Diet Coke

Taylor Swift Will Incite A Willy Wonka Scavenger Hunt in Phoenix This Weekend

When people and brands recreate the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket promotion they don't always seem aware that Willy Wonka is kind of a sociopath. Regardless: Taylor Swift is recreating the Golden Ticket promotion, and it's coming to Phoenix. If you can connect a series of clues on Diet Coke's Twitter ac ... More >>

Chefs, What Would It Take to Sell Yourselves to a Major Corporation?

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.Since James Beard likened himself to a "gastronomic whore" after signing an ... More >>

Drynuary: Zach Fowle's Mid-Month Update on His Vow to Give Up Beer for January

At this point halfway into January, we check in with intrepid contributor Zach Fowle, who's made a commitment to go without alcohol for the first 31 days of the new year. Here's his Drynuary update, by the numbers: See also: - Drynuary: Zach Fowle Vows to Give Up Beer for the Entire Month of Jan ... More >>

To Decant or Not To Decant

Welcome to Vine Geeks, where Brian Reeder and Pavle Milic of AZ Wine Merchants take the drinking game quite seriously. Pay attention -- you might just learn something. You may have heard of this 'decanting' business. In fact, you may have seen it at a restaurant and wondered why someone was pourin ... More >>

Science Friday

AZ DJs Pickster One and Melo Featured on Moombahton Massive Mixtape

​ I love NPR as much as the next fella (gotta get my Car Talk on), but every now and then their media coverage highlights something truly unique --case in point, last March, Sami Yenigun ran this story about moombahton, a DC-bred brand of dance-music that encompasses elements of electro, Dutch hou ... More >>

Tradiciones Has Lost Its Spice

Cupcake Love-In Judge: No Easy Job!

A few of the contenders for Classic Cupcake.​When Tracy Dempsey asked me last week to be a last-minute judge at the inaugural Cupcake Love-In -- held yesterday at the Valley Ho in Scottsdale -- I replied without hesitation. Of course! I couldn't wait to get my Gail Simmons on. ... More >>

Calabrese Sandwich at Calabria Italian Kitchen

Calabria's tasty Calabrese​Calabria Italian Kitchen, the joint that closed its doors on Roosevelt and was replaced by Lola Coffee, has been resurrected in another CenPho location -- the former Cafe LaBella spot at 7th Street and Virginia -- and I'm happy to report that the sandwiches are just as g ... More >>

Eric Lindell

Eric Lindell

Where Am I Eating?

photo by Claire Lawton​ Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and stuff your face. While it's well past November, we did both of these things after chowing down this turkey and cranberry sandwich. From our large glass table, we dutifully people-watched, commented on the lack of Diet Coke, and sn ... More >>

Jack in the Box's 3 for $3 and the Battle for Economical Satisfaction

Top 5 Least Fattening Cocktails

fashiontribes.typepad.comOh to be drunk and skinny.​Last week we featured the Top 5 Cocktails That Will Make You Fat, so it's only fair to follow it up with what you may want to drink instead. Let's be frank: if you're trying to lose weight, you should probably stop drinking altogether; but ... More >>

Green Chili at Rito's Mexican Takeout

​Diet Coke, don't fail me now.A little caffeine boost is usually a good idea this time of day -- especially after a lunchtime splurge like I had.Ever been to Rito's Mexican Takeout? It's one of those hidden downtown gems, the kind of place you learn about through word of mouth, and wonder how you ... More >>

Summery Lunch at RnR in Old Town Scottsdale

​Want to feel optimistic about the economy? Head to new RnR like I did for lunch recently -- the place was crawling with people on a random weekday. Between Cactus League game-goers, tourists, and Old Town office workers, the scene was as vibrant as the weather. I settled on a seared ahi sala ... More >>

Eliana's: Lunch Under $10

​Truth be told, you can't technically eat lunch at Eliana's Authentic Salvadoran Cuisine for under $10. Not if you order an entree. But we know from experience that the entrees at Eliana's are enough for lunch and dinner. We figured we'd be fine with the appetizer menu -- and we were mo ... More >>

Behind the Bar: Steve Howard of Murphy's Law

Nicki Escudero Ready to serve you​It's easy to see why Steve Howard of Murphy's Law in Chandler is a popular bartender. The handsome 25-year-old is extremely charming, doing tricks behind the bar and letting customers name drinks he makes for them. And he's had plenty of time to build up a ... More >>

The Holiday Spirit Is Fueled by Longing for Past Merry Little Christmases

Day Drinker: Royale Lounge

Who says you have to wait until the sun goes down to have a good time? ​Sunday night, after watching, Two Weeks in Hell, a show about the brutal, two-week tryouts for wanna-be Green Berets, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. after dreaming about killing zombies with my bare hands on a 50-foot rope ladd ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Supporter Jim Gilchrist Takes Swipe at Ron Paul "Fanatics" and Every Other Nativist on the Planet

The one thing you can always count on with minutemen, nativists and neo-Nazis is more backstabbing than backstage at a Miss America Pageant. This video from VronRN2 of a conversation between anti-racist YouTuber Naui Ocelotl Huitzilopochtli (try saying that three times fast) and minut ... More >>

What Your Kitchen Doesn’t Say About You, Your Bathroom Just Might

Scenester Eats: Xchel Manuel Hernandez-Zendejas

Pan searing is the secret to making your tongue bend to its knees and accept the healthiness of chicken breast. The best part is you can put it on anything. Salad, pasta, me, and it still tastes good.

Chakra 4 Herb & Tea House Makes Bingeing Good For You

Viva El Mercado: Food City

Sloane BurwellVegetables and colorful pinatas inside Food City. 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. Lo ... More >>

Viva El Mercado: Supermercado De Walmart

Sloane BurwellSupermercado's super meat selection. 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 sa ... More >>

Budget Beat: $2.99 Breakfast at 12 East Café

If you live or work downtown and need a quick and cheap(!!) breakfast, you can do no worse than 12 East Café, right across the street from the light-rail stop on Jefferson and 12th streets. Here's the deal with this place (btw, it's right across the street from New Times' office): It's not gonna bl ... More >>

Violet Wild at Last Exit

It's nearly 1 a.m. and I'm a few drinks into the night. I'm at Tempe's Last Exit Bar & Grill to watch Violet Wild, one of my favorite local pop-rock bands who used to play anywhere and everywhere a year ago and pretty much whored themselves out in the local music scene - playing gigs almost ever ... More >>

Fried: Sam's Cafe Spinach and Portabella Mushroom Quesadilla

  My new favorite at Sam's Cafe. Loyalty is not my strong suit. I like to try new places and new things; ask me what my favorite restaurant is, and it's probably one that opened last week. But with the economy collapsing, the newspaper industry in a particularly awful place, and a cold front ... More >>

Fried: QuikTrip Taquitos, Breadsticks, and a Surprisingly Good Chicken Wrap

A true feast ... If there is anything worse than moving -- and I'm not certain there is -- it may well be attempting to move in that frantic time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I'm nothing if not stupid, so my movers are scheduled to arrive bright and early December 3. ... More >>

Gross Out: Roaches, Slime and Bad Hand Washing at Texas Roadhouse on Stapley

Fried: KFC Snackers

As a working mom with a child with Down syndrome, Sarah Palin makes me shriek

Hideous cakes from hell . . .

Fried: McDonald's French Fries

Gross Out: Blood in the aisles at a 99 Cent Only Store

How do health-conscious stores Fresh & Easy, Sprouts, and Sunflower compare with the mainstream?

How do food critics keep from gaining weight?

Paul Oakenfold

Greatest Hits & Remixes
(Ultra Records)

Gilbert gal gets cook-off kudos

Lyrics Born

Same guy, different name

BEST WATER CART

Vincent on Camelback

Rap and Roll (and Fold)

Thanks to Dr. Dre and his partners in crime, smoking dope looks cool again

Enter the Dragons

In the tradition of the Zeros and the Nuns, the youngest Escovedo talks siblings, booze and Dragon slaying

Welsh-Hop

Former '80s synth-poppers return from decadelong exile with a funky makeover

Vat City

Love Stories

GETTING TO GNAW YOU

TO SKEWER, WITH LOVE

PARDON THEIR FRENCH