The Cheesecake Factory Inc.

What National Chain Restaurants Do You Secretly Like?

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.As much as they may deny it, chefs and restaurateurs secretly enjoy nationa ... More >>

5 Dishes at Chain Restaurants to Skip for Something Healthier (and Just as Tasty) at Local Eateries in Greater Phoenix

Eating healthier can sometimes be as easy as switching out one kind of food for another. See also: 5 Fad Diets to Avoid in 2013 and 5 Cleanses to Detox the Holidays Away So, inspired by the popular "Eat This, Not That" of Men's Health magazine, who, this October, published a list of the 20 worst, ... More >>

New York Transplant Maxwell Jeffries Proclaims Himself Phoenix's Food Expert. We'll Let You Watch His YouTube Videos and Decide for Yourself.

Heads up Hahnefeld and other local restaurant critics: You may as well turn in your badges right now. The self-proclaimed "food expert in this town" is one Maxwell Jeffries, a six-foot-four, 72-year-old ex-New Yorker with a shaved head who's made three rave video reviews of Ray's Pizza, Taste of Ind ... More >>

AndyTalk: Big Bang Theory in the Kitchen -- Hot-Doggity-Dog

A food processor is essential to success here, but it's not nearly as pricey as a Hadron Collider and there are more practical applications.

Where to Eat and Drink Near Peoria Sports Complex

​ Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres: Peoria Sports Complex All week long we're sharing suggestions of where to find breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks near each spring training stadium. Have a favorite spot baseball fans should hit? Leave it in the comments. Hooters, Cheesecake Factory, Chipo ... More >>

Yard House: Happy Hour Report Card

​The Spot: Yard House, 9401 W. Westgate Blvd., Glendale, (623) 872-3900. www.yardhouse.com The Hours: 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 p.m. to close Sunday through Thursday The Details: Discounts on most drinks, like $2 off wine by the glass and well drinks for only $4.25-4.75, plus pi ... More >>

Z'Tejas: Happy Hour Report Card

​The Spot: Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill, 7221 W. Ray Road, Chandler. (480) 893-7550. Other locations include Scottsdale, Tempe and Phoenix. ztejas.comThe Hours: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Hours vary slightly by location, and the Scottsdale Z'Tejas inclu ... More >>

Limelight Dipping Bar & Grill Now Open on Mill Avenue

​Out with the old, in with the new. The ol' My Big Fat Greek Restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale has shut down and been replaced with a cooler new locally owned restaurant, Limelight Dipping Bar & Grill.  Dipping Bar? What the hell is a dipping bar?  We're guessing it has somethi ... More >>

Biltmore Offering After-Dark Dinner Deals Through July 31

Biltmore Fashion ParkBlack Chile's enchiladas are part of the Biltmore's "After Dark" deal.​We're thrilled that Arizona now has two Restaurant Weeks -- one during the spring season and another in fall. But it kind of sucks that you have to wait around for months just to partake in the event's dini ... More >>

Coming Soon: Black Chile Mexican Grill at Biltmore Fashion Park

​Biltmore Fashion Park always seems like its own little self-contained universe. The upscale plaza offers shopping, community movie nights, and a dozen or so diverse restaurants, from national brands like Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen to Dr. Andrew Weil's True Food Kitchen concep ... More >>

Lax Phoenix Recordkeeping Allows City Officials to Enjoy Lavish Off-the-Book Perks

Phoenix Councilwoman Peggy Neely Spent Six Nights in Hawaii to Woo Soccer Tourney to Phoenix that Didn't Need Wooing

www.moana-surfrider.com Councilwoman Peggy Neely stayed in a sweet suite in this oceanside Westin resort.​The Fiesta Bowl hasn't been the only organization handing out goodies to public officials.The Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau paid for Phoenix Councilwoman and mayoral wa ... More >>

Chris Wahl, What Are You Eating?

Chris Wahl at Republic Ramen​Chris Wahl The lead guitarist for local pop/rock band Crash Coordinates performs with the band Saturday, February 5 at Scottsdale Studios. What'd you eat for dinner last night? Chicken breast cooked in olive oil. Favorite food: Rich, juicy prime rib. Leas ... More >>

The Virgin Cook Pops Her Cherry With a Bloody Mess

By Missy & The Universe via Flickr I admit it. ​I have no clue how to cook food that tastes good. I'm practically a cooking virgin. When I met my in-laws, I tried to bake a pie for the first and only time. I had this ingenious idea that if regular pecan pie tasted good, a pie  ... More >>

Black Friday Sustenance: Where to Eat at Valley Malls

Carrie Wheeler​Shopping Black Friday is a marathon, not a sprint. Long lines, long hours, big crowds -- you'll need to sustain yourself accordingly with some convenient dining options.The following are suggestions of some of the best places to dine depending on the Black Friday sale you're shoppin ... More >>

Xtreme Eating Awards Announced, or Hey, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba!

​Way to go, Cheesecake Factory. Congratulations, California Pizza Chicken. Jabba the Hutt would be pleased. Along with P.F. Chang's, Chevy's, Bob Evan's, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and Outback Steakhouse, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has named scale-tipping fare from the ... More >>

Let's Have Our Own Top Chef Masters Office Pool!

Oh man, are there Top Chef Masters office pools out there? If not, there should be. Wait, what are we waiting for? We could totally make our own, kinda, through the world wide interweb -- whee! Sorry, still psyched up from last Wednesday's Top Chef Masters on Bravo. The classy reality show ... More >>

DJ Dossier: Jared Alan

​It's shaping up to be a big weekend for Jared Alan. Mere hours from now, the 32-year-old DJ/producer/scenester/ fashion plate/eagle scout will be staging the "official" re-launch of his long-absent fauxShow Friday Nights gig at Sanctum. Less then 24 hours later, he'll then welcome NYC disco-pun ... More >>

Today: National Cheesecake Day Deals

​OK, folks. So, yesterday, when we announced National Lasagna Day deals at Buca di Beppo, we said, it seems like every day on the calendar is the National Day of Something. As it turns out, we were right. Today is National Cheesecake Day! You know what that means: cheesecake deals. FEZ, the M ... More >>

You Do Not Hate Dave Matthews

You Do Not Hate Dave Matthews Band

Pete Wentz is in Phoenix and Giving Out Fall Out Boy Tickets on Twitter

It looks like some of Fall Out Boy - bassist and band sound piece Pete Wentz - have arrived in the Valley early. Wentz has been twittering about being in Phoenix on his page (Pete Wentz), noting that baby Bronx is with him, which means wife Ashlee Simpson - whose uncle is owner of the Arizona-cha ... More >>

AZ Capitol Times Announces "Best of Capitol" Winners

Arizona Capitol Times just announced the winners of its annual "Best of Capitol" survey a few days ago, and it's interesting to see the restaurant picks of our local political movers and shakers. Not surprisingly, Cheuvront's gets props (owner Ken Cheuvront is a state senator), while Durant's seems ... More >>

Biltmore Fashion Park: Part two of "Look What They’ve Done to My Mall, Ma!"

Fisherman's Boos

Throw this one back

May Day

Going tapas

Commons Killer

Conceptual like a Fox

Spice War

Not just mad about it

Kid Sharpton

Jarret Maupin is the reverend Al's handpicked protégé. Is Phoenix City Hall ready?

Bamboo, Pee-Yew!

"All items were edible, but beyond that, completely lacking in any flavor or pizzazz."

Weird to the Wise

Hau Vietnamese cuisine is done

BEST DESSERTS

Crackers & Co. Cafe

Where's the Beefcake?

Adonis is M.I.A.

Sapporno

Bite Me gets raw

Summer Teeth

You say you want a restaurant revolution?

Too Sexy for My Soufflé

Local Chefs hate Zinc Bistro, so you know it's gonna be good.

Pacific Rim Shot

Sapporo is more than just another sushi bar

Fraud With Distractions

Getting into top restaurants can be tough, unless you have a plan

The Server Is Down

Insider gives tips on how to recognize bad service, and what to do about it

Haste Test

Tired of fast food? Try Slow Food.

Shopping Carte

Second Helpings

Mill-Order Catalogue

Second Helpings