Look, if you’re going to name a business “Dirty Drummer” and serve food at it, better make sure it’s clean, that’s all we’re sayin’. The DD on Beck Avenue in Chandler failed a recent county restaurant inspection. Now, it’s not the worst report we’ve ever seen, but again, given the…
No, sommelier Marnie Old and Dogfish Head brewery founder Sam Calagione won’t be in town this week to pimp their book He Said Beer, She Said Wine, but hey, who needs them? The folks at Changing Hands Bookstore are hosting a tasting party anyway, and it sounds like a good…
Creme brulee at Vincent’s In a press release this morning, the James Beard Foundation announced its preliminary lists of nominees for various categories in the prestigious James Beard Awards. There are 20 nominees in each category, and eight Arizona individuals and restaurants are among the elite group. Finalists will be…
The curious little kid in us really comes out when we see a funky new fruit or vegetable. (It makes fixing dinner a bit more interesting, too.) One of the loveliest oddities available right now is romanesco, a mysterious relative of cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. Did you know that all…
“OOOOH!” a colleague said, after learning that a recent inspection at the Washington Street outpost of the famed Los Dos Molinos restaurant revealed reused chip bowls. “That’s always my worst fear — that you’ll get that bowl with someone else’s cuticle pieces and other stuff from their fingers in it.”…
Restaurants have you in their sights, dear budget-minded foodie. They know you’re just as hungry as ever, but that you don’t mind a sweet deal once in awhile. Not to mention, they sort of get off on the creative challenge of coming up with an appealing prix fixe menu that’ll…
You might think sushi and tempura when you think of Japanese food, but robata-yaki is also a huge part of the cuisine. It’s all of those aromatic grilled foods that taste so good with a cold Sapporo. Roka Akor is one of the few local Japanese restaurants that actually specialize…
All right, I’m having fun with headlines. But I couldn’t help but notice how many local “celebrity” chefs are listed in the “all-star” lineup of a charity event that just so happens to take place on Valentine’s night — one of the busiest nights of the year for most restaurants. It’s…
Just in time for the NBA All-Star festivities this weekend, Open Gallery Bar & Grill is opening its doors tonight. Owners Gary and Renetta Slone have been working hard to revamp the 7th Avenue space just north of Camelback that housed Tio Leo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina until last August. Now,…
I just got the word from Edible Phoenix publisher Pamela Hamilton that the quarterly mag has its official winners list for the annual Local Hero Awards, which recognizes people in the culinary community. Nominees and votes were collected online through mid-December. So congrats to the following folks who get this year’s…
Sometimes the best meal is just a little bit of wine, a little bit of cheese, and some good company. When I’m in the mood for that, I’ll raid the AJ’s cheese department to put together a nice plate of fromage. To go with it, I’ll seek out a great…
Every week I bring a new soda in the break room to review for Pop Culture and every week I get the same complaints from our tasting panel: It’s too sweet… I need to brush my teeth… My cavities are aching… I’m slipping in to a diabetic coma.This week we’re…
Please say you’ve had a Sprinkles cupcake. If you haven’t — and you live in metropolitan Phoenix — by all means, get in your car and head to one of the cupcake boutique’s few outposts, luckily located in Scottsdale on the northeast corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads. It’s worth…
Hot wings are pretty typical happy hour fare, but here’s something out of left field: spicy frog legs. They just started serving them for happy hour at House of Tricks in Tempe. In case you’ve never tried frog legs before, the comparison to chicken is a fair one. Tricks jazzes…
Happy hour at downtown Tempe’s Caffe Boa already has a reputation for being a great after-work destination, but there’s a weekly promo that sounds extra delicious: Tasting Tuesdays. From 5 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday, you can taste up to four different wines for five bucks. That’s totally a deal,…
In a thriving economy, we’d call Scottsdale restaurateur Peter Kasperski’s grand plans to expand one of his eateries (Sea Saw) and open three brand-new ones (Mexican Standoff, Shell Shock, Confection) “ambitious.” Reeeally ambitious. These days, as the SouthBridge spaces for his unopened businesses sit dark (oh god, the rent!), the…
Do you remember Beef Eaters? The old-school steak and seafood restaurant that closed several years ago and still sits vacant on Camelback Road? I drove by the other day on the way to Target, and noticed signs of life — looked like there was some kind of construction going on…
It’s been months in the making — surely more months than chef Wade Moises originally planned on when he and business partner/sous chef Nicholas Gentry left their gigs at Sassi, the swanky north Scottsdale fine dining spot, last June. But after finally getting the green light from the city last week,…
Nothing says “packed lunch” more than rolled-up fruit leather. It’s cute, it’s portable, and what’s great about making it from scratch is that you can guarantee that it’s actually made from fruit. What you find in the grocery store could be more accurately described as sugary, pectin-filled fruit candy. Screw…
To be sure, every visit to Fine’s Cellar ends up an impromptu wine dinner, but every Wednesday this month, the Old Town Scottsdale restaurant is doing something extra special: Chef’s Table dinners. Executive chef Cullen Campbell creates four courses tailored to each week’s featured winery. This week, Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir is in the spotlight…
Calabria Italian Grocery and Deli at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Roosevelt in Phoenix sure looks cool — but that was apparently not enough for county restaurant inspectors, who gave the deli a “No Award” rating (the lowest possible) last month. Without the health violations, this is the kind…
We love reading about ourselves, don’t we? How else to explain the Facebook “25 Random Things About Me” phenomenon? That’s why I thought you’d be intrigued by the results of a recent study of Phoenix and Scottsdale diners, conducted by Knoodle, a local marketing agency. Through surveys of 98 local…
