The story of Rancho de Tia Rosa, a handout compiled by owners Dennis and Lizabeth Sirrine, spans six pages, single-spaced. While the restaurant just opened last spring, its lore supposedly goes all the way back to the turn of the 20th century, when Pancho Villa rode into colonial Juárez, Mexico,…
My tablemates can’t get over dessert. It’s been the topic of conversation for the past 45 minutes, the oohing, the aahing, the veritable drooling over the chocolate cake, the cream pie, the fruit bars. Any moment now, I’m sure the group will spasm, collapsing under the table with arms and…
Among the things that have changed since September 11 — television programming, color schemes — the phenomenon most widely suffered has been seen in our nation’s airports: namely, an increased reliance on airport food.Not long ago, you could get by on a bag of peanuts. Barring peanuts, you would get…
There’s a naked man hammering nails just outside the door of the restaurant. I can see him through the glass pane, working in happy rhythm as he repairs a damaged windowsill. Up, down, up, down, his hammer rises and strikes; tick-tock, tick-tock, his penis rocks, keeping the beat like a…
According to Jane Mitchell, I’ve been “sucked into the Christmas-tree vortex.” And Jane ought to know. She and her family have been selling Christmas trees for more than half a century here in Phoenix. Tim Mitchell Christmas Trees has been a holiday staple in the Valley since 1950, and remains…
Look out, Lalibela. For the first time since it opened almost five years ago, the little restaurant should be peering over its shoulder at competition for the Ethiopian dining market. About two months back, Blue Nile Cafe debuted just a few blocks away at Rural Road and University Drive.Cafe Lalibela…
In preparing for my lunch with Phoenix-based lyric baritone Jeremy Aye, I asked friends if there was anything they wanted to know about opera but were afraid to ask. For many of these clods, their knowledge of opera is limited to “Mighty Mouse” cartoons, and all of their questions seemed…
Restaurateur Karen Firestone may be new to the business, but she isn’t afraid to make a statement. First, there’s the name of her place — Cafe ah Pwah. She once took exception when I wrote that it sounds kind of Hawaiian. It also sounds kind of silly, here in the…
Chocofin Chocolatier has been providing its handmade chocolates to the Valley’s top resorts for the past three years. Now, the purveyor of artisan European confections has opened a retail shop in Fountain Hills.These aren’t just any candies, but masterpieces of all-natural ingredients so special that they’re sold by the piece…
Well, whack me over the head with a lamb chop. Just when I think I’ve seen everything possible on a restaurant menu, something new sneaks up and surprises me. And not because a dish is simply bizarre — those are unfortunately too frequent — but because even though something sounds…
Deli lovers have had their noses pressed against the glass at Times Square Deli since late spring, awaiting its planned August opening. Inevitable delays resulted in a November 1 debut, and an even greater anticipation for what was described as a restaurant ambiance straight out of New York City.The ambiance…
I have lived here in the Valley of the Sun for just a few weeks now, having moved here from Texas, where I grew up and spent most of my life.As soon as I got here, I picked up the New Times and immediately turned to the Cafe section since…
It seems diners are tired of being taken to the cleaners when they order takeout. In an increasing trend across the Valley, tip jars are showing up on the counters of fast-food places, take-away pizza stores and self-service restaurants. And if the letters I’ve received lately are any indication, the…
It doesn’t have a sexy name going for it, or fine, polished looks.But there is something about bread pudding, a wholesome innocence that has made it the current darling of Valley chefs. When my parents were visiting in October, we ate at the types of places one goes to with…
The menu at Scottsdale’s Cowboy Ciao features this actual guest quote: “That mushroom dish is so good, I want to take off my clothes and roll in it!” While Cowboy Ciao’s management doesn’t encourage that kind of behavior, guests so inclined might soon be able to give it a try…
There must be an international siren song calling from the building next to the Circle K at 16th Street and Campbell. This unassuming little box lures in ethnic restaurants one after the other — most recently it was home to a spectacularly flawed Russian eatery, followed by a short-lived Chinese…
The holidays mean warm family gatherings highlighted by good food. That is, for those who know their way around a stove. But for all the busy people who have helped Arizona’s restaurant industry become the nation’s second-fastest growing, a stove is simply a place to store pizza boxes.Yet there’s no…
From sports to the creative arts to big business, it’s the ability to perform under pressure that separates the professionals from the amateurs. Yet it’s also been proven that without pressure, performance can often flag. If that theory holds true in the restaurant business, Caffe Portobello offers an excellent case…
Twisted Vine Ah, the chilly nip of the holiday season. This is the time of year when the covers of Gourmet and Bon Appetit tempt with mouth-watering photos of succulent turkeys, hearty soups and stews, and steaming mugs of cocoa to warm our souls as well as our mitts. But…
Jim Fiolek is a genial man with longish hair in a braid who does a very amusing pidgin English impression. He is the vice president of Zaca Mesa Winery in California, and he is also something of a guru. He is a guru not so much among wine snobs –…
The Valley’s restaurant industry suffered a significant loss November 4. Myron “Bubba” Stephenson, chef-owner of downtown Phoenix’s popular Caribbean and Creole restaurant Chez Bubba’s, passed away in his sleep that morning.Stephenson’s death resulted from coronary complications after he underwent a kidney transplant early last month. The surgery hoped to resolve…
The challenges of converting a former 42,000-square-foot supermarket into a 500-seat professional dinner theater in Mesa presented greater challenges than the Prather family had anticipated. Construction delays played havoc, but it looks like the soup is finally on at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre-West, located at Brown and Higley. Gershwin’s Crazy…
