Bob McClendon

Heirloom Tomato Dinner at Binkley's in Cave Creek June 19

The most versatile -- and perhaps most succulent -- of summer fruits isn't the peach, blackberry, or mango. No, it's the humble tomato, often overlooked as a mere sandwich topping or fodder for bland canned sauces. Join chef Kevin Binkley on Wednesday, June 19, as he honors heirloom tomatoes with wh ... More >>

Jeremy Pacheco of Lon's on Nobuo and the Trend That's Finally Going Away

Jeremy Pacheco Lon's at the Hermosa 5532 N. Palo Cristi Road, Paradise Valley 602-955-7878, hermosainn.com See also: -- Summer Mixology Classes with Travis Nass at the Last Drop Bar -- Lon's at the Hermosa Picks Up a New Pastry Chef; Former One Heads to T. Cook's This is part one of my interview w ... More >>

Aaron Chamberlin's Phoenix Public Market Cafe Opens Wednesday

It's been almost exactly a year since Phoenix Public Market Urban Grocery closed its doors, leaving downtown devotees feeling bereft without a locally focused brick-and-mortar market and a convenient, affordable go-to for a nosh and a glass of wine. See also: -- Downtown Phoenix Public Market Urba ... More >>

Sweet Republic's Helen Yung on Phoenix's Best Chinese Restaurants, the Perfect Ice Cream and How 9/11 Changed Her Life

This is part two of my interview with Helen Yung, co-owner and ice cream designer/maker at Sweet Republic. If you missed part one, where Yung talks about growing up in Hong Kong, investment banking, and the dish she thinks is overrated, read it here. See also: -- Chou's Kitchen in Chandler Makes Tr ... More >>

Payton Curry Consults for Starfire Golf Club, Bringing Farm-to-Table Philosophy to Golf Course Fare

Payton Curry is still making pickles and stuffing sausages at Brat Haus, but his consulting business called Curryosity took on a new client a few months back, and now the fruits of Curry's labor will be unveiled. See also: -- Payton Curry Dishes on Marketing Bullshit and the Futility of Eating Kal ... More >>

Phoenix Cold Snap Is Over, But What Are the Repercussions for Local Farmers and the Restaurants Who Buy From Them?

The 5 to 6-day cold snap that pushed Phoenix temperatures lower than those in Chicago and Boston is over, and today, it's positively balmy outside. This morning's low was a toasty 40 degrees in town. For most of us, handling the arctic weather required little more than piling on a few extra layers o ... More >>

Tastemaker No. 1

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

Tastemaker No. 2

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

Tastemaker No. 3

4: Cathy Hayes

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

5: Stephen Jones

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

6: Francesca Bianco

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

7: Snir and Kierstin Mor

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

Bob McClendon Grows Organic Veggies for Patients at Cancer Treatment Centers of America

See also: Is Organic Food Better For You Than Non-Organic Food? See also: McClendon's Select Snubs Local Growers With Summer Produce Blog If you think the whole organic food movement is a lot of hooey, I have news for you. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear doesn't. In fact, this ... More >>

Is Organic Food Better For You Than Non-Organic Food?

Welcome to Chow Bella's Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you'd like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here.The organic food industry continues to grow, and ... More >>

59: Nobuo Fukuda

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

67: Amy Binkley

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

Gina's Homemade Opens Shop in Northeast Scottsdale

For nearly two years, Gina Buskirk baked biscotti and made fresh cheeses in a rented commercial kitchen before selling her Gina's Homemade products at the Scottsdale Farmer's Market. Now she and her husband, Chris (who handles the business end of this family operation), have found a permanent home f ... More >>

Six-Course Heirloom Tomato Dinner at Binkley's Sounds Juicy

Summer's heirloom tomatoes are in season, and Kevin Binkley wants to celebrate. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13, Binkley's Restaurant will host an heirloom tomato dinner, featuring 10 different heirloom varieties, courtesy of local farmer Bob McClendon.

Sonoran 7 Wives Saison

​Beer: 7 Wives Saison Brewery: Sonoran Brewing Co. Style: Saison ABV: 5.2-ish   While brewers I've talked to usually sing the joys of collaborating with others in their craft, a few have confessed that the process is a pain. Attention spans are short among beer-makers, they say, and coordin ... More >>

Urban Farm Nursery and Home Ec Department Part of Major Redevelopment at Former Citrus Nursery in North Central Phoenix

There's new life -- literally -- at an old citrus nursery on 12th Street just north of Glendale Ave. in North Central Phoenix. It's the brand new Urban Farm Nursery (the first all edible nursery in Phoenix) and its education component, The Home Ec Department. In the somewhat near future, the spot ... More >>

Lon's at the Hermosa Meet-and-Greet with Chef Jeremy Pacheco

Photo: Jennifer WoodsAji pepper-marinated royal red shrimp with garden citrus, avocado, shaved vegetables & yuzu vinaigrette ​ We walked into Lon's at the Hermosa Tuesday evening just as the sun was setting and turning a bright orange -- while everything else on the horizon turned into one b ... More >>

McClendon's Select Snubs Local Growers With Summer Produce Blog

Do Phoenix carrots taste soapy in summer? Not everyone thinks so. ​Local growers like those you find vending at the Scottsdale Old Town Farmers' Market and Downtown Phoenix Public Market are typically a peaceful lot. But this past weekend, that calm was shattered when word got around ... More >>

Bob McClendon & Sam Pillsbury Host Heirloom Tomato & Wine Dinner at Beckett's Table Tomorrow Night

McClendon's heirloom tomatoes and Pillsbury's wines on the patio of Beckett's Table.​In what could only be called a duo of deliciousness, famed farm owner Bob McClendon and vineyard owner and movie director Sam Pillsbury are teaming up for a one-night only dinner event at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Ju ... More >>

FnB's Charleen Badman Gears Up to Feed 550 Students

Chef Charleen Badman hopes more chefs try to make a difference in their communities. FnB chef Charleen Badman has nothing against mac 'n cheese. In fact, she claims to make a pretty killer version herself. But when she found out that the gooey comfort food was often the lone "vegetarian" opt ... More >>

Payton Curry Plays Reindeer Games

Charleen Badman of FnB, Part Two

Chef Charleen Badman has made a name fore herself cooking vegetables at FnB, a trend she attributes to her vegetarian yoga instructor/friend. More specifically, she's embraced the vegetables no one else wants to cook and made them her signature: Converting boring, bland leeks into a cult classic tha ... More >>

Charleen Badman of FnB

Chef Charleen Badman's interest in food stems from two unlikely sources: Her mom's less-than-stellar cooking and the teenage dream of owning a car. What started as a means to dream fulfillment - both edibility and mobility - grew into a passion for food that has Badman traversing continents and stak ... More >>

Donna Gabrilson & Stacey Barnes of GoodyTwos Toffee Company

Mother-daughter duo Donna Gabrilson and Stacey Barnes blend their traditional and modern styles to make some not-so-innocent toffees at GoodyTwos Toffee Company. One part old school and one part you-have-to-taste-it-to-believe-it twists means some seriously light-hearted toffee genius (that earned o ... More >>

Nobuo at Teeter House Proves Izakaya Dreams Really Can Come True in Downtown Phoenix

FnB Starts Its Own YouTube Channel

What will they do next?As if they don't have enough going on (like that big blind tasting of AZ wines coming up), those creative folks over at FnB have just launched their own YouTube channel: FnB TV.The project started serendipitously when Dave Babb of Enclave Productions was dining at the res ... More >>

FnB Makes You Feel at Home with Chef Charleen Badman's Take on Contemporary American Cuisine

Chef Nobuo Fukuda Officially Planning Downtown Izakaya

​He just signed the lease today. After about three and a half months of negotiations with the City of Phoenix and the city's Historical Preservation Office, chef Nobuo Fukuda is officially planning to open a new restaurant, Nobuo at Teeter House, this June or July. The location, across fro ... More >>

Chef Wade Moises, Owner of PastaBar, Hopes His Italian Eatery Will Help Put the Corner of First and Pierce on the Map

Romanesco: Exotic Veggie in Season at Farmers' Markets

Julie Peterson The wily romanesco, lurking in the McClendon's Select stall at Town and Country farmers' market.The curious little kid in us really comes out when we see a funky new fruit or vegetable. (It makes fixing dinner a bit more interesting, too.) One of the loveliest oddities availabl ... More >>

Last Chance to Vote for Local Heroes

My friend Pamela Hamilton, editor of Edible Phoenix, just sent an invitation to Chow Bella readers to vote online for this year's Local Hero Awards, the annual accolades given to hard-working people in the culinary community. Friday's the last day. If you're familiar with the mag, then you'll ... More >>

Phoenix Phoodies: Erenia Pool Serves Smiles at Matt's Big Breakfast

In less than five years, Matt's Big Breakfast has become a downtown Phoenix institution. Every day but Sunday, the diner cooks up dozens of pieces of thick peppered bacon and pounds of olive-oil crisped potatoes in a kitchen smaller than an ASU dorm room. The teeny restaurant's signature day-glow ... More >>

Eliot Wexler is banking the success of Noca on his food knowledge and local connections

Crust to crave and palatable pizza at Humble Pie

Give props to your favorite Local Heroes

The Big Chill

One Valley gelateria has the competition licked