Doug Robson

Five Things to Eat and Drink This Weekend in Metro Phoenix

Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We've got you covered. Check out what's on our plate. See also: - Food Truck Caravan Rolls into Downtown Scottsdale Starting This Saturday Night - Drive-Thru Tacos and Tapas Come to Peoria (By Way of Las Vegas) Schnepf Farms Peach Festival ... More >>

Ehren Litzenberger of BLD in Chandler on Simplicity, Chocolate-Covered Grasshoppers, and Who We Can Blame For "Foodie" Obnoxiousness

Ehren Litzenberger BLD 1920 W. Germann Road, Chandler 480-779-8646, bldchandler.com See also: -- Cork Earns Wine Honors From OpenTable -- Chou's Kitchen in Chandler Makes Travel Leisure's List of Best Chinese Restaurants in the U.S. This is part one of my interview with Ehren Litzenberger, execu ... More >>

8 Great Guacamoles in Metro Phoenix

Some snooty conquistador way back when once noted that in Mexico, avocados and guacamole were "butter for the poor." My, how times have changed! Guacamole -- a literal and linguistic mash-up of the Nahuatl (Aztec) words ahuacatl (avocado) and mole (mixture) has gone so upscale, customers now routine ... More >>

10 Best Things I Ate in March

March may already be in our rearview mirrors, but the 10 best dishes I ate last month are still very much on my mind. See also: 6 Phoenix Food Trucks, Rated and 10 Best Things I Ate in January From artisan pizza in North Scottsdale to a diner-style vegan breakfast in Phoenix to food truck fare on ... More >>

Five Things to Eat and Drink This Weekend

Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We've got you covered. Check out what's on our plate. See Also: - Ten More Picks for Easter Brunch and Dinner in Greater Phoenix - Miu's Cuisine: Quite Possibly Your New Favorite Chinese Restaurant Wingstock 2013 Grab a stack of wetnaps an ... More >>

Pineapple Cocktail Clash: Gallo's Picoso vs. Hula's Hurricane

Nothing says relaxing on a sunny day quite like a pineapple cocktail. We've recently found our cravings for them rising along with the temperatures, so we decided to put two of our favorites up against each other and see which is the ultimate unwinding drink. We kind of played fast and loose with th ... More >>

10 Places in Metro Phoenix to Get Great Pancakes

Despite our mother's best advice about breakfast, most of us give the all-important first meal of the day short shrift during the work week. We gulp down sugary cereal, grab a granola bar (which probably shouldn't be considered food, much less breakfast), or just settle for a few thousand cups of co ... More >>

Oh, Oh, Otro Cafe!

When a new spot opens in town, we can't wait to check it out -- and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just opened, sampling a few item ... More >>

Jared Porter of The Parlor on Cooking with Chemicals and Eating "The People's Food"

Jared Porter The Parlor 1916 East Camelback Road 602-248-2480 www.theparlor.us See also: The Parlor Offers Nose-to-Tail Dinners Wednesday Through Saturday Starting February 6 Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson Opens New Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix This is part one of my interview with Jared Porter, exe ... More >>

Top Five Phoenix Food Stories of the Week

Every week, there's a cornucopia of Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you're like most people, you probably just don't have the time to get to all of it. So, here's a recap of some of the top stories from the week that you may have missed.

Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson Opens New Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix

For four years, Doug Robson, chef-owner of Gallo Blanco Café, the restaurant inside the Clarendon Hotel, has been quietly kicking out top-notch Mexico City-style eats in Central Phoenix. But his new restaurant, now open for lunch with dinner to follow on Monday, March 11, most likely won't enjoy su ... More >>

Doug Robson on Robert McGrath, LGO, and How He Embarrassed Himself in the Kitchen

This is part two of my interview with Doug Robson, chef-owner of Gallo Blanco Café. If you missed part one, where Robson described eating beatles and maguey worms, read it here. See also: Gallo Blanco: Happy Hour Report Card -- Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson Won't Ditch the Rooster Your most embarra ... More >>

Doug Robson Dishes On Why Tacos Are Great and What It's Like to Eat Bugs and Worms

Doug Robson Gallo Blanco Café, The Clarendon Hotel 401 W. Clarendon Avenue, Phoenix 602-274-4774 www.galloblancocafe.com See also: -- Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson to Open New (and Slightly Different) Mexican Restaurant in March -- 8 Best Neighborhood Mexican Restaurants: Best of Phoenix 2012 This ... More >>

Gallo Blanco: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Gallo Blanco 401 W. Clarendon Avenue, Phoenix, 602-274-4774, www.galloblancocafe.com See also: -- BLT Steak: Happy Hour Report Card -- Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson to Open New (and Slightly Different) Mexican Restaurant in March Hours: Happy Hour is offered 3 to 6 p.m. every day.

Chef Salad Highlights Part II: The Smart, Funny and Sometimes Provocative Comments Our Local Chefs Made in 2012

Ask any chef: Food- and restaurant-related TV may provide drama and entertainment (although even that is questionable), but it sure as hell isn't based in reality. Feet ache, ceilings leak, employees call in sick, the health department shows up, grease traps overflow, food prices skyrocket, stoves c ... More >>

8 Best Neighborhood Happy Hours: Best of Phoenix 2012

We've spent the last year in the laboratory putting Phoenix under the microscope to reveal hundreds of specimens of the best culture, outdoor adventures, shopping, dining, and nightlife the city has to offer. And we're finally ready to publish our results. Nerd alert! Now presenting Scientific Phoen ... More >>

Aaron Chamberlin Dishes on Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges and What He Learned at LGO

This is part two of my interview with Aaron Chamberlin, chef owner of St. Francis. If you missed part one, where Chamberlin dishes about why he's not a celebrity chef and the over-hyped opening of St. Francis, read it here. See also: - St. Francis: Happy Hour Report Card Favorite thing to eat gro ... More >>

Nine Dishes from Metro Phoenix Restaurants We'd Love to Make at Home (Recipes, Please -- Hint, Hint)

When it comes to some of our favorite restaurants, we wish the chefs would just buckle down and put together a cookbook already. Maybe an entire book of recipes is a bit much to ask for, but how about sharing a few? So we put together a wishlist of local restaurant dishes that we would give our righ ... More >>

Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson to Open New (and Slightly Different) Mexican Restaurant in March

Holy Cow! Are we actually becoming a legit restaurant town -- with restaurant neighborhoods and everything? Mark my word (or Sam Fox's), the hottest new dining hub is going to be the 7th Street between Missouri and . . . what . . . maybe Glendale? That's where local resto mogul Fox is developing The ... More >>

Crescent Ballroom Now Open for Lunch

For those who can't get enough of the urban-cool vibe at Crescent Ballroom, downtown's mid-size live music venue that opened last October in the revamped 1917-era building formerly occupied by Bentley's Nightclub, the venue is now open for lunch -- at least its kitchen is anyway. Once open for dinn ... More >>

Ten Favorite Downtown Phoenix Restaurants for Late Night Dining

​We've all been there: drunk and hungry, only to find most of the local food joints are closed. As a remedy to this dire situation, we've done our best to find some downtown Phoenix spots where you can still grab a bite after most of the other restaurants have closed their kitchens. Let us know if ... More >>

Top Ten Burgers in Greater Phoenix

​You can thank the St. Louis World Fair of 1904 for being the launching pad for the hamburger as we know it (at one point, it was called the hamburger sandwich). Today, the round patty in a bun is the primary way in which the Western world consumes beef. When it comes to burgers in the greater Pho ... More >>

Laura Hahnefeld's Year in Food: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

​In addition to food trucks making the scene in a big way in 2011 (see the article here), the year in food for the Valley was chock-full of other newsworthy goodies as well -- even chef Payton Curry managed to slip in a last-minute announcement. Here are a few of Laura's favorites:10. Chefs o ... More >>

Laura Hahnefeld Looks at the Year of the Food Truck

Burros, Beer, and Beats at Cocina 10 in Downtown's Crescent Ballroom

Get this: al pastor pork burrito.​When a new spot opens in town, we can't wait to check it out -- and let you know our initial impressions. Share a few photos, some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just op ... More >>

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Will Break In New Venue Crescent Ballroom

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Break In New Venue Crescent Ballroom

Crescent Ballroom's Menu to be Overseen by Chris Bianco and Doug Robson

​In case you haven't been paying attention, Phoenix is getting a new music venue called the Crescent Ballroom (you can read about it here). Phoenix music fans are pretty excited for the venue's October 3rd opening and it looks like Phoenix foodies have something to look forward to, as well.&nb ... More >>

Chrysa Robertson at Downtown PHX Market Tomorrow for Summer Chef Series, and a Peek at Aaron Chamberlin's Session from Last Saturday

Jennifer Woods​ The Summer Chef Series -- Saturday afternoons through the beginning of September at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market -- has to be the best way to escape the heat, meet fellow food folks, learn something new in the kitchen, get fed, sip a variety of local wines, and lose ourselves ... More >>

Tracy Dempsey, Jen Anderson of Windsor, Aaron Chamberlain of St. Francis, and More to Hold Cooking Classes at Phoenix Public Market

​Learning how to prepare fresh ingredients with chef Aaron Chamberlain of St. Francis? Tastings with chef Jen Anderson of Windsor? Recipes from the Queen of Sweet, Tracy Dempsey? This summer is gonna be face-time fabulous thanks to the Summer Chef Series at the Phoenix Public Market. From 2 t ... More >>

Lunch $10 and Under at Hillside Spot

​Things have changed at Hillside Spot, the Ahwatukee breakfast joint owned by Gallo Blanco chef Doug Robson. For one thing, it's not just breakfast and lunch anymore. Hillside Spot now stays open until 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday for dinner. Th ... More >>

Gallo Blanco's Doug Robson Won't Ditch the Rooster

Check out the fresh ink on chef Doug Robson.​Doug Robson, chef-owner of Gallo Blanco, had to give up his restaurant logo, but now there's one rooster that nobody can take away from him.After wine giant E&J Gallo threatened a lawsuit over Robson's rooster motif at his hip Midtown Mexican eatery ... More >>

Fire at Hillside, and Rooster Trouble at Gallo

I'm endangered!​Word spread like wildfire yesterday about Hillside Spot's fire -- seems like a lot of people wanted to hit it up for Sunday breakfast -- but the blaze itself was brief and well contained. Yesterday morning, a spark from the rotisserie at the Ahwatukee restaurant creat ... More >>

Hillside Spot Keeps Ahwatukee Locals Well Fed

Gallo Blanco Gears Up For Summer with New Menus, Patio

​After a successful first year in business, Gallo Blanco chef-owner Doug Robson is embracing summer with expanded seating and new menus.Al fresco dining is finally an option thanks to a new 24-seat patio at the northeast end of the building, where planters and raised flower beds create a lush feel ... More >>

Pulled Pork Sandwich at Hillside Spot

​I may never eat IKEA's Swedish meatballs again. After a post-New Year's Day pilgrimage to ogle fabrics and cute dishware that I really don't need at Tempe's uber-retailer, I remembered that new Hillside Spot is just down the street, on the other side of I-10 (4740 E. Warner Rd.). Consideri ... More >>

Now Open: Hillside Spot

​Gallo Blanco chef-owner Doug Robson says he had no idea he'd be opening two restaurants in one year, but things just organically turned out that way. His new place, headed by chef Patrick Fegan (formerly of Fiamma and Olive & Ivy), is called Hillside Spot, and it just opened ... More >>

Chef Doug Robson Plans New Market/Restaurant

​It doesn't have a name yet. But a new market-meets-restaurant that Gallo Blanco chef Doug Robson is working on may be open as early as December. Robson's renovating a former Coffee Plantation at 48th Street and Warner in Ahwatukee. The freestanding building is in a neighborhood packed wit ... More >>

Gallo Blanco Café at The Clarendon Kicks Up the Taco Shop With Cochinita Tortas and Fresh Crepes

Gallo Blanco Opens For Business

In case you didn't catch the latest comment on my original post about Gallo Blanco Cafe at the Clarendon, here's the word from chef Doug Robson that his new Mexican joint is finally open: Thanks For the Support!We are cooking now so I Hope you can join us. We are located one block south of Indian Sc ... More >>

Coming Soon: Gallo Blanco Cafe at the Clarendon Hotel

CenPho is on a roll, yo. After a revolving door of restaurant concepts that have come and gone at the Clarendon Hotel since the departure of Camus almost two years ago, there's news that chef Doug Robson will be the owner/operator of a new in-house eatery called Gallo Blanco Cafe, set to open b ... More >>

Pie vs. Pie

Digging out of the Valley's pizza rut