No-strings-attached micro-grants to help launch your awesome ideas. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? Wait, it’s already happening. It’s The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences. They even have a chapter dedicated solely to food appropriately called, Awesome Food. Awesome Food awards $1000 every month to folks they deem the most,…
Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week. Seven Spots on Chow Bella’s Mill Avenue Wish List…
Heads up, froyo freaks! The Chill Frozen Yogurt is moving into the space of the former Tall Girl Shop (a moment of silence, please, for inseams of 34″ and over), in the strip mall at North 16th Street and East Bethany Home Road (next to Fleur de Teas and Phoenix…
On a recent drive down Scottsdale Road, south of McKellips, I noticed a small sign by the road for Villa Peru Restaurant. Located at 1857 North Scottsdale Road in Tempe, this new Peruvian eatery was too tempting not to pop by — and, boy, was I in for a treat…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 25: Raspberry…
Thanks to the newly passed Arizona Cottage Food Law, restaurants will now be able to serve homemade baked goods for profit — provided bakers follow a pretty specific set of government guidelines. With this new law Arizona joins a growing number of states legalizing home-based baking as a for-profit enterprise…
In this week’s “Cafe” column, Food Critic Laura Hahnefeld accurately describes what happens when you ask a Texan about Texas BBQ. You get several mouthfuls of discourse. Of course, if you have some brisket to chomp while the Texan in question takes you through the unwritten rules and regulations that…
Tired of the photo-heavy focus of Foodspotting? Is Nosh just not doin’ it for you? Frustrate not, food app fans, Forkly has arrived on the scene. Launched on Tuesday, Forkly is a new iPhone app with a focus on ratings. “Like” an item? Was it “just okay?” Based on your…
The other night, I happened upon a new ice cream shop in the strip mall on Camelback (Camelback and 7th Street), in Central Phoenix, between H.B. Hanratty’s Pub and Two Hippies Beach House. Called Sweet Sensation and only open a week, the owner told me he’s serving Blue Bell Ice…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 26: Pollo…
Talk to a Texan about barbecue and the discussion gets serious — fast. The eyes squint ever so slightly, the arms fold, and short nuggets about smoking with oak, dry rub, and the quality of meat are spoken of in a slow, matter-of-fact tone that sounds both polite yet final…
It appears America’s Taco Shop, the colorful Mexican eatery owned by Terry and America Corrales Bortin, is going the way of the franchise. After spotting a fourth America’s Taco Shop (there are currently two in Phoenix and one in Tempe, and, according to azcentral.com, one will be opening soon in…
Last week, Jeff Kraus, owner and chef of Truckin’ Good Food (named one of the nation’s “Top 10 Most Influential Food Trucks” by the Huffington Post) launched a new concept that will bring his culinary know-how right to your front door. Called Experience Gastro, Kraus describes it as, “a multi-sensory…
As we find ourselves trapped in the dog days of summer, we once again turn to our good friend ice cream for solace during these humid times. But we don’t want just any ol’ ice cream piled into a lackluster bowl. We want our cold friend sandwiched between two chocolaty homemade…
Chef Jeff Smedstad of Elote Cafe was cooking with foraged foods long before it was trendy. We asked him about that yesterday. Today we’re talking about blackberries. Last week he needed to get fresh foraged blackberries to the table fast. Foraged foods tend to have a “thin” shelf-life, meaning that their…
The intersection of Seventh Avenue and McDowell Road — an intersection that touches the F.Q. Story, Willo, and Encanto-Palmcroft historic districts — has been neglected by developers ever since SideBar, Pei Wei, and Starbucks moved in a few years ago. Not anymore. Progress is back, baby, and it (still) doesn’t…
In the kitchen with: Caroline Van Slyke Making: Home-canned applesauce Caroline Van Slyke greeted us from her Phoenix ranch-style home on a humid Saturday morning with bright red lips and the kind of ruffled polka-dotted apron that makes you think of what your grandmother might have looked like had you…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 27: Lee’s…
Whether you’re a CSA devotee, a farmers’ market weekender or consider ketchup a veg, we’ll bring you fresh inspiration for how to prepare our local produce. This week’s harvest: Pinto Beans Speckled “painted” pinto beans are a staple in kitchens of the Southwest. Did you know that you don’t have…
Uh-oh it looks like it’s back to Gus’ for late night/early morning pizza delivery. Eddie’s Pizza, the pizza/gyro/hooka lounge that stayed open till 5 a.m. has been shut down due to non-payment of rent. No big loss, if you ask us. If any of you happened to have had the…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 28: New…
The Arizona Taco Festival, the state’s biggest celebration of the classic Mexican dish, is now in its second year and has announced the first round of taco teams who’ll be competing for trophies, cash, and the coveted title of “Best Taco in Arizona” on Saturday, October 15, at the Scottsdale Waterfront…
