Fresh Baked Gifts: The Irish Car Bomb Cupcake

We’re not quite sure how to classify this one. It’s a cupcake for chocolate lovers, bar flies, and people who generally like to eat rich. The Irish car bomb cupcake is a rich, moist Guinness chocolate cake with a flavorful whiskey chocolate ganache piped in the center and creamy Baileys…

Camelback Inn Launches Meet the Winemaker Series

Joy Sterling​If you’ve ever loved a wine so much that you wanted to meet the crafter of the spirit, now’s your chance to get a little closer to the people who make tasty vino. Rita’s Kitchen at the Camelback Inn is hosting a montly series of “Meet the Winemaker” events,…

Buffet Buff: Oriental Garden Super Buffet

Understandably, there is some major hesitation to give any buffet a five-star rating in the foodie community. There are a lot of moving parts in a good buffet experience, from overall cleanliness to quality and just plain temperature of food. When done right though, Chinese buffets offer the unique chance…

Pollo Asado Feast at Tradiciones

Lunch at Tradiciones, the Mexican restaurant attached to Phoenix Ranch Market at 16th Street and Roosevelt, is always a good lunchtime escape. Somehow it always feels like I have the run of the place (no doubt it’s a huge dining room), and the food is reliably tasty…

Reading: PHX Rail Food

Bickford, a 44-year-old guy who says he’s in a “managerial position at a local institution of higher learning.” He says he started the blog because he loves to eat and is also interested in mass transportation in the Phoenix area. The blog only features restaurants that may be found along…

Pita Jungle Has a Kids Menu — Who Knew?!

Don’t get us wrong. We love Pita Jungle. Adore it. Consider it a civic treasure (treasures, actually, as new locations continue to pop up around our metropolis). We even like to take our kids there, though it’s admittedly a little pricey with no kids menu, an omission we noted when we…

Food Guru Lucinda Scala Quinn To Sign Books in Tempe

Lucinda Scala Quinn, the host of Everyday Food on PBS and Martha Stewart’s food biz guru, is touring the country to promote her new book, “Mad Hungry”, a cook book that teaches how to cook for a family full of hungry men. Quinn will be heading to Changing Hands Bookstore…

Stocking Stuffers: Salt Water Taffy at Sunflower Market

A couple of weeks ago, we happened upon an unusual find at our local Sunflower Market on Southern and McClintock Rd. in Tempe. Plopped in their bulk section, right where we discovered the most amazing chocolate-covered dried cherries on a previous excursion, is a Sweet’s salt water taffy island…

Now Open: Pavle Milic’s FnB

A few weeks ago, we reported on the upcoming opening of former Digestif GM Pavle Milic’s new restaurant, FnB, in Sea Saw’s old spot at 7133 E. Stetson Dr. in Scottsdale. The moment Milic was waiting for has now arrived. FnB (which stands for Food & Beverage, a hat-tip to…

Cranberry-Cornmeal Quick Bread

It’s Monday Night Martha time again. We’ve just finished Thanksgiving and already we have a birthday party to throw for a six year old. With no desire to eat cupcakes right now – though we are making them for the kids – or to sample another piece of pumpkin pie, we…

Raspberry Beret at Furio

This martini is one of Furio’s most popular, and it’s served every Monday night for the Martinis and Manicures night the chic eatery hosts. On Monday nights, enjoy a happy hour menu with specially priced meals, and for $12, score a signature martini along with a manicure done in the…

Soup’s On!: Pho from Khai Hoan

Even temperatures in the 80s can’t stop the feeling of fall. Slowly but surely, we find our tastes drifting from cold to hot, casting aside our iced coffee for a steamy cappuccino. And this time of year always makes us crave a big bowl of hot, homemade soup. One of…

Lamb Curry and Naan at The Dhaba in Tempe

I followed my stomach to Tempe for some chaat — crunchy, spicy-sweet Indian snacks — at The Dhaba. But as it turned out, there was a limited lunch menu that didn’t include them. No worries, though. Lamb curry sounded really appealing, and better yet, for $11, it was a full…

This Week In Chow Bella

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: Caffiend: Carly’s Jamaican Coffee Macayo’s Depot Cantina Tequila Tasting…

Gobble It Up: Better Alternatives to the Leftover Turkey Sandwich

Black Friday sales are underway. Folks are waking up from their food comas. And relatives have literally left the building, inevitably sticking you with tons of leftover food. ​You could be lazy and just resign yourself (and your family) to dry turkey sandwiches, or a straightforward revisitation of last night’s dinner. But if you’re not in…

Grandma’s Punch at Cruisin’ 7th

Julia “Momma Judy” Walker may have three grandchildren, but she’s nothing like your cheek-pinching, Bible-quoting grammy. At the (somewhat ironic) age of 69, Momma Judy manages a gay dive bar in Central Phoenix known for its sexually explicit nightly entertainment (strippers and drag shows), working class clientele, and for being…

Buy Local Starting Today and Save Moolah

Today is the infamous Black Friday, and even if you’re not braving the Wal-Mart madness or the bumper cars of a mall parking lot today, you’ve likely got shopping on the brain. What auspicious timing for Local First Arizona to introduce Buy Local Week, where you can scap up restaurant gift certificates,…

Will Robots Infiltrate the Food Industry?

It’d be a great way to cut labor costs, that’s for sure. This cnngo.com link contains several videos of robots developed in Asia that may help out in the kitchen, including this one: The robots serve up several dishes and cut cucumbers way faster than we ever could. But we’re…

Subway Offers Healthy Late Night Eating

​If you’re craving a fourth meal after partying in Old Town Scottsdale, greasy fast food isn’t your only option. The Subway at Thomas and Scottsdale Roads recently extended their hours until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday, giving healthier dining options to night owls. Subway is a franchise in Arizona, so…

Five Ways to Make Thanksgiving Better With Beer

Thanksgiving is a time for coming together with the ones you love: your friends, your parents, you in-laws, those family friends who are guaranteed to strike up an awkward conversation with you, your crazy uncle who just wants to tell you stories about “the war” (which he may never have…

Behind the Bar: Julia “Momma Judy” Walker at Cruisin’ 7th

Officially, Julia Walker is a mother of three, but through her 25 years serving drinks and providing comfort to Phoenix’s often ignored or disparaged underbelly, she has become “Momma Judy” to thousands. After her 21-year marriage ended, Judy moved to Arizona to be with her two sons. One of her…