Drip Coffee Lounge vs. Tammie Coe Cakes & MJ BreadA reader suggested we compare breakfast sammies and we were more than delighted to oblige. That’s how we ended up spending Sunday morning flitting between two popular downtown Phoenix eateries. It was an ideal time to scope out the breakfast sandwich…
Not quite two weeks old, Scottsdale’s Petite Maison is adding brunch service to its repertoire this weekend. Until now, chef James Porter has been sticking to nightly dinner at his new French country bistro. For the Labor Day holiday, he’ll be serving quiche, beignets, poached eggs with housemade boudin blanc, saumon…
Slow Food Phoenix says that the current standard of fast food and junk food in school lunches serves the escalating obesity and diabetes epidemic in America. (Not to mention, there’s the ethical sketchiness of putting Taco Bell and Pizza Hut products in schools.) So to raise awareness, the group is inviting Valley…
For Tempe’s eastsiders, Gold Bar Espresso has been a staple for many years.If Solo Cafe (which we covered yesterday) is decorated like a great-aunt’s house, Gold Bar is decorated more like that aunt who is too young to be a hippie but too old to be anything too hip. It’s…
Love Food Network’s combat cookery shows? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, find out which upcoming competition will be hosted by Iron Chef America winner Mark Tarbell of Tarbell’s Restaurant, and which two local chefs will battle it out in the kitchen. We’ve also got the word on a trendy new…
It’s only been open two months, but Sunnyslope’s Central Grille is already undergoing a menu overhaul — and an upgrade, from the sounds of it. Executive chef Bruce Griffin III, who took the helm in the kitchen last week, is the former sous chef at the AAA Five Diamond dining destination…
You’re working late. You’re partying late. You’ve had too much to drink and you need to soak up the booze in your belly. Or maybe your idea of a midnight snack is more elaborate than those leftovers in your fridge. Where to go? Good question — the Valley could stand…
With school back in session, ’tis the season to start cramming and caffeinating. This week, we head to Tempe to see what main campus cafes have to offer. Solo Café has been on the corner of Mill Avenue and Baseline Road for almost two years. The café is cute, clean,…
Downtown Tempe is getting in on the local farmers market scene with its own weekly event starting this week — just in time for ASU students to stock their tiny dorm room fridges with goodies from the farm. The Market on Mill debuts Thursday, September 3, presented by the Downtown Tempe…
The folks behind the The Downtown Phoenix Public Market Urban Grocery & Wine Bar set their sights pretty high, and they plan on being more than a grocery store. It will be a permanent home to the farmers market, as well as a coffee shop, wine bar, and community kitchen…
Asparagus is no longer in season but that doesn’t stop the Gutel household from gobbling it by the pound. Simply put, we adore asparagus and the best way to cook it is to roast it in the oven and then wrap each stalk in a thin slice of prosciutto. There’s…
“What’s your specialty drink?” and “What’s the most caffeinated coffee you carry?” are pretty common questions at a coffee shop. Usually, baristas will give a specific answer: at Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe, they recommended the iced toddy. At Gold Bar Espresso in Tempe, we were encouraged to try the…
What’s better than homemade ice cream in the middle of a late August heat wave? Cheap homemade ice cream in the middle of a late August heat wave. Lucky for us, Superstition Farms is offering some sweet dairy discounts and exclusives for cow connoisseurs who join their Dairy Club, which…
Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Caffiend: Conspire’s Chai Latte Opening This Week: Two Hippies…
Get out your calendars, folks. And your credit cards. You’ve paid your dues through the most boooring part of summer, and now you can finally treat yourselves with tickets or reservations for some exciting culinary events coming up in the next month or so. It’s just the beginning of the…
If you’ve driven past Sonora Brewhouse sometime in the last month, you might’ve noticed a different name on the sign for the brewpub. Now it goes by SunUp Brewing Co. But if you’re a fan of this cozy little hangout — where you can chow down on really good burgers…
In just under five years, the Downtown Phoenix Public Market has gone from a small, plucky farmers market to a bustling, thriving food event open two days week. Saturdays at the market are so popular that they’ve spilled into the street. This fall, the market will get even bigger, with…
When we first heard that this week’s cafe column was about a pizzeria in a former beauty parlor, we could help but let our imaginations run wild. What if we could get a hair cut, beard trim, and maybe even a post-shampoo scalp massage while gorging ourselves on slice after…
It makes sense that the brand-new Total Wine store in Tempe is right next to IKEA. They’re both the kind of places where you could lose yourself wandering the aisles, browsing an overwhelming variety of products, and imagining all the possibilities. In the case of Total Wine, you can end…
After seven years in business, Old Town Scottsdale comfort food favorite Fusion has closed its doors. Owner Matt Long says he decided to quietly close in early July, blaming the opening of the W Scottsdale — and with it, fewer area parking spaces — for a decline in business. People don’t…
The Brownie Connection vs. Udder DelightsThere are hundreds of places to eat ice cream in the Phoenix area, but this week’s foodie smackdown is centered on the East Valley. We visit two cutesy spots in Gilbert that are just two miles apart from each other and compare the way they…
How would you define the quintessential Phoenix restaurant? For me, the old cliché about the mythological firebird rising from the ashes rings strangely true when it comes to some of the more distinctive neighborhood spots. We preserve our old buildings — and with them, our history — by repurposing them…
