Chase Crain is not a bartender who messes around much with garnishes or puréed fruits or little umbrellas. He’s more about throwing a great party. When Crain is behind the highly-stocked bar of Bar Smith downtown, his showmanship comes through in a different way — with fire, flips, tricks and…
Flairtending occupies a realm of its own in the bartending world — there’s fire, alcohol, flips, spinning and juggling. Chase Crain has spent a good part of the last two years learning the craft. “It makes people wanna know your name” he says. “‘Using attitude,’ I like to call it.”…
“I love American food,” he says, “and I just seem to always be drawn to that — like I’m drawn to blues music, like I’m drawn to country music, I’m drawn to the same, original foods.” But, from the beef brisket and the pulled pork to the potato salad and…
Yep, that’s right. Chipotle is doing good for the community, again. Last week it was a free showing of food industry documentary Food, Inc., and now it’s putting on a fundraiser for none other than the food awareness movement’s top dog, Slow Food USA. Tomorrow night, from 6 to 8…
It says something when a chef names his restaurant after himself. In our opinion, it says something good. After Bryan Dooley spent 15 years as a chef at the luxurious Fairmont Scottsdale, he opened Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in downtown Cave Creek. Yep, that’s right, barbecue — not chilled soups…
Would you like to know what days your favorite bakery will be serving organic peach pies, topped with whipped creme chantilly? How about the weekly lunch specials, or the latest macaron flavors? Yes, we would too. Tempe’s Essence Bakery Cafe, known as one of the only places in the Valley where…
So, we were poking around on Twitter this morning (it’s Monday), when we came across a challenge so intriguing that we had to pose it to you: Can you come up with a recipe that’s 140 characters or less? The idea is to compile a kind of virtual cookbook made only…
Chocolate and wine. We can’t think of two better things to spend an evening tasting. Well, we’re in luck. Chef Travis Watson, of Avalon in Scottsdale, is offering one night of just that: Chocolate and wine tasting, complete with petit fours, truffles and pairings, not to mention a how-to and…
Where she grew up in small-town Georgia, Gillian Tervet says, “by middle school, we were drinking whiskey.” “That’s just the way it is in the South.” Next month, when she heads off to Australia for a few months to try her hand at another culture, she’s hoping to land a…
Gillian Tervet is one of those girls who’s cool because she’s not trying to be. A bartender-on-the-rise who’s barely old enough to drink her own cocktails (she just turned 21), Tervet has her own style behind the bar. This is a girl from Georgia whose parents don’t drink at all,…
Rolling Stone: Aerosmith’s Tyler Airlifted to Hospital After Falling From Stage Rolling Stone: Seacrest “Stunned,” Jackson “Shocked” By Abdul’s “Idol” Exit Rolling Stone: “Birthday” Video From “The Beatles: Rock Band” Premieres Pitchfork: Dead Man’s Bones (Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields) Reveal Cover, Tracklist NME: Bob Dylan To Release Christmas Album?…
It’s all about doing things right for Matt Taylor. In the kitchen of Metro Brasserie & Bar in Old Town Scottsdale, his staff of 12 guys is loose and laid-back during the day. But, in the kitchen, things change. “When we’re actually cooking, there’s a set way we do things,”…
Spin: Radiohead Release New Song Spin: Eminem, Kanye, Lady Gaga, Beyonce Lead MTV VMA Noms So Much Silence: New Kidz in the Hall: Flickin’ Rolling Stone: Lollapalooza ’09: Day-By-Day Guide to the Acts You Can’t Miss Rolling Stone: Paula Abdul Announces She’s Leaving “American Idol” Rolling Stone: Heath Ledger’s Video…
A traditionalist and an up-and-comer at once, 25-year-old Matt Taylor is probably the youngest executive chef around, and he’s one of the most well known. Taylor is a curious combination of discipline and ease, both a risk-taker and a culinary purist. Maybe that’s how he got to be the head…
State Press: YACHT Not A Standout Idolator: “Weird Al” Yankovic Makes An Icky Thump In Honor Of Charles Nelson Reilly NME: Bruce Springsteen To Perform ‘Born To Run’ Album In Its Entirety NME: P Diddy Moshes His Way Through Arctic Monkeys’ Intimate New York Gig NME: Rihanna and Chris Brown…
If you’ve been at a farmers market in the Valley lately, you’ve probably run into a booth with a rather odd name and a Nebraska Huskers bumper sticker on the cooler: Pork on a Fork. The name, we’re not sure about, but the Huskers sticker is there because the company’s…
When J.K. Grence is working behind the bar at Trader Vic’s at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, he imagines himself to be playing Penn to the other bartender’s Teller. “I’m standing there talking constantly,” he laughs, “while he’s just standing there silently making drinks.” He’s busy telling you stories…
Rolling Stone: Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor Explains Why He Left Twitter Rolling Stone: Eminem Issues “Warning” to Mariah Carey With New Dis Track Rolling Stone: All Points West’s Acts to Watch Pitchfork: The King Khan & BBQ Show Announce New Album in Typically Wacky Fashion Pitchfork: Big Boi Update:…
OK, folks. So, yesterday, when we announced National Lasagna Day deals at Buca di Beppo, we said, it seems like every day on the calendar is the National Day of Something. As it turns out, we were right. Today is National Cheesecake Day! You know what that means: cheesecake deals…
J.K. Grence has big dreams. He’s planned out the ideal bar — the one he would like to open one day in the distant, fuzzy future. “I’d want it to be some tropical hideaway,” he says. “You just sink into the atmosphere of it and have nice people bring you…
Thank you, Chipotle — and not just for your giant burritos. The chain is sponsoring a free screening, tonight at 7:30 p.m., of the newest watchdog documentary, Food, Inc. at the Harkins Camelview theater in Scottsdale. It’s first-come, first-served, so get there early. The film comes from co-producer Eric Schlosser,…
Spin:Listen: Scarlett Johansson Duets with Pete Yorn NME: Rejected Britney Spears Song Set for Har Mar Superstar Album NME: Ray Davies: ‘The Kray Twins Wanted to Manage The Kinks’ NME: Lily Allen and Liam Gallagher Cause Boozy Havoc on 11-Hour Flight NME: Charles Manson Asks Phil Spector to Collaborate in…
