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: Wanna Go to BaconCamp? Tempe’s Three Roots Cafe Goes…

Brew Review: Reaper Ale’s Deathly Pale Ale

“Deathly pale” is not a phrase that appears in everyday conversation very often. In fact the only example I can think of occurred the last time I visited a beach. It was uttered from some nearby ladies as my physique built on my Irish heritage approached the surf. It stung…

First Taste: Brio Tuscan Grille

We tried to be good. We really did. Go take a quick step outside. Did you feel it? That’s right. It’s pool weather and if there’s one reason we’ve been slogging it out at the gym day in and day out it’s to enjoy this weather with preferably only two…

Early Peaches at Roadrunner Park Farmers’ Market

Each of the Valley’s farmers’ markets has its own distinctive atmosphere. That’s fun to suss out, but we’re all about the produce, too. The Roadrunner Park Farmers’ Market, just off the 51 on Cactus Road, is Phoenix’s oldest — it’ll celebrate its 20th birthday in October — and both the…

Phoenix Phoodies: Phoenix Knife House

Eytan Zias is a culinary samurai. After compiling an impressive resume working in famous kitchens in New York City and all over the Valley, he decided to return to an earlier love: knives. He sold off parts of his impressive collection to finance his current venture, Phoenix Knife House (www.phoenixknifehouse.com,…

Forking: Sausage and Fleeting Relationships

Forking columnist Colin Redding doesn’t play around when it comes to his sausage. Quite the contrary in fact as even a failed relationship hasn’t kept him from cooking a few of his ex’s sausage recipes. Explore this and the mystical combination of sausage and grape jelly in this week’s Forking…full…

Cafe: Phoenix Spas

We love the spa treatment, but as Food Critic Michele Laudig  points out in this week’s Cafe column, apples and cucumber water do not satisfy us to the same degree as an hour-long massage. Luckily there are a few Phoenix spas that cater to our tummies.  Michele Laudig on feasting…

Travel Channel Coming to Tammie Coe Today

Tammie Coe employees say they have no idea which show it’s for, but word’s out that a crew from the Travel Channel just stopped by the Roosevelt Row pastry shop to shoot some footage and take pictures this afternoon. Apparently they’re making the rounds at different dessert-y spots in the…

Budget Beat: Lil’ Cal’s

Some of the restaurants I write about in Budget Beat are old faves, some are recommendations from readers or friends, some are just sitting there on the side of the road, begging to be tried. One of the fun things about doing this weekly blog is being surprised by a…

Cooking School Secrets: A New Type of Flashing

Call me naïve. I assumed the majority of restaurant appetizers and entrees were cooked after the food was ordered. (Yeah, I know what they say about assume.) But it’s quite the opposite. At least in my limited experience. Most of the food to be served is prepped before service begins,…

Art Burn: Art Just for the Halibut at District

Malee’s Thai in Scottsdale isn’t the only eatery in town that partnered up with a local gallery. Prior to opening in the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel at 320 N. 3rd St., District American Kitchen and Wine Bar (with the help of Tele Art Resource’s Laurie Post) solicited proposals from local art galleries…

More Bianco Love From Gourmet and Food + Wine

In case you had any doubt that people are actually making pilgrimages to Phoenix for some Pizzeria Bianco action, get a load of the double-whammy of national media props for the restaurant — which comes on the heels of Martha Stewart’s six-page feature on Chris Bianco. This month, Gourmet features…

Your Meal Ticket to Mother’s Day Bliss

Tired of taking Mom to the same old Mother’s Day buffet? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we’ve got the scoop on a few unforgettable places to take your mama this Sunday, from classic champagne brunches to a runway show dinner for the trendy fashionista mom. Also look for…

Wednesday: Free BBQ at Joe’s in Gilbert

With all the awards that Joe’s Real BBQ has stacked up, the place could easily coast on its own fine reputation. But that’s just not how owner Joe Johnston operates. Instead, he makes a point to host an annual Free Day, dishing up gratis plates of the barbecue that made…

Waiter Confidential: Meet Bob

Meet Bob. Talk about a major tool. Bob’s one of those types who makes us hard working restaurant stiffs wince over the thought of having to accommodate him. Bob’s friends and family insist he’s just hard to please. Every time he comes in, everyone with him seems to take turns…

Onyx Bar & Lounge Shares the Good Stuff for Cheap

It’s a tough job but somebody’s gotta do it. The food and beverage team at the Four Seasons Resort at Troon North is holing up for a few days to do a hardcore blind tasting of many, many different wines from around the world — as in, 3 or 400 wines…

Cooking School Secrets: Ready or Not – Here We Come

Well, our classroom hours are over. It’s on to the restaurant, which is as close to a rite of passage as you get in culinary school. Our group was scheduled to spend the first few weeks in the kitchen. I felt ready to face the challenge. After all, I learned…

More Bacony Perversity

What am I doing up blogging at this hour? I’m sharing this hysterical link with you. This is the kind of stuff my dear friends email to me in the middle of the night, when it’s really hard to laugh silently. Check out How to Use Bacon to Make Your…

Tempe’s Three Roots Cafe Goes Co-Op

Over the seven years that Robin Bundy owned Three Roots Cafe on Mill Avenue (1020 S. Mill), the hip little indie coffee shop earned a loyal following among ASU students and neighborhood locals alike for its relaxing, bohemian vibe and its well-crafted coffee drinks. How loyal, you ask? Thanks to some…

Wanna Go to BaconCamp?

I swear this is for real — BaconCamp meetups for people who want to know more about bacon. You thought I was kidding about bacon takin’ over? Nuh uh. It’s only a matter of time before this happens in Phoenix, I bet. Look at the cool “crafts” the BaconCamp people have…