Payton Curry

Good Gravy! Welcome Diner in Downtown Phoenix Serves Up Southern Charm

Big Brain Awards 2013

Michael Babcock and Jenn Robinson: 2013 Big Brain Awards Finalists, Culinary

You submitted nominations for awards given to the Valley's emerging creatives and the results are in. Introducing our Big Brain 2013 Finalists. Leading up to the Big Brain Award awards announcement and celebration on April 27, Chow Bella and Jackalope Ranch will introduce the finalists. Up today: ... More >>

Is Yelp Fair to Restaurants?

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.Last December, when Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern called Yelp a "forum ... More >>

The Return of CheddaTruck (Now with Burgers): Owner Says He's Back from Last Summer's Single Night of Success/Disaster

On June 30, 2012, Nick Watts' dream of owning his own food truck came true. And then, on the same day, it ended. See also: L.A.'s Grilled Cheese Truck Makes Phoenix Debut This Weekend Street Eats Food Truck Festival Is Set for January 12 and 13 at Salt River Fields The 34-year-old, who has worked ... More >>

Chef Salad Highlights: The Funny, Astute and Provocative Comments Our Local Chefs Made in 2012

If you've been reading Chef Salad here at Chow Bella for a while, you've probably gleaned a few tasty nuggets about your favorite chefs: what they like to eat and where, the colleagues they admire, the mentors they've learned from and their views on trends and celebrity. As the interviewer, I've bee ... More >>

10 (Okay, 11) Best First Tastes of 2012 in Greater Phoenix

Thanks to hundreds of new restaurants opening in the Valley this year -- including a cozy artisan pizza shop in Scottsdale, a vegan bakery downtown, and a trio of cuisines in East Phoenix -- there was plenty to chew on when it came to First Tastes, our column of initial impressions. See also: 9 Be ... More >>

Keenan Bosworth of Pig & Pickle Dishes About Chrysa Robertson, Phoenix as a Food Town and Who He's Had Fun With in the Kitchen

This is part two of my interview with chef-owners of the Pig & Pickle: Josh Riesner and Keenan Bosworth. Today, it's Bosworth's turn. If you missed Riesner's dish on bartending bullshit and the soul-lessness of Las Vegas, read it here. See also: Pig & Pickle Pretty Perfect Keenan Bosworth remembe ... More >>

Four Favorite German Restaurants in Phoenix

With several Oktoberfest celebrations right around the corner, we thought it only fitting to share our favorite Valley restaurants for German eats like schnitzels, sauerkraut, and sausages -- all washed down with a stein-full or two of German ale, of course. Want the German goodness to go? Pick up ... More >>

What's Your Biggest Kitchen Gadget Regret?

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.As the popularity of cooking continues to rise, s ... More >>

CheddaTruck's Star Shines, Then Explodes on Debut Night; Owner Says He's Not Coming Back Without Changes

See also: New Grilled Cheese Food Truck, CheddaTruck, Rolls Into Phoenix This Saturday On Saturday, June 30, Cheddar Truck owner Nick Watts' five-year dream of owning a food truck was about to become a reality. After months of preparation and scraping up $1,000, his mobile kitchen, dedicated to che ... More >>

Chris Curtiss Dishes on Phoenix as a Restaurant Town and Why Working for a Jerk Isn't Always a Bad Thing

This is part two of my interview with Chris Curtiss, executive chef of NoRTH Arcadia. You can read part one of my interview with Chef Chris Curtiss here. You seem so serene. What's great about your life right now: I got married in March. I live in a neighborhood I love, and I ride my bike to work e ... More >>

Payton Curry Dishes on the Maricopa County Health Department and His Vision for Brat Haus

This is part two of my interview with Payton Curry, chef and co-owner of the soon-to-open Brat Haus in Scottsdale. Read part one of the interview with Payton Curry here. Favorite thing to eat growing up: Grandma's lefse, freshly churned butter and sugar in the raw. Lefse is a Norwegian flatbread ... 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 >>

Gina Buskirk's Perfect Food Day

Photo courtesy Gina Buskirk​Gina Buskirk started Gina's Homemade in 2010 with her husband, Christopher Buskirk. You might have seen her delectable foods at the Old Town Farmer's Market or Whole Foods. If you don't know, Gina's Homemade is where you can get creamy, oozy artisinal cheeses, loa ... More >>

CLOSED: Caffe Boa Bistro

​Well, it ain't due to any health inspection issues. Caffe Boa Bistro, the Italian-inspired eatery in the Las Sendras Plaza in Mesa, has closed for business. A spin-off the the original location in Tempe (both are owned by Jay and Christine Wisniewski, and the Tempe spot was once home to loc ... More >>

Anthony Redendo of Sofrita and Redendo's Pizzeria

Courtesy of Anthony Redendo ​For Anthony Redendo of Sofrita and Redendo's Pizzeria, having a successful restaurant of one's own is not enough. Redendo is a teacher and mentor to his culinary students at Phoenix College as well as his followers on Facebook. Is this guy really a ch ... More >>

This Weekend: Devoured Phx Culinary Classic

Last year, Kai's table at Devoured was the most beautiful display of all.​Over the last few years, the Valley of the Sun has become the Valley of the Culinary Festivals. A handful of must-visit food- and wine-tasting events is now a sprawling season of eating, from East Valley to West. ... More >>

Lion Meat is Back on the Plate in Arizona

Hold your picket signs, people. The folks at Mesa's Il Vinaio are not serving lion meat again. After last year's uproar, when owner Cameron Selogie started serving lion burgers as a special for the World Cup (um, do they really even eat lion in South Africa?), the restaurant started getting pr ... More >>

Tracy Dempsey: Tracy Dempsey Originals

We recently caught up with Tracy Dempsey, pastry chef and business owner, scooping samples of Tracy Dempsey Originals ice cream at The Phoenix Urban Market and Wine Bar. We got the scoop from the scooper. Tracy Dempsey at Phoenix Urban Market and Wine Bar​Tracy Dempsey grew up traveling the ... More >>

AZ Wines Impress at FnB's Arizona Judgment

Caffe Boa chef Payton Curry (left) joins FnB's Pavle Milic on the Arizona Judgment tasting panel.​Even though you'd never know it to look at his jovial expression, FnB owner Pavle Milic was a ball of nerves leading up to yesterday's Arizona Judgment, a by-invite-only blind tasting of wines that we ... More >>

Happy Hours: Your Guide to Valley Spots Worthy of Your Drink Money

Boa Bistro's Daily Pulled Mozzarella

photo by Claire Lawton​Sous Chef Nick Sheley of Boa Bistro in Mesa joined us for this week's Chef Talk. When Sheley's not preparing the next plate to leave the kitchen, he's getting the restaurant ready for its next cooking class. In late March, Boa opened its kitchen doors for sessions led by exe ... More >>

FnB Brings Wine World Heavyweights for Arizona Judgement 2010

In Italy or in Napa Valley, drinking the local wine is a given. But in Arizona, where the wine industry has waged an uphill battle to improve its image, local wines are still a novelty at most restaurants -- so much so, in fact, that when FnB owner Pavle Milic and chef Charleen Badman commi ... More >>

This Weekend: Devoured Phoenix Culinary Classic

Jason Silva A year ago, I sipped some wine at West of Western culinary festival with entrepreneur and small business advocate Kimber Lanning of Local First Arizona, chatting about boosting the profile of local restaurants. If only I'd brought a crystal ball with me. ... More >>

More on Pavle Milic's FnB, Opening Soon

​The moment Pavle Milic has been waiting for is almost here. If all goes as planned, he'll finally be opening his own restaurant, called FnB, sometime around the 23rd of this month. That's not even two weeks away, and Milic couldn't be more excited.

October 12 In Blogs: New York Times, Tour de Fat, Caffe Boa, and Elinor Ostram

​In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: New York Times Blasts Joe Arpaio, Urges Obama Administration to End 287(g) Joe Arpaio Cites ... More >>

Dine Out with the Chefs Impresses Sophisticated Palates

Last night at the 4th annual Dine Out with the Chefs event at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, some of the Valley's hottest local chefs came out of their respective restaurant kitchens to cook, serve and wander among us mere mortals. Chef James Porter, whose newly-opened ... More >>

Next Week: Digestif Hosts Top Chef Stephanie Izard

The torturous thing about watching Bravo's Top Chef is that it tends to leave viewers with insatiable cravings for food that only exists in TV land. You watch the chefs hustle to create a dish, you cheer them on... and then, you go to bed very, very hungry. So here's your chance to actually eat ... More >>

Digestif in Scottsdale serves up absinthe and "Cal-ital food for the soul"