By Jay Bennett Seems most of the time, when a restaurant touts its happy hour, it boasts nothing more than $2 domestic bottles and some free chips and salsa. Whee. So when you discover a true happy hour bonanza, you want to rejoice because you feel you’ve found a salve…
By Wynter Holden First, let me start by saying that if you’re counting Weight Watchers points, avoiding carbs or (heaven forbid) taking Alli, just skip this blog. Don’t read it. Shoo. Yes, I mean you. Why? Because sometimes it’s just about eating au naturel. No, I don’t mean dining in…
Atlas Bistro is one of those local gems that’s had a cult following from the start, but now there’s a new reason to love it. Actually, make that two reasons: chefs Brandon Crouser and Joshua Riesner. Established in 2002, the tiny BYOB connected to AZ Wine Co. has long impressed…
By Michele Laudig What happens when you take an accomplished chef and architecture buff and set him loose in the mid-century mecca of Central Phoenix? You get a cool new restaurant called St. Francis Place. Hold your horses — the place probably won’t open until March, at the earliest. Still,…
By Michele Laudig After 7 1/2 years running Postino, a successful wine bar at 40th Street and Campbell, the folks from LGO Hospitality have decided to open a second location, just north of Camelback on Central Ave. It’s in the old Katz Deli space. (Katz’s closed down last week and…
By Michele Laudig Jeez, Robrt, did you put them out of business? Last week, Robrt Pela’s highly entertaining rant about crap service at Willo Bakery was met with an online chorus of “Hell, yes!” Who knew everybody hated it so much? And now the joint’s closed. Not surprising, really. I…
When Joe Lieberman is speaking, ya need a little spice … by Sarah Fenske I was gonna order the salad, I swear. Everyone warned me that once I turned 30, my metabolism would suddenly take a nosedive. This did not happen: I continued to eat like a horse and never…
By Wynter Holden Tonight, I went head to head in a schoolyard-style challenge that pitted my sensitive girlie palette against my man’s testosterone-fueled taste buds. At first sight of Candy Dymamics’ Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy at the Dollar Tree on Kyrene & Chandler Blvd., I literally cackled. The yellow…
By Michele Laudig Although the new Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel wasn’t scheduled to open until October, it’s actually going to open a bit early — and along with it, there will be a new restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner: District American Kitchen & Wine Bar. Following on the heels…
By Benjamin Leatherman Who needs Taco Bell when you’ve got the Blue Burrito Grille? Maybe it’s just me, but it seemed abnormally cool and breezy this past weekend. It was toasty, yes, but I wasn’t getting baked by the usually badass late-August temps that melt your teeth. (Maybe Mother Nature…
By Amy Silverman Sounds like things are a bit too wild, over at Wild West Cowboy Steakhouse Mexican at 104 E. Monroe Street in Phoenix. An inspection last month revealed some relatively minor concerns — like an improperly stored ice scoop, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol next to the…
By Wynter Holden Common sense says use what you have, right? If you live by the sea, catch and cook fish. On the plains or in the forest, pick berries and hunt game. And in the desert — well, unless you want to hack up a cactus and start chowing…
by Robrt L. Pela Mr. Grossman couldn’t resist it. And who can blame him? A tin of Spotted Dick (a traditional English steamed dessert containing currants, typically served either with custard or butter and brown sugar) is an hilarious thing, at least if you’re an American. And so he bought…
By Benjamin Leatherman Courtesy of nataliedee.com I received a pretty good response to my debut edition of Veggie Boy earlier this week, including a bunch of e-mails and comments giving kudos to my review of Soma Café in north Phoenix. One of the more interesting missives was an e-mail from…
By Wynter Holden 28-year-old flairtenderJorge Cacho is a real-life movie sidekick. You know, the “super nice best friend” type who’s perpetually single until some blonde bombshell gets wise and jumps his bones. Don’t believe it? Just rent Hitch or The Holiday and you’ll see. Cacho isn’t handsome in the traditional…
By Michele Laudig I never had a fair chance to say goodbye to Plaid Eatery, as this cute, vegetarian-friendly Tempe hangout quietly closed this summer while school was out. Makes me wonder if it was the economy, or what — and how many other little joints are shutting their doors…
by Robrt L. Pela There’s this beautiful little grocery across the street from my house in downtown Phoenix where I go from time to time when I feel like being ignored by dark-haired 22-year-old men who’d rather be doing something other than working in a boutique-y market. I stop there…
By Jonathan McNamara “Can I help you find something,” said a genuinely enthusiastic grocery store employee as I stood in front of the beer section. “No thanks,” I replied. “I’ve found what I was after, I’m just trying to decide which one of these to get.” I was referring to…
By Jay Bennett There’s no shortage of cooler, hipper, trendier, more unique breakfast joints in the Valley, but there may be no better morning spot around than the unassuming, totally uncool — and proud of it — Ranch House Grille, on East Thomas Road near 56th Street. It’s been only…
Don’t blame the Olympics. I’ve been craving some good Chinese food for a lot longer than the past couple of weeks that we’ve been bombarded with coverage of the games. If anything, TV segments about bizarre Beijing street foods have somewhat lessened my appetite for it. (I’m adventurous, but I’m…
By Michele Laudig The word on the street is that there have been big changes at Estate House, the mansion-like fine-dining spot at SouthBridge, Fred Unger’s upscale Scottsdale shopping and restaurant complex across the canal from the Scottsdale Waterfront. Ron Dimas, the executive chef who opened the restaurant six months…
By Michele Laudig Talk to the food fanatics around town, and Noca’s got the buzz du jour, which is saying a lot for a three-and-a-half-week-old restaurant. I won’t name any names, but the place has been crawling with local chefs, celebs, and even some restaurants critics. (And no, I’m not…
