Food & Drink

From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…

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…

Happy Friday Chow Bella friends and welcome to another beautiful Phoenix summer weekend! This weekend, we’re tying our humidity hair back and gettin’ down with a hearty mimosa brunch in Gilbert, a refreshing cocktail in Old Town Scottsdale, and we’re frying up our favorite junk food treat in honor of…

Chances are that sometime this summer you’ll find yourself driving past Black Canyon City on the I-17, where a giant pie will beckon you away from the highway. That would be Rock Springs Café, an Arizona mainstay that’s been baking and selling pies for over three decades, using a recipe…

Dear Readers, You may have noticed that we’ve installed a new commenting system to our site. Although comments from our old system don’t appear at the moment, they’re being uploaded and will reappear shortly. The new system, called Livefyre, takes the place of Disqus and has several new features. Read…

From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…

See also: 92: Silvana Salcido Esparza and 10 Favorite Chefs in Metro Phoenix. This year has been a busy one for Valley taste maker Silvana Salcido Esparza. On the heels of opening two new restaurants (and closing one of them), she’s celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Barrio Cafe and has…

Even a little steam will warm the meat enough to make it sweat, which means more water and more steam. Once there’s a little water in the bottom of the pan you begin to boil the meat. If you’re a fan of old-style English cooking you’re on the way to a good old-fashioned boiled dinner.

Looks as if partners Jennifer Brya and Karen Linkins will be making whoopie (sorry) in a couple of new Valley locations this year. The two started their business, Whoopie Baking Co., in 2010, with a single focus on whoopie pies, those spherical sweet treats that are part cookie and part…

The list of food styles for Tempe’s new Desert Roots Kitchen reads like a global grocery list: American, Asian Fusion, Brazilian, Caribbean, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Thai, etc. But the new breakfast and lunch spot, which opened Monday at 414 South Mill Avenue (Mill and Fifth Street, in the former home of…

See also: Chow Bella’s running series called “Food Truck Frenzy” See also: A Local Lowbrow Legend: Chino Bandido Takee-Outee Fusion foods can be hit-and-miss. And when they miss, they tend to miss hard. So you can imagine Marc Shelton, the owner and chef behind Shinobu Diego Tacos y Burritos, had…

Barrio Queen is not the restaurant it was originally intended to be. From chef/owner Silvana Salcido Esparza, the casual eatery in Scottsdale’s SouthBridge complex opened late last December with a focus on inexpensive Mexican street food and more than 350 kinds of tequila. But Barrio Queen’s sophisticated sister, Silvana Bistro,…

See also: Local Restaurants Featured on Mystery Diners See also: Phoenix Area Restaurants Featured on Mystery Diners Find a Mixed Bag of Reactions See also: Kim Brennan of Big Earl’s Greasy Eats Pushes Back Against Cave Creek Conservative Columnist, Defends Mystery Diners Episode and Plans White Trash Bash Those of…

Hey, readers, get ready. We’re putting new meaning into the term “street food.” For Chow Bella’s latest mission — “Eating 16th Street” — we’ve employed a young woman who’s literally eaten her way around the world. Alex Rodriguez has eaten borscht in Moscow, steak in Buenos Aires and a “life-changing…

See also: Five Examples of Why You Should Not Pimp Your KitchenAid I’m ashamed to say I’ve been hiding this trick from you for several months. As one of the first things I learned from Pinterest, I sort of forgot about it and didn’t really deem it worthy of exposure…

From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check…

Mr. Scrib’s, a fast-casual pizza chain based in West Michigan, is planning its first venture out of the Great Lake State with plans to open eight to 10 locations in the Valley over the next 18 months. In business since 1961 and touting daily-made fresh-baked dough, signature sauce, and a…

Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here. This year, it seems like we’ve seen more Angus beef,…