Finally! I’d been wanting to check out the new weekday lunch at Lola Tapas ever since it debuted a few months back, and it was worth my (unintentional) wait when I stopped by this week. The place is just close enough to downtown that I can justify repeat visits from…
Billy-Boy Wordsworth defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Fitting then, we should apply this definition when we speak of fabulous fare. See if you can relate to this week’s victual verse and feel free to pen a few lines of your own, should you be so inspired…
ere’s something pretty novel for Phoenix. It’s True Food’s special prix fixe menu geared to keeping you healthy during cold and flu season, called “Andy’s Immune Power Menu.” Andy, of course, is the acclaimed wellness guru Dr. Andrew Weil, who’s been involved with the health-centric eatery since the beginning. Executive chef Michael Stebner created…
The thought of eating some good barbecue has me tempted to hop in my car and take a nice long lunch break. I just got the word on a new spot in Mesa called J. Ruggs Southern BBQ (6610 E. Baseline) where father-and-son team Ian and John Ruggles have been dishing up…
In Tempe, where people gravitate toward bright commercial clusters like Mill Avenue and Tempe Marketplace, it can be hard for off-the-beaten-path businesses to do well. The corner of Fifth Street and College Avenue is one of those places that’s had a revolving door in recent years — maybe it’s a…
After busy Friday and Saturday nights, many Valley restaurants take a break on Sundays. But it’s not a day of rest for everyone. It’s business as usual for some eateries, a few of whom are promoting special prix fixe menus as a way to get more people in the door…
Jennifer VanInwegen was the wife who couldn’t cook. Jennifer ordered the magazine anyway and challenged herself to recreate the gorgeous gourmet meals featured on its pages. Her life changed the day she roasted the perfect duck. Last year, the Phoenix resident and mother of two young children put her culinary…
Do you ever get a midday craving for a restaurant that’s only open evenings? Or a nighttime urge to eat at a favorite lunch spot? Two new-ish local restaurants have just expanded their hours. For the past four months, chef-owner Aaron Chamberlin has been sticking to dinner-only service at St…
Gelato master Moreno Spangaro, whom I profiled in a 2007 cover story, sold his business as of January 1 — something he once considered unthinkable. After years of being solicited for his recipes and potential business partnerships — and after someone even broke into the store to try to steal Spangaro’s secrets — the…
Who says you have to wait until the sun goes down to have a good time? After surviving another holiday visit with the family in Michigan, where a new rule was set each time the temperature dropped another five degrees (don’t knock the nativity set over when you’re fencing on…
We’ve been a little under the weather lately and craving comfort foods. Chicken and dumplings. Mashed potatoes. And meatloaf, which always manages to fill our hearts and our bellies with warm beefy joy whenever we’re laid up with a cold. This week, we got a double dose of our favorite comfort…
At first glance, Hanny’s looks expensive and classy, with a cool concrete decor, fresh flowers and candles on tables and a hip, young staff in pristine white uniforms.The former department store (the fitting rooms are now the bathrooms!) in the heart of downtown Phoenix has a menu full of items…
Right on the heels of our hunt for dollar dining deals, we came across another local restaurant rolling out their own version of a dollar menu. San Gabriel Mexican Cafe at 7000 North 16th St. in Phoenix just introduced a “Dishes for Dollars” menu, which includes $2 tacos and tostadas, $3…
In yesterday’s Chef Chat, we learned that Andrew Ashmore, executive chef of Scottsdale’s Modern Steak, has an affinity for beef. For this recipe, though, he decided to share a non-steak favorite, Maple Bacon Glazed Salmon. The dish is a great fall/winter meal, with a mix of sweet and savory tastes–great…
Bittersweet seems to be the best way to sum up the Valley restaurant scene for 2009 — sweet that more than 100 restaurants opened in the midst of a very rough recession, but bitter that more than twice as many places shut their doors. Some of the bright spots? Read…
Mesa may not exactly be known as the culinary capital of the East Valley — yet! — but it’s catching up now that Boa Bistro, an offshoot of the popular Caffe Boa in downtown Tempe, is open. In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, Chef Payton Curry discusses menu updates and weekly dining specials at the new location. We’ll also…
Joe DiPadovaThe deep house and techno deejay and founder of ONE spins regularly at places such as Hanny’s and Cream Stereo Lounge and plays at Bar Smith Saturday, January 16. What’d you eat for dinner last night? Well, I’m up in Taos, N. M. right now, so I ate at a…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? Can you tell a melon baller from a cookie scoop? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer. Here are a few of our guesses, add yours to the comment box below: – Venetian…
At first glance, Andrew Ashmore looks more like a rocker than the executive chef of Scottsdale’s Modern Steak. The 26-year-old from Grand Rapids, Mich. has a youthful appearance, with spiky hair and tattoos peeking out of his chef’s jacket. But the young’n is helming one of the Valley’s newest premiere…
If you’ve ever wanted to name a beer without the effort and work required to, you know, brew it, this is your chance. SanTan Brewery is holding a contest to rename what used to be called the Sun Devil Ale after receiving a “cease and desist” letter from Arizona State…
As the Trib’s Jess Harter pointed out on his blog last week, “Valley chefs are the new homeless.” 2009 saw many of the top toques in town become restaurant ronin after their restaurants closed or they parted ways with their employers or business partners. But at least one of those…
When we heard about the two Social Justice teachers who went on a “Dollar a Day Diet” back in 2008 (they’re now working on a book deal) and Rebecca Currie’s follow-up project on healthy eating for a dollar a day, we thought they all must be crazy. We can’t even eat for…
