City Market Deli opened yesterday at SkySong in south Scottsdale. Build-your-own omelets, breakfast burritos and sandwiches round out the breakfast menu along with a variety of Starbucks coffee drinks and teas. Lunch is really where this new restaurant could excel, because, for the most part, the SkySong area is seriously lacking in…
Of the six dirtiest eateries on Maricopa County’s latest restaurant-inspection list, three have the word “super” in their names. Call it a not-so-delicious irony. At the very bottom of the list of 1,086 food joints is the restaurant of La Mexicana Super Carniceria at 5045 West Thomas Road in Phoenix, where…
Did you know that McDonald’s restaurants offer a real lobster sandwich? Apparently, if you hit up the Golden Arches in New England or Eastern Canada, you’ll find the McLobster: a combination of questionable seafood chunks, mayo, tartar sauce and lettuce packed in an overrated hot dog bun. In early March,…
Got some Girl Scout cookies in the pantry? So did we — hence, the Chow Bella Trefoil Showdown. When the challenge was given to create something tasty using Trefoil (shortbread) Girl Scout Cookie, the stress was on. The question is to do something savory or something sweet, to totally transform…
The Lexington Hotel was an unexpected stop on the Art Detour route over the weekend, as the group behind Cycle, downtown Phoenix’s first pop-up restaurant, opened their doors for a secret opening. There was no kitchen unveiling or menu sampling during the event. Instead, Art Detour volunteers served up local…
Winter and early spring visits to the farmers markets around town have us obsessing about vegetable tarts. We started out thinking of the quintessential tomato pie, the kind we used to crave in the mid-west in August, brimming with juicy Big Boys and fresh-picked sweet summer corn. But this weekend…
Last night’s line up on Food Network’s All Stars Tournament Round 3 pitted Beau MacMillan against Nate Appleman, Anita Lo, and Jacques Torres. You all know Beau from elements at The Sanctuary, as Iron Chef winner besting Bobby Flay at his own American cuisine game, and Season 1 of Worst…
Film: Winter’s Bone (2010)Popcorn Alternative: Root Beer Glazed PopcornEntrée: Rabbit Stew with Bread and ButterBeverage: Beer or Root Beer See what we’re cookin’ after the jump…..
Yesterday we finished chatting up Patrick Boll of The Spotted Donkey Cantina ii and today he will guide us in putting together a super simple fish tostada. With the dog days of summer just nearly here, lighter fare incorporating fish just sounds all the more appetizing. This dish fits the…
There’s something about The Herb Box that makes me want to play hooky. As spring fever strikes with a vengeance after a fairly gloomy winter, it doesn’t take much to justify an extended lunch on the patio here. All it takes is an appetite. This new Old Town Scottsdale location…
Last Friday, locals craving a sugar rush lined up in the parking lot of Smeeks at Central and Camelback roads for Chow Bella’s second Caramelpalooza event. The judging is over, and a favorite was selected by both the audience and a judging panel — Essence Bakery’s delicious caramel macaron, served…
For Patrick Boll of Spotted Donkey Cantina ii, a two-word response to any question simply will not suffice. We got all of the trivial stuff out of the way yesterday and today get into a more intuitive conversation with him about his future as well as that of downtown Phoenix…
The end is nigh. Doomsday is upon us! The Apocalypse has begun – for oysters, at least. Scientists recently declared wild oysters functionally extinct. 85 percent of the reefs they live on have disappeared due to disease or over-harvesting. Luckily for Americans, 75 percent of the world’s remaining wild oysters…
If you’ve been waiting for a good excuse to make a giant batch of your favorite cookies or looking for a way to share all that extra swiss chard in the garden, we have a good one. On April 30th at 7 pm at The Icehouse, the NYC based non-profit…
Keyon Fareghi Whether it’s a politically charged conversation about corn syrup or we’re talking about the restaurant he was going to open downtown, Patrick Boll has a lot to say. This German/Danish/Czech chef is the driving force behind Spotted Donkey Cantina ii. Boll has been in the Valley since ’79…
Looking for more sugar? Check out our slideshow from Friday night’s caramel tasting at Smeeks…
We’re not super math-y over here at Chow Bella, but we do like to celebrate Pi Day. (Get it? It’s 3/14. Even we got it.) Of course we really like Pi Day because it makes think about pie, something we haven’t talked about much since our Pie Social with Roosevelt…
On the lookout for ways to recreate a classic dish or kick up the flavor of an old time favorite, veggie style? Try bean paste or miso, a mainstay ingredient in Japanese kitchens. Miso is a thick paste made from a base of barley, rice, or most commonly soybean. The…
The competition got sticky Friday night at the second annual Caramelpalooza, co-sponsored by Chow Bella and Smeeks. We’re not sure of the exact head count — beyond the fact that the line wrapped around the block — but we do know that approximately 2,750 caramels were gone in about an…
Four of the eleven food trucks promised to show through the weekend were there on Friday. We got our fill. First we ordered up a footlong meat packed sandwich from The Phoenix Cheesesteak Co. Sold a la carte for $9 or with fries and a bottled water for $11, “The Westside”…
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. New in Scottsdale: Bonfire Grill & Bar Chef Silvana…
Staying in? We’ve got you covered — both on the culinary and entertainment fronts. Now presenting Dinner and a Movie — a guide to a do it yourself evening of food and film.Spring Break is upon us and those of us who are staying home while our friends go beachside…
