Damn you, TV. First, you convinced us we should buy insurance pimped by lizards and a blanket with armholes. Now you’ve paired a fast-food chain with a D-list reality TV star to hawk an exotic, expensive burger to Americans and our suppressed sexuality and insatiable desire to exceed the monthly…
Oh, Phoenix. When will you ever get your shit together? I’m feeling ornery at the moment, thinking about how national culinary trends don’t always play out successfully here, if they ever get off the ground at all. Take gastropubs. What’s a gastropub, you wonder? Last year, the Washington Post wrote,…
Standing on a hand paved brick patio, vines climbing a wrought iron trellis, a moonlight sky, inhaling the scent from the wood fired oven, it was hard to believe we were in north Phoenix rather than northern Italy. It was Backyard Pizza Night at Jason Raducha’s. Professionally, Jason wears a…
Yesterday we heard from Chef Kelly Fletcher of House of Tricks. Today the conversation continues. While House of Tricks’ staple dishes are sticking around, Fletcher says he would like to see a few new ingredients on the menu. “I always want to see more offal, more sweetbreads, more tongue and…
A decade ago, just before I moved to Phoenix, I considered heading to New Orleans instead. My then-boyfriend and I called around checking on graduate schools and apartments but practically needed a Creole-to-English translator to figure out what the heck everyone was saying. Needless to say, it was Phoenix or bust. Ya tink? …
Hump day got you down? Here’s our fix: Wednesday nights at the Phoenix Public Market and Urban Grocery & Wine Bar at 14 E. Pierce Street, 4pm – 8pm. Don’t be a dork – bring your own bags…
Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe was temporarily evacuated when its coffee roaster, aka Big Red, overheated and caught on fire around noon. Owner Jason Silberschlag says the small fire caused no damage, but Cartel fans might expect to smell a bit of smoke in the lab for the next week.The…
Thank god for the corporate food world — it’s what brought Chef Kelly Fletcher to House of Tricks. “I hated [the corporate] side of the industry,” Fletcher says. “I was with an entire room of guys and girls with tattoos and piercings that had to break down our entire look…
Three separate lawsuits accuse Yelp of strong-arming potential advertisers.Are lawyers in the class-action suit against Yelp smelling victory? Yesterday, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced the user review giant would drop the “Favorite Review” feature and let readers see the reviews that would otherwise have been filtered out by its automated…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer, and to see if you’ve won a most-awesome prize. Here are a few shots at this week’s trickster, add yours to the comment box below: -…
Ryan Gaumont The member of Bully Mammoth, a local group that performs written comedy, performs at the Phoenix Fringe Festival on Friday, April 9 at 8:30 p.m. at Space 55. What’d you eat for dinner last night? Pizza and beer. But the pizza had mushrooms on it, so it was…
Even if you’ve visited downtown Chandler a few times, you’re probably not familiar with Simply Unique Gelato & Italian Ice. Since opening in November 2008, the husband-and-wife shop struggled in its low-visibility location behind SanTan Brewing Company. That’s “struggled,” as in past tense, because Philadelphia transplants Richard and Diane Martin…
If TV has taught us anything about Beverly Hills, it’s that it’s full of super-rich, catty a-holes who are beautiful, own Chihuahuas, and are anti-Clampett. For once, can’t somebody tell these folks where they can stick their Chanel? Hey, maybe someone on Food Network’s new scripted reality show, Private Chefs…
We just caught wind that the good folks at Urban Cookies will be debuting their new 1958 Aljo Canned Ham trailer downtown tonight, in honor of First Friday. Catch up with the cookie monsters on Twitter, twitter.com/urbancookies, to learn just where they’ll be tonight and beyond, as they’ll be roving monthly……
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: Summery Lunch at RnR in Old Town Scottsdale Ahwatukee…
When Chef Laurent Tourondel began his culinary training in France at the age of thirteen, he had no idea that he would one day be a household name in the culinary world — much less in America. “I don’t think I meant to be this way,” he says. “The goal was to provide…
It’s no secret that Chow Bella’s sweet on Smeeks — we’re still scraping the caramel off our teeth after last week’s Caramelpalooza. And tomorrow we’re grabbing the kids and heading over to our favorite candy store for Smeeks Day. Billed as a special day for kids (akin to a strip…
Roll credits. FoodLab 2010: Hard Cooking with a Vengeance. FoodLab 2010: Revenge of the French. FoodLab 2010: Molecular Gastrology Boogaloo, whatever you want to call it, this flick is finally finished, or is it? Plot summary: Beautiful, young, innocent girl (hey, it’s my movie), struggles through the horrors of molecular…
Later, gator. It’s time to say goodbye to the following restaurants that shut their doors during the month of March… That’s Italiano The Kitchen by Good Eats Grocer Pho Thang Long Nine O5 Tutto at Southbridge…
March brought us several new and tasty spots to get our nosh on. Here is a quick look back at what’s new RnR Mad Chef Gastropub Cody’s Smokehouse & Grill Rhythm & Wine Stingray Sushi Biltmore Sandwich Club Sola Coffee bar Jac’s Pizzeria & Pub The Grind Papi Chulo’s Mexican…
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what they don’t tell you is that it’s delicious during the rest of Earth’s daily rotation. Enter Crackers & Co. Cafe, a local chain that’s serving breakfast up constantly. Food Critic Michele Laudig on Crackers & Co…
