As legend has it, the chimichanga was invented in Tucson in the 1950s, when the owner of a Mexican restaurant accidentally dropped a leftover burrito into the deep fryer. Or, it was invented in Phoenix, around the same time, when an enterprising restaurateur was experimenting with new recipe ideas. Or,…
Considering our location here in Phoenix, I’m sure I’d benefit from a few Spanish lessons. But I’m not always a practical person. Lately, I’ve been thinking it’d be cool to learn some Korean. Blame it on a friend of mine who visited South Korea earlier this year. She loved the…
Circa 1900 lost its mojo, chef Chris Curtiss got outta there a few months ago (he’s currently in the kitchen at Binkley’s), and rumors have been floating around that the restaurant’s owners, who also own the wonderful Coronado Cafe, would unload the joint. More recently, I’d also heard that the…
You know it’s time to blog again when somebody drops a line to ask if the food world has stopped! Thankfully, the answer is no. I was just out of town last week for a way overdue visit with my family back in Pennsylvania. It was sort of my early…
In the three years since City Bakery opened its doors to the hungry hipsters of downtown Phoenix, the whole area has undergone a whirlwind of change. First, the mood was pure excitement and optimism. Suddenly, people became interested in downtown revitalization, and places like City Bakery — an outpost of…
Don’t worry, I’m not going to bitch about the summer anymore. But I can’t promise I won’t talk about heat. That’s because my tongue’s still tingling (in a good way) from repeat visits to the south Central outpost of Los Dos Molinos, where New Mexican red chiles and Hatch Valley…
Last year, Wright’s at the Biltmore unveiled a newly remodeled dining room, and with it, a brand-new menu, whose boutiquey American dishes were dubbed “American Lodge Cuisine.” Apparently, things have been quiet at the lodge — at least until recently. Executive chef Michael Cairns left in September, and chef de…
Anybody up for a field trip? Until 3 p.m. today, and then again from 4 to 8 p.m., Joe’s Farm Grill owner Joe Johnston is hosting a “Free Day” in honor of the restaurant’s first anniversary, as a way of thanking customers who’ve fallen in love with Joe’s fabulous food…
If you’re a fan of Maya Dailey’s awesome produce from the Farm at South Mountain, check out the Farm’s first annual Harvest Festival, this Sunday afternoon. The feast not only features a mouthwatering menu, but a portion of the proceeds will directly benefit Maya’s Farm. Check out the goods: housemade…
The days are getting shorter, nighttime temperatures have “cooled down” into the 60s, and I’ve been hungry for cozy comfort food like mashed potatoes and pot roast. It’s crazy, isn’t it? I’ll bet that you, too, have felt a chill in the air one of these recent October evenings and,…
Still no signs of Pinkberry in these parts, but there is a Scottsdale frozen yogurt spot that opened last week where they serve something quite similar to it, according to owner Charles Cha. The place is called Ice Tango, and the house specialty is the kind of tangy-sweet frozen yogurt…
What a random morning yesterday. I attempted to go to Tempe, and didn’t realize I should’ve gotten off the 202 at Priest — Rural was closed, and McClintock basically was, too. There was some major bicycling event going on, and all cars were forced down Rio Salado and back across…
I just got word that the Willow House, the popular McDowell coffeehouse hangout, will be closing on Sunday night, following a farewell bash with live music performances organized by DJentrification. Supposedly the poor Willow House employees found out about the closing from a customer, not from the owners. Why are…
You’ve gotta hand it to restaurateurs Robert Stempkowski and Stephen Wolff — they came up with a really clever concept when they decided to open a down-home barbecue joint in Tempe. In a city with plenty of pizza, Asian food, and Middle Eastern cuisine, Urban Campfire offers some welcome alternatives,…
I mentioned this stuff in earlier blog postings, but here’s a friendly reminder of two groovy goings-on this afternoon: First, starting at 1 p.m., Chatham’s Fine Chocolates hosts its official grand opening at its new Central Phoenix digs, at 114 W. Camelback. After a ribbon cutting by the mayor and…
Does the name Jessica Florez-Lieb ring a bell? If you follow local politics, you might remember her stint as a Phoenix City Councilwoman, back in 2003. Or, if you pay attention to publishing, you’d know her from Latino Future magazine, which she co-founded in 2001. Although Florez-Lieb and her partner,…
Things have been crazy around here and I didn’t get a chance to attend the First Press Gourmet Sessions Food Fight the other night, but I got the inside dish from an acquaintance who was there to watch the drama unfold. In an hour-long, Iron Chef-style cookoff between chefs Aaron…
I realize I’ve been on a beer and wine kick lately, but obviously things are a little crazy here at New Times these days. I promise, I have been downing nothing but Tazo tea as I sit here typing away. So I just heard from a local distributor called Little…
In response to a very interesting article that ran last week in the Wall Street Journal, about bloggers writing favorable reviews in exchange for free meals, Howard Seftel of the Arizona Republic just wrote a detailed commentary about his ethical standards as a critic, and some folks’ lack thereof. All…
It’s no secret that James Beard Award-winning chef Robert McGrath has been putting a lot of time and effort into turning around Pischke’s Paradise (recently renamed Pischke’s Blue Ribbon), the Old Town eatery founded by his late friend, restaurateur Chris Pischke. The kitchen’s been revamped, and the sprawling mish-mash of…
We’ve all heard the old saying about the importance of first impressions, but in the restaurant biz, it’s no mere cliché. With so many dining options these days, people expect their initial experience at a new spot to be better than so-so — it’d better be darn good, if not…
The folks behind the First Press Weekend of Wine clearly know what suckers we are for a good smackdown. With so many gourmet-cooking-as-competitive-sport shows on TV these days (Iron Chef, The Next Iron Chef, Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen), why not play on their popularity and pit two top local chefs…
