This time of year, conversations at Chow Bella staff meetings tend to turn to who’s eaten what and where. With the summer travel season in full swing, we bring you Food Tours, our writers’ suggestions of what to eat and drink out of town. On a recent trip to New…
Hey Phoenix — get out of town! No, really, we mean it. What are you still doing here? It’s June, it’s hot, and the forecast calls for more of the same till, oh, November. If you can’t go anywhere, at least you can get lost in the pages of New…
Two decades ago, Arizona stepped into the business of charter schools — publicly funded and independently operated schools given a kind of autonomy never before seen in public education in America. Traditional school districts have layers of administrators that may dictate changes, whereas a charter operator easily can pivot on…
I spotted Jay Heiler from across a crowded Pei Wei on a hot summer night in 2013. It had been years since I’d seen him last, but Heiler hadn’t changed a bit, a head or two taller than the other patrons, a boyish wave in his carefully combed blond hair…
In honor of the fifth annual Big Brain Awards, New Times is recognizing five Urban Legends, established creative pioneers who have made Phoenix a better, cooler place. Leading up to the Big Brain Award announcement and Artopia on April 25, Jackalope Ranch, Chow Bella, and Up on the Sun will…
In honor of the fifth annual Big Brain Awards, New Times is recognizing five Urban Legends, established creative pioneers who have made Phoenix a better, cooler place. Leading up to the Big Brain Award announcement and Artopia on April 25, Jackalope Ranch, Chow Bella, and Up on the Sun will…
After 28 years on Marshall Way, Lisa Sette is leaving Scottsdale for midtown Phoenix. Lisa Sette Gallery will host one last show — “Domesticated,” featuring paintings by Carrie Marill, opening Thursday, April 3, in Scottsdale — before packing up and moving this summer to a renovated Al Beadle building near…
Last week we announced the finalists for Phoenix New Times’ 2014 Big Brain Awards. Today we’re back with another announcement. In celebration of the fifth Big Brain Awards (time flies, huh?) — an honor that recognizes emerging creatives just beginning their careers — New Times has decided to also give…
It’s a typical Monday morning for Joe Simek, a veterans advocate at the Justa Center, a day program for homeless seniors in downtown Phoenix. He stops filling a plastic bag with toiletries for a homeless veteran to chat about his background and his job. Simek is retired Army, served for…
Go to Elizabeth Arden’s Maine Chance No, we’re not talking about the Elizabeth Arden salon at Biltmore Fashion Park or the new one in downtown Tempe. This was a full-blown spa, the western companion to Arden’s original spa in Maine, and it was a tattered mess in all the right…
A funny thing happened in 2013. Both of us — two curmudgeonly writers who between us have lived in Arizona way closer to 100 years than either would like to admit — came to a shared conclusion. We like Phoenix. That’s funny because for years we’ve loved to hate this…
Despite the headlines, not everyone believes Phoenix has housed every homeless veteran in the city. It’s a typical Monday morning for Joe Simek, a veterans advocate at the Justa Center, a day program for homeless seniors in downtown Phoenix. He stops filling a plastic bag with toiletries for a homeless…
Welcome to the Phoenix Bucket List. Robrt Pela and Amy Silverman — two New Times contributors and longtime Phoenicians — have put together a list of 100 things to do in this city before you die. Each week we’re presenting another 10, and today, Amy Silverman presents the final round;…
Welcome to the Phoenix Bucket List. Robrt Pela and Amy Silverman — two New Times contributors and longtime Phoenicians — have put together a list of 100 things to do in this city before you die. Each week we’re presenting another 10; in March we’ll wrap it all up in…
Welcome to the Phoenix Bucket List. Robrt Pela and Amy Silverman — two New Times contributors and longtime Phoenicians — have put together a list of 100 things to do in this city before you die. Each week we’re presenting another 10; in March we’ll wrap it all up in…
Welcome to the Phoenix Bucket List. Robrt Pela and Amy Silverman — two New Times contributors and longtime Phoenicians — have put together a list of 100 things to do in this city before you die. Each week we’re presenting another 10; in March we’ll wrap it all up in…
Welcome to the Phoenix Bucket List. Robrt Pela and Amy Silverman — two New Times contributors and longtime Phoenicians — have put together a list of 100 things to do in this city before you die. Each week we’re presenting another 10; in March we’ll wrap it all up in…
The first words that go through my head when I think of my colleague Laura Hahnefeld are “class act.” Second: “Wow, that woman will eat anything.” The two most important qualifications for a restaurant critic, right? And so it is with heavy hearts that we at Phoenix New Times accepted…
Around this time last year, I was gathering stories about food and Christmas to run on Chow Bella when my friend (and one of my favorite writers) Kim Porter mused, “I sure wish we could read these aloud.” Wish granted, thanks to Charlie Levy and the other nice folks at…
The other day, I spoke on the phone with a woman named Taz Loomans. She stepped out of a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon, into lightly falling rain to take my call, which sounded pretty romantic considering that I was hunched in my car in the parking lot at Scottsdale…
From time to time here at Chow Bella, we challenge one another to a showdown. This fall’s theme, naturally, was pumpkin. Damn you, pumpkin-infused Kahlua and pumpkin-flavored Pringles — you’re ruining it for the rest of the pumpkin goodness out there, like the dishes our colleagues prepared for us a…
From time to time, Chow Bella’s contributors challenge one another to a showdown: Make the best dish you can, using one common ingredient. This time (naturally), it was pumpkin. For the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing the results, and tomorrow, we’ll let you know who won. Today: New Times…
