Social media experts often recommend that restaurateurs get interactive with customers through Yelp, Facebook, and Twitter. Well, how’s this for good old-fashioned interaction? Chrysa Robertson, chef-owner of Rancho Pinot in Scottsdale, does what she calls “backyard barter” — encouraging customers and friends to bring her the surplus fruits and veggies…
Every week, there’s a cornucopia of new Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you’re like most people, you probably just don’t have the time to get to all of it. It’s kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won’t…
In this town, the Bianco name is synonymous with amazing pizza. In fact, Food & Wine recently named Pizzeria Bianco as one of the 25 best spots for pizza in the United States. With Pane Bianco, Chris and his brother Marco brought us incredible sandwiches with focaccia bread baked on…
Lately, in the In Season series, we’ve taken looks at what I take home from Crooked Sky Farms each week and see what I’ve done with my CSA share, or part share. This week, I’m using artichokes, lemons, garlic, and onions. I first had baked stuffed artichokes at Maggiano’s in…
Happy Cinco de Drinko weekend! Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby Day, which means Phoenix is going to be partyin’. So, not matter where you end up or what you’re celebrating, eat well and drive safe! Here’s what’s on my plate for this weekend . . . Eat…
Chow Bella shared this recipe on Pinterest a long time ago, before Pin Up Girl, on a board called “Dare you to try this.” At first glance, I couldn’t understand the dare. What’s so daring about cookie dough dip? But then I looked at the recipe… What makes this rebellious…
There are two things that every guacamole recipe needs; the first is salt and the second is some sort of acid. The salt brings out the flavor in the avocado, and the acid adds dimension and cuts the fattiness.
As holidays go, I love Thanksgiving. There are no gifts, no decorations, and unlike those Sunday holidays (thank you not, Easter), I get a day off from work. And like a lot of folks, I enjoy Thanksgiving food. So much, in fact, I find it a shame that it only…
If you have heard Korean boy-band Super Junior’s Eun Hyuk promoting japchae or Park Myeong-su and Jessica of the Korean girl group Girls’ Generation sing “Naengmyeon,” then you have a fairly good idea of how inspiring Korean food can be. And so it was with me, recently, on a trip…
May 5: Big day this year. While Cinco de Mayo — the yearly celebration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces in 1862 — lands on the same date annually, only occasionally does it also match up with the Kentucky Derby, held the first Saturday in May. The…
The details are fuzzy, but I believe I spent most of a recent long weekend in L.A.’s Koreatown. What I do remember, in between rock ‘n’ roll and drinking beer from a cooler, is making my way into the vibrant neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles on several occasions in search…
When pizza guru/restaurateur Chris Bianco brought chef Claudio Urciuoli onboard to run his generically named Italian Restaurant — which opened in Central Phoenix last January — the partnership promised to be interesting, at the very least. Both men have earned stellar reputations for their meticulous sourcing, and both have definite…
The macaron craze of 2010 may have died down — we haven’t seen quite as many photos of the colorful sandwich cookies flavored with everything from salmon to strawberry gracing the pages of our favorite food porn sites — but the Parisian treats haven’t lost their elegant appeal. And that…
Because there’s room in its push-up bra for everyone, Twin Peaks, the Dallas-based “breastaurant” chain (an actual term used to describe restaurants that employ scantily clad women as waitresses) is busting out with some news that it will put one of its franchises in Tucson. But before that happens, it…
This week in Chef Chat we’ve been talking with Chris Costantino of Costantino’s Kitchen. His line of handmade gourmet sauces and seasonings began with one recipe, a recipe for tomato basil pasta sauce he learned from his Grandma Angie. Today, you can find his line of products at farmers markets…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
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. When it comes to food, everyone has their vices. But…
Editor’s Note: We inadvertently reported that Breakfast Club hadn’t yet opened at CityScape. The error has been fixed. Chef-restaurateur Aaron May got a little surprise late last week from RED Development, the commercial real estate company behind CityScape in downtown Phoenix. The larger-than-life owner of Vitamin T, a taco shop…
On the heels of opening a new concept and acquiring a majority interest in True Food Kitchen,, Scottsdale-based P.F. Chang’s announced today it is selling more than spicy chicken and wontons…
Chef Chat this week has brought you into Costantino’s Kitchen, where Chris Costantino is cooking up small, handmade batches of his Grandma Angie’s Tomato Basil Sauce. On Monday, we talked about how he broke into the culinary world from his past corporate life, and got the scoop on the sauce…
It seems as if Arizona hasn’t had its fill of chain restaurants just yet — even if they come in the form of anniversary presents. Togo’s Eateries, a chain of fast casual sandwich shops based in San Jose, California (once owned by the same parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and…
Today’s culinary travelogue takes us into tall-tale land, at least for this dish’s most unusual name. The story goes that a very poor man whose family was going to his home for dinner could not buy enough food to feed them. So he went to his closet, gathered some old…
