Eric Gitenstein was the kind of kid with food on his brain; after realizing he spent more time thinking about his restaurant jobs than his university classes, he made a culinary escape from traditional study. After culinary school, Gitenstein tested out a few local kitchens — from Sassi and Olive…
Get ready for The Duce, an innovative food and shopping experience set in a once crusty downtown warehouse in Phoenix’s now defunct produce district. (Latest word is that it’s set to open in April.) Back in the day, the area was referred to by local cops as “the Deuce,” because it was…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer, and to see if you’ve won a most-awesome prize. Here are a few shots at this week’s trickster, add yours to the comment box below: -…
Aaron JohnsonThe local poet hosts First Friday Ignite at The Firehouse this Friday, April 2. What’d you eat for dinner last night? All-you-can-eat sushi at Koi Sushi Bar and Grill (4372 West Olive Ave., Glendale). Favorite food: Anything with green chile, or good seafood. Least favorite food: Jello, or bad…
Every since Chef Payton Curry butchered a pig at the Devoured Culinary Classic, conversations have turned to what unusual meats one can expect to find at Caffe Boa and Boa Bistro (just wait until you peep tomorrow’s posting on his kid-unfriendly Easter specials). Turns out Boa isn’t the only place you can find unusual meat…
Ding! Ding! Ding! America, thanks to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (the best reality show on TV right now) we now have a winner for the Glad-I-Don’t-Live-in-This Hellhole award: Huntington, West Virginia! Great job, Huntington! What’s your secret? Children who don’t know how to cut food with a knife and can’t…
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: Chandler BBQ Throwdown Burns Brisket and Bridges Salciccia Pizza…
In this week’s Chef Chat, we heard from Chef Matt McLinn of The Grind. Today, he steps away from his meat grinder and gives us the rundown on one of his favorite desserts: Brioche Chocolate Bread Pudding. Here’s how it’s done…
Yesterday we heard from Chef Matt McLinn of the Grind. McLinn and his two business partners George Monzures and Allen Thompson opened The Grind on Camelback Road and 40th Street in February with a neighborhood hangout in mind. That said, the menu is a bit fancier than your typical backyard…
Molecular gastronomy. Please. The process was more like a cruel joke. Mixing food with chemicals? Impossible to find ingredients? Extra money for supplies? Outcomes resembling the back end of the digestive process versus the front? And, of course, the invasive metric system. The pranksters? The Frenchies at Cuisine Innovation, makers…
There’s nothing like working up an appetite shopping for Summer wear. Of course with bikini season right around the corner, stopping for a bite to eat might not be the most flattering decision. Then again, that’s what crunches and lunges are for, right? This week’s “Cafe” column discusses the a…
He’s back and grinding with a vengence. After selling Methode Bistro, heading up Pointe in Tyme and BLT Steak, and working a few low-profile menu consulting stints, Chef Matt McLinn returned to the spotlight in February with his own burger concept, The Grind.Call it a jump on the burger bandwagon,…
Dining in a department store is nothing new, but it’s no wonder the concept has such staying power. Keep shoppers on the premises to refuel, and hopefully they’ll go right back to spending their dough. However, Fred’s — the restaurant at Scottsdale Fashion Square’s new Barneys New York — is…
The shameful bronze. The withering yellow ribbon. Third place sucks. What’s the number-three U.S. burger chain supposed to do, what with Burger King’s Steakhouse and McDonald’s Angus burgers all up in its freckle-faced grill? Dig the scene on Wall Street last May: Wall Street Analysts: Listen, you redheaded freak, you’re…
Can you feel it? The grill smoke burning your eyes? The grease stinging your fingers? The pound, pound, pounding of the patties? There’s a war going on out there, people. A burger war. And poor Wendy’s has been taking on some heavy fire lately what with Burger King’s Steakhouse and…
I love a good challenge. So when a friend recently declared that “only seafood restaurants have good crab cakes” I was determined to prove her wrong. Armed with only a camera and the pipe dream of finding fresh fish in the desert, I headed out to two neighborhood restaurants in search…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer, and to see if you’ve won a most-awesome prize. Here are a few shots at this week’s trickster, add yours to the comment box below: -…
Chris Danowski The artistic director for Theater in My Basement and owner of the Basement Gallery in downtown Phoenix is gearing up for a mediated ritual for live performance event this summer. Check out http://timb.org for more details What’d you eat for dinner last night? Pinto beans, spiced with epazote,…
Wow, being asked to join a major network like NBC must be quite an honor. Imagine being in the same category with respected show hosts like Jay Leno and Regis and Kelly. Looks like the Food Network’s own cutting-board jumping/Mortimoro offending chef, Bobby Flay, is going to take the leap…
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: A Sweet Ending for the Devoured Culinary Festival Phallic…
It may be their shared Germanic roots — or their common Midwestern ubiquity. But for some reason, we’ve always associated burgers with beer and beer with burgers.But not anymore. Now we’re thinking burgers and wine, baby!The genesis of this happy change of heart? Sam Fox’s latest gift to Phoenix, Zinburger…
You don’t generally associate Scottsdale’s Phoenician resort with “affordable retail,” but in the case of it’s latest endeavor Grape & Grain, you actually can. While it is considered a wine, beer and spirits boutique, the Grape & Grain doesn’t purchase any of its inventory and can therefore can keep the…
