The 6 Stages of Attempting to Enter Coachella

Let’s get one thing straight: If you were one of the 75,000 or so people who attempted to get into Coachella on Friday, you were frustrated. In fact, chances are you were probably also tired, hot and certainly waiting in a long line either in your car or on your…

This Week In Chow Bella

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Arizona Barbecue Festival: Lessons Learned from Competing in a…

The Humane Society and Big Agriculture Slug It Out Over Animal Rights

This week’s feature story, “Down on the Farm,” chronicles an increasingly heated national battle over “factory-farmed” food. On one side: a phalanx of corporation- and family-owned farms across the country. On the other: the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States.Caught in the middle: independent farmers and voters.Voters? Indeed…

Cafe: Ocean Prime

It can be hard to find good sea food in the desert. Unfortunately, the restaurant featured in this week’s cafe column won’t exactly help your search. Food Critic Michele Laudig on Ocean Prime: Given his background working for Christopher Gross and Eddie Matney, and the sophisticated food he cooked at…

This Week In Chow Bella

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Ramen for the Soul at Republic Ramen Read This:…

Cafe: Gastropubs

Gastropub has the word “pub” in it and frankly that should be enough to grab your attention. Of course a little professional direction as to where one may experience the best gastropubs Phoenix has to offer couldn’t hurt either. Food Critic Michele Laudig on Culinary Dropout, Mabel’s on Main, and…

Thin Mint Showdown: Lazy Thin Mint Pie

One can never have enough Thin Mints. At least that’s what we thought until Managing Editor Amy Silverman brought in a dozen unsold boxes to a recent Chow Bella meeting. If one must make lemonade when life hands one lemons, we theorized one must make desert when life hands one…

BBQ 101: From Novice to Slightly Less Than Novice

There is a point at which night turns to day. It’s barely visible to the naked eye, but in that smallest of moments while the moon is still full and the sun casts its first fires across the sky, a transition happens. I know because last Sunday at 5:30 a.m…

This Week In Chow Bella:

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Summery Lunch at RnR in Old Town Scottsdale Ahwatukee…