Restaurants

Apparently, April is a good month to open a restaurant in the Valley. Everything from Somali food to a reopened classic threw a hat into the Phoenix culinary ring last month…

Lately, in this In Season/Meatless Monday series, we’ve taken a look 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 roasted sweet potatoes, but you could use anything like butternut squash, carrots,…

OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create(‘ooyalaplayer’, ‘ZndDZobjpWmaOr5dxq8n2Ry4MCtFa_gN’); });Please enable Javascript to watch this video Meat Cutting: A Lost Art? But seriously, have you ever stopped to think about just how much skill it takes to cut a huge hunk of meat into sellable steaks? Local butcher Chris McFarland has. In fact, he’s probably…

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…

In Chef Chat this week we introduce to you Chris Costantino of Costantino’s Kitchen. After years working in the corporate world, Costantino decided to pursue what he loved most: cooking food. In 2003, he graduated from Scottsdale Community College’s culinary arts program and turned his passion into a business by…

Everyone knows that Arizona has incredible Mexican fare, but who knew that Glendale is home to an award-winning German restaurant? Located in historic downtown Glendale, Haus Murphy’s serves traditional specialties like Bacon-infused Paprika Schnitzel, Krakauer Wurst, and Hackbraten. The interior is decorated with German flags, beer signs and steins, and…

Until a few months ago you couldn’t get Seven Cups tea, the finest nearly anywhere, in Metro Phoenix unless you ordered it online or knew a friend visiting from Tucson, willing to stop by the tea house on their way to Phoenix. Things changed when Cartel got a Scottsdale location…

We’re always on the look out for new and creative food sites and this one is from a local woman. Valley resident Kristi Murphy has started Saucy Pants. She’s created a “universal recipe box” where you can add your favorite recipes to be able to refer to them later on…

In February, chef Johnny Chu, whose former restaurants included Lucky Dragon in Tempe and Fate in downtown’s Roosevelt Row district, told me that Sens, his chic Asian small-plate restaurant and lounge located on the periphery of downtown’s bustling core, has seen a drop in business. Then, earlier this month, Chu,…

With the flood of new restaurants opening up in Phoenix, restaurateurs Robert and Linda Gabrick of Carefree Station, the upscale, North Valley eatery featuring a massive patio and American-Southwestern cuisine (including the hell-hot Desert Tears), are planning to take their next venture elsewhere. Elsewhere as in Prescott…

On Thursday, we told you about the PDT Cocktial Book, the awesomely illustrated, if overly complex, book of recipes from PDT owner Jim Meehan. Today, we’ll share one of our favorite recipes from the book: Benton’s Old-Fashioned, which combines three of our favorite ingredients: maple syrup, bourbon, and bacon. Created…

Since it opened earlier this month, Crudo, chef Cullen Campbell’s establishment serving inventive raw seafood, handmade pasta dishes, and signature mozzarella, has been waiting on the completion of its bar area to give guests the total restaurant package. But starting today, Crudo fans wanting a libation or two before dinner…

This summer, north Valley residents in search of Italian flavor without the guilt may want to get into the kitchen — you know, the thin Italian one. The Skinny Italian Kitchen, a new concept from Mancuso Restaurants Inc. (led by New York native and longtime Valley restaurateur Bobby Mancuso, who…

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…

It’s weekend time and there is a whole bunch of foodie stuff to do. Whether you’re hitting up the Greek Festival, meeting Giada de Laurentiis in Scottsdale, or just make a nice dinner at your house, I hope you get to eat something delicious! Here’s what’s on my plate this…

May 27 no doubt will be a dark day for Tucson food lovers. Two of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants — Janos and J Bar — will serve their last suppers on May 26 before permanently shuttering their doors at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. In a phone…

For this week’s Cafe Review, New Times Food Critic Laura Hahnefeld explored the flavors of southern Mexico without having to leave Phoenix. Hahnefeld ventured to Jose Garcia’s, La Barquita (the little boat) and found an authentic restaurant that is a true homage to Mexican cooking…

Generally, cocktail books are easy. Slap a few recipes together, pair each one with a drool-inducing photo, put out a few thousand paperback copies, and you’re bound to make some cash. Providing value — and doing it stylishly — is another task entirely. The PDT Cocktail Book was released in…

This week in Chef Chat we brought you our interview with Chef Brian Hulihee of Roaring Fork in central Scottsdale. On Monday, he talked about how he got into the business and what it’s like to be entering his 10th year at the restaurant. Yesterday, he recalled family memories involving…

Mmmmm, macarons. I love them. Mostly, I’m in love with the way they look. It’s one of those desserts you actually feel bad biting into because you don’t want to destroy its beauty. That makes them perfect for Pinterest. They’re pricey, but after making them, I understand why. They’re finicky…

They roll up to hungry lunch crowds on Food Truck Friday at the Downtown Phoenix Market and into the New Times parking lot at 12th Street and Jefferson on the same day — but who said the mobile kitchen lunch bunch should stop there? From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m…

The 2012 James Beard Foundation Book Award finalists include several of our favorites. Any of yours? Chow Bella Book Club read one of the finalist’s books: Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. We’ll be reading another nominee, Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller,…