In a thriving economy, we’d call Scottsdale restaurateur Peter Kasperski’s grand plans to expand one of his eateries (Sea Saw) and open three brand-new ones (Mexican Standoff, Shell Shock, Confection) “ambitious.” Reeeally ambitious. These days, as the SouthBridge spaces for his unopened businesses sit dark (oh god, the rent!), the…
Do you remember Beef Eaters? The old-school steak and seafood restaurant that closed several years ago and still sits vacant on Camelback Road? I drove by the other day on the way to Target, and noticed signs of life — looked like there was some kind of construction going on…
Tanya Cruise is a trickle-down casualty of our piss-poor economy. With her boom years in car sales gone bust, she’s waiting tables, tending bar, and learning the tricks of a new trade. “I was pulling down 7K a month,” says Cruise, 26, shifting her career story in reverse while she…
Eat it raw. Cookie dough, I mean. You can also eat sunny side up eggs, make chocolate mousse at home and pull out the Caesar salad dressing recipe you stashed away because it included a raw egg. Pasteurized shell eggs can be eaten raw. The process used on them guarantees…
It’s been months in the making — surely more months than chef Wade Moises originally planned on when he and business partner/sous chef Nicholas Gentry left their gigs at Sassi, the swanky north Scottsdale fine dining spot, last June. But after finally getting the green light from the city last week,…
Nothing says “packed lunch” more than rolled-up fruit leather. It’s cute, it’s portable, and what’s great about making it from scratch is that you can guarantee that it’s actually made from fruit. What you find in the grocery store could be more accurately described as sugary, pectin-filled fruit candy. Screw…
To be sure, every visit to Fine’s Cellar ends up an impromptu wine dinner, but every Wednesday this month, the Old Town Scottsdale restaurant is doing something extra special: Chef’s Table dinners. Executive chef Cullen Campbell creates four courses tailored to each week’s featured winery. This week, Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir is in the spotlight…
Calabria Italian Grocery and Deli at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Roosevelt in Phoenix sure looks cool — but that was apparently not enough for county restaurant inspectors, who gave the deli a “No Award” rating (the lowest possible) last month. Without the health violations, this is the kind…
AriZona Green Tea is one of the most popular pre-made teas, so when we heard the company made a new Green Tea Energy Drink, we figured we’d give it a try, despite our reservations about how strange a “lightly carbonated” green tea might taste. Looks like: The can is black,…
We are in the habit of taking beer suggestions from friends. Taking someone’s word on a beer can be a dangerous proposition, but much like America’s slow transition to thinking of sushi as something appetizing and not as something that could potentially be a hot bed for dining free from…
We love reading about ourselves, don’t we? How else to explain the Facebook “25 Random Things About Me” phenomenon? That’s why I thought you’d be intrigued by the results of a recent study of Phoenix and Scottsdale diners, conducted by Knoodle, a local marketing agency. Through surveys of 98 local…
You know the post-holiday lull is finally over when there are almost — almost — too many things going on. Not a bad thing, especially when you like a few eating options. Today through Sunday, celebrate the Year of the Ox at Phoenix Chinese Week’s Culture and Cuisine Festival. The…
Ben Hershberger, master baker at The Phoenician, has spent 25 years traveling, perfecting his craft, and picking up a trick or two, like his super-secret 200-year-old yeast culture. When he’s not enticing diners with exotic and artisinal bread at one of The Phoenician’s fancy pants eateries, he’s turning out an…
Are you watching Top Chef? (No spoiler in this blog, fyi…) I thought the latest challenge — the one where the chefs got to eat at Le Bernardin, then had to figure out how to recreate the dishes themselves — was the best one yet. I bet the contestants were…
Whether you love or hate Valentine’s Day, you can soothe your heart and soul at Downtown Phoenix Public Market and grab a couple of nifty presents while you’re at it. Many vendors also sell their goods at local stores, online, or at more than one Valley farmers’ market, so check the…
Please excuse our absence. Gross Out got food poisoning and was out of commission for a while. But we’re back! And this time with news of the “No Award” given last month by county restaurant inspectors to Urban Campfire, the Tempe restaurant in the spot that once housed Greasy Tony’s…
I’m coming face-to-face with things I never expected. My hands have morphed. They’ve got nicks, cuts, punctures and burns that make daily tasks like shampooing and squeezing a lemon borderline torture. I have pretty much forgotten what they look like without band-aids and finger condoms. Plus no amount of moisturizer…
I’m so sick of hearing about the recession. Aren’t you? There’s got to be a bright spot in the midst of dark economic times, and for me, it’s the way folks are starting to get in touch with their inner bargain-hunters, being pickier about how they spend their hard-earned dough…
Last year at this time, it seemed like Korean-style tangy frozen yogurt, in the vein of California’s popular Pinkberry chain, was destined to overtake gelato as the frozen trendy dessert du jour. But did it get too big for its britches? I just heard Ice Tango closed its north Scottsdale…
It seems like every product on the market nowadays has to make a nod toward either being “green” or being healthy, so it is that we get the new Cherry 7Up with antioxidants. Now, if you live in Arizona you probably don’t suffer from a shortage of vitamin E, the…
Every college student has one favorite restaurant where they go study in peace or hang out with friends — an ultra hip, ultra cheap joint with cool art on the walls and a staff that doesn’t mind you sitting and reading a book for hours. For ASU students of the past decade, noshing nirvana was usually found at Pita…
89! I hear this is the best score ever given to an Arizona wine (Callaghan’s 2001 Syrah scored the same). Not bad for a debut label, huh? Wine Spectator rated Arizona Stronghold’s Nachise in a recent Super Bowl feature where the editors rounded up 22 top wines (a la 22…
