James Beard Award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda is closing Sea Saw, his seven-year-old Stetson Drive eatery, to focus on a new project. Sunday, June 7, will be the last night of service. It’s truly the end of an era in the Valley culinary scene, but also the beginning of a new…

Sea Saw chef Nobuo Fukuda’s cutting-edge sashimi creations and luxurious omakase dinners have earned him not only legions of devotees, but a prestigious James Beard “Best Chef: Southwest” award. And since the opening of NOCA last August, chef Chris Curtiss has gained a cult following for his stunning crudo dishes and…

I love that they’re calling it Lobster Madness. Chef Eddie Matney is cooking up the quintessential summer beach dinner tonight at Eddie’s House, and the price sounds pretty tasty, too. It’s Maine lobster, sweet corn on the cob, and buttered potatoes for $19.95; the twin lobster dinner is $29.95. To…

Seems like NOCA has something different going on every night it’s open — soft shell crab suppers on Tuesdays, lobster rolls on Wednesdays, Simple Suppers on Sundays — and now there’s one more thing to add to your dining schedule: Bar Bites on Thursdays. It’s an affordable menu of creative dishes that will…

This morning, celebrated pastry chef Tracy Dempsey officially announced that as of June 8, she’ll be leaving her gig overseeing desserts for Cowboy Ciao, Digestif, and Kazimierz, a position she’s held for the last five years. “It’s not an easy decision,” she says. Dempsey is busy working on opening Galette Dessert…

When I called Doug Robson, chef-owner of the fantastic new Gallo Blanco Café at the Clarendon Hotel, I almost expected him to ask me not to write about his restaurant. “I wanna be just kind of quiet about it,” he said, pausing to take a deep breath before talking to…

This afternoon, I finally got some time to catch up with chef Cullen Campbell in the wake of Fine’s Cellar’s recent closing, and he says he’s really upset about it. “It was pretty much the economy, and with the way things have going, the investors didn’t want to put more…

Just got the word tonight from chef Cullen Campbell that Fine’s Cellar is no more. To some, who’d seen the Old Town Scottsdale eatery not nearly busy enough in recent months, that might not come as a surprise, but to the many who’d become fans of wine guru Mike Fine’s…

Gather ye stickybuns while ye may! Tomorrow, May 27, is the last day in business for El Chorro Lodge, the Paradise Valley eatery where a scenic mountain view, killer eats (everything from eggs benedict to steaks) and old-school cool have earned it many Best of Phoenix awards over the years…

A holiday weekend is a good time for a soft opening, it seems. The Parlor quietly opened its doors a few nights ago, and incredibly, I’ve already talked to a few friends who’ve been there. People must be hungry for this stuff. Word is, the food is straightforward and pretty…

I’ve seen the future of breakfast in Phoenix, and it is called Scramble. I say that not because the menu is so cutting-edge — it’s heavy on classics like biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and steak and eggs. But honestly, if the selection here got a few tweaks and additions for…

He’s been on board for a while, but as of today, former Digestif front-of-the-house personality Pavle Milic has officially been named the new general manager of Prado, the fine-dining restaurant at the InterContinental Montelucia resort. Another well-known local talent, Paul Xanthopoulos, has joined the team as maitre d’. Prior to this gig,…

After four years in her pint-sized bakery and lunch spot on 40th Street, just north of Thomas, Bertha’s Cafe owner Beth Goldwater was not able to renew her lease. April 24 was her last day in business. “It was a blessing in disguise,” she tells me. She’s since found a new space,…

As we speak, the 22-person staff of Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar is meeting at Cowboy Ciao, learning the sad news that Saturday night was the last dinner service for the five-year-old Scottsdale eatery. Chef-owner James Porter mostly blames the economy, but also says he’s had issues with the landlords…

Summer’s here and the slowdown is palpable. But the flurry of culinary and charity events that started in the spring hasn’t sputtered out yet. In fact, one of the longest-running ones takes place this Thursday night. Flavors of Phoenix makes its 18th annual go-round on May 21 at the Westin Kierland…

New-ish Irish pub The Turf is only open for breakfast on weekends and Mondays — which puzzled me for about two seconds until I thought about it. People are always doing a drive-by to see what the line’s like at Matt’s Big Breakfast, and these days, it’s always a crowd…

We’ve always been addicted to ice cream. Gelato is still going strong. And tangy Korean-style frozen yogurt is plenty popular. So I would not be one bit surprised if bing soo became the next frozen dessert trend in the Valley of the Sun. It’s a kind of Korean sundae, with…

If you consider yourself a Slow Foodie, you need to find an excuse to get to The Deli in Queen Creek. A good friend recommended it to me awhile ago — he stops by on his routine visits to The Pork Shop — and when I saw him a couple weeks ago,…

Emmy Ayafor, the Camaroon native and now former chef-owner of West African eatery Bantu Bistro, has left his CenPho restaurant and is searching for a new location in Phoenix to reopen his concept. Ayafor had opened Bantu in the former Johnny’s Uptown space in December, but after a recent dispute about taking…

Congrats to Sweet Republic owners Jan Wichayanuparp and Helen Yung, whose year-old North Scottsdale shop gets a mention in Bon Appetit’s June Hot 10 list of the country’s “Best Ice Cream Shops.” Can’t say it really comes as a surprise — these hard-working ladies have earned the honors with homemade ice cream and…

From conversations with my friends to the pages of the New York Times, budget dining is as popular a topic as ever. Everyone’s on the lookout for a killer taco, a scrumptious hot dog, a bargain breakfast, or an irresistible happy hour special. I’m sure the economy is partly responsible,…