Still don’t know what you’re making for your holiday table? These three recipes from local chefs and restaurateurs will get you started: Chakra 4’s Red & Green Holiday Salad, Green’s Lemongrass “Chicken,” and Pomegranate Café’s Vegan English Toffee.
This week in Chef Chat we bring you a few words from the man behind The Saguaro’s new restaurant Distrito, Chef Jose Garces. Winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Mid-Atlantic award in 2009, Garces owns and holds the title of executive chef at a handful of restaurants in…
Our latest Chow Bella showdown: a traditional holiday cookie exchange. From now through Christmas, we present Chow Bella’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Today: 11. Erica O’Neil’s Salty Sweet Choco-Pretzel Brown Butter Bombs. I bake a lot. One myth I used to buy into, but have grown out of is…
Baristas Coffee Company, a Seattle-based franchise, could be branching out across the Valley. Local news outlets are reporting that up to five new java joints could be coming to Tempe and Scottsdale early next year. If you’re thinking, “So what, it’s just another Starbucks competitor,” think more along the lines…
Christmas comes a little early to Chow Bella this year — in the form of some darn good holiday storytelling. Today, Susan Tully shares a booze-filled tale of love and cheer. The first time I met my next-door neighbor, I was a guest at his annual Wassail party. His Wassail…
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the skills of the pastry chef were added to those of the bread maker so that in modern Britain (as opposed to France), domestic and commercial bakers used the talents of both. Though the lines have been blurred, the benefit of combining these two…
Here at Chow Bella, we understand how important it is to give (and receive) the perfect foodie gift. So this season, we’re helping out by offering 21 food- and drink-focused gift suggestions, one each work day until Christmas, from a local business or provider. You get scads of rock-star ideas,…
As CityScape desperately tries to become an institutional Phoenix destination, few restaurants are slowly opening their doors amidst construction and a still too quiet downtown population. Scottsdale’s breakfast hotspot, The Breakfast Club, is one of the brave few to try their luck. The little breakfast spot, perched next to…
The slogan “It’s Good Mood Food” doesn’t appear to be case with several Arby’s restaurants in Arizona. In fact, the mood’s downright depressing. The Republic reports three related Scottsdale limited-liability companies, all led by Scottsdale businessman Charles Harmon, that operate 54 Arby’s fast-food restaurants in Arizona and one in New…
Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?Blanket = PizzaNYPD Pizza needs your new blankets and sleeping bags — and they’re willing to trade you for a cheese pizza. The charitable pizza joint has teamed up with Blanketing Arizona to help get warm blankets…
If you look forward to the holidays because they provide an excuse to spend all day baking something extra special for your holiday cookie tray, you can’t go wrong with these rich Mini Dark Chocolate Pear Tarts.
I’ve never been a fan of Christmas cookies. In my experience they tend to be bland sugar cookies pressed into vaguely holiday-ish shapes and buried beneath a mountain of colored sugars. My cooking companion is Hindu and freely admits that her Christmas repertoire is fairly limited as well. So we decided…
Fuego Bistro offers a delicious Banana Burrito that’s unique and tasty, but with the buzz about bread pudding this year, we just had to order Fuego Bistro’s Horchata Bread Pudding. So, how did it stack up against our Six Favorite Bread Puddings in Metro Phoenix?
Yesterday we got nogged up by Richie Moe, bar manager and eggnog expert at Citizen Public House. Today he shares a recipe for one of his signature eggnogs. After you try it, you’ll never want the store-bought stuff again…
Hey there everyone! Sorry for the unexpected hiatus, we didn’t mean to abandon you without warning — we’re back now! Last week we grabbed this Blue Cheese Chicken Sandwich at Tempe Marketplace’s newest eating and drinking spot. The sandwich was good but it’s the 52 beers on tap that will…
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, some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just opened,…
’Tis the season for tamales! If you’ve spent any time in the Southwest you know we do cocoa and cookies around the holidays just like everywhere else, but that the holiday season just isn’t the same without fresh tamales. You can certainly make ’em by the dozen, but we won’t…
Christmas comes a little early to Chow Bella this year — in the form of some darn good holiday storytelling. We had so much fun with our Misfit Thanksgiving last month we decided to do it again for Christmas and Hanukkah, and we’re glad we did. Today, local playwright, actor…
Chow Bella learned yesterday that Local Breeze, a popular downtown hang-out quietly closed it doors recently. It’s a sad fate for what had become a staple for the downtown dining crowd. We want to know what you’ll miss the most about the beach-themed bar and restaurant…
Here at Chow Bella, we understand how important it is to give (and receive) the perfect foodie gift. So this season, we’re helping out by offering 21 food- and drink-focused gift suggestions, one each work day until Christmas, from a local business or provider. You get scads of rock-star ideas,…
Dishes, dishes, and more dishes — that is exactly what we do NOT want to be doing during our precious time off. You probably don’t either, which is why we put together this handy guide to who’s doing dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve 2011 Wright’s at…
For the past two years, my friend and I have made cookies for that long list of friends and acquaintances that don’t quite make the gift list, but could never just be left out in the cold. On college student budgets, giving treats is a great way to spread holiday…
