Chef Eric Osburn’s The Trojan Horse

Chef Eric Osburn of Centurion shares an impressive but easy date-night recipe that will bring two people a little closer: The Trojan Horse. A Lady and the Tramp moment sans spaghetti – with beef, mushrooms, cherries, wine, potatoes and puff pastry taking its place.

Boba Juice Serves Tasty Vegetarian Vietnamese Eats

In researching boba drinks for a blog post awhile back, a reader helpfully informed me that new Boba Juice on 19th Avenue (in the same strip as Da Vang, 4550 N. 19th Ave., north of Campbell), serves vegetarian Vietnamese food.Thanks, whomever-you-are!  I stopped by for a super-cheap, super-tasty lunch that…

Durant’s 48 oz. Porterhouse Challenge

​In some serious need of protein, my latest fight with food has brought me to Durant’s (2611 N. Central Ave., 602-264-5967), the storied steakhouse and hallowed Mecca of meats. ​For those seeking red meat revelation, Durant’s offers the 48-ounce Porterhouse Steak — a three-inch thick slab of beef that would fit in…

40: Corn Pancakes with Crab at The Mission

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 order Leave your suggestions for upcoming favorites in the comments section. Visit our sister blog, Jackalope…

10 Cringe-Worthy Candies That Probably Taste Awesome

Candy just isn’t what it used to be. We have entered a world where nothing is sacred and anything goes. And we’re not just talking about gum that changes flavor half way through or candy that you spray into your mouth, those are gross but they certainly can’t hold a…

SunUp Brewhouse Introduces New Chef, New Menu

I’ve been a fan of SunUp Brewhouse since back in the days when it was still called Sonoran. The name change, a legal result of SunUp’s burgeoning distribution, took place a year ago (wow — time flies!), but the place is just as good of a hangout, with the same…

Ahwatukee’s Secreto Won’t Remain a Secret for Long

A new Ahwatukee restaurant may be named after the Spanish word for “secret,” but it’s too delicious to keep under wraps. Judging from the packed bar and buzzing dining room at cozy Secreto, word’s traveling as quickly as a juicy piece of gossip. And I suspect that this place won’t…

The Space Burger: A Cosmic Experience on the Road to San Diego

You’ve seen this, right? If you’ve driven to San Diego, you have. Right off the main drag through Gila Bend, the Best Western Space Age Lodge and Restaurant was opened in 1965 by Al Stovall, a friend of President Eisenhower and supplier of metals and plastics to the federal government…

Beef Head: Cabeza from Andale Mexican Food

Despite what the supermarket aisle may lead you to believe, there’s more to an animal than neatly wrapped styrofoam trays of meat. From tongue to tail, offal (pronounced awful) encompasses all those taboo edibles that don’t make the cut at your local grocer. Just Offal is here to explore these…

Egg Recall Hits Arizona, Threatens Runny Egg Lovers

Like your eggs runny? You might not, after reading this post. Dr. Joli Weiss, foodborne disease epidemiologist for the Arizona Department of Health Services, confirms that some of the 228 million tainted eggs involved in the national recall making news all over the place were, in fact, distributed in Arizona…

Chef Chat: Eric Osburn of Centurion, Part Two

Centurion, which opened in June, is Chef Eric Osburn’s first foray into restaurant ownership and his proudest accomplishment to date. “European fusion” is how he describes the food. “We focus on all of the countries of Europe as where I pull all of my ideas and thought processes from, but we refuse to make one defined dish.”

New Farmers Markets Debuts Tomorrow at POOL

​It sounds tiny — and alas, there is only one farmer confirmed so far — but there’s a new weekly farmers market launching tomorrow at POOL, the collaborative marketplace located in a former Mervyn’s in Mesa, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Perhaps they should just call it a gourmet market…

41: Santa Lucia Pasta at Marcellino Ristorante

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 order Leave your suggestions for upcoming favorites in the comments section. Visit our sister blog, Jackalope…

Stick to Your Ribs BBQ: Wally’s vs. Bobby-Q

It’s hard to resist the allure of a good rack of ribs, even if you know you’re going to need a dozen wet-naps to clean up afterwards. Many professional BBQers spend a lifetime trying to perfect their baby back recipe.  Since we didn’t have that long to wait, we checked out…

Noca Gets a Nod From Bon Appetit

The September issue of Bon Appetit hasn’t hit the streets yet, but the word straight from publisher Conde Nast is that local restaurant Noca gets a mention in Nina Elder and Andrew Knowlton’s roundup of “The Country’s Best Daily Specials.”About one recent Sunday special, the grilled heirloom tomato and mozzarella…

FEZ: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: FEZ, 3815 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, (602) 287-8700 http://www.fezoncentral.com The Hours: Double the hours, double the cheap drinks with a 4 to 6:30 happy hour for the after work crowd or from 10 to close to satisfy the late night CenPho scene. The Details: Two-for-one wells and beer,…

Eric Osburn of Centurion

Chef Eric Osburn, who opened Centurion in Roosevelt Square this June, has been cooking ever since he saw his dad flip an omelet for the first time at age 11. By 13, he was cooking all the meals at home, had his first kitchen job at 15, and was taken under chef Sam Caniglia’s tutelage in a country club outside Chicago at 16.

Two Hippies Beach House: Lunch $10 and Under

Two Hippies Beach House gives fresh meaning to a paper bag lunch. The newest installment of peace, love and tacos, residing in the chartreuse building with the wrap-around porch at the corner of 16fh Street and Earll, packs up lunch in the brown sacks just like mom did, but in place of the PB&J, cold cuts or mystery meat, you can pick and choose tacos, burritos or hot dogs – all for less than $10.