommend one of our…
Baking for vegans may seem like a task, but ever since we made a gaggle of vegan buddies, it’s become a necessary evil. Really, it isn’t that difficult to do, with the help of some simple tricks like using Earth Balance in the place of butter and replacing eggs with…
