November is just around the corner — wait, where did the time go!? — and you know what that means? Beer. The month-long NovemBEER is New Times’ annual celebration of craft beer and this time around we’ve got something big to announce. In addition to a series of style-focused beer…
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…
It’s been well over a year since the once popular north Phoenix drinking hole 16th Street Sports Bar closed its door but now there’s some good news for residents of the neighborhood around 16th Street and Maryland. Local restaurant developer Tucker Woodbury will open a new bar and restaurant in…
How a chef handles an egg has always been a sort of standard test in the kitchen. Can a chef take a basic ingredient and turn it into something special? In the case of the Hana Tamago at Hana Japanese Eatery, the answer is “yes.” “There’s not too many things…
Kelly Beef Tasting Dinner Friday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 It’ll be a little bit of trek for diners to get up to Coppa Cafe in Flagstaff, but if this seven course Kelly Beef Tasting Dinner is anywhere near as good as chef Brian Konfal’s usual fare then we…
The Phoenix strip mall space that once housed Eliot Wexler’s fine-dining outlet Noca has been dark for several weeks, but Wexler hasn’t said much about the future of the spot until now. There’s good news and bad for Noca fans, but the bottom line is that you won’t be seeing…
It’s Sunday morning and you’re craving some ‘cue, so you decide to take a nice, long ride out to Cave Creek for a dose of pulled pork from Bryan’s Black Mountain BBQ. There’s only one problem. You get there and realize the restaurant’s closed. Don’t worry. We’ve been there and…
This weekend, dozens of local restaurants will head to Salt River Fields in Scottsdale for the annual Arizona Taco Festival. The two-day event is a blowout festival of all things taco and tequila and will feature live music, multiple bars, and a hot chile pepper eating contest. There will be…
When it comes to Italian chefs in Phoenix, you can hardly ignore chef Peter DeRuvo. After all, he’s been associated with some of the top Italian restaurants in town, including most recently, Davanti Enoteca, home of the most beloved focaccia di recco this town has ever known. The restaurant closed…
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…
If you’re a fan of dark dining rooms, good- looking people, and Korean barbecue short ribs, then you might want to know about ROK Social House, a new-ish restaurant and bar in Old Town Scottsdale. The dining and drinking spot comes courtesy of Andrew Nam, as in the man behind…
Later this fall Scottsdale will welcome its first Arizona vineyard wine shop and tasting room when the Lawrence Dunham Vineyards Wine Gallery tasting room and shop opens at 6951 E. 1st Street. The southern Arizona winery’s tasting room will be taking over a redeveloped ranch house on the southwest corner…
Gabriele Bertaccini Owner, Executive chef il Tocco Food www.iltoccofood.com Gabriele Bertaccini looks more like an Italian clothing model than a hardworking, über successful chef. But if you get him talking about cooking, dining, and Italian cuisine, it becomes immediately clear that he’s much more than just a handsome face and…
Cowboy Ciao Tuesday, October 14 Friendly competition between local wine experts is nothing new to Cowboy Ciao. In fact, the restaurant regularly hosts Sommelier Showdowns that pit two wine professionals against each other in a contest to pick a better pairing. This month the restaurant is shaking things up from…
Next month the James Beard Foundation’s Celebrity Chef Tour will make an appearance at Binkley’s Restaurant in Cave Creek. The annual tour is designed to bring “the experience of dining at New York City’s historic James Beard House to cities around the country.” Host chef Kevin Binkley will welcome seven…
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…
Next month some of the Valley’s top women chefs will gather in the kitchen at Chrysa Robertson’s Rancho Pinot restaurant to cook food and to make a stand, to show everyone that great, talented women chefs exist. And furthermore, that they deserve to be recognized. It’s not the first time…
Since owners Lylah and Michael Ledner decided to close The Simple Farm — which is also the couple’s private residence — to the public in August, there’s been limited opportunity to see the cute urban farm and visit the Ledners’ Nubian goats. The good news is that later this month…
Oktoberfest at Tempe Town Lake Friday, October 10 This weekend Oktoberfest is in full swing around the Valley and the biggest celebration will be held at Tempe Town Lake over the next three days. Starting tomorrow you’ll be able to find a half dozen beer gardens with scores of beers…
It was a bright but short run for The Local. The downtown Phoenix restaurant opened on Roosevelt Row this spring, and almost exactly six months to date from its official opening, it has shuttered. “We poured our hearts and souls into it, but at the end of the day if…
If you’re enthusiastic about heritage produce or Southern food/foodways or watch Mind of a Chef, then chances are you already know Sean Brock. The James Beard Award winning chef is a poster boy for using local, heirloom ingredients and does so daily at this restaurants Husk (Charleston, S.C. and Nashville,…
There are a few changes coming to Miracle Mile Deli, the iconic restaurant currently located at the Camelback Colonnade. The first is that the restaurant will launch a new breakfast menu later this month. The second is that the restaurant will move to a new home in spring of 2015…
