In this week’s Forking column, Colin Redding illustrates the results of mixing dating with kids and America’s favorite starch. Think you know some corny jokes? Watch out for this one. Yet cobs of the yellow stuff have more than humorous applications. Take this recipe for a baked corn casserole for…
It seems like I’ve been hearing about it for months now: Noca’s mythical wagyu pastrami. Owner Eliot Wexler was busy tracking down wagyu brisket — definitely an unusual cut of the pricey, succulent Kobe beef — while chef Chris Curtiss was fine-tuning the ultimate recipe. Wexler was inspired by both the killer…
A few months back, the New York Times magazine published a special Food Issue, with an intriguing essay by Michael Pollan, an “open letter to the Farmer in Chief,” explaining why the President-elect should consider national food policy a matter of national security. It inspired the Brockmans, a farm family in…
Every restaurant owner seems to fancy himself (or herself) an art expert these days, whether it’s the Burger King franchisee with a taste for retro prints or the young, hip entrepreneur who decorates with bold abstract paintings. Each week, we’ll be serving up a slice of the best — and the worst — local restaurant decor. Will these hand-picked…
There is a shell of a building at the southeast corner of McClintock and Broadway in Tempe that can’t hold a restaurant to save its soul. Every time some aspiring businessman gets the bright idea to open a new venture there, I want to go in and slap them upside the…
The time we spend in this business can be a gamble. From the easy money to the nightlife and liquor-fueled libidos, there’s a risk we run of getting addicted to the action. I’m the perfect example: That not-so-lucky winner you hear stories about. And the tale of my $4,000 tip,…
It can’t all be appetizing news. Today’s big story is downright nauseating. The fundraiser that Mesa’s new Pizza Fusion restaurant held in conjunction with its grand opening — which was intended to help Frank and Tracy Smith, who were seriously injured in a car accident that killed their two young…
If you’re steeped in the culinary world — whether professionally or just as an enthusiast — you’re probably already familiar with Phoenix Knife House, the go-to shop for chefs in need of a good blade. But this Thursday, there’s a special reason to stop by. It’s the second annual Kikuichi…
Cardinals go to the Super Bowl, Arizona gets a windfall of PR. Totally expected. But publicity for a local chef is certainly an unusual perk for the Phoenix culinary world. Turns out, executive chef Beau MacMillan, from Elements at the Sanctuary on Camelback, is the lucky one getting the national exposure…
Polly Levine and her friend Marilena Sacks had long fantasized about owning their own cafe — nothing unusual about that. But three weeks ago, they finally realized their dreams when they opened Chestnut Lane Cafe. Tucked into the tiny Camelback Road (4225 E. Camelback) spot that housed Kohnie’s until last summer, Chestnut…
Tattoo pioneer Ed Hardy was one of the first artists to start using color in his tattoos, more than 40 years ago. His energy drinks (which come in orange, apple, and pomegranate flavors) are touted as “tattoos for the tongue.” Hardy’s brand of clothing is also popular (especially among the hipster-clubber set), but a little more expensive than his energy drinks, which retail for around $1.99 each.
In honor of the massive cuts sure to come to Arizona government soon, this week Chow Bella is dipping into the archival recipes of Grandma Hernandez, who was born in 1929, the year the Great Depression began. What’s lovely about grandmotherly recipes is that they often have a heavy reliance…
A free wine tasting, a champagne toast, a bottle signing by winemaker Robert Pepi Jr., and complementary hors d’oeuvres from Fleming’s Steakhouse are four good reasons to hit up tonight’s grand opening party for WineStyles in Peoria. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Located at Park West, the new open-air…
Last weekend we invited a few dozen of ASU’s finest over to our place for a party. In typical pot luck style we had a table full of goodies representing all different culinary cultures and backgrounds. There was Italian, Indian, Chinese and more. It was like the U.N. of pot…
Citrus Cafe, the long-running French bistro in Chandler (2330 N. Alma School), just reopened two weeks ago after a brief hiatus. Now it’s called Andrew’s New American at Citrus Cafe, and as the name suggests, chef-owner Andrew Paparella is ushering in some changes. Paparella, who purchased the restaurant in May 2007,…
Eat pizza, save the planet. That’s the thinking behind Pizza Fusion, an Earth-friendly pizzeria with franchises across the country. The restaurant serves certified organic food, operates out of LEED-certified buildings, and even uses hybrid cars for pizza deliveries. The newest Pizza Fusion, at 5735 E. McKellips in Mesa, is hosting…
JNK Concepts, the company behind Bombay Spice, is replacing the 16th Street and Glendale Ave location of the healthful Indian restaurant with another one of its concepts, San Gabriel Mexican Cafe, opening Monday. Currently, Illinois has the only other branch of the eatery. Meanwhile, Bombay Spice will continue to operate at…
Takamatsu has been dishing out Korean barbecue, sushi, and noodle dishes to Arizonans for more than a decade, with restaurants in Phoenix, Tucson, Chandler and Litchfield Park. Their delicious barbecue has garnered the respect of sports stars, too, like Chan Ho Park, the pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, whose signed…
Pholicious (7582 W Cactus Rd. Ste. B5, Peoria, 623-773-2020) serves up a lunch special combo that includes the soup of the day, a crispy wonton, all you can drink iced tea, steamed white or fried rice and the main meal of your choice from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for only $6.95. …
In the name of welcoming back the students at Glendale Community College, as well as celebrating their first anniversary, the folks at Cheba Hut in Glendale (5925 Olive Ave., Ste. #2, at the southwest corner of 59th Ave. and Olive) are offering a sweet deal on Friday, January 23: four-inch…
It’d been a while since I’d written about a Scottsdale in Budget Beat, so I was due. An acquaintance who lives in S-Dale suggested I hit up an upscale-esque hamburger joint on the southwest corner of Shea Boulevard and Scottsdale Road. When I found out this place had a weekday…
Finally, something to cheer about. In a city where preservationists have new reasons to gripe all the time — sharp mid-century homes getting razed to make way for McMansions, architecturally significant buildings being bulldozed so somebody can slap up another generic bank or strip mall — there’s good news about…
