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. 72: Short…

Cork, the eclectic restaurant in Chandler featuring small plates served à la carte, is taking its annual summer vacation from Sunday, June 26, to Tuesday, July 12. The good news? We get to eat up the contents of their kitchen before they leave. Now through Saturday, June 25, Cork 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. 73: Brussels…

Note to the folks at the Arizona State Fair: Get “Chicken” Charlie Boghosian back to the fairgrounds in October, and this time, tell ’em to bring his deep-fried Kool-Aid. Boghosian, whose Chicken Charlie’s set-up is a staple of fried goodness at fairs nationwide, is the creator of the golf ball-sized…

Hm, “Nteresting.” Thom Coker and his wife, Kathy, owners and founders of T.C. Eggington’s in Mesa, are planning a new venture on Mill Avenue in Tempe called Ncounter. Like T.C. Eggington’s, Ncounter, described as “hip Nspired deliciousness in a indoor/outdoor atmosphere with an urban cool vibe,” will serve up fresh,…

Seems as if celebu-chef Chris Bianco was in The City of Brotherly Love last week to show a little love of his own. Bianco joined 36 other top chefs at Philadelphia’s Naval Yard for “The Great Chefs Event,” an annual fundraiser founded by James Beard Award winner and Philadelphia’s best-known…

It looks like Silvana Salcido Esparza, chef and owner of Barrio Café, is planning a move to Old Town Scottsdale. The Arizona Republic reports that Esparza’s two restaurant concepts, slated to move into the SouthBridge space in Old Town Scottsdale that previously housed Metro Brasserie, will come about in November…

If you rock successfully enough, you get to create a concert rider, a list of requests or demands set as criteria for a performance. Usually, some jackwad finds it and sends it to The Smoking Gun, who will then publish it — its readers calling you an asshole or a…

You know you’ve arrived when your image is made into icy awesomeness. David Hasselhoff, a.k.a. Michael Knight (Night Rider), Mitch Buchannon (Baywatch), and simply “The Hoff,” has been turned into — wait for it — the “Hoffsicle.” The “Hoffsicle,” a raspberry iced smoothie made in the Hoff’s likeness and complete…

What used to be a hand car wash (and a damn good one, too) on 40th Street and Camelback in Arcadia has been leveled, making way for a new NoRTH location, courtesy of restaurateur Sam Fox. The new restaurant will be the third NoRTH restaurant in Arizona (the two others…

My first bite of the pibil taco made me a believer. Not just in the traditional Mexican dish, made with tender, slow-cooked pork shoulder that sings with a bright flavor of orange marinade, sweet pickled onions, and chile de arbol sauce and topped with a crunchy mix of cabbage, radishes,…

Summer heat already taking its toll? Time for some cool buzz on novelty ice cream manufactures, Ben & Jerry’s. Gothamist reports that the Vermont-based ice cream company may or may not be developing a new “Schweddy Balls” -themed flavor in honor of the Saturday Night Live skit starring Ana Gasteyer,…

It’s always nice to see local folks representin’ the Valley proper-like when it comes to contests. So when Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery, the Colorado-based purveyor of certified organic bread and baked goods sold in Whole Foods and Safeway stores, announced that one of the three finalists in their Unbelievably Good Gluten-Free…

One shot of Insanity Wolf AWESOMENESS, please. AFK, a gaming tavern (yes, gaming tavern) in Everett, Washington recently updated every drink name on their menu to a meme (an idea, belief, or pattern of behavior that spreads throughout a culture.) Now, in addition to an Xbox360 and a Dragon Burger,…

Remember wine master Jock Wulffson? He’s back. The former owner of the now-defunct Backstreet Wine Salon has joined forces with Cave & Ive’s, the new, quaint little eatery featuring Mediterranean and Italian cuisine on Indian School Road and 44th Street, for weekly wine-and-learn events. The first one starts this week…

Did you know The Living Room on 2333 North 7th Street is transforming into a Humble Pie? I found out when I attempted to pop in for lunch today, thanks to a sign on the door. A source told me the decision to change The Living Room Wine Cafe and…

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? Who cares. Thanks to the drive toward more artisanal foods, the old-fashioned lollipop is getting a much-needed makeover, and a small-batch lollipop shop out of Seattle called This Charming Candy, aims to make their…

And so it begins. Thanks to Happy Hot Dog Man, a hot dog, the food item most children people will eat without question, is now a floppy meat person that requires being “killed” via boiling water or microwave, dementedly decorated like a human sacrifice, then eaten SANS BUN so its…

If you haven’t been to Cheese ‘n Stuff, the humble deli and food shop on Camelback and Central, there’s a good chance your parents or your grandparents have — the joint’s been a Valley staple since 1949. “My Dad knew the original owners and told them he’d buy it when…