By Michele Laudig Megan Irwin’s weekly installments of Veggie Girl were an instant hit on Chow Bella when they started earlier this summer — readers gave lots of feedback, and Megan was enthused about covering vegetarian dining. And alas, just when it seemed she was on a roll, Veggie Girl…
By Michele Laudig Gio Osso is already gone from Luc’s, the luxury El Pedregal restaurant, barely more than three months after taking the executive chef post. According to owner Robert Hall, the change-up happened about a week ago. As I reported in May, Osso was chef number three for the…
By Michele Laudig One of the most high-profile restaurant developments of 2008 also happens to be a home-grown Arizona original. Prado is the name of the new Spanish-style signature restaurant at the soon-to-open InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, and unlike some of the other high-profile eateries anticipated for 2008, it’s…
By Michele Laudig If you’re craving Thai food for dinner tonight, I have a tasty suggestion: Yupha’s Thai Kitchen. Yupha Dequenne says it’s a little bit bigger now — about 100 seats instead of 77 — but feels quite a bit bigger, thanks to a new layout. The scrumptious Thai…
In rural India, a dhaba is a roadside pit stop where truckers can fill their tummies after they’ve filled their tanks at the petrol station next door. It’s a place for a cheap, filling meal of Northern Indian food, and maybe even a quick snooze on a charpoy, a squat,…
By Michele Laudig After a jaunt to the downtown farmer’s market on Saturday morning, I decided to join a couple of friends for breakfast at the new-ish Maizie’s Cafe & Bistro (after stashing my veggies in my fridge at home, of course). It turned out to be a worthwhile destination,…
By Michele Laudig On the heels of last week’s news that AAA Four Diamond-rated La Hacienda closed at the Fairmont Scottsdale, now there’s word that another restaurant at the resort has received the same noteworthy award: Bourbon Steak. When I reviewed celebrity chef Michael Mina’s swanky new Arizona outpost a…
By Michele Laudig This is a pretty sweet nod to one of downtown’s tastiest haunts: Sweet Pea Bakery gets a mention in the September issue of Bon Appetit magazine. The noteworthy item? Brownie-chunk cookies, recipe included. Yum! I’m sure I’ll still end up buying them from Sweet Pea instead of…
By Michele Laudig It just might be impossible to stifle a smile when an ethereal pink ball of cotton candy appears at the dinner table. Nope, you won’t find it on the dessert menu at Noca, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself nibbling on pieces of the fluffy…
By Michele Laudig Us New Times folks are always kinda-sorta on the job. (I actually dream about work, and sadly don’t get overtime for it.) That’s why Benjamin Leatherman, in the middle of his Friday night, took the time to report on the latest downtown dish about the Willow House…
By Michele Laudig After months of speculation, the Fairmont Scottsdale’s upscale Mexican eatery, La Hacienda, has finally closed. Although scheduled to be open yesterday, management made an “out of the blue” staff announcement that the decades-old restaurant would not serve dinner after all, says hotel concierge Lara Cosseboom. “It’s gonna…
Cuban cuisine certainly lends itself to an upscale, even fusion treatment (like at Scottsdale’s chic Asia de Cuba), but for me, it’s most enjoyable as down-to-earth comfort food. That has a lot to do with my earliest encounters with Cuba’s culinary delights: at a cozy neighborhood joint near my college…
By Michele Laudig On the eve of its scheduled opening, downtown Mesa’s new de la Cruz Bistro isn’t quite ready to open yet. According to chef Keawe Aikau, who goes by “Chef K,” there’s still some paperwork to take care of before the new eatery can open its doors at…
By Michele Laudig Tell me I can’t have something, and I’ll want it even more. Right now, what I really want is a hot, doughy scone from Kohnie’s, the infamous Camelback coffee shop where owner Robert Kohn dished out his own brand of dry humor right along with killer scones,…
By Michele Laudig It had been awhile since I’d been into Mediterranean House — the cozy eatery next door to Richardson’s, on Bethany Home at 16th Street — so I stopped by for some falafel the other day. Turns out, the place is closing, according to the two waitresses who…
By Michele Laudig Last fall, I reported on how coffeeshop/hangout the Willow House was being inexplicably booted from its longstanding home on McDowell Road. The place was closed by late October, but managed to find a new location before long. December’s First Friday was its grand reopening party at 1722…
By Michele Laudig Alrighty: It’s been confirmed that Aunt Lena’s Creamery, the Chandler gelato shop, will be featured in the “Brain Freeze” episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, set to air on the Food Network on Monday, August 11, at 7 and 9 p.m. Aunt Lena’s features 32 flavors of…
If you decided to quit your job and leap into a whole new career, what would it be? The question has always fascinated me. One of my friends is a fitness club manager who dreams of going into interior design. Another is an IT whiz who’d love to start a…
By Michele Laudig Seeing that the sold-out round three of Locavore, Tapino’s successful AZ-centric wine dinner, takes place tonight and tomorrow (with 120 people each night), it’s probably a good time to announce the details of Locavore 4: Cultivation, which takes place October 7 and 8. Obviously reservations are essential…
By Michele Laudig Huh. So Tony Bourdain finally comes to Phoenix, and the only thing that merits attention to this city — or hell, this state — is a two-foot chili dog from Cooperstown? I still don’t know if the brief AZ segment pissed me off, made me sad, or…
By Michele Laudig I’m starting to think it’s a bad idea to drink Diet Coke while reading emails, because I never know when I might get something so funny that I risk said soda spurting from my nostrils. !!! The latest unassuming correspondence to take me off guard? A simple…
By Michele Laudig A month ago, I reported on the imminent opening of Noca, the new “modern American” restaurant from Phoenix’s most obsessed gourmet, Eliot Wexler, and chef Chris Curtiss. To the best of his knowledge, Eliot had predicted July 8 as the opening date, but his crystal ball was…
