hef Matt Carter, a trip across Scottsdale means a journey from France to Spain — and back again. Now, that’s a worldly guy. The Mission in Old Town Scottsdale offers margaritas and twinkly lights alongside the Spanish cuisine, while Kierland Commons’ Zinc Bistro is tres Francais from soup to nuts. Chef at both, Carter moves from one to the…
Following nearly everyone else in fast-food land, Carl’s Jr. has finally come out with its own chicken wrap. Called Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Wrappers, each one features one of CJ’s chicken tenders rolled up in a flour tortilla with shredded lettuce, cheese and choice of buttermilk ranch, honey mustard, or barbecue…
The Arizona Republic is reporting this morning that LGO Public House has pulled out of the CityScape project in downtown Phoenix. Are you surprised? According to Howie Seftel, LGO is claiming “ventilation” problems in the space they were to occupy. In any case, we bet the folks who run La…
Thinking about whipping up a batch of candy for Caramelpalooza 2011? Better think quick: The deadline for entering our sweet contest is today, Tuesday, February 8. Chow Bella and our friends at Smeeks candy store are at it again, co-sponsoring a fun, free, filling-defying evening of caramel tasting: Friday, March…
We typically delete the emails that land in our box every day from cooking.com without even opening them, but today we clicked with abandon.Look! One of our favorite Starbucks drinks is now available to DIY. This is great news, as we’ve noticed that salted caramel hot cocoa has fallen off…
I like to think I’m a girl who’s willing to try anything once. So when our boss suggested a little friendly Valentine’s Day competition between Ask the Chef’s Carol Blonder, Thrifty Cook Cyndi Coon (their recipes will appear tomorrow and Thursday) and yours truly, I accepted the challenge — and…
Leave it to Kate Benjamin — you know, the woman who’s turned midcentury modern furnishings for your cat (no, really!) into a sleek cottage industry– to find The Nogg, a new, mod kind of chicken coop. We suppose chickens deserve to strut in mod style, too. Check it out. Now we’re off…
Colin Chillag The painter is currently showing his work in a group show at 5 and 6 Gallery in Scottsdale. He also has a solo exhibition planned for April at the same space. What’d you eat for dinner last night? Last night for dinner, it was linguini with sauteed eggplant,…
It’s being billed as “one of the most comprehensive series of grand opening events in Valley restaurant history,” but to be honest, the line-up for Sam Fox’s Arrogant Butcher is giving us a serious case of heartburn. Jason Rose — the public relations poobah who brought Phoenix pink tacos and too-saucy…
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: Radishes Here’s a vegetable appropriate for Valentine’s Day. These blushing fireballs are cute and sassy, come in lots of shades of…
Many savory recipes — whether vegetarian or with meat — call for the use of stock or water as a liquid ingredient. Adding stock contributes more flavor to the final dish than adding water. Choose stock to add that extra layer of flavor and deliver a more complex and tasty final…
There’s a lot of chatter out there about conversation hearts — cute plays on the iconic candy hearts stamped with messages, waiting in tiny boxes to win your heart and break your teeth. We’ve seen cookies, cuddlies, holiday lights, tee shirts, soap, even felted soap, all designed to look like…
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. Tradiciones Closes for Remodeling New in CenPho: Rum Bar…
drink can easily be made at home, click here for a recipe. Dessert: French Macarons Every time the character of Chanda is on the screen, I want one of these delicious little devils. I suggest picking up a few macarons from Essence Bakery in Tempe. We went with the Meyer…
Yesterday, while we Americans were wolfing down our Big Mac’s, Chicken McNuggets, Happy Meals, and the like, in Finland, a group calling itself the “Food Liberation Army” kidnapped a Ronald McDonald statue from a local Mickey Dee’s. Until their questions regarding quality assurance and production of McFoodstuffs are answered by…
Changing is a risky venture at best. A band’s first album may be critically acclaimed. If they change their style after that, they’ll lose some of the audience that earned their initial success. If they stay the same, they’ll get boring. So must it be with restaurants. Either you change…
Last week we brought you a sneak peek at the new eats on the menu at Big Earl’s BBQ, Old Town Scottsdale’s newest joint for ribs and ‘que. Meat explosion! Ribs, pulled pork, brisket, hot links, they’ve got enough on the menu to satisfy all your carnivorous instincts. Plus enough deep…
After getting to know Alex Padilla of Taberna Mexicana, he let us in on the recipe for his favorite menu item, Cochinita Pibil, which is a Yucatan pork stew baked in a banana leaf and traditionally served with fried plantains, Mexican crema, pickled red onions, and flour or corn tortillas…
Jennifer Woods Just when we think we’re going to have an easy dinner filled with interesting preschooler conversation about sandboxes and spiders, it ends up like this: … Stop talking and eat your food. Stop playing and eat your food. Sit down and eat your food. Don’t just pick out the…
The new year often inspires reinvention, even in the restaurant world. Among a slew of recent openings and closings was the December shuttering of Houston’s, a longtime staple at the Esplanade at Camelback and 24th Street. It was a routine lunch spot for countless office workers in the area and…
Goodbye January, Hello February! The Valley was busy this past month with the opening of 15 brand new eating and drinking spots. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to a few places as well. C’est la vie. RESTAURANTS OPENING IN JANUARY Fuego Tacos, 2501 E. Camelback Rd.Citizens Public House, 7111 E…
“Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh, soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie?” Up until two years ago when Georganne Bryant opened her colorful retro candy boutique, Smeeks, no one in Phoenix could. Seems Bryant started a trend. Up popped Sweets and Beats (now…
