While Valley food trucks like Short Leash Hot Dogs, Mamma Toledo’s, and Jamburritos are preparing to add four walls to their four wheels, a popular Chandler restaurant is putting things in reverse. The Hungry Monk, the three-year-old neighborhood bar and eatery from ex-Buffalo Wings & Rings franchisee Jim Lolli, now…
As punishing and relentless as a Phoenix summer, Amy Bouzaglo, the high-strung owner of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, is back in the news with more tales highlighting her and husband Samy’s (who’s still up for deportation) tenuous grasp on reality. This time, Amy’s target is Miranda (last name unknown),…
Oscar Graham, chef and owner of Tumi, the tiny and unassuming restaurant of Peruvian cuisine in Chandler, makes very good ceviche. His ceviche de pescado features a mound of chopped pieces of white-flesh tilapia in a thin, bracingly sharp and spicy juice of lime and Peruvian chile peppers, topped with…
For a refreshing dish of the coastal variety, it’s hard to beat Peruvian-style ceviche. Even at its most basic, the South American country’s popular staple of raw fish marinated in lime juice is nothing short of tart and spicy satisfaction, the best ones so fresh they taste as if they’ve…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
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. For most chefs, summer in the Valley means a chance to take a much-needed break…
Mark Janbou, co-owner of Philly’s Famous Steaks & Hoagies in Chandler, says his partner, 60-year-old Philadelphia-born Mark Blaing, has been making Philly cheesesteak sandwiches since he was 17 years old. “He opened the place in 2002 and wanted to sell us the business in 2007,” Janbou tells me. “But we…
The countdown has begun. As previously reported, Norma and Victor Guerrero, the husband-and-wife team behind Guerrero’s Mexican Food, at 2148 East Apache Boulevard in Tempe, have decided to retire and shutter the business they started in July 1982. Just hours ago, a date for the closing of the 31-year-old business…
Just months after it opened its first location in Old Town in February, the Original ChopShop Co. is bringing its lineup of healthy, affordable eats for those on the go to a new spot opening in Tempe today. Located at 222 East University Drive (between Forest and College Avenues and…
News flash: The Cronut™ craze is in full swing. With buzz of the latest pastry fad — a croissant-doughnut hybrid originated by Dominique Ansel (who also trademarked the term) of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York — spreading across the country, Cronut™ knockoffs are quickly popping up at bakeries in…
This year is shaping up to be a busy one for chef and first-time restaurateur Michael O’Dowd. In May, the ex-Kai chef, who put the nationally renowned restaurant on the map during his 10-year reign, opened Renegade by MOD, his restaurant of eclectic global eats in North Scottsdale, under his…
Although Julie Moreno has always had a love for baking, her decision to switch to making her homemade cakes, breads, and pies gluten-free (wheat-less) came about not by choice but by necessity. “Two years ago, my daughter became very sick and nobody could tell us what was wrong,” Moreno tells…
Ask anyone from Sunnyslope about the odd-shaped building at the end of Murphy Bridle Path, between Central Avenue and the Arizona Canal, and chances are you’ll get a multitude of answers. For years, the historic building’s been more or less a revolving door of restaurants. Now, as of February of…
Ask anyone from Sunnyslope about the odd-shaped building at the end of Murphy Bridle Path, between Central Avenue and the Arizona Canal, and many may pause, a few may try to recollect some of its former monikers, and some simply may shrug before replying that it’s never been much of…
Tiki chic is on its way to Old Town Scottsdale. Hula’s Modern Tiki, the retro-cool restaurant of Hawaiian-inspired eats and tropical cocktails, is planning a second location, Hula’s 2, at 7213 East First Avenue, in the former home of Big Earl’s BBQ, which shuttered just over a week ago. “We…
As Eliot Wexler, owner of the venerated Noca in east Phoenix told me, the decision to do a one-night-only, five-course dinner pairing between his restaurant and that of Posh, the restaurant of improvisational cuisine in Scottsdale from chef-owner Josh Hebert, happened rather suddenly — as in last week. “So Josh…
As restaurant-going Americans, we’ve been conditioned to leave a tip of between 15 percent to 20 percent of the final bill when dining out. But is there ever a time when we shouldn’t leave anything at all? According to the Consumerist, “there is almost no correlation between tips and good…
When it comes to family, Karl and Christine Boerner, the Swiss-trained, father-daughter pastry chef team behind Karl’s Quality Bakery and the next-door Baker’s Daughter, are doling out a little of the sweet — as well as the spicy — in Sunnyslope. On the sweet side, Kronuts: the Boerner’s version of…
Country music fans might want to make plans to get their boot-scootin’ selves down to Old Town Scottsdale on Thursday, July, 4, for the grand opening of Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row. The 5,200-square-foot bar, restaurant, and live music venue comes courtesy of Phoenix-born and Grammy-nominated country music star Dierks Bentley…
As of Thursday, June 27, those who enjoy their cocktails courtesy of mustachioed Valley mixologist Travis Nass at Lon’s at the Hermosa’s Last Drop bar in Paradise Valley can get something extra — namely, more affordable grub. See also: – Co-Founder of Arizona Cocktail Week to Open New Bar at…
It seems like only yesterday (okay, it was February) when Portillo’s, the Illinois restaurant chain beloved by Chicago transplants throughout the Valley, first brought its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, hamburgers, and cake shakes to Scottsdale. See also: – Top Ten Hot Dogs in Greater Phoenix – Best Hot Dog…
In January, spiky-haired chef Guy Fieri spent time with six Valley restaurants for the 14th season of his popular Food Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. See also: – What Are the Pros and Cons of Appearing on Television? – Jamburritos Food Truck’s Michael Brown Has Been Busy Closing a…
