Restaurants

Take a cue (or a sound bite) from Eva Peron, who said “there are some oligarchs that make me want to bite them just as one crunches into a carrot or a radish.”

Chances are if you’re a fan of Food Network’s Iron Chef America, you’ve heard of chef Jose Garces. Recently, two of Garces’ concepts, Distrito, a modern Mexican restaurant, and Village Whiskey (altered for Scottsdale to Old Town Whiskey), an upscale tavern, have come to the Valley, inside The Saguaro hotel…

You are poets and you know it. Between the entries in our comments section and those emailed directly to me, we had dozens of examples of caramel-coated haiku in our first 2012 Caramelpalooza contest. Caramelpalooza will be held Friday, March 2 at 7 pm at Smeeks candy store in central…

Think your rice cooker is only good for making rice and steaming vegetables? You’re McWrong. Looks like the “researchers” at Japanese news blog RocketNews24 have come up with something far more interesting — specifically, a McDonald’s meal (Big Mac, fries, and Chicken McNuggets) cooked on a bed of rice inside…

If you like cooking as much as we think we do, you probably have at least a few referential or inspirational cookbooks tucked away in your personal library. You might prop them up against a solid mixing bowl and flip through their pages with buttery, sticky, garlic-y fingers and reckless…

Jose Garces is an Iron Chef, but then, if you’re a fan of Food Network’s Iron Chef America, the popular culinary game show based upon the Japanese cult sensation, you already knew that. And now the Iron Chef has come to the Valley. At just 39 years old, the Ecuadorian-American…

In preparation for Caramelpalooza 2012, we’ll be introducing each of the local chefs submitting their sticky, sweet creations on Friday, March 2nd at Smeeks in Central Phoenix. Today we’d like to present Virginia Senior of Urban Beans. An architect and fine artist, Virginia believes in the power of design and…

As if the need to feed our faces with the goodness of salted, cured pork couldn’t get much more intense, a new medical study is recommending packing your nasal passages with the stuff as an effective way to treat troublesome nosebleeds. The Guardian cites published work from Ian Humphreys, Sonal…

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. With the Valley’s food truck phenomenon still in full swing,…

It’s official — the lovely Lola Coffee on Central just south of Camelback (4700 N. Central Ave.) has been sold. It shall now be referred to as Citizen Espresso Bar.  Don’t worry loyal Lola fans, long time employee Tiffany Dew bought the place and she’s still going to be serving…

Today, the James Beard Foundation, the New York-based national nonprofit organization and undisputed standard of excellence when it comes to giving props to the culinary world, announced its semifinalists for the 2012 JBF Restaurant and Chefs Awards — and the Valley is seeing some sweet Beard love. Silvana Salcido Esparza,…

If the popularity of last Saturday’s pop-up dinner inside chef Cullen Campbell’s soon-to-open new Crudo location still leaves doubts as to his new restaurant’s appeal, Campbell has created additional excitement with the recent hiring of the bar’s owner, Micah Olson. “He’s whipping up some killer cocktails,” Campbell tells me. Sommelier…

Lately, in this In Season series, we’re taking 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 kale, farmers cheese, goat cheese and dates…

February might be the month that Cibo, the so-cute wine cafe and pizzeria in downtown Phoenix, unveils its expanded dining room, but until then, its tasty new breakfast can be enjoyed throughout the rest of its bungalow home. Available on weekends only, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and courtesy…

From now through Caramelpalooza — March 2 at Smeeks candy shop — Chow Bella will introduce you to the 17 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Lisa Rast of NutWhats. For years, Lisa Rast has been mixing it up with cinnamon, walnuts, oats, almonds and a…

On the heels of the news that Scottsdale-based P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. agreed to acquire a 51 percent majority interest in Arizona-based Fox Restaurant Concepts’ True Food Kitchen, the tentacles of another Fox property, Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar, are about to reach into every state east of the…

For vegetarian BBQ, head to Cave Creek to check out Bryan’s Black Mountain BBQ. Along with great options for carnivores, Bryan’s has a Vegetarian “Pulled” Squash Sandwich.

Starting today, we’ve got some introductions to make. Meet our Caramalpalooza candymakers, starting with Monica Castillo of Churn. Castillo, who’s worked everywhere from the Parlor to the Valley Ho, is a pastry chef with a degree from Johnson and Wales College of Culinary Arts in Providence, Rhode Island. The hardest…

Since it started its advertising campaign last fall to crown the chimichanga as the state food of Arizona, Macayo’s Mexican Kitchen, the Phoenix-based, family-owned chain with locations in Arizona and Las Vegas, is continuing its push to make the deep-fried creation official. The Republic reports that Macayo’s, along with the…

​The Caramelpalooza countdown has begun. Less than two weeks til the big night, Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at Smeeks candy shop. Later today we’ll introduce you to the first of our 17 (count ’em!) caramel makers — who will be bringing their best candy/sauce/paleta/ice cream/who knows what game…

After over a month’s worth of submissions, Ignite Food, founder Jeff Moriarty’s spinoff idea of Ignite Phoenix, has announced its lineup of presenters — each of whom will have five minutes to speak on a food- or drink-related topic. Headed up by customer relationship management consultant and foodie Chris Lee,…

Unless there’s something impossibly decadent on the menu, it’s hard to resist a classic Sticky Toffee Pudding. Sure, frosting can be great on a cake, but as far as toppings go, warm toffee sauce is a delicious and powerful competitor.