Yesterday we talked about the Hot Scotchy, the secret cocktail of the brewing community. Actually creating the drink is an involved process that requires homebrewing equipment, grain or some type of malt extract, and water, along with your choice of scotch. If you don’t brew, you’re better off finding a…
From now through Caramelpalooza — March 2 at Smeeks candy shop — Chow Bella will introduce you to the 17 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Tammie Coe of Tammie Coe Cakes…
No fair! Here we’ve spent weeks discussing options for an Arizona state food, and here comes the state of Maine with the coolest state food ever: the whoopie pie. Who knew? These treats are kind of (at least in appearance) like oversized French macarons; two rounded chocolate cakes resembling buns,…
After just over a year, chef James Porter is leaving Big Earl’s BBQ in Scottsdale, where he was chef and operating manager, and focusing full time on Petite Maison, his Parisian bistro in Old Town Scottsdale. Porter was able to open Big Earl’s (formerly Jac’s Pizzeria) just thirty days after…
An arcane and mysterious sect, brewers like to perform a number of rituals during the making of beer: the pre-mash dance and battle cry, the sacramental blessing of the hops, the ceremonial loogie into the day’s first boil. (ED NOTE: These are all made up. We hope.) But perhaps no…
From now through Caramelpalooza — March 2 at Smeeks candy shop — Chow Bella will introduce you to the 18 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Beatriz Alatorre de Hong, or as she’s known in the Mexican popsicle world, Paletas Betty. You could describe a paleta as a Mexico-born ice…
This week I am introducing you to my new favorite Pinterest indulgence: The Bourbon Chocolate Milkshake! The first thing you’ll notice about this week’s Pinterest-come-to-life selection is that it kind of sounds like a dance. The second thing you’ll notice is that this Bourbon Chocolate Milkshake has the ability…
Take a cue (or a sound bite) from Eva Peron, who said “there are some oligarchs that make me want to bite them just as one crunches into a carrot or a radish.”
Chances are if you’re a fan of Food Network’s Iron Chef America, you’ve heard of chef Jose Garces. Recently, two of Garces’ concepts, Distrito, a modern Mexican restaurant, and Village Whiskey (altered for Scottsdale to Old Town Whiskey), an upscale tavern, have come to the Valley, inside The Saguaro hotel…
You are poets and you know it. Between the entries in our comments section and those emailed directly to me, we had dozens of examples of caramel-coated haiku in our first 2012 Caramelpalooza contest. Caramelpalooza will be held Friday, March 2 at 7 pm at Smeeks candy store in central…
Think your rice cooker is only good for making rice and steaming vegetables? You’re McWrong. Looks like the “researchers” at Japanese news blog RocketNews24 have come up with something far more interesting — specifically, a McDonald’s meal (Big Mac, fries, and Chicken McNuggets) cooked on a bed of rice inside…
If you like cooking as much as we think we do, you probably have at least a few referential or inspirational cookbooks tucked away in your personal library. You might prop them up against a solid mixing bowl and flip through their pages with buttery, sticky, garlic-y fingers and reckless…
Jose Garces is an Iron Chef, but then, if you’re a fan of Food Network’s Iron Chef America, the popular culinary game show based upon the Japanese cult sensation, you already knew that. And now the Iron Chef has come to the Valley. At just 39 years old, the Ecuadorian-American…
In preparation for Caramelpalooza 2012, we’ll be introducing each of the local chefs submitting their sticky, sweet creations on Friday, March 2nd at Smeeks in Central Phoenix. Today we’d like to present Virginia Senior of Urban Beans. An architect and fine artist, Virginia believes in the power of design and…
As if the need to feed our faces with the goodness of salted, cured pork couldn’t get much more intense, a new medical study is recommending packing your nasal passages with the stuff as an effective way to treat troublesome nosebleeds. The Guardian cites published work from Ian Humphreys, Sonal…
Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here. With the Valley’s food truck phenomenon still in full swing,…
It’s official — the lovely Lola Coffee on Central just south of Camelback (4700 N. Central Ave.) has been sold. It shall now be referred to as Citizen Espresso Bar. Don’t worry loyal Lola fans, long time employee Tiffany Dew bought the place and she’s still going to be serving…
Today, the James Beard Foundation, the New York-based national nonprofit organization and undisputed standard of excellence when it comes to giving props to the culinary world, announced its semifinalists for the 2012 JBF Restaurant and Chefs Awards — and the Valley is seeing some sweet Beard love. Silvana Salcido Esparza,…
If the popularity of last Saturday’s pop-up dinner inside chef Cullen Campbell’s soon-to-open new Crudo location still leaves doubts as to his new restaurant’s appeal, Campbell has created additional excitement with the recent hiring of the bar’s owner, Micah Olson. “He’s whipping up some killer cocktails,” Campbell tells me. Sommelier…
Lately, in this In Season series, we’re taking a look at what I take home from Crooked Sky Farms each week and see what I’ve done with my CSA share, or part share. This week I’m using kale, farmers cheese, goat cheese and dates…
February might be the month that Cibo, the so-cute wine cafe and pizzeria in downtown Phoenix, unveils its expanded dining room, but until then, its tasty new breakfast can be enjoyed throughout the rest of its bungalow home. Available on weekends only, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and courtesy…
From now through Caramelpalooza — March 2 at Smeeks candy shop — Chow Bella will introduce you to the 17 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Lisa Rast of NutWhats. For years, Lisa Rast has been mixing it up with cinnamon, walnuts, oats, almonds and a…
