You don’t generally associate Scottsdale’s Phoenician resort with “affordable retail,” but in the case of it’s latest endeavor Grape & Grain, you actually can. While it is considered a wine, beer and spirits boutique, the Grape & Grain doesn’t purchase any of its inventory and can therefore can keep the…
Sens Asian Tapas and Sake Bar is working to make a name for itself as the sake headquarters of Phoenix, offering more than 60 varieties of the rice-based libation, in different cocktail formations reaching far beyond your standard sake bomber…
A while ago I blogged about Groupon, the cool website that has daily discounts on everything from dinner at The Dhaba to trapeze lessons to yoga. The downside, as discovered after a friend purchased a “$40 of food for $20” Groupon special, is that you have to use your entire Groupon at one sitting. With The Dhaba’s very…
This just in: Tammie Coe — baker and cake decorator extraordinaire — will compete in our caramel tasting, Caramelpalooza, a week from today. Details about the event — and how you can be a judge — here. Tammie joins Tracy Dempsey, Sweet Republic, Bourbon Steak, Urban Cookies and the La-Dee-Dahs…
[jump] Warm, steamy pancakes drizzled with sweet hoisin sauce, plus a pinch of green onions, complimented the rich duck meat. My favorite part was biting into the light, crispy skin. Incredibly, we housed the whole plate. The artist formerly known as Dining Companion was kind enough to share the last pieces with me. Ginger and green onions…
Heather Hales (Note: Judges have been chosen. But join us Friday!) Caramelpalooza is almost upon us — and it’s not too late to apply to be one of our special guest judges at our caramel tasting event, to be held Friday, March 26 at 7 pm at Smeeks candy store in…
In less than a year, chef-owner Leonard Jay’s Roosevelt Row restaurant has undergone three name changes. What started last April as Vinery 214 morphed into Bambino Bistro by the end of the year. I’d recently heard that it shut down — which, based on last month’s gnarly inspection report, wouldn’t…
Molecular gastronomy. Sure, it sounded interesting at first: Buy a kit, make some fun stuff using chemicals and food. The brochure even said, “Easily Get Started…” – easily! Soon, ingredients were impossible to find, an invasive measurement system reared its ugly head, additional money was needed for supplies, recipes couldn’t…
An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. The first annual Downtown Barbecue Throwdown in Chandler is goin’ down this Saturday March 20th from 10 a.m. till 9 p.m. The Throwdown is billed as a fierce competition where pros as well as amateur chefs will compete…
Open barely more than a year, The Kitchen by Good Eats Grocer, located at The Shops at Gainey Village, is the latest restaurant casualty. Today, the doors are locked and the lights are off.Calls to the gourmet grocery store/bistro end up in a voicemail menu to nowhere, while the website…
At a place serving more than 60 sakes, you might think a bartender could end up feeling a little limited in drink options. Not Jason Catlin– the psychedelic, country-western musician by day, bartender by night, and constant cocktail pioneer uses the Asian flavors at Sens as his muse, finding new…
A bar with good atmosphere is enough to draw a crowd. A bar with good atmosphere and lip-smacking good food is enough to draw a crowd of regulars. Such, so it seems, is the way at The Vig. Food Critic Michele Laudig on The Vig: There’s just something about this…
Nestled in that stretch of 5th Avenue between Scottsdale Road and Stetson (7124 E. 5th Ave.), Sola Coffee Bar struck me as a refreshingly indie antidote to typically Southwestern-y Old Town businesses nearby. When I stopped by a couple days ago, they were blasting Bright Eyes — on vinyl. And…
This week, we’ve heard from Stacy Phipps of Stacy’s Smokehouse on his favorite ingredients and his good cooking philosophy. Today he shares his recipe for his BBQ pork ribs…
Who says you have to wait until the sun goes down to have a good time? “I used to like St. Patrick’s Day, back in the ’90’s.” That’s what Ron, the morning barkeep at Pat Murphy’s, tells my day-drinking gal-pal Ronda and I when we pop in for pre-St. Patrick’s…
Late-night cheap Sonoran grub is about as easy to find in Phoenix as a flashing yellow light. That is, unless you know where to look. For you sundown socialites and twilight trollers with a case of the Mexican munchies, check out my review of La Frontera Comida Mexicana. And speaking…
So is it the economy, the location, or the cuisine?For some reason, Vietnamese cuisine hasn’t had a very successful run on Mill Avenue. Over the weekend, Pho Thang Long abruptly closed up shop. Open a little more than a year, it occupied the spot at the corner of Mill Ave and 4th…
An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. Tomorrow through Sunday, celebrate the glorious spring weather with the Fountain Hills Fine Art and Wine Affaire. Artists will be on hand to present their work. No Degas in the crowd? (Admittedly, art fairs can often be painful,…
Whenever I mention The Vig to people, I expect a certain reaction — the gushing enthusiasm of a devotee, or the eyeball-rolling groan of a critic. Rarely do I encounter indifference. There’s just something about this edge-of-Arcadia tavern, a magnetism that attracts all the quirky social flora and fauna from…
It’s late. You’re hungry. Options? Pickin’s are slim in this town, unless you know where to look. Point your peepers to 16th Street and Van Buren. The Jack in the Box? Nah. The adult bookstore? Not now. Track down the truck. See it? The white one with the awning? The…
Nine companies have joined the proposed class action lawsuit against Yelp, the San Francisco-based Internet giant, attorneys in Miami and California announced this morning. The new plaintiffs are located everywhere from Tujunga, California to Washington, D.C. They include businesses ranging from a sofa outlet to a bakery to the heart…
It’s not as if you need another reason to go to the fabulous downtown market on a beautiful Wednesday evening, but the Phoenix Public Market is giving you not one but two great excuses to postpone your St. Patrick’s Day debauchery. Inside the Urban Grocery and Wine Bar, take advantage of…
