Herb Box

13 Metro Phoenix Restaurants and Bars with Cinco de Mayo Celebrations

Okay, so maybe you don't know exactly why it's a tradition to eat, drink, and party on Cinco de Mayo (FYI, it's to commemorate the 150-year-old Battle of Puebla, a victory of the Mexican militia over the French army). But those pesky details shouldn't stop you from having a truly awesome modern Amer ... More >>

Twist Caramel's Donna Croyle and Julie Schobert: Caramelpalooza 2013

As the chefs competing in Smeeks and Chow Bella's fourth annual Caramelpalooza -- coming 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, at UNION -- get out the candy thermometers, we've got our pens ready to introduce you to the faces behind the caramel. Just over a year ago, Donna Croyle and Julie Schobert, two moms who ... More >>

Goodytwo's Stacey Barnes and Donna Hansen: Caramelpalooza Candymakers 2013

As the chefs competing in Smeeks and Chow Bella's fourth annual Caramelpalooza -- coming 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, at UNION -- get out the candy thermometers, we've got our pens ready to introduce you to the faces behind the caramel. In the kitchen, Goodytwo's Stacey Barnes and Donna Hansen make the ... More >>

NutWhats' Lisa Rast: Caramelpalooza Candymakers 2013

As the chefs competing in Smeeks and Chow Bella's fourth-annual Caramelpalooza -- coming 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, at UNION -- get out the candy thermometers, we've got our pens ready to introduce you to the faces behind the caramel. Although Lisa Rast is simply nutty about nuts, she's excited to com ... More >>

Herb Box's LaDawn Driscoll: Caramelpalooza Candymakers 2013

As the chefs competing in Smeeks and Chow Bella's fourth annual Caramelpalooza -- coming 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, at UNION -- get out the candy thermometers, we've got our pens ready to introduce you to the faces behind the caramel. LaDawn Driscoll might be a newcomer to the Caramelpalooza competiti ... More >>

Phoenix Cartoonist Doug Pike Finds Wine World Funny and Profitable

He's not a grape geek per se, but local cartoonist Doug Pike knows a hell of a lot more about wine than the average recreational drinker. You might say he makes wine his business, given that he earns a nice chunk of change creating wine-centric cartoons for the likes of The Wall Street Journal, Forb ... More >>

The Herb Box and Gertrude's at DBG Beta Test WineQuest Mobile, a New iPhone App For Selecting Wine

Unless you're a wine wonk like Mark Tarbell, Peter Kasperski, Amy Binkley or Dave Johnson, you probably find reading a multi-page wine list and making a smart selection intimidating. Too many wines to choose from and way too much terminology and lore to master. So you take a shot in the dark, shell ... More >>

Chow Bella's New Year's Survival Guide: Where to Eat, What to Drink, and How to Avoid the Hangover

New Year's Eve is upon us. To help guide you through the madness of the biggest party night of the year, Chow Bella has put together some handy guides of where to eat, what to drink, and how to avoid the dreaded hangover. Click through the stories to see the full lists, and enjoy. See Also: - Y ... More >>

7 Restaurants Serving Brunch and Bloody Marys on New Year's Day

If you're one of the few who won't wind up with a massive hangover courtesy of New Year's Eve -- or if you're the type to be in bed before midnight regardless of the occasion -- celebrate the New Year with a delectable restaurant brunch. You can keep the party going from 2012 to 2013, or sleep in an ... More >>

Five Ways to Enjoy Wine Outdoors in Arizona

Welcome to Vine Geeks, with your hostess on all things wine, Kate Crowley. Crowley is not a sommelier, but learned to pour a glass of wine properly at ten years of age -- because it is an important life skill to master early. See also: - 10 Favorite Metro Phoenix Wine Bars - Wine Tasting 101. L ... More >>

Ten Favorite Phoenix Sangria Spots

Move over Margarita, your Spanish 3rd cousin, Sangria is popping up on menus all over town. The refreshing summertime concoction of red (or white) wine and boozy fruit layered over ice has become a menu staple for Valley restaurants. Here are 10 of our very favorites. 10. Sangria Blanco, La Bocc ... More >>

The Edible Exchange Lets Small Businesses Barter for Their Dinner

There's a new business-to-business food program here in town using the good old fashioned bartering system to feed small business owners and provide valuable services to food producers. It's called The Edible Exchange and it's an offshoot of the The Barter Group, a longtime local company that fac ... More >>

Arizona Beer Week 2012 -- The Lineup of Events Has Been Posted!

​Beer & burgers, beer brunches, beer dinners, beer & bikes, beer tasting, beer sales...In just 28 short days, Arizona beer lovers are going to be three sheets or more to the wind -- and we plan on being right there with them. 

Five Favorite Patios for Dining and Drinking in Metro Phoenix

​Let's face it, if anyone should be celebrating the death of summer, it's Phoenix. And what better way to do so than by dining on the killer patio digs of one of our awesome local restaurants. Here are five of our favorite patio spots around town that we've been waiting oh-so-impatiently to chill ... More >>

Rich Heider II at Casablanca Lounge

​The tender: Rich Heider IIThe bar: The Casablanca Lounge (7134 E. Stetson Dr., 480-970-7888) The pedigree: Heider was once a corporate bar trainer for Dave & Buster's, opening locations in Maple Grove, Minn., Times Square and Tempe. He helped open J&G Steakhouse, then became GM at a ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes Ends Today With the Last Entry Being Yours

​Wow. We're full. Today ends our second year of 100 Favorite Dishes, the one hundred day countdown to our Best of Phoenix issue where, based on the gems we know of and your suggestions, we ate our way through goodies like the gollo burro from Casa Reynoso, foie gras creme brulee from Petite M ... More >>

The Herb Box's Friday Night Beer Dinner and Zucchini Fettuccine in Today's Eater's Digest

cindab.com​ Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?New Belgium at The Herb BoxWe have yet to meet a beer dinner that we didn't like, but this one stands out among the rest. Tomorrow night, take a night off Restaurant Week and join The Herb Box for a ... More >>

Casablanca Lounge Sets Out to Conquer the Art of the Cocktail October 1 in Old Town Scottsdale

​There are plenty of Scottsdale bars that are set up to be meat markets -- the kind of place where bros can buy $10 vodka Redbulls and where Scottsdale's ladies can enjoy consuming those $10 cocktails. At the expense of the bro, of course. Owner Amar Patel, the man behind Magnum's Cigars and Ray's ... More >>

The Small Box from Rock-N-Roll Fingers

Erica O'Neil​Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 38: The Sm ... More >>

Kung Pao Soy Chicken from Fresh Mint

​Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 44: Kung Pao Soy C ... More >>

Red Velvet Pancakes from The Herb Box

​Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 45: Red Velvet Pan ... More >>

Kirti Dwivedi's Perfect Food Day

Kirti Dwivedi​You might have seen Kirti Dwevedi at one of her favorite restaurants, tweeting about eating (she's a self-professed social media addict - @DiyaMarketing) and otherwise thinking about food. She tweets about live organ donation (#TinyFabKidney) as her mother needed and miraculously fo ... More >>

The Herb Box: A Slice of Utopia on SouthBridge

Caramelpalooza 2011: A Sticky Situation

Jonathan McNamara​Last Friday, locals craving a sugar rush lined up in the parking lot of Smeeks at Central and Camelback roads for Chow Bella's second Caramelpalooza event. The judging is over, and a favorite was selected by both the audience and a judging panel -- Essence Bakery's deliciou ... More >>

Caramelpalooza 2011: The Results Are In

Jonathan McNamaraYes, that's a peanut butter and jelly caramel. ​The competition got sticky Friday night at the second annual Caramelpalooza, co-sponsored by Chow Bella and Smeeks. We're not sure of the exact head count -- beyond the fact that the line wrapped around the block -- but we do know th ... More >>

Brianne Day: Caramelpalooza Candymakers

​Our candy-coated conversation continues today with Brianne Day from The Herb Box. Day has been overseeing baked goods at The Herb Box for more than four years. I ended up in the kitchen because I've always had a passion for baking. When I was young I would spend every Sunday attempting to ba ... More >>

Spring Training Eats: Old Town Scottsdale

Via cactusleague.arizonatourism.com​As Cactus League games are just kicking in, people who obsess about baseball as much as this restaurant critic obsesses about food are finding themselves with rumbling bellies, wondering what places to hit up in the vicinity of their favorite spring training bal ... More >>

Caramelpalooza 2011 Candymakers Announced!

  ​ We can already tell that this competition is going to be sticky. Chow Bella and Smeeks are proud to announce the line-up of candymakers for Caramelpalooza 2011 -- a free, open-to-the-public caramel tasting to be held Friday, March 11, at 7 pm in the parking lot at Smeeks candy store ... More >>

Becky Windels' Smoked Trout Beignets

Courtesy of The Herb Box​Yesterday we talked to Chef Becky Windels of The Herb Box in Scottsdale. Today, she shows us how to prepare one of the restaurants signature appetizers, Smoked Trout Beignets. A beignet is a fried pastry ball, often served as a dessert with powdered sugar or jam. ... More >>

Becky Windels of The Herb Box - Part Two

​Yesterday, we heard from Chef Becky Windels at The Herb Box. Today, the conversation continues... Windels is as much a savvy businesswoman as she is a chef. "We run our business like a business," she says. "We have lot of amazing people, and we keep them on task." Thanks to that ... More >>

Becky Windels of The Herb Box

​Chef Becky Windels' career is a culinary Cinderella story. Once upon a time when she was waiting tables, Windels was offered the opportunity to help start a catering business. When a chef friend backed out of the project, Windels began reading coo ... More >>

Now Open: The Herb Box

​The Herb Box opened its new SouthBridge location over the weekend, just in time for the live ESPN college football broadcasts taking place right outside its door this week. The upstairs restaurant takes over the former Estate House space (which has been completely renovated), while the ... More >>

Next Week: Bud Light Fiesta

​For college football fans, it's a chance to tailgate, celebrate, and socialize. And for anybody else, it's a chance to chow down on two-buck nibbles from local restaurants, take in some live music, and enjoy the glory of January in Arizona. While the rest of the country is digging itself out from ... More >>

The Herb Box Fries Up Sweet Potato-Cranberry Latkes

Two nights down, six to go -- ready for another in our series of Chanukah ideas? Today, Chef Becky Windels from The Herb Box in Scottsdale has grated and sizzled up her own take on the fried potato pancake -- sweet potato-cranberry latkes with chive crema. Pick them up at the DC Ranch lo ... More >>

Estate House to Be Replaced By The Herb Box

​It's the end of an era at SouthBridge, where one of the Scottsdale retail and dining development's flagship eateries, Estate House, is set to become a second location of a popular North Scottsdale casual dining spot, with an in-house gourmet market and catering business. Following the ... More >>

Tax Day Food Freebies and Specials

Paying taxes is your duty. Scarfing down free burgers is your right.​That much antipated -- and much dreaded -- day has come again. No, not this year's American Idol finale. We're talking about April 15, aka Tax Day: the day that dictates whether you'll be enjoying a fancy dinner ... More >>