This week’s cafe column poses a serious question; a sushi question. Is Moira Sushi Bar & Kitchen, the first downtown sushi bar in many years, worth the wait? Personally, we’ve been driving out to Sushi Ken or Te Haru to satisfy our delicious sushi and gimmicky sushi cravings respectively. The thought…
Since I reported the upcoming closure of Sea Saw — this Sunday is its last night of service — the restaurant’s been deluged with people wanting to come in before it’s too late. So to give everyone a chance to say farewell (until chef Nobuo Fukuda’s next venture, that is),…
It’s not very often that I blog while cracking up out loud, but rest assured, I have a little tear in my eye right now. Just got a press release from Portland’s announcing the debut of their Metro burger, topped with Fontina, BBQ sauce, and sauteed onions, created “in honor”…
It’s no secret that Japanese food is my obsession. I’ve certainly written about it enough times, rapturously blogged about it, photographed it, and sought out ever more esoteric eats on my annual trips to Japan. My appetite for it is endless. I’ve also been an enthusiastic fan and follower of…
Is Andrew Knowlton stalking me? The Bon Appetit restaurant editor seems to be quite fond of my favorite restaurants these days, most recently writing up the fabulous Stacy’s Smokehouse in his Hot 10 “Best New Barbecue Restaurants” for the July issue (which isn’t online yet — mine just came in…
Craving pizza? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, read what Chef Jerry Alday has in store for The Parlor, a new Ital-American joint in the old Salon de Venus spot on Camelback Rd. in Phoenix. We’ll also give you the scoop on a romantic East Valley restaurant where diners…
I guess I could’ve seen this coming. Regions Bistro & Bar in Tempe has closed, reports the Trib, and the Scottsdale location has likely closed as well (hard to confirm when the phone just rings and rings . . .). From the outset, folks were saying it was either ambitious…
There have already been too many vacancies on Mill Avenue lately — as a magazine junkie, I’m still mourning the departure of Borders — and now there’s one more. And it’s a big one: Coffee Plantation. It closed this past Saturday. According to the Republic, the landlord didn’t renew the…
The Valley’s lost some favorites lately. A few high-profile restaurants closed for business just within the last week or two — Tapino, Fine’s Cellar, and the historic El Chorro Lodge. Mesa’s Grill El Quetzal, a Guatemalan joint in the strip mall across from Mekong Plaza, is gone. And two established…
Happiness is discovering a shiny new Korean grocery store. Paldo Market opened up about two months ago at the southeast corner of Southern and Mill in Tempe (9 E. Southern), and it’s quite a find. Although it’s not supermarket-sized, Paldo’s got a really well-rounded selection of Korean edibles and ingredients,…
Matthew Ramirez stepped out on to a raised platform in the Arizona Mills Mall food court and struck the sort of body building pose that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger proud. Unfortunately, muscular definition would be all but useless to the task that awaited 22-year-old Ramirez. No, he would require jaw…
James Beard Award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda is closing Sea Saw, his seven-year-old Stetson Drive eatery, to focus on a new project. Sunday, June 7, will be the last night of service. It’s truly the end of an era in the Valley culinary scene, but also the beginning of a new…
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: The Parlor Fine’s Cellar Closes Over the…
Sea Saw chef Nobuo Fukuda’s cutting-edge sashimi creations and luxurious omakase dinners have earned him not only legions of devotees, but a prestigious James Beard “Best Chef: Southwest” award. And since the opening of NOCA last August, chef Chris Curtiss has gained a cult following for his stunning crudo dishes and…
We talked with farmer Sri about what’s in this week’s harvest, and she waxed eloquent about summer fruits: “The figs are awesome! And we have a whole big apple box of lemons for ten bucks. Lemons are almost gone — they’re dropping,” probably from those storms just before Memorial Day…
I love that they’re calling it Lobster Madness. Chef Eddie Matney is cooking up the quintessential summer beach dinner tonight at Eddie’s House, and the price sounds pretty tasty, too. It’s Maine lobster, sweet corn on the cob, and buttered potatoes for $19.95; the twin lobster dinner is $29.95. To…
When it comes to Mexican food the amount of arm-twisting required to get us to go is minimal. Perhaps if we could utilize margaritas and burritos as motivational devices we’d get more work done. That’s why we’re excited about Gallo Blanco Cafe. Food Critic Michele Laudig on Gallo Blanco Cafe:…
Seems like NOCA has something different going on every night it’s open — soft shell crab suppers on Tuesdays, lobster rolls on Wednesdays, Simple Suppers on Sundays — and now there’s one more thing to add to your dining schedule: Bar Bites on Thursdays. It’s an affordable menu of creative dishes that will…
This morning, celebrated pastry chef Tracy Dempsey officially announced that as of June 8, she’ll be leaving her gig overseeing desserts for Cowboy Ciao, Digestif, and Kazimierz, a position she’s held for the last five years. “It’s not an easy decision,” she says. Dempsey is busy working on opening Galette Dessert…
When I called Doug Robson, chef-owner of the fantastic new Gallo Blanco Café at the Clarendon Hotel, I almost expected him to ask me not to write about his restaurant. “I wanna be just kind of quiet about it,” he said, pausing to take a deep breath before talking to…
This afternoon, I finally got some time to catch up with chef Cullen Campbell in the wake of Fine’s Cellar’s recent closing, and he says he’s really upset about it. “It was pretty much the economy, and with the way things have going, the investors didn’t want to put more…
Just got the word tonight from chef Cullen Campbell that Fine’s Cellar is no more. To some, who’d seen the Old Town Scottsdale eatery not nearly busy enough in recent months, that might not come as a surprise, but to the many who’d become fans of wine guru Mike Fine’s…
