He doesn’t have a commercial space yet, but Ricardo Palacio — who dreams of having his own bake shop and eventually, his own restaurant — is turning out some mighty fine-looking sweets from his kitchen at home. In fact, his Facebook pix alone are enough to send those of us…
On the off chance we haven’t provided you with enough holiday gift-giving ideas for every conceivable kind of food and drink-oriented person in the universe (did we overlook the gluten-free, nut-allergic grill-master on the Paleo diet?), we thought we’d hook you up with local food maven Natalie Morris, who is…
Flavoring spirits by soaking herbs, spices and fruits in them is nothing new. In fact, the practice is almost as old as distilling itself. But in the last four or five years, since cocktails went craft, infused booze (flavored with anything and everything, including meat) is big and getting bigger…
Chilaquiles — a starchy, spicy, comforting dish of quartered and fried corn tortillas, ladled with or simmered in chile sauce — are one of Mexico’s favorite hangover cures. They’re also the go-to for thrifty Mexican mamas who want to whip up a quick breakfast and get rid of going-stale tortillas…
Local fooditarians who keep a culinary Who’s Who in their heads surely remember Patrick Boll as the right hand man to James Beard Award-winner Robert McGrath at Roaring Fork in its heyday. Boll eventually left his longtime mentor to take chef gigs at Il Vinaio, El Chorro and the now…
For most of us, the phrase “Tom & Jerry” conjures two crazy cartoon characters, a cat and mouse who tortured each other in every fiendish way possible. But our grandparents probably remember Tom & Jerry as a frothy, warming alcoholic beverage similar to eggnog. See also: – Eleven Holiday Cocktails…
Geez, the culinary cupboard at the Arizona Biltmore is beginning to look a bit bare. Executive Chef Todd Sicolo flew the coop about a month ago to take Lee Hillson’s former position at the Royal Palms. Now executive sous chef Conor Favre is leaving the Biltmore to step into Michael…
FnB fans were all atwitter 10 days ago after news broke that Charleen Badman and Pavle Milic were leaving Stetson Drive to move their beloved restaurant over to Craftsman Court. See also: – FnB’s Charleen Badman and Pavle Milic Leave Stetson Drive for Craftsman Court – Cowboy Ciao Files for…
Beer cocktails are nothing new. Remember the Boilermaker — a shot glass of whisky dumped in a beer? It was a blue collar, let’s-get-down-to-business kind of drink, a little déclassé compared to the la-ti-da beer cocktails made today. But then, why wouldn’t beer cocktails become more artisanal and interesting, given…
This is part two of my interview with Steven “Chops” Smith, executive chef at Searsucker. If you missed part one, where Smith dishes about the weirdest thing he ever ate and why he loves Japanese cuisine, read it here. See also: — Bernie Kantak Explains What’s Good About Food Network…
Steven “Chops” Smith Searsucker 6900 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale 480-664-3777 www.searsucker.com/scottsdale/ See also: Top Chef Brian Malarkey Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Searsucker’s Grand Opening This is part one of my interview with Steven “Chops” Smith, executive chef of Searsucker. Come back Tuesday when Smith dishes about Chris Curtiss,…
Editor’s Note: This post has been edited from its original version. It’s been a fun three-year run, but Charleen Badman and Pavle Milic are pulling up stakes on Stetson Drive. They’re moving the tiny restaurant that’s won countless local awards, a nod for their dreamy leeks dish in Food &…
Kevin Binkley, chef owner of Binkley’s Restaurant and Café Bink, has been planning to open an in-town restaurant for some time now. He’d found what he thought was the perfect location last summer, only to have the deal fall through. Now he’s found another one — in Central Phoenix –…
Egg Foo Young — which can be spelled almost as many ways as it can be made — is the kind of dumbed-down but delicious Americanized Chinese food most of us grew up on. It’s basically a nicely browned omelet shaped like a patty, or sometimes a pancake, which usually…
The Spot: Davanti Enoteca 6316 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-659-1800 www.davantiscottsdale.com See also: -Happy Hour Report Card: Rusconi’s American Kitchen -Pete DeRuvo Dishes on the Mouthwatering Italian Food He Grew Up On and Praises Three Local Chefs Hours: Happy Hour is offered 3 to 6 p.m. every day…
If you’re an avowed foodie who’s lived in Phoenix at least 12 years, you surely know or have heard of Norman Fierros. He started a little cafeteria-style restaurant in downtown Phoenix in the 80’s called Fina Cocina, a media darling also beloved by local movers and shakes who showed up…
This is part two of my interview with Aaron Chamberlin, chef owner of St. Francis. If you missed part one, where Chamberlin dishes about why he’s not a celebrity chef and the over-hyped opening of St. Francis, read it here. See also: – St. Francis: Happy Hour Report Card Favorite…
Aaron Chamberlin St. Francis 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix 602-200-8111 www.stfrancisaz.com See also: — Update: Aaron Chamberlin Hopes to Open Cafe in Former Urban Grocery Space By Early Next Year This is part one of my interview with Aaron Chamberlin, chef-owner of St. Francis Restaurant. Come back Tuesday when Chamberlin…
19th Century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called the truffle “the diamond of the kitchen,” an apt description of a seasonal delicacy so rare and hard to find that even an ounce of it costs hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of dollars. Truffles (knobby-looking subterranean mushrooms with the most sublime aroma on God’s…
Don’t you love Thanksgiving? It’s a nationally sanctioned food marathon, and we’re all encouraged to be athletes. No silly talk of calories, carbs or the evils of sugar on this one guilt-free day. Of course, for the person(s) preparing this misty watercolor rendition of a Norman Rockwell painting, the day…
Gin is in and rye is fly, but American cocktail enthusiasts are beginning to pay attention to lesser known spirits produced in other countries as well — say, Peru’s pisco, Brazil’s cachaca and Japan’s shochu. Although shochu, a clear spirit many people compare to vodka, has been popular in Japan…
Say what you will about bread pudding (a lead-heavy gut bomb of an overplayed dessert), it’s still crazy-popular for one very good reason: nobody gets tired of warm, sugary, bread-based goo. It’s been around in one form or another for over 500 years, created in most cultures as a thrifty…
