Three Valley-area barbecue teams have been selected to compete in the “prestigious” 21st Annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue.Barbecue pros from Blake’s BBQ in Gilbert, Otis and the Bird in Mesa and Rhythm ‘n QUE in Phoenix will duke it out against sixty other teams from all over the…
Cozy wasn’t what I was in the mood for until a couple of weeks ago. But then somebody flipped a switch — the nights dropped from balmy to crisp, my wardrobe shifted from tank tops to light layers, and my appetite went from cool gazpacho to comforting French onion soup…
How can the purchase of one clay bowl nutritiously feed 75 hungry people? Waste Not’s 19th Annual Empty Bowl Event aims to do just that. The handcrafted bowls for sale at the event are made and donated to Waste Not from the Arizona Clay Association. The empty bowls have a…
Chef Felicia Ruiz loves using fresh, often locally grown ingredients to create her dishes at Lola Tapas. One ingredient that remains a constant on the Lola menu is honey. Ruiz explains that she loves honey so much because each area has its own flavor.”People don’t realize that local honey actually…
It doesn’t have a name yet. But a new market-meets-restaurant that Gallo Blanco chef Doug Robson is working on may be open as early as December. Robson’s renovating a former Coffee Plantation at 48th Street and Warner in Ahwatukee. The freestanding building is in a neighborhood packed with chains, so…
Admit it: You love to watch. But that’s okay, so do we. In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, find out which local restaurant lets guests interact with the chefs and watch as they slice, dice and prepare a gourmet meal. We’ll also have info on offerings at the new Bluewater Grill,…
Can’t get enough pasta? Bol Italia and Loughlin’s Bistro just opened their doors, and the Italian staple looms large on both restaurants’ menus. Bol Italia, located in Chandler at Alma School and Queen Creek, offers pasta, salad, and rice bowls quickly and inexpensively. Chef Philip Occhipinti combined his love of…
Chef Felicia Ruiz is totally adorable. Okay, we don’t mean to gush, but she’s that special kind of person that makes you feel automatically welcome and at ease, especially in what she calls her second home, Lola Tapas.We guess her relaxed attitude might stem from her culinary education. Ruiz never…
Forget the wine, we want to cook with beer. Not just any beer, mind you, but beer of the tasty locally microbrewed Four Peaks variety. Lucky for us and other amateur foodies, Chef Marc Hennessy from BLT Steak is offering to show everyone how on Saturday.That’s right. From noon to…
It seems that Tempe is hopping these days. First we announced a new bar, then a new burger joint and now a brand-new, daily farmer’s market. We poked our noses in and checked the market out. What did we find? A lot of organic produce, fresh-baked bread, hummus, fresh sandwiches and…
After a few weeks of speculation that Metro Brasserie chef Matt Taylor was heading to glitzier pastures — Vegas, baby — word is out that he’s given notice with restaurant owner Fred Unger and will soon be heading to Sin City to head the kitchen at Michael Mina at the…
The imminent departure of chef Payton Curry from Digestif is the big news from this weekend.After cooking at the restaurant through the Crave Arizona weekend (October 22 to 24), he’ll join Caffe Boa, restaurateur Jay Wisniewski’s popular restaurant just off Mill Avenue in Tempe. (Another Caffe Boa, in Ahwatukee, is unaffiliated.)Wisniewski also plans…
Seven different signature burritos include organic black bean, vegetarian, green chile beef, and carne asada. Tacos, a house salad with meat add-ins, and combo platters are also available. And yes, there’s dessert — Cabo Coco Cake (chocolate cake with Mexican cocoa, butter cream, and cream cheese filling over chocolate ganache)…
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: End of an Era: Gourmet Magazine is Closing Dine…
Seems like the Arizona State Fair is ground zero for extreme eats. Every year, the fair outdoes itself for taking decadent, beyond-bad-for-you snacks and making them even naughtier, usually by dunking them into a deep fryer. What’s on the menu this year? How about deep-fried, battered bacon on a stick…
It’s not just a rumor. According to Daniel Wayne, owner of Lola Coffee, the old Calabria Italian Deli space in the historic Gold Spot building (Roosevelt and 3rd Ave) will soon become a second outpost of Lola Coffee. Wayne has negotiated a lease and everything’s underway. He hopes to open…
We got an early glimpse of the new casual Italian restaurant opening at Scottsdale Fashion Square in a preview dinner last night: Marcella’s Italian Kitchen. Suffice it to say, we’re still full. This is not food for the proverbial lemon-tarts-who-lunch. This is Italian food by way of the American Midwest (Marcella’s…
Live in Tempe? Lucky you. Starting today, there’s a brand-new daily farmers market taking place at the southwest corner of Unversity Drive and Farmer (seriously!). That’s right, I said daily. The Tempe Farmers Market is an indoor market specializing in local, organic produce, hormone-free meats, and other homemade local products…
If there’s one thing missing from our monthly outing to First Friday it’s blueberry mochi cake. Don’t get us wrong. We like street-side brats and popcorn as much as the next guy, but even once in a while we want to class it up. Seems Matt Carter of Nine 05…
It will be an all-you-can-eat extravaganza for charity tonight, when the third annual Taste of the Biltmore party takes over the National Bank of Arizona Corporate Center (6001 N. 24th St.) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. Participating restaurants from the upscale ‘hood include Donovan’s, Frank & Albert’s,…
The first dish I ate at Nine 05 pissed me off, and the second one depressed me. But it pretty much went uphill from there, and now I’m looking forward to returning. When you’re a restaurant critic, first impressions aren’t always everything. I’d gone to the stylish new “modern Asian”…
Phoenix java hot spot, Royal Coffee Bar, opened a new location at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market’s Urban Grocery, giving Royal lovers a second spot to enjoy their drinks.The new grocery store near Pierce and First Street hasn’t opened quite yet (it’s due later this month), but Royal at the…
