Last month, we were excited to report that Chow Bella won best opinion blog from the Arizona Press Club. Now results are starting to come in from some national writing contests — and there’s cause for more celebration. Food critic Laura Hahnefeld is a finalist in the Association of Food…
Every week, there’s a cornucopia of new Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you’re like most people, you probably just don’t have the time to get to all of it. It’s kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won’t…
Sam Fox: Love him or hate him, chances are you have some opinion about this Valley-based restaurateur. Not everyone likes the idea of one guy cranking out 12 (yes, 12!) restaurant concepts in 14 years. But even if not all of them are winners, at the very least Fox is…
Try and bite into one of Oakland artist Scott Hove’s cakes and chances are they’ll bite back. From a concept he started in 2005 called “Cakeland,” Hove created a body of work joining the beautiful and the brutal, and helps describe his sculptures by saying, “All beautiful things are equipped…
Kale? Please, that is so last week. And don’t even get us started on arugula. There’s a new vegetable on the block: glacier lettuce. And believe it or not, it grows well right here in the desert…
Las Vegas is my favorite vacation destination. It’s an easy jaunt, and I know I’ll have a great time, no matter my budget. When I head up there, I spend an awful lot of time at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The atmosphere there is different from the blasé mass…
For most restaurateurs, it’s simply about gluttony. But James and Wendy Porter of Petite Maison in Scottsdale are gluttons for punishment. There’s no other explanation for why they would invite Chow Bella contributors to work both the front of the house and the kitchen on a weekend, and during Arizona…
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…
Fans of Padre’s, the restaurant featuring modern Mexican cuisine on Camelback Road west of 12th Street, have until close tomorrow, Saturday, June 2, to say goodbye. In business for eight years, the Republic reports that father-and-son team Denny and Cole Durbin have sold the space to Drew Melton, owner of…
It’s the first weekend of June, which means downtown Phoenix is going to be hoppin’ with First Friday art action, a whole lot of sunshine, and maybe a pool party or two (check out Jackalope Ranch for all your summer pool party info). And just because we’ll be out and…
Dating back to 14th century Thailand, the ancient art of watermelon carving is nothing new. But recently, we’ve seen a whole lot of these creations gracing the pages of our favorite social media sites. And like every other food trend, there are always going to be a few that aren’t…
Nathan Myhrvold used to be the chief technology officer for Microsoft, then he retired and co-authored the $625, six-volume cookbook, “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.” The book embraced the burgeoning field of molecular gastronomy and used some extreme techniques, including sawing cooking equipment in half, to demonstrate…
We all have dreams, though some might be more easily attainable than others. Is your dream to travel to a foreign country? Easy. Is your dream to be CEO of a company? Tough, but not impossible. Is your dream is to taste a Scotch aged in casks inscribed with the…
Whether it’s a feint by a quarterback, an improvised musical riff, or a magic trick, everyone appreciates a good fake-out — especially when the end result is a success. The first time I served sushi for dessert I had a goal. Actually, I had two goals: First, make a great…
For most restaurateurs, it’s simply about gluttony. But James and Wendy Porter of Petite Maison in Scottsdale are gluttons for punishment. There’s no other explanation for why they would invite Chow Bella contributors to work both the front of the house and the kitchen on a weekend, and during Arizona…
It’s no secret that good bread is the foundation for a great sandwich. Golden and crusty and full of flavor, its aroma, especially when baking, can make us forget the troubles of the day — at least for a while. And if you’re in search of a sandwich in Sunnyslope…
No strangers to awards, Jan Wichayanuparp and Helen Yung, the ice cream savants at Sweet Republic, have done it again. This time, ranking number five of 12 spots in the U.S. named by U.S. News and World Report as America’s Best Ice Cream. “They called us the ‘new kid on…
My favorite joke from the back of the Los Jarritos menu is this one: Little Johnny’s new baby brother was screaming up a storm. Johnny asked his mom, “Where’d we get him?” “He came from heaven, Johnny.” “Wow! I can see why they threw him out!” On the front of…
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…
Sneer if you will about the purported health benefits of green drinks and freshly juiced fruit “cocktails” — said to detox the body, flood it with nutrients, and stimulate weight loss. Whether these perks are real or pulp fiction, fresh juice drinks are more than a craze, they’re part of…
Editor’s Note: Obtaining a basic business account through Yelp is in fact a free process as is responding directly to Yelp reviews. Generally, here at Chow Bella we tend to report on restaurant owners behaving badly. Whether that be Amy’s Baking Company’s Yelp tirade or Tina’s Ethiopian Cafe’s comment section…
