Inter IKEA Systems BV

Ikea Restaurants in Europe Stop Serving Questionable Balls, Amidst Horse Meat Scandal

Europe's horse meat scandal adds another questionable chapter as Ikea has pulled their popular Swedish meatballs from many of their European stores. And yes, to answer the immediate question, Ikea does sell food: both frozen items and through their fairly popular cafeterias including at their locat ... More >>

Spike Lee Goes Back to Indieland (and Brooklyn) With Red Hook Summer

The Stunning Man: Blackberries, Egg Whites, Elderflower, and Wild Turkey. Whoa.

Las Vegas is my favorite vacation destination. It's an easy jaunt, and I know I'll have a great time, no matter my budget. When I head up there, I spend an awful lot of time at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The atmosphere there is different from the blasé mass appeal of MGM Resorts and Caesars Ent ... More >>

This is Either the Most Awesome Lamb Ever Served, or the Most Pretentious

Alinea is one of those restaurants with a webpage that doesn't make it immediately clear if they serve food or design furniture for Ikea. The type of restaurant that counts a derivatives trader as part of their creative team and partnered with a science equipment manufacturer to create a "Anti-Gridd ... More >>

The Only Glasses You Need for Your Bar

A lot gets said about what liquors you need to start a good home bar. Our own Zachary Fowle got a good answer from an excellent local bartender. But there's something else that's often neglected: You need to have something to hold your drinks. Sure, you can use that motley selection of coffee mugs a ... More >>

Majestic Ruins: Phoenix's First Baptist Church and More

Guess Where I'm Eating and Win a Prize

Do any of you know how hard it is to find a seat in a coffee shop in Tempe during finals week? It's almost impossible. Earlier this week, I was in dire need of a quiet place to work (away from my dogs) and after hitting up six coffee shops in Tempe, I gave up and headed out to Gilbert. Which worked ... More >>

Great Drinks Take (More) Time: The Ramos Gin Fizz

Last week, I covered a great drink that takes a little while to make properly, the Daiquiri. In so doing, I mentioned the other great drink that takes a long time to make well, the Ramos Gin Fizz... and then swept it under the rug. Sure enough, a commenter noticed what I did, and asked why I gave it ... More >>

Pita Jungle: Happy Hour Report Card

​The Spot: Pita Jungle, 4921 E. Ray Road, Phoenix. (480) 785-PITA (7482). More than seven other Valley locations, including Tempe, Scottsdale, and downtown Phoenix. www.pitajungle.com The Hours: 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reverse happy hour is from 9 p.m. to close daily. The Details: On t ... More >>

Conversation Heart-Infused Tequila

​Last year -- in some sort of wacky, sugar-fueled, lost-our-mind moment -- we made candy conversation hearts from scratch. And they actually worked. (You can see the post and recipe here.) So now the question: What sort of Valentine confection would we tackle this year? Macarons are way too ... More >>

Watermelon Juice in a Fancy Glass

​Lately, in this In Season series, we're taking a look at what I take home from Crooked Sky Farms each week and see what I've done with my CSA share, or part share. This week I'm using watermelon.

Hanna Gabrielsson of Beaver Choice

Maya Dukmasova Hanna Gabrielsson shows off a tray of salmon marinating into gravlax at Beaver Choice ​This week we talk to Hanna Gabrielsson, the woman behind the delightful little Scandinavian bistro with an even more delightful name, Beaver Choice. The restaurant has been open in Tempe on ... More >>

Eating the World: Ikea Cafeteria

The best ethnic food is often the most difficult to find. So each week we'll spin the globe and search for a new other-worldly spot to expand our eating horizons around the Valley.This week we go to Sweden at Ikea cafeteria.Carrie WheelerA portion of the menu at the cafeteria inside Ikea.​"Is Ikea ... More >>

Graphic Novel Style Cookbook

Ryan Dunlavey​ How fun is this new book planned by Dirt Candy NYC? Dirt Candy NYC is a brilliantly named vegetable based restaurant in NYC and is one of the only Michelin-recommended vegetarian restaurants in America. Even the most tired home cooks will drag their weary rears to be inspired ... More >>

Michelle Martinez, What Are You Baking?

courtesy of Michele Martinez​Even if your oven sits cold all year, chances are you're considering firing it up, right about now. As a holiday twist on our "What Are You Eating?" feature on Chow Bella and "What Are You Wearing?" on Jackalope Ranch, this holiday season we brought you "What Ar ... More >>

Book Review: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Easy Artisan Bread

Wilks CommunicationsComplete Idiot's Guide to Easy Artisan Bread​  In the 1980's, artisan bread baking in America began to move out of the province of professional bakeries and back into the hands of home bakers. Bread experts wrote tomes about baking ingredients and the bread making process ... More >>

Beaver Choice: Lunch $10 and Under

Move over Ikea - there's a new Swedish meatball slinger in town. Beaver Choice, opened this month by a Swedish family from Stockholm by way of Canada, serves up Scandinavian classics in Tempe. Salads, pitas, wraps, sandwiches and quiche with a Swedish twist comprise the grab-and-go menu (that, regar ... More >>

Coming Soon to Tempe: Beaver Choice

​Yes, it's called Beaver Choice. Blogging is taking on a surreal quality at the moment, as I write about a uniquely named new restaurant set to open soon in Tempe (1743 E. Broadway). Even more noteworthy is that it serves Scandinavian cuisine. Besides the cafeteria at IKEA, is there an ... More >>

Latitude Eight vs. Flo's Kitchen: Baby, Please Satay With Me!

Satay is my go-to dish at any Thai or Pan-Asian restaurant. Made with chunks of chicken or beef broiled in spices and served with the crack of condiments -- peanut sauce -- it's a dish everyone from picky five-year-old Susie to granny will adore. Yes, I am a peanut sauce addict, but I've been g ... More >>

An Owl City Song You Can Actually Get Behind

OK, OK, so the video below isn't exactly sung by Adam Young of Owl City, but the track uses the melody from his smash "Fireflies" in a way funnier, more creative way that doesn't express feeling used by bugs.It's done by YouTube maven Mystery Guitar Man, who is a genius at crafting cool stop motion ... More >>

Urban Farming 101: Raised Beds and Hanging Baskets

A look into my trial and mostly error farm in the middle of the city. There are several benefits of investing the time and money into building raised beds for your seed babies. Weed control, quality soil, better accessibility, etc. What it really came down to for me were two things --- they look cl ... More >>

Culinary Dropout, Mabel's on Main, and Mad Chef Keep You Moving on a Gastropub Crawl

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 >>

Top 5: Worst Gifts for Foodies

Avoid this.​We love to cook. We love good food. So why do people claiming to understand our passion give us Chili's gift cards, elf aprons and used chocolate body paint? It's not their fault, really. They just need a little help. That's why, this holiday season, we've done the dirty work for you a ... More >>

Over the Weekend: BBQ & Beer Festival

What better way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon than wandering the parking lot across from Tempe's IKEA, sampling barbecued meats and drinking beer? This past weekend, 33 teams from across the nation turned out for Que & Brew, an official Triple Crown Event BBQ State Championship. And ... More >>

Whether in the Bedroom or the Kitchen, Practice Makes Perfect

Campus Coffee: Fair Trade Is Now Available Between Classes

In an effort to show its dedication to sustainability, the city of Phoenix revamped the historic A.E. England Building and opened it to shops. Fair Trade Café snatched up one of the retail spaces, in a prime location across from ASU's Cronkite School and University Center, and opened its doors ... More >>

This Weekend: Grand Opening of New Total Wine in Tempe

It makes sense that the brand-new Total Wine store in Tempe is right next to IKEA. They're both the kind of places where you could lose yourself wandering the aisles, browsing an overwhelming variety of products, and imagining all the possibilities. In the case of Total Wine, you can end up visuali ... More >>

Neo-Nazi Oi Fest II Scheduled for October 24 in Tonopah, Arizona

from whiteknightsofamerica.com Some sieg heil-ing action from last year's Oi Fest, posted to WKOA's site What could it be that draws neo-Nazis to western Maricopa County town of Tonopah? Desert vistas pregnant with ennui? The occasional corpse dumped next to the Interstate? Exhaust from ... More >>

Art Burn: Food sizzles, art fizzles at Caffe Boa

When it comes to restaurant decor, good art is definitely the key to success. Sure, exotic hardwood tables and funky exposed brick walls go a long way, but if a cool place is decked in dime-a-dozen IKEA prints or fuzzy amateurish photos it can ruin the ambiance. And let's be honest, u ... More >>

Art Burn: Pita Jungle's good for a trip

Every college student has one favorite restaurant where they go study in peace or hang out with friends -- an ultra hip, ultra cheap joint with cool art on the walls and a staff that doesn't mind you sitting and reading a book for hours. For ASU students of the pa ... More >>

I Gave Up Shopping at Target

Monday Night Martha: Limoncello

What would the holiday season be without a festive homemade liqueur? This limoncello recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/limoncello comes from Martha herself, and it's a very easy one -- particularly when you make a few adjustments. In terms of the odder supplies, all you really need i ... More >>

Home is Where the Art is

Repatriate your uterus at Lisa Sette

SHWEET!: The Return of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Murder, My Swede

Blood, gore, and meatballs at IKEA

A visit to the new Chez Nous leaves Booze Pig longing for the old sty

Downtown But Not Out

Do Me

Making a Collective Gesture

Pogue Mahone

Erin go bar

Check, Please

Food with furniture

Rite to Assemble

One year on, IKEA fans are standing firm. Their furniture, on the other hand . . .

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

The Shipping News

Jose Avila's furniture designs are out of the box

This Week's Day-by-day Picks

Waiting for Stuff, Man

I've got an IKEA!

Brazil Nuts

Superlative churrascaria in the enchanted kingdom of Ahwatukee

BEST ANTI-CHAIN GANG

Arizona Chain Reaction

The Beat Generation

Fight Club pummels promising premise in ground