The third Arizona Restaurant Week is underway as we speak, with a huge variety of participants enticing newbies and regulars alike with three-course meals at a special price of either $29 or $39. The price depends on the place — a spot like Roaring Fork will set you back $29, while…
Urban Beans is one of those hip hangouts where it’s worth nursing a coffee for two hours. The walls are covered in local art (everything from abstract butterflies to realistic portraits), and there are tons of windows for people-watching. There’s also a shaded patio outside, but who wants to sit…
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: Charles Shaw “Two Buck Chuck” Sauvignon Blanc Amanda Melby,…
Dear Postino, I dig your new bumper stickers! Thank you for sending me a big envelope with a stack of them — I’m hoarding a few for myself, and giving the rest to my favorite people. Last night I had some bruschetta and wine with a friend at Postino Central,…
Last week’s FroYo fix inspired a Valley-wide brain freeze, so this week we’re turning up the heat, and upping the ante. The first person who correctly names the place where we chowed down on this spicy number gets a $25 gift certificate to Coach & Willie’s. Make sure to leave a valid email with your guess, so we can award your prize.
Looking for a weekend road trip idea? I suggest a jaunt up to Cottonwood, where winemaker Sam Pillsbury is hosting a grand opening party for his new wine tasting room and gallery. Once you make it there, you’ll be ready for a good glass of wine. On Saturday and Sunday,…
Yesterday we met Travis Nass, whose mustache is almost as epic as his drink-making abilities. Today he dips into the cocktail menu he designed at Rancho Pinot (6208 N. Scottsdale R., 480-367-8030) to share the recipe for the Agave Nectar, a drink whose recipe was inspired at a tasting of local tequila…
The scene in front of me, however, is anything but friendly. Atop a giant metal cooking tray that’s too big for my table, a tumult of bread, meat and condiments sits menacingly before me. The ginormous sandwich boasts three foot-long, half-pound hot dogs nestled delicately inside a three-foot loaf of…
Recently I was picking through a pile of prune plums at the grocery. A fellow customer asked what they were and how to use them. A signal that autumn is approaching is the sight of prune plums in the market. Ripe and ready from May through October, September is the…
A few days ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with my editor, trying to talk about work and Best of Phoenix and life in general, and the setting seemed perfect: a nearly empty restaurant with enough peace and quiet to hear ourselves think. Except that the staff was overzealous,…
You can pull the fork out of our eyes now, Top Chef D.C. is finally over, and not even previous Top Chef winner Hung Huynh or chef David Chang (Treme everybody!) saying “fuck” and “balls” could save the finale on Wednesday night from being as boring as the entire season…
gourmeted.comHungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?AZ Restaurant WeekThe week we have all been waiting for is finally here. Tomorrow is the start of Arizona Restaurant Week, your opportunity to check out that one place you have been just dying to eat at…
Well, it’s over. The two-hour finale of MasterChef aired Wednesday night and, for those of us who actually watched the first season of the American version of the popular amateur cooking competition, we can get back to living our lives without montages, pre-commercial break cliffhangers, unnecessary narration, and music that…
We’ve been known to travel great distances in search of Mexican pastries. Perhaps that’s why we almost drooled right through the Cafe page while reading this week’s New Times. Food Critic Michele Laudig on La Tolteca: The smell alone is enticing, and I get a little giddy about the overwhelming…
Hungry yet?We’re working up our appetites for our huge Best of Phoenix issue, out September 30, with daily servings of Chow Bella’s 100 Favorite Dishes from across the Valley — in no particular orderLeave your suggestions for upcoming favorites in the comments section.Visit our sister blog, Jackalope Ranch, for a companion series on 100 Creatives who make…
“Are you a salesperson?” “No, I’m a writer for the New Times.” “Oh, what do you write?” “I write a column about fast food called ‘Fry Girl'” “I don’t like fast food. It’s not very healthy.” (cue uncomfortable silence and shifting self in chair) This is Wendy’s? It is this…
Travis Nass fits in perfectly with the southwestern décor of Rancho Pinot (6208 N. Scottsdale Rd., 480-367-8030). With his old-timey mustache, bolo tie and immaculately coifed hair, he could be the barkeep at some wild West saloon, serving shots of whiskey to depressed cowboys. Luckily for us, he lives in an…
Ever dreamed of being the chef at a fine dining restaurant? If so, you oughta be schmoozing with Posh chef Joshua Hebert right now.He’s decided to let amateurs take the reins, to some extent, by inviting a different local food fanatic to play chef every other Monday. The “Chef for a…
Chef Erasmus “Razz” Kamnitzer serves up dishes with so much flavor and flair at Razz’s Restaurant & Bar that we’re tempted just to order takeout, plate the dishes at home, and pretend they’re our own. Today Razz shares his recipe for Cashew & Rosemary Encrusted Salmon with Hibiscus-Lime Sauce so that we don’t have to take such drastic (and deceitful) measures to impress our next dinner guests.
In the tradition of Sarah Ventre (Why Your Cocktail Waitress Hates You), as well as our anonymous Starbucks barista and pizza delivery guy, the quintessential busboy shares his anecdotes of restaurant service and Why Your Busboy Hates You, as told to this writer. No we are not revealing his identity, as he respects…
The name is not quite set in stone, but owner Cheryl Vitale feels pretty confident that her new Ahwautukee restaurant will be called Los Dos Cocina y Cantina. She’s currently in lease negotiations to move into the old Va Bene space at 4025 E. Chandler Blvd. “It’s been 30 years in…
Kefir is a drinkable cultured milk product that is similar to yogurt, but don’t get the two confused. A kefir lover is likely to snatch their bottle of fermented dairy deliciousness right out of your hand if you refer to it as its bacteria-laced cousin. The drink is popular in…
