Ask most folks their first impressions of Arizona and you’ll most likely hear answers like, “heat,” “desert,” and “heat.” Not Olimjon Samidinov. His answers were, “freedom,” and “jobs.” Samidinov is a political refugee who, along with several others, was brought to Phoenix by the United Nations after spending a year…
How do I tell my friend I hate his band? Am I taking the right vitamin supplements? What the hell do I do with the $35 Aunt Mary sent me for my birthday? Life’s complicated enough. The last thing anyone needs is another decision to make — like where should…
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…
If you’ve ventured beyond the gringo-ized Mexican food served at chain restaurants or wandered into a Latino grocery store, chances are you’ve run across aguas frescas (fresh waters) — the non-alcoholic coolers that combine fruits, cereals, or seeds with sugar and water. Kept in clear jugs and dipped out with…
The most surprising thing about the signature Uzbek dish palov isn’t that it’s more satisfying and filling than it appears — its rich, oily, and cumin-tinged bites of rice, onions, sliced carrots, and pieces of tender lamb as worthy of comfort-food status as any American casserole. No, the most surprising…
I’m obsessed with making my own paletas (popsicles). They’re cold, sweet, won’t heat up the kitchen, and don’t require fancy kitchen gadgets aside from a popsicle mold. They’re the perfect summer dessert. This recipe is especially simple. And if you make it soon, you’ll still be able to buy strawberries…
Brewing and distilling go hand in hand. When boiled with hops and grain, the liquid in the mash tun becomes wort, which a meeting with yeast will turn into beer. When grain is boiled without hops or other solids, however, the mash produces wash, the building block of whiskey distilling…
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…
