In the past few months, a lot of local restaurants have postponed openings (indefinitely, for some), but the most high-profile, highly anticipated one is making its debut before the end of this year, as promised. It’s J&G Steakhouse, chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s upscale steakhouse at The Phoenician, scheduled to open on Monday,…
From indie restaurants to indie rock, my tastes are all about the little guy. I come from an entrepreneurial family, and I know a lot of small-business owners. And if given a choice, I prefer to stay in quirky little hotels when I travel. So it goes without saying that…
Johnny Chu is locked out of Fate, the downtown Asian restaurant he created six years ago. Longstanding disagreements between him and partner/landlord Norman Fox boiled over last Wednesday afternoon, when Chu says he discovered that Fox had changed all the locks on Fate and Next Door, and obtained a restraining order…
This news is bad enough to make any chocoholic ache with disappointment: Chatham Kitz, owner of Chatham’s Fine Chocolates, says he’ll be permanently closing the doors of his wonderful Camelback Road chocolate boutique by the end of this month. “We’ll be open ’til we sell all of our inventory, and that’s it,”…
Rumor has it that there’s been a split between Fate chef Johnny Chu (who recently opened Sens, the sake bar that I just reviewed) and owner/landlord Norman Fox, and that one of the key players involved in the restaurant has taken the liquor license. From the looks of the sign…
Eddie Matney Chef Eddie Matney is the owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale…
You’ve heard it before: Spend your hard-earned cash at local businesses, and that money will benefit your community a lot more than if you’d blown it at a national retailer or a chain restaurant. But there’s nothing wrong with a little reminder this time of year, when there’s too much shopping to…
Talk about filling a niche. When it comes to Asian food in downtown Phoenix, the offerings are definitely sparse, but now there’s a new restaurant that takes the scene a big leap in the right direction, catering to diners’ culinary wanderlust with Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes. I’m talking…
To raise money for the Chaparral High School Band, the three-day-old Scottsdale location of Jersey Mike’s is offering free regular subs to customers who donate $1, from December 3 through 7. Located at 10392 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale (480-992-6493), it’s the third Arizona location for the East Coast-style sandwich…
They had me at “country-fried” steak. A friend tipped me off to The Breakfast Joynt, a new, independently owned restaurant that just opened two weeks ago in north Scottsdale, and the menu of made-from-scratch fare looks tasty. Along with country-fried steak and eggs, there’s biscuits and gravy, stuffed apple pancakes…
Amy Silverman and I wondered that as we tried to figure out a time to hang out and catch up amid the stress of work, personal obligations, and the holidays. Then we realized that if we tag-teamed some holiday cooking — over Thai takeout and drinks, chez Amy — we’d get our…
Don’t worry, Canal still has its 30 Dollar Sandwich, comically priced at 29.99. The SouthBridge restaurant continues to dish up crispy parmesan fries, and you dirty-minded people can still have ahi three ways, too. But there are plenty of new dishes to check out on executive chef Justin Beckett’s new…
By Eddie Matney Pecan Pie Martini…
Eliot Wexler and chef Chris Curtiss have never explicitly told me that they’re trying to turn us all into NOCA addicts, but I’m convinced this is their grand plan. And you know what? It seems to be working. At a birthday party last weekend, I danced my ass off in a friend’s…
The Valley is big, but when it comes to good restaurants, sometimes it doesn’t feel quite big enough. Between newspapers, magazines, TV, the blogosphere, message boards, and just the foodie grapevine, in general, decent eateries can get barraged with buzz from all directions, all at once. And then, when the…
By Michele Laudig I’ve hosted vegetarian guests for Thanksgiving before, and let me tell you — it is a challenge to come up with something tasty that isn’t just a meatless side dish like green beans or mashed potatoes. Sadly, there’s no room for tofurky in my oven when I’m…
By Michele Laudig The Scottsdale Civic Plaza Mall already has a nice variety of restaurants — The Orange Table, Jewel of the Crown, AZ88, Asia de Cuba — but now there’s yet another reason to hit up the area when you’re hungry. Last week, Pure Sushi opened its doors there,…
By Eddie Matney Cowboy Ciao. Grab little burgers from Stax (4400 N. Scottsdale Rd.) or Canal. Check out the bottle rockets from Drift – they pair quite nicely with cold beer. Or grab a few rolls from Ra or Stingray. Your guests (and your local restaurants) will appreciate it. Chef…
By Michele Laudig When Palatte first opened its doors, it was all about quirky brunches — egg “mishmashes,” sweet potato pancakes, tarts, and frittatas du jour. But did you know they’re now part of the downtown dinner lineup? That’s right, from 5 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, you can…
By Michele Laudig Thirsty for some beer? You’d better be if you attend the launch of DRAFT Magazine’s new festival, The Big Pour, at Mesa’s Hohokam Stadium (1235 N. Center St.) on Saturday, November 22 (sessions are noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.). General admission is $35,…
By Michele Laudig The Food Network seems to do well in the Phoenix metro area, especially considering all the fun local joints that’ve been showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, including Matt’s Big Breakfast, Aunt Lena’s Creamery, Chino Bandido Takee Outee, and Joe’s Farm Grill. Soon, there’ll be another name…
By Michele Laudig Consider this the yin to my yang post about new restaurants yesterday. One corner of Mill Avenue is a little darker these days, since Dragonfly Vietnamese Kitchen and Coconut Club Bar & Grill both closed their doors two weeks ago. On the upside, Dragonfly’s original location in…
