By Michele Laudig I’ve done plenty of drooling in print and on this blog about the charcuterie at Digestif, but now there’s somebody else hamming it up: The Wall Street Journal. They recently name-droped the Scottsdale restaurant as part of a national trend piece. Nice!…

By Michele Laudig I’ve been to enough spas around town to know that brownies are definitely *not* on the typical refreshment buffet. Usually, the offerings are along the lines of shiny ripe apples, herbal tea, and water with lemon and cucumber. Show up hungry, and your growling stomach will drown…

By Michele Laudig After five months on board as the executive chef at Different Pointe of View, the fine dining restaurant at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs, Anthony DeMuro has finally given us a chance to see what kind of dishes he’s been dreaming up over the summer. The brand-new…

By Michele Laudig Yes, it might be a teensy bit premature to start thinking about white truffles — one of the most mysterious and heavenly things I’ve ever eaten — but I get a lot of satisfaction just knowing the season is right around the corner. Thanks to the fine…

There’s plenty in the way of high-profile restaurants in Phoenix, although if you’re really into food, you also have to fine-tune your radar for inconspicuous hole-in-the-wall gems, off-the-beaten-path indie eateries, and humble mom-and-pop spots. But how often do you literally get to meet mom and pop? At La Piccola Cucina…

By Michele Laudig That’s right, Citybakery — the cute, contemporary cafe attached to the cavernous Bentley Projects art gallery — has closed, leaving Downtown with one less lunch option. That’s not to say that you still can’t get Citybakery’s tasty sandwiches and salads, though — there is still another Citybakery…

By Michele Laudig Last Monday, September 1, Quiessence chef Greg LaPrad took over the Slow Food-centric fine dining spot and its neighbor, Morning Glory Cafe, from former owner Santa Barbara Catering. Both restaurants are located at the Farm at South Mountain, an idyllic getaway inside the Phoenix city borders, home…

By Michele Laudig The charming stretch of Gilbert Avenue that runs right through the middle of Gilbert is about to get a lot more interesting with the October 14 opening of Liberty Market. Restaurateur Joe Johnston and his wife Cindy bought the building a couple of years ago, and have…

By Michele Laudig There’s something in the air today. I might sound insane to say this, but I feel just the tiniest twinge of fall, like the weather is just a little less brutal than it was a few days ago. And although I’ve gladly pounded the pavement on First…

By Michele Laudig Okay, I fully expect wine dinners coming from the Spaghetti Western camp — have you ever read the wine menu at Cowboy Ciao or Kazimierz? My god, “read” is probably not the right verb. “Study” is more like it, since the thing resembles the bible in its…

Atlas Bistro is one of those local gems that’s had a cult following from the start, but now there’s a new reason to love it. Actually, make that two reasons: chefs Brandon Crouser and Joshua Riesner. Established in 2002, the tiny BYOB connected to AZ Wine Co. has long impressed…

By Michele Laudig What happens when you take an accomplished chef and architecture buff and set him loose in the mid-century mecca of Central Phoenix? You get a cool new restaurant called St. Francis Place. Hold your horses — the place probably won’t open until March, at the earliest. Still,…

By Michele Laudig After 7 1/2 years running Postino, a successful wine bar at 40th Street and Campbell, the folks from LGO Hospitality have decided to open a second location, just north of Camelback on Central Ave. It’s in the old Katz Deli space. (Katz’s closed down last week and…

By Michele Laudig Jeez, Robrt, did you put them out of business? Last week, Robrt Pela’s highly entertaining rant about crap service at Willo Bakery was met with an online chorus of “Hell, yes!” Who knew everybody hated it so much? And now the joint’s closed. Not surprising, really. I…

By Michele Laudig Although the new Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel wasn’t scheduled to open until October, it’s actually going to open a bit early — and along with it, there will be a new restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner: District American Kitchen & Wine Bar. Following on the heels…

By Michele Laudig I never had a fair chance to say goodbye to Plaid Eatery, as this cute, vegetarian-friendly Tempe hangout quietly closed this summer while school was out. Makes me wonder if it was the economy, or what — and how many other little joints are shutting their doors…

Don’t blame the Olympics. I’ve been craving some good Chinese food for a lot longer than the past couple of weeks that we’ve been bombarded with coverage of the games. If anything, TV segments about bizarre Beijing street foods have somewhat lessened my appetite for it. (I’m adventurous, but I’m…

By Michele Laudig The word on the street is that there have been big changes at Estate House, the mansion-like fine-dining spot at SouthBridge, Fred Unger’s upscale Scottsdale shopping and restaurant complex across the canal from the Scottsdale Waterfront. Ron Dimas, the executive chef who opened the restaurant six months…

By Michele Laudig Talk to the food fanatics around town, and Noca’s got the buzz du jour, which is saying a lot for a three-and-a-half-week-old restaurant. I won’t name any names, but the place has been crawling with local chefs, celebs, and even some restaurants critics. (And no, I’m not…

By Michele Laudig Wow — I just stumbled on to a fascinating Yelp discussion about whether or not the Yelpers think it’s okay to accept free food in exchange for a (possibly) favorable review on the popular everyone’s-a-critic website. I’d secretly hoped that the majority of Yelp postings were sincere,…

By Michele Laudig It seems like everybody’s looking forward to Labor Day weekend, but now there’s something to look forward to after the big holiday: restaurant openings! For some reason it feels like the whole city starts to wake up in September, even though the heat isn’t going anywhere. W…