When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
Missing teeth, stolen police cars — and where the hell is Mike Tyson’s tiger? At one time or another, most of us have experienced the unpleasant and sometimes even life-altering effects following the heavy use of alcohol. Most everyone’s got their swear-by-it hangover cure, but what about Valley chefs and…
From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…
This weekend, Chow Bella dropped in at one of the coolest ice cream shops around town, Churn. Between its fun and funky décor, old-school candies, and one-of-a-kind flavors, this artisan ice cream parlor has got all the makings of a great summer dessert destination. Check out the photos as Churn’s…
Sonoran hot dogs? Not a damn thing wrong with ’em. Most of us have consumed with fond appreciation our fair share of the bacon-wrapped creations at several joints in the Valley. But go south — way south — of the border and there’s another Mexican-style hot dog just as flavorful,…
With restaurants like the Hotel Palomar’s Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails opening its doors today, new taco shop Fuego CityScape (which moved into Aaron May’s former Vitamin T Space) opening later this month, and pan-Asian restaurant Silk Sushi still planning to open later this summer, can downtown’s CityScape handle any…
From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…
Minerva Orduño Rincón, the pig-tailed line cook at FnB, swears she’s not a pastry person by nature, citing her lack of patience for “all that measuring” as the reason. But the proof is in the pudding, or, in this case, the coyota ($3), an utterly delicious little Mexican pastry she…
We had so much fun chucking Chow Bella contributors Ando Muneno and Lauren Saria into the ring over Alton Brown, food trucks, movie theaters with food and pho that we put them back at it again. This week’s topic: Matt’s Big Breakfast. Lauren: A few weeks ago, I was sharing…
After almost five years, Aiello’s, the Italian restaurant at 5202 North Central Avenue owned by husband-and-wife team and ex-Manhattanites Joe and Myrah Aiello, has been shuttered. A neighborhood favorite, Aiello’s was known for affordable Italian dishes such as lasagna, with its sausage-studded sauce, as well as delicate gnocchi and melt-in-your-mouth…
Promising to be more gastronomically satisfying than the song “Milkshake” by Kelis (hey, that song isn’t about milkshakes!), five chefs throughout the Valley are bringing their custom creations to select restaurants throughout the month of June. As part of The Dairy Council of Arizona’s first “Moo-ving Milkshake Shop,” chef Ehren…
There was a day when a bartender was a bartender. Period. The end. But in recent years, more and more bartenders have begun calling themselves mixologists, a term with a distinctly academic ring to it. You don’t have to be a semanticist to imagine how that sits with some people,…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
Odds are good that if you’re a gringo, you haven’t heard of Pizza Patrón. Don’t be too surprised. It caters primarily to Hispanic markets, with its metro Phoenix locations concentrated in South Phoenix, Maryvale, and central Mesa. Chorizo is an available topping and jalapeños are one of the most popular…
From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…
Josh Hebert Posh Improvisational Cuisine 7167 E. Rancho Vista Drive, Scottsdale 480-663-7676 www.poshscottsdale.com How long has Josh Hebert been obsessed with food? Let’s put it this way: one of his first words was “breakfast.” It’s an elaborate family story his mother loves to tell, he says, adding that he actually…
A couple swanky spots opened up in the month of May, particularly in Scottsdale. At the same time the Valley had to bid a restaurant with more than 20 years of history adieu. That’s like 100 years in Phoenix restaurant years…
Last month, we were excited to report that Chow Bella won best opinion blog from the Arizona Press Club. Now results are starting to come in from some national writing contests — and there’s cause for more celebration. Food critic Laura Hahnefeld is a finalist in the Association of Food…
Every week, there’s a cornucopia of new Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you’re like most people, you probably just don’t have the time to get to all of it. It’s kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won’t…
Sam Fox: Love him or hate him, chances are you have some opinion about this Valley-based restaurateur. Not everyone likes the idea of one guy cranking out 12 (yes, 12!) restaurant concepts in 14 years. But even if not all of them are winners, at the very least Fox is…
Try and bite into one of Oakland artist Scott Hove’s cakes and chances are they’ll bite back. From a concept he started in 2005 called “Cakeland,” Hove created a body of work joining the beautiful and the brutal, and helps describe his sculptures by saying, “All beautiful things are equipped…
Kale? Please, that is so last week. And don’t even get us started on arugula. There’s a new vegetable on the block: glacier lettuce. And believe it or not, it grows well right here in the desert…
