In Tempe, where people gravitate toward bright commercial clusters like Mill Avenue and Tempe Marketplace, it can be hard for off-the-beaten-path businesses to do well. The corner of Fifth Street and College Avenue is one of those places that’s had a revolving door in recent years — maybe it’s a…
After busy Friday and Saturday nights, many Valley restaurants take a break on Sundays. But it’s not a day of rest for everyone. It’s business as usual for some eateries, a few of whom are promoting special prix fixe menus as a way to get more people in the door…
Jennifer VanInwegen was the wife who couldn’t cook. Jennifer ordered the magazine anyway and challenged herself to recreate the gorgeous gourmet meals featured on its pages. Her life changed the day she roasted the perfect duck. Last year, the Phoenix resident and mother of two young children put her culinary…
Do you ever get a midday craving for a restaurant that’s only open evenings? Or a nighttime urge to eat at a favorite lunch spot? Two new-ish local restaurants have just expanded their hours. For the past four months, chef-owner Aaron Chamberlin has been sticking to dinner-only service at St…
Gelato master Moreno Spangaro, whom I profiled in a 2007 cover story, sold his business as of January 1 — something he once considered unthinkable. After years of being solicited for his recipes and potential business partnerships — and after someone even broke into the store to try to steal Spangaro’s secrets — the…
We’ve been a little under the weather lately and craving comfort foods. Chicken and dumplings. Mashed potatoes. And meatloaf, which always manages to fill our hearts and our bellies with warm beefy joy whenever we’re laid up with a cold. This week, we got a double dose of our favorite comfort…
In yesterday’s Chef Chat, we learned that Andrew Ashmore, executive chef of Scottsdale’s Modern Steak, has an affinity for beef. For this recipe, though, he decided to share a non-steak favorite, Maple Bacon Glazed Salmon. The dish is a great fall/winter meal, with a mix of sweet and savory tastes–great…
Bittersweet seems to be the best way to sum up the Valley restaurant scene for 2009 — sweet that more than 100 restaurants opened in the midst of a very rough recession, but bitter that more than twice as many places shut their doors. Some of the bright spots? Read…
Mesa may not exactly be known as the culinary capital of the East Valley — yet! — but it’s catching up now that Boa Bistro, an offshoot of the popular Caffe Boa in downtown Tempe, is open. In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, Chef Payton Curry discusses menu updates and weekly dining specials at the new location. We’ll also…
Joe DiPadovaThe deep house and techno deejay and founder of ONE spins regularly at places such as Hanny’s and Cream Stereo Lounge and plays at Bar Smith Saturday, January 16. What’d you eat for dinner last night? Well, I’m up in Taos, N. M. right now, so I ate at a…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? Can you tell a melon baller from a cookie scoop? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer. Here are a few of our guesses, add yours to the comment box below: – Venetian…
At first glance, Andrew Ashmore looks more like a rocker than the executive chef of Scottsdale’s Modern Steak. The 26-year-old from Grand Rapids, Mich. has a youthful appearance, with spiky hair and tattoos peeking out of his chef’s jacket. But the young’n is helming one of the Valley’s newest premiere…
As the Trib’s Jess Harter pointed out on his blog last week, “Valley chefs are the new homeless.” 2009 saw many of the top toques in town become restaurant ronin after their restaurants closed or they parted ways with their employers or business partners. But at least one of those…
Tempe certainly lost some major mojo when longtime Mill Avenue hangout Long Wong’s closed a few years back. In its heyday, there was no better place to eat a burger and some wings, knock back a few cold ones, and watch local bands kick out the jams. But now the same…
According to the Valley of the Sun United Way, over 260,000 Arizona residents lack resources needed to acquire food for the next few days. Eighty thousand will skip meals or consume meals that lack adequate quantity on a regular basis. Due to recent economic conditions, the demand on local resources…
I may never eat IKEA’s Swedish meatballs again. After a post-New Year’s Day pilgrimage to ogle fabrics and cute dishware that I really don’t need at Tempe’s uber-retailer, I remembered that new Hillside Spot is just down the street, on the other side of I-10 (4740 E. Warner Rd.). Considering…
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: DownUnder Wines & Bistro Opens at New Gilbert Location…
Local chef Beau MacMillan has had a six-month reprieve from some of his usual duties as executive chef of elements at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain as the resort’s signature restaurant gets a multimillion-dollar overhaul. During that time, he filmed the Food Network television series Worst Cooks in America, in which he and…
In the year 2000 we were supposed to see rocket cars and matter transporters. We didn’t quite make it there, but there were several advancements in food. Some are good, some are bad and some are just plain terrible, but for better worse, here are our favorite food trends for…
“Thai” this one on for size. Just when you thought you had mastered the various succulent varieties of Thai cuisine, Thai E-San is ready to throw you for a loop with pickled crags. That’s right, crabs. For more on these briny crustaceans check out this week’s cafe column. Food Critic…
There’s no absolute definition for curry, but suffice it to say it’s Pan-Asian/Indian comfort food. Roughly translated as “gravy” or “sauce,” traditional curry dishes from Thailand to India have found their way into the hearts and tummies of Americans. We do love comfort food, after all. What better way to…
Billy-Boy Wordsworth defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Fitting then, we should apply this definition when we speak of fabulous fare. See if you can relate to this week’s victual verse and feel free to pen a few lines of your own, should you be so inspired…
