Smuggled Sugar Packets and the Art of Compromise

Once again this year, Chow Bella writers are gnawing on the holidays — in the form of stories of Christmas and food. Hope you have some Alka-Seltzer handy. Enjoy. By Ada Malcioln Martin A product of divorced parents, a crazy Jewish Panamanian dad, and a bi-polar Anglican mom of West…

All Aboard Historic Bipolar Express

Beer: Bipolar Express Brewery: Historic Brewing Co. Style: Spice/Herb Beer ABV: 6.8 percent Come on, everyone! Hop aboard the Bipolar Express! Or don’t. Whatever. I hate you. With so many new breweries entering the marketplace, the craft beer lover’s experience is becoming increasingly marked by opposite extremes. These breweries are…

Fill Your Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Plate

Last year, I didn’t eat any of my Christmas cookies because I used the Martha Stewart recipe for sugar cookies that I always use, with loads of butter, sugar and gluten-laden flour. I didn’t want to alter the recipe because, like many of Martha’s creations, it is perfect, and one…

Battle of the Fondue: Windsor vs. The Arrogant Butcher

Fondue has been around forever, but where do you go to get it aside from the Melting Pot? Being a native Wisconsinite, that was the first thing I was asking about when coming the southwest. (Yes, we love our cheese and beer!) Plenty of places around the metro-Phoenix area have…

5 Best Chef and Tell Interviews of 2013

We consider ourselves pretty lucky to get to sit and chat with some of the Valley biggest, brightest and best culinary minds each week. This week we’re taking a break to look back at some of the most memorable Chef and Tell interviews of 2013…

Creme Brulee Latte at Terra Java: Hot ‘n’ Crunchy Goodness

One of the best parts of eating the creamy dessert, crème brulee is taking a spoon and tapping its glassy top. Formed by broiling or blow torching sugar placed atop the custard, cracking the wall of caramelized sweetness is part and parcel of the whole package’s goodness. Terra Java barista…

Grandma’s Contraband Christmas Cookies

Once again this year, Chow Bella writers are gnawing on the holidays — in the form of stories of Christmas and food. Hope you have some Alka-Seltzer handy. Enjoy. When my mother and father divorced in 1990, lots of things changed, but not Christmas. Christmas was divided up before the…

15 Most Interesting Dining Experiences of 2013

Looking back at things remembered from dozens of restaurant reviews, nearly as many First Tastes, and a countless number of places popped into just because, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the restaurants, readers, tipsters, colleagues, and dining companions who helped make my 2013 year of eating such an…

Top 5 Places to Eat and Drink This Week in Metro Phoenix: Christmas Edition

Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House Tuesday, December 24 At Cartwright’s in Cave Creek, they’re celebrating the Christmas season cowboy-style. On Christmas Eve, the sophisticated Southwestern restaurant will serve its regular menu from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. But at night, the restaurant will serve a special Christmas Eve menu. From 4…

Scientists Have Invented Candy That Won’t Give You Cavities

We’re more than a little bitter that this scientific breakthrough had to come so long after our childhood ended. And our parents probably are, too, because all those fillings couldn’t have been cheap. Scientists at Berlin-based biotech lab Organo Balance say they’ve invented candy that won’t give you cavities. Or…

A Merry Un-American Christmas

Once again this year, Chow Bella writers are gnawing on the holidays — in the form of stories of Christmas and food. Hope you have some Alka-Seltzer handy. Enjoy. At around the age of 7, I began to notice that the way we celebrated Christmas was odd. Un-American. For starters,…

How to Make an Airmail Cocktail

As the year draws to a close, it becomes ever easier to find a reason to break out the bubbly. Not that Last Call has ever needed a reason, mind you. My current excuse? There’s a new social club, Rose. Rabbit. Lie., opening in my favorite vacation haunt, The Cosmopolitan…

10 Chinese Restaurants Open on Christmas Day in Metro Phoenix

Whether you burned the holiday ham or simply aren’t celebrating Christmas at all, we know there are plenty of people out there looking for alternative dining options this Christmas Day. And you’re in luck. Because there’s a whole slew of Chinese restaurants open all over the Valley. Calling ahead for…

Ingo’s Tasty Food in Arcadia Mighty Tasty

When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…