12 Foods For Xmas I Wish My True Love Gave to Me (Finale!)

To get you in the holiday spirit, we created a holiday song based around local foods we’d love to get for Christmas — sung to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Could be some good gift ideas for food lovers, or places to treat your sweetie to a post-holiday dinner. So far, we’ve brought you…

Tempe Bakery Offers Pork Buns, Pies for Pennies

We grew up in New York, where ethnic bakeries were practically on every corner. When Mom showed up with a white bakery box in hand, wrapped neatly with a red-and-white striped string bow, we knew we were in for a treat. Creamy cannoli with chocolate chips. Raspberry jelly-laced rainbow layer cookies…

Just the Right Candy for You

The holidays inevitably mean lots of candy and chocolate to go around, but it’s not always easy to choose just which type of goody to stuff your face with. While we’ve attempted candy binges before, maybe it’d be a good idea to take a look at this chart from www.eatingtheroad.wordpress.com…

Behind the Bar: Jennifer Banaszewski at Casey Moore’s

When informing a potential love interest of your plans to hit Casey Moore’s this weekend, there’s no romantic deal-breaker quite like the “Who’s Casey?” response. The neighborhood bar housed in a historical property built in 1910 is as much a Tempe landmark as the old flour mill, but pulls a…

The Provisional Poet: Holiday Log Cake

Billy-Boy Wordsworth defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Fitting then, we should apply this definition when we speak of fabulous fare. See if you can relate to this week’s victual verse and feel free to pen a few lines of your own, should you be so inspired…

Jell-O Showdown: And the Winner Is . . .

Today I’m counting my Christmas blessings, and they’re named Jonathan, Wynter, Cheri, and Laura. These overachieving Chow Bella contributors went above and beyond for our Jell-O Showdown, where each of them brought a tasty, Jell-O-centric dessert to the office one day, all in the hopes of getting some blog props…

Jell-O Showdown: Scented English Creams

Not satisfied with competing in the art of making stuffing, the Chow Bella staff is at it again. This showdown is all about Jell-O. So far we’ve brought you Sparkling Grapefruit Pie and Berry Good Holiday Pie, and Jell-O shooters. Today we head to the UK for some inspiration in the…

Next Week: Sucker Punch Sally’s Opening on Mill

Local old-school chopper manufacturer Sucker Punch Sally’s is branching out into restaurants with Sucker Punch Sally’s Old-School Diner, set to open for dinner on New Year’s Eve at the corner of Mill Avenue and University in Tempe. The former Ruby Tuesday’s will now be decorated with vintage motorcycles and Fender…

Battle of the Pecan Pie

In honor of the season, we figured this week’s Battle of the Dishes should spotlight a treat we find on our own holiday dinner table every year. Pecan pie is a guilty pleasure — thick, rich and chock full of enough calories to bust any “this year I’ll stick to my…

Next Week: Caffe Boa Set to Open New Mesa Location

‘Tis the season for a soft opening. On Tuesday, popular Tempe restaurant Caffe Boa is ready to open a second location, Boa Bistro, at Mesa’s Village at Las Sendas Center (2837 N. Power Rd.), pending final building inspections with the city.  …

Orange Table for Under $10

Orange Table is a little hard to find, as it’s tucked away in the Scottsdale Mall, but it’s well worth the search because it provides a great lunch for less than $10. It’s close to Pepin–just look for the, what else, orange tables populating the eatery. The place has a…

Now Open: Oakville Grocery

Just in time for holiday food shopping — and refueling after hitting the malls — Oakville Grocery opens today at the Scottsdale Quarter, 15015 N. Scottsdale Rd. The gourmet specialty store, founded in Napa Valley, boasts two well-known local talents on its staff, chef Walter Sterling (Autostrada, Sol y Sombra,…

Day Drinker: Royale Lounge

Who says you have to wait until the sun goes down to have a good time? Sunday night, after watching Two Weeks in Hell, a show about the brutal, two-week tryouts for wanna-be Green Berets, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. after dreaming about killing zombies with my bare hands…

Chef Chat: BJ Hernandez’s Pollo Cubano

When BJ Hernandez, chef and owner of the three Havana Cafe locations in the Valley, started making this recipe, it was only because it was a special she created for her guests. Now, it’s her most popular dish at the restaurants and has found a permanent home on the menu…

Sweet Republic Headed to TLC

It’s no secret that we adore Sweet Republic’s artisan ice cream. Their delicious desserts were picked up by Whole Foods. The shop made it onto Bon Appetit’s list of the 10 Best Ice Creams in the nation. And now owners Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp are headed to the big leagues. Sweet Republic will be featured on an upcoming…

Guess That Gadget

How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? Can you tell a melon baller from a cookie scoop? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer. Here are a few of our guesses. Feel free to add yours below: – “How Would…

Closed for Business: 98 South Wine Bar & Kitchen

Sometimes a particular restaurant location just seems cursed. Such is the case with 98 South Wine Bar & Kitchen, the Chandler bistro which was originally opened by restauranteur Ron Wojcicki of KiZake and 56 East. The restaurant folded in October of 2008 after Wojcicki filed for bankruptcy, and reopened under new ownership this spring. Less…

Fresh Baked Gifts: Chocolate and Peppermint Shortbread Cookies

One thing that we always crave this time of year is shortbread cookies. The buttery, crumbly cookie is the perfect canvas for any flavoring. For our purposes, we took dark chocolate and drizzled it over the cookies, then sprinkled on some crunched up candy canes, and topped it all with…

Chef Chat: BJ Hernandez, Havana Cafe

It’s hard to believe BJ Hernandez never went to culinary school, considering the recipes she’s created and adopted from her family have kept customers coming back to the Valley’s three Havana Cafe locations for 20 years. Hernandez, who in a previous life was an art teacher for grade and high…

Jell-O Showdown: Cosmo Bites

Not satisfied with competing in the art of making stuffing, the Chow Bella staff is at it again. This showdown is all about Jell-O. So far we’ve brought you Sparkling Grapefruit Pie and Berry Good Holiday Pie. Today things get a little naughty with cosmopolitan-inspired Jell-O shooters. Come and get ’em,…