May 27 no doubt will be a dark day for Tucson food lovers. Two of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants — Janos and J Bar — will serve their last suppers on May 26 before permanently shuttering their doors at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. In a phone…
For this week’s Cafe Review, New Times Food Critic Laura Hahnefeld explored the flavors of southern Mexico without having to leave Phoenix. Hahnefeld ventured to Jose Garcia’s, La Barquita (the little boat) and found an authentic restaurant that is a true homage to Mexican cooking…
Generally, cocktail books are easy. Slap a few recipes together, pair each one with a drool-inducing photo, put out a few thousand paperback copies, and you’re bound to make some cash. Providing value — and doing it stylishly — is another task entirely. The PDT Cocktail Book was released in…
This week in Chef Chat we brought you our interview with Chef Brian Hulihee of Roaring Fork in central Scottsdale. On Monday, he talked about how he got into the business and what it’s like to be entering his 10th year at the restaurant. Yesterday, he recalled family memories involving…
Mmmmm, macarons. I love them. Mostly, I’m in love with the way they look. It’s one of those desserts you actually feel bad biting into because you don’t want to destroy its beauty. That makes them perfect for Pinterest. They’re pricey, but after making them, I understand why. They’re finicky…
They roll up to hungry lunch crowds on Food Truck Friday at the Downtown Phoenix Market and into the New Times parking lot at 12th Street and Jefferson on the same day — but who said the mobile kitchen lunch bunch should stop there? From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m…
The 2012 James Beard Foundation Book Award finalists include several of our favorites. Any of yours? Chow Bella Book Club read one of the finalist’s books: Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. We’ll be reading another nominee, Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller,…
Don’t: add sparkling water (or 7Up) … That’s a spritzer or wine cooler and you’re either a girl in high school or reliving your glory days as a girl in high school.
In January, I reported that Fox Restaurant Concepts had plans to open a second Arizona location of its trendy Scottsdale gastropub, Culinary Dropout, in Central Phoenix (another location in Las Vegas was announced earlier this month.) Located at 5632 North Seventh Street (between Camelback and Bethany Home Roads), the restaurant…
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…
The molcajete, the Mexican version of the mortar and pestle, isn’t particularly rare. For thousands of years, the three-legged round bowl, made from a single piece of rough, gray volcanic rock, has been used for making guacamole and salsas and for grinding spices. But at La Barquita, a Mexican restaurant…
Yesterday, we shared the first part of our interview with Chef Brian Hulihee of Roaring Fork who celebrated his 10th anniversary working at the Old Town Scottsdale eatery in January. Today, we get personal as Hulihee shares some of his childhood memories and talks about his family…
Ahhhh, the banh mi. Such a tasty and cheap little Vietnamese sandwich. Soft French bread filled with carrots, jalapeños, cilantro, and a delightful meat. It’s one of our favorites, but we tend to overlook the little guys when we are at our favorite Vietnamese spots because, well, because there are…
Hey, remember those pizzas with the crusts stuffed with cheeseburgers and chicken tenders you were asking about? They’re here. Yup. Congratulations. Pizza Hut must have received all your heartfelt letters and phone calls because they’re doing it. They’re really, really doing it. This is totally going to change the way…
Even if you think you don’t like sushi, you should go see this movie. With luck, it might encourage you to give sushi a shot. At worst, you’ll at least walk away with some idea why sushi is so popular. Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a stunningly filmed documentary by director…
This week we sat down with Chef Brian Hulihee of Roaring Fork. The last time we checked in with Chef Hulihee in 2010, he talked about his young family and his excitement over pink sea salt. This time, he’s celebrating his tenth year anniversary working at the restaurant. Oh how…
Looks like Michael Rusconi, the executive chef of Lon’s at the Hermosa from 2005 to 2009, and whose success at combining European technique with native ingredients and local produce garnered the restaurant a AAA Four Diamond award, has resurfaced to start a place of his own. The Republic reports that…
Editor’s Note: Meet Chow Bella’s new wine columnists, two men who likely need no introduction (and certainly no more wine, after the video you’re about to watch) — Pavle Milic and Brian Reeder…
We had so much fun chucking Chow Bella contributors Ando Muneno and Lauren Saria into the ring over food trucks, we decided to do it again. This week’s burning topic: Alton Brown. Ando: Alton Brown is the man and I challenge you to say otherwise. Lauren: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Ando: Seriously,…
“We have the same chef as before,” server Wendy Kohlhoff tells me, “and most all of us quit our jobs to join Leland again. It might be Ranch House Grille to our customers, but it’s Ranch House Home to us.” Kohlhoff is speaking of last week’s re-opening of Ranch House…
There’s one chef in all of Arizona who’s currently nominated for a James Beard Award. Up for Best Chef: Southwest, Kevin Binkley is making our state proud. But with entrees priced around $40, not everyone will be rushing to Binkley’s to see what the buzz is all about. Luckily, the…
Yesterday we met Rob Samuels, grandson of the creator of Maker’s Mark Whiskey and current chief operating officer of the distillery. You would expect a family with such a rich, bourbon-soaked history to know a few good whiskey recipes — and you’d be right. Rob’s father, Bill Samuels Jr., perfected…
