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: LocavoreAZ Dinner at Superstition Farm is an a-moozing experience…
Blue Agave is an atypical Mexican restaurant that offers authentic south of the border cuisine as well as experimental dishes. Order the traditional tamale or the crab-stuffed shrimp off the dinner menu, but also come early for the relaxing atmosphere and, from 4 to 7 every day, enjoy $3 Coronas,…
Last night I removed the chains shackling me to my New Times desk long enough to venture out to Four Peaks with a few friends (one of whom is as interested in home brewing as I am in downing draughts). Hold on! Yes, I’m reviewing a Four Peaks beer, but…
Big changes are happening on Stetson Drive. According to Mari Markogianis of Spaghetti Western Productions — the umbrella for Old Town Scottsdale faves Cowboy Ciao, Sea Saw, Kazimierz, and Digestif — Cowboy Ciao chef Bernie Kantak is leaving the restaurant sometime in the next two or three months to “spearhead a new…
As we move into the season of relentless, broiling sunlight, several of our local farmers’ markets very sensibly take a break until people start wanting to hang around outdoors again. (It’s also a challenge to keep human beings — let alone produce, dairy, or meat — fresh in a little…
Chef Jared Porter tells me that he traded his apron for a tool belt in recent weeks, but now he’s finalizing his menu for The Parlor, the new pizza joint set to open later this month (tentatively April 27) in the old Salon de Venus on Camelback at 20th Street…
New Times writer Ray Stern has more to say about the arrest of Citrus Cafe owner Andrew Paparella Jr. on the Valley Fever blog today — check it out…
The concept of “rustic French cuisine” with a New Orleans edge has us salivating. In her latest Cafe column, Michele Laudig shares our gluttonous desires, though she points out Metro Brasserie & Bar still has a long way to go to live up to her expectations. Food Critic Michele Laudig…
During stressful times, what’s more comforting than home-style cooking? Not much, if you ask me. When I lived in the same town as my parents, I loved heading over to their house after work or the weekends to eat some of my mom’s cooking. I’m sure many of you feel the…
In this week’s Spooning column, culinary Don Juan Colin Redding explores the virtues of perhaps the tastiest thing to ever come out of a pig: bacon. When this turf meets surf, you get bacon-wrapped jewels of deliciousness we call scallops. Check out the recipe after the jump…
There’s no shortage of movies about food and restaurant life. I’ve seen almost all of them, and I relished the chance for a glimpse into a world I longed to join. Being a seasoned woman, I thought I had a pretty good handle of what was real and what was…
“I’m crazy for tryin’. I’m crazy for cryin’. I’m crazy for loving you.” La la la. I’m not a country music kind of guy, but living in the Southwest, it’s a necessary evil. Now, not all country music is bad — for example, those lyrics were sung by the enchanting…
Everything is relative. Compared to Foodbar, the restaurant that used to occupy the SouthBridge space next door to Digestif in Scottsdale, six-month-old Metro Brasserie is a welcome change. I thought Foodbar was a total dud, with an awkward atmosphere and unimpressive food. Honestly, anything would’ve been an improvement, so when…
CenPho is on a roll, yo. After a revolving door of restaurant concepts that have come and gone at the Clarendon Hotel since the departure of Camus almost two years ago, there’s news that chef Doug Robson will be the owner/operator of a new in-house eatery called Gallo Blanco Cafe,…
April Fool’s Day was a week ago, so I guess the news is no joke: Citrus Cafe’s current owner, Andrew Paparella Jr., was arrested by the Chandler P.D. for allegedly stealing customers’ credit card info to order things online and then re-sell them on eBay, reports The Trib. Un-freaking-believable! Hope you…
The Rainforest Cafe at Arizona Mills Mall failed its most recent county restaurant inspection — with violiations including one complaint we hadn’t seen before:…
If you live in the vicinity of 16th Street and Bethany Home, I already envy you for living so close to Richardson’s. And now I hear there’s something new on the very same corner: Luci’s Healthy Marketplace. The retro-modern market sells ready-to-eat meals to go, organic groceries, household necessities, beer…
The well-appointed Mucho Gusto – which takes a sometimes non-traditional twist on Mexican cuisine – can be mucho pricey, if you hit the place up for dinner. But happy hour is both pleasant and affordable. From 3 to 6, Monday through Friday, Mucho Gusto provides $3 house margaritas, house wine,…
Few coffee shops have attracted the attention that Hob Nobs has, after gentrifying and occupying the former Willow House space. First, there was the public outcry over the proposed “Willo House” name. Then there was the mixed reviews and, recently, an unfavorable health inspection involving blowing in plastic gloves. The…
While downtown continues to break ground on a whole slew of new developments, devotees of desserts will have to wave goodbye as Sweet Pea Bakery (www.sweetpeaaz.com, 209 W. Jackson Street, 602-296-4042) closes its doors at the end of April, just weeks after Danielle Librera, chef and owner, celebrated Sweet Pea’s…
Listening to chef Christopher Gross explain the mind- and palate-expanding sensation of eating “miracle fruit,” I can’t help but think of Willy Wonka waxing poetic about Everlasting Gobstoppers. “You can eat a lemon wedge, and it tastes just like a piece of candy!” he tells me. It’s called flavor tripping…
Six months after it closed unexpectedly, downtown Chandler’s 98 South wine bar has reopened under new ownership. It opened its doors last Friday night, just in time to get some attention from folks attending last weekend’s Chandler Jazz Festival. Chef Brian Ferguson tells me that the current menu is extremely…
