Our grandmother didn’t have elegant place settings or opulent flatware. But when the family got together for Sunday dinner, not one of us cared about the lack of decor. Grandma was a cooking machine and her family-style servings of comforting classics was all we needed to be happy. Maybe that’s…
HOLLA! HOLLA! Glendale in the house! The second season of Top Chef Just Desserts, the competitive series on Bravo showcasing the best of the best in the world of pastry arts hosted by Gail Simmons (Call me!), announced the cast of its new season today. In the running: Glendale’s own…
Silvana Salcido Esparza, owner and chef of Barrio Cafe, the Phoenix restaurant featuring modern versions of traditional Mexican cuisine, made the announcement today that Barrio Tequileria, her concept for the city of Gilbert, would not be happening. The news comes after six months of lease negotiations. “There’s a Spanish saying,”…
Right down to the name, Chef Justin Beckett has centered his Arcadia neighborhood restaurant concept, Beckett’s Table, around a stunning, reclaimed black walnut community table. Last night he took it up a notch with a new concept, the Grown Up’s Table, a three-course menu paired with three wines — served, naturally, at that now-somewhat-infamous…
In the kitchen with: Carla Logan, aka Carly Making: olive tapenade It’s a sweltering July afternoon, but inside Carly’s Bistro it’s dim and cool, with blinds drawn to filter out the light. And although we came during the lull between lunch and dinner, the owner’s life is plenty busy. With…
In search of a smaller waistline? Try bringing along a big-ass fork on your next restaurant visit. According to USA Today, findings released from the Journal of Consumer Research show that people who use a large fork eat less than those who use a smaller utensil. How do they know?…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 51: Pho…
“Thwack!” . . . “Thwack! Thwack!” ??? “Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!” One doesn’t go to Wahsun for elegantly plated Asian fare in an upscale atmosphere. One goes to Wahsun to hear someone chopping the shit out of a crispy-skin roasted pork belly before they deliver it to your table…
Bob Cobb. Ring a bell? How about cobb salad? Thought so. Back in the 1930s, Bob Cobb was the owner of The Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, and on one brisk evening found himself craving a midnight snack…or so the story goes. Out of these midnight cravings, coupled with a…
Is there no getting out of the cupcake mob? “Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in.” — AHHHHH! CUPCAKE GODFATHER! As much as I’d like to pass this one up, I simply cannot. Seriously, a hot fudge root beer float cupcake? With root beer frosting?…
Tina’s coming back, and I can’t wait to see her again. Tina Tamrat Hildebrand, owner and chef of Tina’s Ethiopian Cafe, unexpectedly shut down her cozy little Chandler eatery in 2008 after four years in the business. Tina acted as chef and server to many devoted patrons hungry for dishes…
This week we sat down to talk to the new executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton’s Bistro 24, Stephen Toevs. Today he shares a recipe very dear to his heart. “[In Rhode Island] My dad has a boat and so we go out on the boat and we dig little necks…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 52: Gruyere…
We can’t help but wonder how long this one is going to last. It looks like Texas-based Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is the next to take a stab at the restaurant black hole at 414 S. Mill Ave. Over the last several years, ever since The Spaghetti Company bailed on the space, it…
Yesterday we chatted with Stephen Toevs, the new Executive Chef at Bistro 24, about what he will be changing on the menu and how he emulated Julia Child as a kid. Today, he shares more of his story. After your rugby injury, what did you do back home? So I…
Two weeks ago, the prized Phoenix BBQ shack, Stacy’s Smokehouse, opened its second location on Shea just west of Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. The original Stacy’s Smokehouse has received tons of national praise including making Bon Appetit’s list of top ten new BBQ joints in ’09 and was referred to as “the fourth best BBQ…
Payton Curry, step it up. Bernie Kantak, I’m callin’ you out. Silvana Salcido Esparza, time to kick some ass. Seems as if the producers of the Emmy award-winning Top Chef are putting together a potential new cooking-related series for Bravo — and they need new blood. With qualifications that include…
Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 53: Chocolate…
Whether you’re a CSA devotee, a farmers’ market weekender or consider ketchup a veg, we’ll bring you fresh inspiration for how to prepare our local produce. This week’s harvest: Sweet Onions They are sweet enough to be eaten like an apple – it’s the fresh or “sweet onion.” They might…
Looks like Sweet Republic, the artisan ice cream haven in Scottsdale, has caught the attention of the national media — and it hasn’t been the first time. Prior to celebrating their third birthday last month, Jan Wichayanuparp and Helen Yung’s cool labor of love was listed as one of the…
Stephen Toevs (pronounced tay-vz) is the new Executive Chef at Bistro 24 at the Ritz-Carlton. Originally from Bristol, Rhode Island, from an ethnically Portuguese family, Toevs cycled through a variety of jobs and career prospects from petroleum to construction before he set his sights definitively on the world of professional…
How many enticing recipes do you save — then skip — because the instructions for ingredient preparation seem to involve more time than you are willing to spend at the kitchen counter? Every cook, even the pros, are looking for ways to save time while adding a variety of fresh…
