Curious what’s in season at the new Calistro California Bistro? Find out from Chef Devin Walsh in this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, and discover the unusual ingredient he uses to make his savory sauces and dressings. Hint: It’s not butter or cream. We’ll also dish deep on a trendy pizzeria and wine bar…
Cute little Bertha’s Cafe is all grown up. The old postage-stamp sized restaurant near the corner of 40th Street and Thomas in Phoenix closed in April when owner Beth Goldwater’s lease was not renewed. Goldwater hustled and found a new spot at 3134 E. Indian School Road near 32nd Street…
It says something when a chef names his restaurant after himself. In our opinion, it says something good. After Bryan Dooley spent 15 years as a chef at the luxurious Fairmont Scottsdale, he opened Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in downtown Cave Creek. Yep, that’s right, barbecue — not chilled soups…
The Crave Arizona culinary festival is 72 days away, so to get the early buzz going, the organizers are having a 72-hour sale on tickets. The price? $72, naturally. It’s a special ticket package (regular price, $100) that includes admission to the event kickoff party and Top Bar Chef Competition,…
You never know where your food obsessions might take you. For Heather Lauer, an enthusiasm for bacon spawned a blog, Bacon Unwrapped (now four years old), which then spawned a book, Bacon: A Love Story. Since blogger Julie Powell followed a similar trajectory with her Julie/Julia Project blog and the…
Food trucks have quite the buzz these days, especially the Kogi Korean BBQ-to-Go trucks in Los Angeles. Rabid fans follow the biz on Twitter and get tweets on where to find Korean shortrib tacos at any given moment. While chowing down on some of Nobuo Fukuda’s badass pork belly buns…
Would you like to know what days your favorite bakery will be serving organic peach pies, topped with whipped creme chantilly? How about the weekly lunch specials, or the latest macaron flavors? Yes, we would too. Tempe’s Essence Bakery Cafe, known as one of the only places in the Valley where…
So, we were poking around on Twitter this morning (it’s Monday), when we came across a challenge so intriguing that we had to pose it to you: Can you come up with a recipe that’s 140 characters or less? The idea is to compile a kind of virtual cookbook made only…
What is there to say about zucchini pancakes? They’re simple, savory and a good complement to grilled fish. It’s also a way to trick your family into eating green vegetables. This is a vegetarian recipe, but not vegan because of the egg. It takes about half an hour from start…
With great food from Daivd Traina and a built-in coffee bar, what other reason could you possibly need to visit Liberty Market? How about the bathrooms? We’re guessing that unless your bathroom has appeared in Dwell magazine, you’ve never seen a potty like the five waiting for you in Liberty…
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: Three Roots Cafe Returns to the Tempe Scene Chef…
I would be remiss not to begin this review by admitting that I’m becoming a bit of a Dogfish Head fan boy. Maybe it was the first sip of the 120 I.P.A. that finally made me a convert. Perhaps it was the subtle blending of chai in the bottle of…
First sushi, then burgers. Now Valley restaurateur Lenny Rosenberg is bringing Mexican food to the northwest corner of Camelback Road and 32nd Street. Currently home to Rosenberg’s Zen 32 and Delux, the shopping plaza will soon house Revolutionary Burritos as well. No menu details yet, but the name is pretty self-explanatory. …
Former Taneko Tavern executive chef Devin Walsh has resurfaced as owner/executive chef at Calistro California Bistro, which opened earlier this week at DC Ranch Crossing in Scottsdale (18221 N. Pima Rd.). Walsh’s menu emphasizes healthful, “farm to table” cooking, with Mediterranean-inspired small plates and appetizers, organic salads, and entrees such…
Chocolate and wine. We can’t think of two better things to spend an evening tasting. Well, we’re in luck. Chef Travis Watson, of Avalon in Scottsdale, is offering one night of just that: Chocolate and wine tasting, complete with petit fours, truffles and pairings, not to mention a how-to and…
Where she grew up in small-town Georgia, Gillian Tervet says, “by middle school, we were drinking whiskey.” “That’s just the way it is in the South.” Next month, when she heads off to Australia for a few months to try her hand at another culture, she’s hoping to land a…
It was a joke, but you’ll understand how disconcerting it was. You’ll also understand how it continued to be disconcerting when approximately thirty seconds later he popped out of the the kitchen to yell “thirty seconds” at us. Here’s the point: we went back this week despite the risk of being…
This is the time of year when folks in Phoenix head for cooler pastures, and it’s time to travel the world if you can. But, if your vacation this summer is a staycation, you can still feed your inner globetrotter by heading to India, Africa, and Russia — via several…
Will there be a stampede for chicken and waffles tomorrow morning when Larry “Lo-Lo” White opens a second location of his popular soul food joint in Scottsdale? Get there bright and early when the doors to the brand-new Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles open at 7 a.m. on Friday, August 7…
Everybody’s a freakin’ genius celebrity chef in this town. Right? I just happened to look at the Twitter profile of a local chef who’s apparently been fed a steady diet of baloney about his alleged greatness, and now seems high on the fumes of his own b.s. Said chef pompously refers to himself in…
Gillian Tervet is one of those girls who’s cool because she’s not trying to be. A bartender-on-the-rise who’s barely old enough to drink her own cocktails (she just turned 21), Tervet has her own style behind the bar. This is a girl from Georgia whose parents don’t drink at all,…
Three months ago, when chef James Porter abruptly shuttered his restaurant Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar, he promised to return later this summer with a brand-new, more budget-friendly French country bistro in Scottsdale. Now, he’s ready to deliver. Petite Maison is officially opening its doors at 5 p.m. on Sunday, August…
