We’ve heard of cucumber cocktails and avocado martinis, but how’s this for drinkable veggies: Gold Madras from Maizie’s Café & Bistro features spuds, since it uses Karlsson’s Gold Vodka, which is distilled from virgin new potatoes and tastes sort of chocolate-y. Vodka can also be made from grain, rye, and wheat…
At the start of the 2009 football season, Kabuki Japanese Restaurant in Glendale and Tempe introduced a Game Day promo where sushi slash football fans could take advantage of “buy one, get one for a dollar” sushi and drink specials while watching a Cardinals game on Kabuki’s flatscreens. Problem was, most of…
So we know we’ve given Baiz Market four Best Of awards since 2005, but we really can’t get enough of this place. The unique selection of Middle Eastern food combined with fresh produce and a wide variety of tasty cheeses and grains really has no rival in the Valley. Not…
For anybody who thought caffeinated mints and granola bars were wacky, I’ve got three words for you: caffeinated beef jerky.Yes, seriously. It would seem that the number of consumables powered up with caffeine knows no end: coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, Midol menstrual relief pills, chocolate, mints, and now, Perky…
With an open mind, and possibly a little liquid courage, we’re looking to discover those dumpy but delicious places that we might never set foot in alone. We’ve gathered a group of adventurous souls for cocktails and dive eating, and we’re calling it the Dive Bar Dinner Club. For…
“It tastes like Chocolate World,” she said referring to Rogue Brewing’s Chocolate Stout. Not having been there ourselves, we asked our dining companion to elaborate on the Pennsylvania-based chocolate theme park that (apparently) takes one on a delicious journey from growing cacao through to the consumption of a delicious chocolate…
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,…
The holidays are in full swing. While kids are dreaming of Lego sets and Bratz dolls and parents are hoping for the latest techie gadgets, foodies are dreaming of sugarplums. Or truffles. Or sushi. Or pork belly… To get you in the holiday spirit, we created a Christmas song based…
Last week: Flicka’s Baja Cantina in Scottsdale…
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…
One of the most crucial tenets of bartending (after knowing how to make drinks and faking interest in customers’ sob stories) is to never stop learning, whether it’s a new drink recipe or a lesson in human behavior. After a decade of slinging drinks at Phoenix dive/neighborhood bars, “Evil” Jeannie…
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…
After hours of logging in shopping time for others, it’s always nice to treat yourself, too. And at Scottsdale Jean Company, you can score a $10 discount on denim by bringing in a non-perishable food item. All donations go to Vista del Camino service center of Scottsdale, and the goods…
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…
Here’s yet another way to keep on giving this holiday season. This Saturday, December 12, select downtown Phoenix proprietors are donating 10 percent of their sales to the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC). It’s all in conjunction with the Second Saturday Sidewalk Sale, where merchants and art galleries…
Being a Phoenician ain’t easy; you have to know about every under-the-radar spot in the Valley, remember the names of everyone you meet, financially support every new local business that springs up, mourn the loss of every local business that goes under, and try not to pick up a bad…
