So…you’ve waited till the last minute again and all of your usual haunts are sold out this New Year’s Eve. We don’t blame you for being distracted, what with all that last-minute holiday shopping and gorging and partying. If you’re not keen on spending your NYE clubbing it up or…
We love the cute little house-turned-restaurant Coronado Café in central Phoenix. The place is filled with uber-colorful local art and has a hip staff, and its menu offers healthy, fresh lunch items.Bonus: The restaurant recently extended its dinner hours and is incorporating more seafood items since it changed ownership in…
It’s the meal that keeps on feeding. No matter how many bites I took, it seemed I could hardly put a dent in this enormous plate of ossobuco Milanese at Avanti Restaurant, the swanky, old-school Italian spot on Thomas. Can you have too much of a good thing? Not as…
Yesterday, we chatted him up. Today executive chef Brian Feirstein, from Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, shares this recipe for Maryland-style crab cakes. The dish is super-simple and quick to make, but its beautifully plated presentation makes it seem way fancier. Here’s how to make it:…
Valley wine guru Tom Kaufman (Rancho Pinot, Humble Pie) is doing a lot of last-minute juggling, but if everything continues as planned, he’ll be officially opening The Living Room Wine Cafe & Lounge tomorrow night in Chandler. “If the searchlights are on, we’re open,” he says. Keep an eye out. Kaufman and his…
Now that I can’t have Afghan food anymore, I’m suddenly hungry for it. Of course. The Republic reports today that the Valley’s lone option for Afghan cuisine, Kabab Palace (710 W. Elliott Rd., Tempe), has been sold. The new owners are keeping the name but have turned the place into an Indian…
Presents have been opened, mass quantities of ham and fruitcake have been consumed, and now most of us are stuck looking at piles of leftovers and standing on long return lines. What to do with the two extra copies of Julie & Julia you received for Christmas/Hanukkah? Bookmans Entertainment Exchange on Country Club…
Looking for a healthy breakfast on the go? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we’ve got the scoop on a recently reopened restaurant that’s dishing up coffee, TV dinners and breakfast grub with a side of retro flavor. We’ll also have info on three new burger joints in the East Valley…
For Brian Feirstein, executive chef of Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in Scottsdale, making an impact on the customers goes beyond the kitchen. The Arizona native makes it a point to get to know his customers on a first-name basis and crafts unique dishes based on dietary needs–more than what you’d expect from…
A Pane Bianco mozzarella sandwich is the great inevitable for me. Like sashimi, pho, or a good steak, I can only hold out for so long before I get extremely antsy for it. Right before Christmas, on a day just a tiny bit too cold to be sitting outside, I finally…
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: – Onion…
John Greentree The member of Autonomous Dumpster Divers, Food Not Bombs Phoenix serves food every Sunday at Deck Park at 3 p.m. He’s also a freegan, and you can read more about his dumpster diving exploits here. What’d you eat for dinner last night? Rotini with tomato vegetable sauce, ginger…
Metro Brasserie, the SouthBridge eatery that brings Parisian flair via the Big Easy to Old Town Scottsdale, just announced a meal deal for 2010 with an easy-to-remember price: two courses for $20.10…
Sapporo will not be swimming with the fishes, thanks to Tavistock Restaurants, a boutique restaurant company based in Emeryville, California. Tavistock purchased the bankrupt Scottsdale sushi spot on December 22, promising “uninterrupted service,” according to a press release last week. Other restaurants in Tavistock’s portfolio include ZED451, Napa Valley Grille, Alcatraz…
Santa arrived early for Roger Carpenter and Phil Roberts, owners of DownUnder Wines & Bistro. Just before the holiday, they opened their new, expanded restaurant in Gilbert (1422 W. Warner, at McQueen). Just like at their previous location in Chandler, they’re still serving distinctive Aussie eats to go along with…
We’ve made it to that week between Christmas and New Year’s. The final week of the year 2009. The pressure is off. We don’t need to wrap or bake or buy anything. This week we are not going to worry if our dishes match, or our floors need mopping. It…
Yesterday I finally hit up the new weekend brunch at Postino Central, and it was pretty much exactly what I expected in the way of breakfast-y grub from the popular wine bar. Grilled focaccia with herbed butter and asparagus hit the spot, with thick, barely charred bread that soaked up…
Ever wonder how big name coffee companies convinced the general public to shell out five bucks for a cuppa joe? Author and Temple University Director of American Studies Bryant Simon thinks he has the answer. Simon will sign his latest book Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks…
As more restaurants incorporate local ingredients on their food menus, some places are also putting fresh produce in their cocktails. At Metro Brasserie, you can get what seems like a serving of fruit in one refreshing Pimm’s Cup, which is jammed with cucumber, lemon and apple, not to mention fresh…
Imagine if Pixie Stix candy were full of sugar and caffeine; that’s pretty much what Encaff Energy Stix are. These little .11 ounce (three gram) pouches are packed with powder that’s supposed to provide an energy boost. The idea is that instead of troubling oneself by actually drinking a beverage…
Holiday party invitations can come with a BYOB- or “everyone bring their own hors d’oeuvres”-type tag line. Other invites, however, leave party-goers wondering what exactly to bring. While wine tends to be a go-to item, selecting a bottle can be a daunting task. Enter these five gift ideas, which do…
With the holidays come a strong sense of nostalgia, and there’s nothing more nostalgic for us than sipping Hot chocolate (with a shot of Bailey’s, of course) bundled up near a heat lamp on the Casey Moore’s patio…
