Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker took their supernatural characters seriously, but in more modern history these once scary legends have lent themselves to absurdity (just look at Twilight’s sparkling vamps if you have any doubt). One of the most satirical looks at gothic horror is late playwright Charles Ludlam’s The…
Famed Italian director Federico Fellini once said, “All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” Yet he denied his own films were based in truth, despite the fact that the main character in his Oscar-winning flick 8 ½ is a womanizing movie director who made the same exact…
Bonfire Grill & Bar, the trendy new eatery that opened in the old Furio spot this past March, recently rolled out a new brunch menu featuring vanilla-infused french toast, potato cakes, a green chile and andouille sausage scramble and short rib hash with potatoes, fried eggs and buttermilk biscuits. With…
When an e-mail advertising a “mushroom bar” arrived in the Chow Bella mailbox a week ago, we did a double-take. A mushroom bar? Seriously? The first thought that came to mind was a Sweet Tomatoes-esque lineup of shrooms and toppings placed in stainless steel buckets under giant glass sneeze guards…
Yesterday, we heard from Chef Justin Beckett of Beckett’s Table on growing up vegetarian, culinary school, and a thoughtful but disastrous chicken soup incident. Today, Beckett dishes on the continuing bacon trend and what he does in his free time (when there actually is any). Where will we find you…
Chef Justin Beckett has a reputation for being a culinary badass that stems from his relentless drive and lifelong passion for food. Beckett started working in kitchens around the age of 14, went to culinary school four days after graduating high school, and was the youngest sous chef in the history of…
Remember Stella’s Kitchen, the cute diner with no real theme that replaced Cheeburger Cheeburger in the Tempe Marketplace’s food court last year? Yeah, neither does anyone else. The restaurant folded up shop after lasting less than year, paving the way for another burger joint. The sixth Phoenix-area SmashBurger will open its doors…
theme is “make your best dish” or “let’s see how you use local ingredients,” cooking novices are usually S-C-R-E-W-E-D. That was the scene at the inaugural Slideluck Potshow, an artsy gathering and community potluck dinner hosted at The Icehouse in Phoenix this past Saturday night. The Virgin, opted to put together a dish inspired by last week’s royal wedding…
Great minds think alike. With Cartel Coffee Lab one of the only non-chain coffee shops left in Tempe, the past year has seen an explosion of new, artsy coffeehouses in the ASU area. The most recent is Ryan Gentry and Michael Witham’s Open Source Project, scheduled for a grand opening…
The word “FREE” is the Holy Grail of any culinary giveaway. Of course, “FREE” usually comes with some caveat like “buy one, get one free” or “free dessert with entree purchase.” Not so with Joe’s Real BBQ, the award-winning barbecue joint in the heart of downtown Gilbert. Next Wednesday, May 4,…
Think you could cook your way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking without flattening a soufflé, burning a few roasts and tossing enough disastrous dishes to feed a small country? Julie Powell, popular blogger and author of Julie & Julia (later made into the film starring Oscar-winner Meryl…
Last month, a local blogger reported that a cheeky sign advertising “Wanted: Rad People” had gone up on the historic 1940 Windsor Court building at Central Ave. and Oregon set to house Postino founder Craig DeMarco’s new culinary ventures, The Windsor and Churn. This week, both eateries opened to the public,…
Most artists have to wait tables at some point in their careers in order to pay the bills. College students learn similar lessons through years of scrounging up couch-change for books and stretching restaurant leftovers to make an entire week’s worth of pitifully tiny meals. Art students get the worst…
Most artists have to wait tables at some point in their careers in order to pay the bills. College students learn similar lessons through years of scrounging up couch-change for books and stretching restaurant leftovers to make an entire week’s worth of pitifully tiny meals. Art students get the worst…
It’s not unusual to spot a long-haired hippie chick wearing a Boho gown and love beads in downtown Phoenix on a Saturday afternoon. See a throng of crazed map-wielding anachronists in flapper getups, ‘80s couture, and poodle skirts, however, and you might double-check your calendar to confirm it’s not Halloween…
Tanzy, the modern Mediterranean restaurant that opened adjacent to the plush iPic Theaters at Scottsdale Quarter in January, began its run with a single menu covering both lunch and dinner hours. This week, Executive Chef Geoff Baumberger introduced a customized lunch menu with lower prices and smaller portions. Thankfully, a…
We love a nice, round, meaty slab of beef — and no, that’s not a euphemism for anything. While trolling the foodie web, we came across a special that will help you fulfill your daily intake of meat, fat, calories and pretty much anything else (except vitamins and leafy greens):…
Alarmed by predictions that his family farm in Surprise will be gone in just a few years, local farmer and artist Matthew Moore is doing what he can to preserve the legacy of the land. Over the past few years, Phoenix-area galleries have displayed Moore’s large scale illustrations of the encroachment…
Renovations are well underway at the old Regions Bistro space at 9343 E. Shea Blvd. in North Scottsdale, as new tenants Stone & Vine Urban Italian ready for a planned late April/early May opening. Massive rustic wooden doors lead into the revamped space, which has the same layout as the…
Despite The Virgin’s recent successes at making everything from aphrodisiac sandwiches to hot cross buns, I got off easy this Easter and didn’t have to prepare a damn thing for the holiday meal. However, that didn’t stop me and my sig other from heading home from dinner with a bag of leftover,…
With spring in full bloom and the mercury rising, now is the time when we start craving fresh, light salads. Enter Marketplace, the new eatery from the folks behind Arcadia Farms. Located at 7025 E. 1st Avenue, directly across the street from the Arcadia Farms in Old Town Scottsdale, Marketplace…
Most kids love getting chocolate bunnies and Peeps in their Easter baskets. But come adulthood, you start resorting to making things like Peepshi (Peeps sushi) and mole rabbit with leftover chocolate bunnies instead of bittersweet chunks just to make things interesting. So what would make for better grown-up Easter treats? Here are the 5 local products we wouldn’t mind seeing…
