It’s a little overcast outside right now, but soon enough we’ll feel the full force of the Summer heat pouring down over The Valley. Our favorite way to cool down: a nice Thai tea. We’re guessing we’ll find a glass of the good stuff at the Thai eatery that happens…
The new iPhone is a lust-worthy gizmo to begin with, but if you’re into food and wine, there are even more reasons to chuck your Crackberry and give in to Apple: the apps. One of the newest ones, WinePhD, was created by two locals, sommelier Brian Pierce and his business partner/co-inventor Dave…
Been hungry for Thai food lately? If so, call yourself a trendsetter. This is purely anecdotal, but it seems to me that there’s been a visible proliferation of Thai restaurants across the Valley in the past few years, even more so than sushi bars or Vietnamese pho joints. There are…
We eat. We tweet. New Times food critic Michele Laudig is working all the angles for you, Phoenix — including Twitter, where you can follow her cravings. She’s easy to find: @michelelaudig. We’ve been on Twitter for a while now, and in between the tweets about Iran and Mark Sanford’s…
There are plenty of bars to grab a beer at after catching a sports game in the West Valley. But what if you need a late-night nosh as well (and don’t want to be limited to stale peanuts)? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we’ll profile one neighborhood pub…
Four Seasons pastry chef Lance Whipple’s fondant-covered, seven-tiered chocolate praline hazelnut crunch cake — inspired by Rio de Janeiro — won “best in show” at yesterday’s Confectionary Creations and Table Top Decor Competition, hosted at the Arizona Grand Resort by the National Association of Catering Executives. What’s just as impressive…
Joe and Myrah Aiello just dropped a line to say that they’ve finally launched their “back door pizzeria,” a takeout-only pizza biz that they’re literally doing from the back of their Italian restaurant on Central Avenue. There are 16 different toppings available on New York-style and Sicilian pizzas — and…
After this weekend, it’s time to replace “party like a rockstar” with “drink like a chef.” Friday night is a bit of a blur for most (if not all) of the participants in a Chef’s Tour of central downtown Phoenix restaurants (yes, and bars) dreamed up by chef Christopher Gross…
The Food Network has certainly found its fair share of TV fodder from Valley restaurants; will it find a future TV personality here, too? Maybe so — the popular reality series The Next Food Network Star is coming to town July 8 for an open casting for its 2010 season. “We…
Old Town Scottsdale is having a rough time of it lately. Just up the street from the recently-shuttered Fine’s Cellar is another defunct restaurant, Mandala Tearoom. As much as I liked hanging out and having a pot of tea there, I thought Mandala’s vegan eats were pretty pricey — not…
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: Now Open: 25 Degrees at CityNorth Sweets & Beats…
Lately, it’s gotten downright impossible to get a chocolate fix in Phoenix. Sure, you can still find a Milky Way at Walgreen’s, but we’re not looking for the waxy stuff that you’d find in a 5-year-old’s trick or treat bag. We want our chocolate grown up, funky-flavored and locally made…
This week we are bringing you reviews of three Valley Mexican grocery store chains, in honor of the opening of Walmart’s Supermercado. Wednesday, we brought you Walmart; yesterday was Phoenix Pro’s Market. Today, Basha’s Food City. Local grocery icon Eddie Basha was an early adopter in the Mexican grocery game…
Food Inc., the documentary film that’s got major, major buzz right now, is indeed opening at Harkins Camelview — but not until July 24, according to Magnolia Pictures. If you want to see it sooner than that, you’ll have to go to pretty much any other major or minor city in…
One sentence stuck out prominently in our minds as we read this week’s Cafe column: “Sometimes Phoenix can be a tough nut to crack.” So true. There are countless eateries hidden in shopping centers just waiting for those who hear of their splendor to seek them out. Even Pizzeria Bianco’s…
June 27 will be Barcelona’s last night in business before the North Scottsdale restaurant/club closes for renovations over the summer, reports the Phoenix Business Journal today. Designer Dodd Mitchell is handling the renovation, which is expected to take about three months. No word yet on what the new concept (and, quite possibly,…
What happens when you get a bunch of chefs from notable local restaurants, you put them on a trolley, and you take them bar-hopping downtown? I don’t know, but there should be some sort of cheeky punchline here. Anyway, it sounds like a fun time, and it’s happening tomorrow night…
AZCentral’s list of 20 new restaurants scheduled to open by the end of the year has suddenly been changed to 15 since the story was posted yesterday. Not hard to figure out which five are now missing — it’s the restaurants on Jackson that Bernie Kantak is planning. Should we read between the…
This week we are bringing you reviews of three Valley Mexican grocery store chains, in honor of the opening of Walmart’s Supermercado. Wednesday, we brought you Walmart. Today, Phoenix Pro’s Market. Check back tomorrow for Food City. Phoenix Pro’s Market (5802 W. Thomas Road, check www.prosranch.com for other Valley locations)…
Sometimes Phoenix can be a tough nut to crack. When it comes to finding the most intriguing local restaurants, this is like few other cities. You can’t just head downtown and stumble upon streets lined with eateries. You can’t explore an area and figure it out in an afternoon. Things…
As recently as a decade ago, grocery shopping in metropolitan Phoenix a la Mexicana was pretty limited. A carniceria here and there, and if you were lucky, your local grocer would stock a few spices and treats from south of the border. Now that salsa has left ketchup in the…
I don’t think “tapas” when I think of NOCA, but the new “Bar Bites” Thursdays are all about the small plates — that is, if you get a reservation to sit at the counter, and if they’re not doing a special tasting menu that night. It’s a fun way to…
