It’s not over yet, folks. Cycle, the pop-up venue inside the Lexington Hotel in downtown Phoenix that’s shutting its doors on August 27th, when the restaurant and hotel will transform itself into a boutique, arts-driven hotel and restaurant, has added one more event to its expiring venue lineup. On Friday…

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 31: Egg…

In a small Tempe strip mall, frequented by those searching for a stiff drink or a tough tattoo, sits Curry Corner, one of a handful of Indo-Pakistani restaurants in the Valley. Twenty-something Pakistani students from ASU seem to use it as a regular meet-up joint, smoking cigarettes outside until their…

Sheesh, not even a week after students are returning to campus at ASU and this headline shows up on the ASU Art Museum website: “Cleaning the meat wall (yes, that says “meat wall”)” Whoa, Sin Devils, how ’bout waiting until school’s in full swing before making us choke on our…

While nothing in the known universe can replace Carlos Santana, the Mexican-born rock guitarist whose band, Santana, broke new ground with its fusing of rock, salsa, and jazz sounds, it appears Maria Maria, the restaurant inspired by the musician, can be — by a beer-craving maned beast. Thirsty Lion Pub…

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 32: Banana…

From several small video appearances for his restaurant to Iron Chef America, Mark Tarbell, chef and owner of Tarbell’s, the award-winning neighborhood restaurant in Central Phoenix, can hardly be called camera shy — plus, c’mon, he’s so damn engaging. That’s why we’re happy Tarbell’s at it again, this time on…

Firehouse Subs, the fast food franchise with over 435 locations, is planning to open its fifth one in Arizona in the Arcadia Plaza on Indian School Road and 28th Street. Founded in Jacksonville, Florida, by former firefighting brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen, Firehouse Subs, open for lunch and dinner, is…

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 33: The…

With all the national television love Phoenix eateries have been receiving lately, the time to strike is now — while the karma iron is hot — to get our favorite food trucks (possibly) on the next season of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race. ‘Cause c’mon, not one set…

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we’re back – with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. 34: Southern…

Lucky for us John Sagasta, owner of Jobot Coffee Shop on Roosevelt Row (once inside Conspire), travels as much as he does. He’s playing around with a couple of new food ideas inspired by trips to Seattle and San Francisco: ramen and nachos. “We’re small so it has to be…

With all the hoopla finally dying down on MyPlate, the new icon of healthy eating from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that replaced the food pyramid, maybe it’s time the nation focused on another food-related headache of sorts: the nutrition label. At least that’s what the folks at the California,…

Last week, Chris Curtiss, the former chef at Noca, who left his position in June and was hired on as the catering director for One Step Beyond Inc., a community-outreach program in northwest Phoenix for young adults with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism, officially signed the paperwork to work…

Do you possess “positive yet authoritative guidance,” enjoy “behind-the-scenes tasks,” and have the desire to recruit, teach, coach, and motivate, “the most effective weapons of mass distraction – the Twin Peaks Girls?” This gig might be for you. Twin Peaks, the Dallas-based “breastaurant” coming to Scottsdale, which bills itself as…

When the Valley’s own Urban Cookies (OllieCake) took home ten grand last week after winning Cupcake Wars on Food Network, there might as well have been a big neon sign that read, “Cupcake Fad Far From Over” flashing on the screen. Good thing for pastry chef Linda Schneider. She’s debuting…

When I popped in for lunch the other day at Rice Paper, the new modern Vietnamese eatery in midtown Phoenix, I wasn’t alone. Packed with downtown suits, Vietnamese locals, and a few hipsters, the chic little house-turned restaurant at 2221 North Seventh Street was bustling with activity. My server said…

It goes without saying that when you’re getting a masters in interior design, the decor of your new restaurant is all on you. “I painted some of the walls with chalkboard paint so my design friends could go crazy,” says Violet Lee, owner and manager of the new Tempe eatery,…

Chandlerites will soon be able to get a new sushi-on thanks to an upcoming restaurant in Ocotillo located off Queen Creek Road and Price. The Sushi Room, from the owners of Humble Pie pizzeria and The Living Room Wine Cafe & Lounge (a play off the new name and The…