In 2008, Sharon Stein became another victim of the recent economic downturn when she was laid off from her position as a Marketing Director with a timeshare company. With unemployment at an all-time high and job prospects few and far between, she decided to make a run at the barbeque…
Vodka is sort of the “high school boyfriend” of liquors: it’s usually your “first” and you feel comfortable and safe with it, but then you notice your more ambitious friends looking so much happier with others that you start to think that while staying with vodka forever may be easy,…
When Mark Twain said, “Golf is a good walk spoiled” we doubt he was thinking about the Waste Management Phoenix Open. How could he have imagined this? It’s like a city the size of Tempe emerged fully formed out of the desert for a week of golf and partying. This…
For die-hard baseball fans, there’s no better place to watch rundowns, shoestring catches, or tape-measure blasts than in Arizona during spring training season. And with the Valley’s nine stadiums hosting 12 major league teams, baseball buffs can work up a sweat, and an appetite.That’s why The Chow Bella Guide to…
Steamer’s Genuine Seafood and Sam’s Cafe, two longtime players in the Biltmore Fashion Park dining mix, will be closing on April 4. Even though Sam’s Cafe owners Doug Czufin and Bruce Lazarus recently bought Steamer’s and renovated it last year, they’re being forced to close both eateries as a result…
Yesterday we sat down with Julian Wright of La Bocca Urban Pizzeria + Wine Bar. Lucky for you, there’s a part two! Want to hear about his love for Desert Sweet Shrimp or his pitch for the Food Network? Read on! What are your rules in the kitchen?It’s really simple…
A good tortilla chip has to be fresh tasting, perfectly crisp, and just salty enough to compliment the dip being scooped. Today is National Tortilla Day, just the excuse needed to grab a bag of My Nana’s tortilla chips.The chips are made by La Canasta, a Phoenix-based company that started in…
Thank heaven for food spies. Slow Foodie-about-town Valerie Paxton was at FnB last night for a special fundraising dinner for local Slow Food advocate Natalie Morris, who’s about to head to Italy to get her master’s in food culture and communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Paxton took lots…
To a Southerner, chicken and waffles seems as natural a combo as peanut butter and jelly, rum and coke, Brad and Angelina. To the rest of us Yankees, it seems a little strange — fried chicken is clearly a lunch/dinner/picnic food, while waffles are for breakfast or dessert. Right? A couple of Southern transplant friends…
Who says you have to wait until the sun goes down to have a good time? Every once in a while, in between morning mugs of coffee and Bailey’s, watching The Price is Right and talking to carnies, one needs to draw the shades on the observation deck and reflect…
The beauty of the stealth dining trend is how it’s so free-form. Who’s running it? Where will it be held? How to do they organize their dinners? Each incarnation is unique. MF Tasty is the newest to emerge on the local scene, a “secret supper club” run by a local…
An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. Think your salsa is the best of the best? Here’s your chance to prove it. The 2010 My Nana’s Salsa Challenge is April 24 at Tempe Beach Park and they are still looking for contestants. Go to this…
I bet you already have a favorite local French spot for your onion soup fix, or for a decent plate of steak frites. But what about crepes? Sadly, they’re not so easy to come by. I usually get mine at the Saturday market at Vincent’s on Camelback. That’s what’s so smart…
Could Thai food possibly get any more popular? The last few years have seen a boom in Thai food across the Valley, and still more new restaurants are opening their doors. The newest is Lao Thai, which opened last week in the former Kam’s Garden space on Scottsdale Road at…
Like flower buds almost ready to bloom, a new crop of local restaurants is gearing up to debut in March, and from the looks of it, this will be one busy season. The trend is toward accessible, affordable fare, even at a couple of upscale resorts. At the InterContinental Montelucia Resort…
Starting this week, we’ll be giving you our own “report card” review of a local happy hour spot. Study hard! The Spot: Moto Sushi 6845 N. 16th Street Phoenix 85016 602-263-5444 The Hours: Happy hour kicks off at 3 pm and goes till 6:15 pm Monday thru Saturday. On Sundays…
Winning a James Beard Award is the holy grail of culinary achievement. (Yes, despite what you might think, having your own Food Network show is not quite as important as the Beard Awards.) Last week, when the nominees for this year’s awards were announced, it got me thinking about how life…
Julian Wright learned the art of opening restaurants the hard way. When he introduced La Bocca Urban Pizzeria + Wine Bar in 2008, food critics (including our own) offered lukewarm reviews. A little more than a year later, he’s back with a vengeance. “La Bocca has been a challenge,” he…
When the press release arrived, we practically fell over ourselves, reaching for the phone to call for reservations. A Friday aftenroon tea party at the Ritz-Carlton, with members of the cast of the touring production of Mary Poppins, currently in residence at Gammage Auditorium in Tempe? How perfect! We already had…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer. Here are a few shots at the answer, add yours to the comment box below: – Pasta-shaped bathroom tile – Dollhouse picture frame – Matchbook cozy…
Bill Campana The Valley poet, who has participated in poetry slams both locally and nationally, hosts Sound Effects poetry open mike every Friday night from 7-9 p.m. at Mama Java’s Coffeehouse in Phoenix. What’d you eat for dinner last night? A chicken and mushroom stir fry with fresh ginger and…
An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. Today from 5 pm till close, Sens Asian Tapas and Sake Bar in downtown Phoenix will be hosting a fundraiser along with the American Red Cross to raise money for Haiti relief and development efforts. One hundred percent…
