Restaurants

Film: Winter’s Bone (2010)Popcorn Alternative: Root Beer Glazed PopcornEntrée: Rabbit Stew with Bread and ButterBeverage: Beer or Root Beer See what we’re cookin’ after the jump…..

Yesterday we finished chatting up Patrick Boll of The Spotted Donkey Cantina ii and today he will guide us in putting together a super simple fish tostada. With the dog days of summer just nearly here, lighter fare incorporating fish just sounds all the more appetizing. This dish fits the…

There’s something about The Herb Box that makes me want to play hooky. As spring fever strikes with a vengeance after a fairly gloomy winter, it doesn’t take much to justify an extended lunch on the patio here. All it takes is an appetite. This new Old Town Scottsdale location…

Last Friday, locals craving a sugar rush lined up in the parking lot of Smeeks at Central and Camelback roads for Chow Bella’s second Caramelpalooza event. The judging is over, and a favorite was selected by both the audience and a judging panel — Essence Bakery’s delicious caramel macaron, served…

For Patrick Boll of Spotted Donkey Cantina ii, a two-word response to any question simply will not suffice. We got all of the trivial stuff out of the way yesterday and today get into a more intuitive conversation with him about his future as well as that of downtown Phoenix…

The end is nigh. Doomsday is upon us! The Apocalypse has begun – for oysters, at least. Scientists recently declared wild oysters functionally extinct. 85 percent of the reefs they live on have disappeared due to disease or over-harvesting. Luckily for Americans, 75 percent of the world’s remaining wild oysters…

If you’ve been waiting for a good excuse to make a giant batch of your favorite cookies or looking for a way to share all that extra swiss chard in the garden, we have a good one. On April 30th at 7 pm at The Icehouse, the NYC based non-profit…

Keyon Fareghi ​Whether it’s a politically charged conversation about corn syrup or we’re talking about the restaurant he was going to open downtown, Patrick Boll has a lot to say. This German/Danish/Czech chef is the driving force behind Spotted Donkey Cantina ii. Boll has been in the Valley since ’79…

Looking for more sugar? Check out our slideshow from Friday night’s caramel tasting at Smeeks…

We’re not super math-y over here at Chow Bella, but we do like to celebrate Pi Day. (Get it? It’s 3/14. Even we got it.) Of course we really like Pi Day because it makes think about pie, something we haven’t talked about much since our Pie Social with Roosevelt…

On the lookout for ways to recreate a classic dish or kick up the flavor of an old time favorite, veggie style? Try bean paste or miso, a mainstay ingredient in Japanese kitchens. Miso is a thick paste made from a base of barley, rice, or most commonly soybean. The…

The competition got sticky Friday night at the second annual Caramelpalooza, co-sponsored by Chow Bella and Smeeks. We’re not sure of the exact head count — beyond the fact that the line wrapped around the block — but we do know that approximately 2,750 caramels were gone in about an…

Four of the eleven food trucks promised to show through the weekend were there on Friday. We got our fill. First we ordered up a footlong meat packed sandwich from The Phoenix Cheesesteak Co. Sold a la carte for $9 or with fries and a bottled water for $11, “The Westside”…

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week. New in Scottsdale: Bonfire Grill & Bar Chef Silvana…

​Staying in? We’ve got you covered — both on the culinary and entertainment fronts. Now presenting Dinner and a Movie — a guide to a do it yourself evening of food and film.Spring Break is upon us and those of us who are staying home while our friends go beachside…

In a world where chefs are attacked for simply serving foir gras, being a carnivore can be a difficult proposition. Meatless Mondays? It’s bad enough the economy is going down the tubes without giving up a satisfying portion of seared animal flesh every seven days. Even Taco Bell, that refuge…

​Find Tracy and 11 other chefs at Caramelpalooza, Friday, March 11, from 7 til the caramel runs out,  Smeeks candy store, northwest corner of Central and Camelback. Catch up with the other candymakers we’ve profiled so far:Tammie Coe, Eugenia Theodopolous, Charlie Blonkenfeld, Meghan Olesen, Veronica Arroyo, Brianne Day, Virginia Senior, Slade Grove, Danielle Morris, Brendan McCaskey…

It takes some serious huevos to open a restaurant specializing in Mexican food in the Valley. Every variation on this, the most delicious of ethnic cuisines, must be present already, right? Think again muchacho. This week’s Cafe column argues that there’s a new restaurant giving the Mexican food scene in…

Caramelpalooza is almost here and Chow Bella (if you haven’t noticed) staff, contestants and judges are getting excited. Caramel brings to mind another simple to prepare, sugar-based sweet: butterscotch, associated more with nostalgic American desserts than fine French sweets.  The question that came up this week: what is the difference…

​Find Brendan and 11 other chefs at Caramelpalooza, Friday, March 11, from 7 til the caramel runs out,  Smeeks candy store, northwest corner of Central and Camelback. Catch up with the other candymakers we’ve profiled so far:Tammie Coe, Eugenia Theodopolous, Charlie Blonkenfeld, Meghan Olesen, Veronica Arroyo, Brianne Day, Virginia Senior, Slade Grove, Danielle Morris, Tim O’Connor…

Opening a Mexican restaurant in this city full of Mexican restaurants has got to be tricky. The demand is clearly there, but so is the competition, and it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. Homemade tortillas? Excellent guac? Cravable tacos? Even among the Valley’s upscale Mexican eateries,…

Before the “Honey Moon,” co-owners and bakers Tim & Joan O’Connor met while studying at the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1983; since then, the culinary duo have been partners in both love and food, opening Honey Moon Sweets in 1996. I ended up in the kitchen…