Food & Drink

After not quite a year at Top Chef Brian Malarkey’s Searsucker in Scottsdale, Steven “Chops” Smith has left as its executive chef. Smith — whose résumé also includes gigs at Kelly’s at SouthBridge (consulting), Different Pointe of View, Noca, St. Francis, Olive & Ivy, and the defunct Furio and Luc’s…

Welcome to “Schaefer,” in which Eric Schaefer — a local guy with a big (but discerning) appetite and a sense of humor to match — takes on the Phoenix food scene. Cooler weather is upon us! October is the month during which I check the five different weather apps on…

Years ago, the signs of autumn’s arrival were geese flying south, leaves changing color, and a chill in the air. If you were a foodie, all you had to look forward to was the release of that year’s Beaujolais Nouveau a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. None of these came…

This is part two of our interview with chef Andrew Nienke of Café Monarch in Scottsdale. Yesterday he dished about his belief in “no bullshit” food and today we discuss what will change and what will stay the same at the restaurant this year. Cafe Monarch will re-open for the…

Ahem, “spoiler alert.” If you’re not caught up on Breaking Bad, you might want to get that way before reading further. There’s no way around it, Breaking Bad fans: It’s almost over. On Sunday, September 29, AMC will air the final episode of the acclaimed drama, drawing to a close…

It’s been tough going for the Mexican truffle here in the U.S. It seems that neither time nor efforts by the James Beard Foundation to increase popularity have been able to make people understand that corn smut, or huitlacoche, is a truly tasty delicacy that’s really no funkier than your…

Beers: Triple Goddess Ginger, Triple Goddess Raspberry, Bourbon Peach, and Kombucha Pale Ale Brewery: Unity Vibration Styles: American Wild Ale (?) Ever been wandering around your local Whole Foods and stumbled upon a selection of teas that appear to have been loogied in? That stuff is called kombucha, and apparently…

With the scent of Best of Phoenix in the air (our biggest issue of the year final hits newsstands — and the Internet — later this week) we set out this summer to ask some of our favorite food folks to list their “Personal Bests.” We came up with everything…

When Lindsey Magee, a baker for three years at Lux on Central Avenue, was working on ideas for her first restaurant, inspiration came by way of New York City, through memories of a sandwich shop called Cafe Clementine in Tribeca. “I was working in the film industry then,” says Magee,…

If the dwindling wait times for a Cronut at Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York are a sign that the half-doughnut, half-croissant pastry trend is waning, then Safeway is making sure it picks up whatever crumbs are left. Recently, the grocery store chain has been selling its own version of…

Andrew Nienke Chef Café Monarch www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Monarch/305334640321 On Friday, October 4, Scottsdale’s Café Monarch will re-open for the fall — but this time without chef Christopher Van Arsdale. In his place will be a team of Van Arsdale fans looking to carry on the traditional of simple food done well and…

Tostadas appear on many a Mexican or Tex-Mex menu, fried tortilla swathed with beans, chopped meat, cheese or sometimes with ceviche. The word “tostada” in Spanish means “toasted,” harkening to the crisp tortilla that stands as the base. Tostadas dishes give new life to stale tortillas, where after frying they…

Mesa-ites eating a vegetarian or vegan diet now have one more option for healthy breakfast and lunch dishes that go easy on the wallet: The Cutting Board Bakery & Café Opened last week and located at 2235 South Power Road, just south of Baseline Road, The Cutting Board will feature…