When an argument broke out on Twitter earlier today over whether it’s appropriate for a food critic to sell ads on his blog to restaurants he’s also reviewing, something sounded awfully familiar. So we reached into the Way Back Machine (a.k.a. Google) to pluck a gem from the July 8,…
There’s food porn, and then there’s Lucky Peach. The quarterly journal of food and writing reaches above and beyond the primitive salivatory satisfaction provided by last night’s dozen-course dinner of Instagram meal pics, adding a hefty helping of intellectualism to our dirty diets of food oggling. For the uninitiated: James…
From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…
We never really had a problem with the original Southern Comfort. Sweet and interesting, the spiced liqueur served its purpose as the standard cola mixer, and even made its way into the occasional cocktail. Then they started coming out with new flavors, like lime and pepper, which confused us –…
Oh, I know, it’s summer and I’m supposed to be talking about light sandwiches lovingly layered with garden-fresh fare, warmed by the season’s sun, and served with the sounds of wild peach-faced love birds. Well not today. Today is about hearty. Today is about meat and egg and slaw and…
Before you jump onto your smoothies-are-supposed-to-be-healthy soapbox I’d like to analogize smoothies to gay marriage.
Despite what you might have been hoping thinking, signs seem to show that the cupcake trend not only lives on — it’s still going strong. Earlier this month we introduced you to Sweet Jonez Rocking Cupcakes, the first cupcake food truck in the Valley. Yes, the fusion of two of…
Don’t worry, you read that right. We put Sam Fox’s brand new North up against Olive Garden. We thought it would be funny. We thought maybe Sam Fox’s new Italian restaurant would prove to be comparable to corporate Italian beast Olive Garden. We thought that we could prove once and…
Skye Supper Club — one of Peoria’s only upscale independent restaurants (offering live entertainment, no less) — closed earlier this month. Owners Terri and Ann Davies posted a farewell note to their customers on the restaurant’s website, saying:…
Allen and Traci Thompson, owners of The Grind and next-door neighbor Chick Rotisserie & Wine Bar near Arcadia, appear to have branched into Tempe territory with their newest restaurant, Mad G’s Grill & Tavern. Located at 19 East Broadway (Broadway and Mill), Mad G’s opened Friday, June 15, describing itself…
For cheese lovers in need of a fix on four wheels, your food truck has arrived — rather, it will have as of this Saturday. CheddaTruck, a new mobile kitchen dedicated to cheesy cuisine in the form of signature and build-your-own sandwiches (plus a clever little creation called Chedda Tots),…
This pin has been making quite the rounds on Pinterest lately. I’ve had a hankering for a waffle iron for quite some time and just never got around to buying one, but the deal was sealed after seeing this. I love potatoes, but crispy hash brown potatoes I love even…
From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…
Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here. Go shark-cage diving, get on a JumboTron, sleep with someone…
The Spot: Los Olivos Mexican Patio, 7328 East Second Street, Scottsdale, 480-946-2256. www.losolivosrestaurants.com (Second location: Los Olivos Norte, 15544 North Pima Road, Scottsdale, 480-596-9787) The Hours: Old Town location: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Happy Hour: 4 to 7…
From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…
The Guilty Pleasure: (Double-) Dirty Grande Soy Chai Frappuccino The Place to Get It: Starbucks Coffee; countless locations Valleywide The Cost: $5 to $7, depending on how dirty you like it and how you pay What You’ll Really Pay: 350 calories with whipped cream, 240 without. Counts more as dessert…
Brian Lester, who co-owns the coming-soon breakfast and lunch eatery Squash Blossom with wife Carrie, tells me he isn’t concerned about his restaurant being located across the street from the popular Matt’s Big Breakfast in Central Phoenix. “I always see a line out the door,” he tells me. “Maybe some…
This is part two of my interview with Payton Curry, chef and co-owner of the soon-to-open Brat Haus in Scottsdale. Read part one of the interview with Payton Curry here. Favorite thing to eat growing up: Grandma’s lefse, freshly churned butter and sugar in the raw. Lefse is a Norwegian…
If there has been a shining light regarding the fast food fiasco (dump) going on at the corner of McDowell Road and Seventhth Avenue, it’s been Vovomeena. From DJ Fernandes, owner of the Tuck Shop and its next-door little sister Astor House, Vovomeena (named after his grandmother), will be a…
Heads up, Hahnefeld and other local restaurant critics: You may as well turn in your badges right now. The self-proclaimed “food expert in this town” is one Maxwell Jeffries, a 6-foot-4, 72-year-old ex-New Yorker with a shaved head who’s made three rave video reviews of Ray’s Pizza, Taste of India…
Since he was a finalist on Bravo’s Top Chef Miami in 2009, Brian Malarkey has gone on to host TLC’s Mega Bites, made appearances on The Today Show, and opened five restaurants in San Diego (Searsucker, Burlap, Gingham, Gabardine, and Herringbone) as executive chef and partner. And now, a second…
