Here’s something fun to put on your calendar: a monthly “Last Saturday Afternoon” wine tasting at Fine’s Cellar in Old Town. That means the event’s coming ’round this weekend again. And for 25 bucks, it sounds like a good deal. Chef Cullen Campbell will roll out a fine lunch spread,…
The Meat Shop (202 E Buckeye Road, 602-258-5075) is all about family. From raising the Yorkshire/Duroc piglets themselves to butchering the bacon to bringing it to their store and Valley farmers markets (Tonopah and Downtown Phoenix), the Wilson family does it together. Famous for their three types of bacon (‘regular’,…
Turnips are usually prepared in potato-like ways — boiled and mashed, creamed, roasted whole, gratinée — but these small, red-on-the-outside “salad turnips,” currently wrapping up their local season, are tender enough to enjoy uncooked, with a mild bite similar to a cabbage heart. Peeled and sliced, the white interior features…
Matt and Erenia Pool plan to open a still-unnamed central Phoenix coffee shop, presumably to tide their fans over between a salami scramble at Matt’s Big Breakfast and a grilled cheese with tomato soup (and an Arrogant Bastard Ale) at The Roosevelt. Matt Pool says he’s putting the new hangout…
If we could remain financially stable and travel around the world, we’d do it in a heart beat and never look back. Sure, we like taking photos and visiting exotic locales, but the real appeal is in the food discoveries we could make. Fusion cuisine doesn’t get any better than…
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: in poetry, song, and most definitely in food. That’s right. They say the path to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but they are fools to think that something delicious won’t score love points with a man’s better half. Perhaps…
Just got the word from Giuseppe’s owner Richard Bock that his tiny Italian eatery on Indian School will be featured in the June 1 episode of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives. The show’s host, Guy Fieri, was in town last October to film the segment. On a related…
There’s a wonderful new restaurant sitting inconspicuously on an otherwise dreary stretch of Broadway Road in south Phoenix. Open since late January in a tiny building that used to house Irie Jamaican Restaurant a couple of years ago, this gem is worth the trip to south Phoenix if you live…
I’ve lived with vegetarians. I even was one for a while. And I live with a vegan now. Cooking without meat doesn’t faze me. But it elicits quite a negative response from many of my fellow students. I don’t get it. So I’m getting on my soapbox. Chefs should be…
Phoenix has taken a lot of heat for the transience of its populace, but look on the bright side: For all the wanderlust-stricken citizens who eventually ditch the ‘Nix for other places, there are many more who’re on their way in — maybe for the long haul. Ana Borrajo is…
I can’t begin to tell you how many flowers I’ve destroyed playing this childish game. Truth is, we all play it, one way or another. Is love a game of chance or is it day labor? Some say it’s fate. In some cases, I think that’s true. You have to…
Recently, I heard from chef Don Nason, who was the founding executive chef at Regions Bistro & Bar — and left shortly after the restaurant opened. There were rumors about the circumstances for Nason’s departure, so he wanted to tell me his side of things. In an email, Nason told…
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Man Vs. Food’s Adam Richman bite on this one: The Sasquatch Burger at The Lodge in Scottsdale. It’s a new mega-splurge brought to us by chef Aaron May, who’s added homey American pub grub to a repertoire that already includes Spanish tapas (Sol y Sombra), Italian (Autostrada), and…
For weekday drinking, the price is right at Phoenix City Grille. Happy hour specials run 3 to 6, Monday through Friday. Specials include $2 domestic bottles, $3 draft and well drinks, $4 for house wine and premium beers, and $2 off martinis. Better still: Cheap cocktails at Sunday brunch. If…
Drive past Carly’s Bistro on Roosevelt St. in downtown Phoenix and you might think the place is a total dive; the kind of shady bar & grill where smokers huddle in clusters, puffing under the counter, ready to snuff out their illegal-in-public cancer sticks should the PoPo arrive. If that’s what you’re expecting, you’ll be sorely…
Pearl Sushi, which opened in Old Town Scottsdale in early 2008, is all about the new these days — new management, new chef, and new menu items. Owner Tammy Carlin — former co-owner of Blue Wasabi Sushi & Martini Bar — came on board about six months ago to oversee the…
The new Regions Bistro & Bar location on Mill Ave. in Tempe is celebrating their grand opening this weekend with all-day Happy Hour and 2-for-1 entree specials Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26. In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, Regions’ Executive Chef Todd Paige gives us the scoop…
Generosity always goes well with some good food and wine to celebrate. This is the secret to success for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix, which is hosting its 35th annual Taste event this Sunday evening at Kierland Commons. It’s the organization’s main fundraiser of the year. The semi-formal…
During service, stuff happens: Drinks spill, wine corks break, and food can have a hard time finding its way to hungry people. Nobody’s perfect. And there’s certainly no shame in confessing occasional instances of clumsiness and/or confusion. A simple apology — or any aplomb demonstrated through problem solving — can…
. . . and don’t let the door hit you on your way out. There was some recent buzz that the longstanding Vietnamese restaurant on Camelback Road was closing, and I just got word that they finally shut their doors (the phone number is disconnected). But I can’t say I’ll…
The folks behind Aiello’s are getting a head start on their next restaurant. In about three weeks, says Myrah Aiello, they’ll start serving fresh, hot New York-style pizzas baked in a clay-bottom oven — available only to go. (She and her chef husband Joe owned an Italian eatery in Manhattan before eventually…
I’ve been taking a calcium supplement for years. It was hard to get into the habit, but the tasty chewable ones make it easier. Turns out that I was taking calcium every day but not in a way that was most effective. When you take calcium, what you take with…
