Chef Aaron May’s Iruna Fills a Tapas Void

“Tapas” has lost its meaning in recent years, as the “small plates” trend has taken over restaurants that often have no connection to Spanish cuisine. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that “small plates” have also become synonymous with plain ol’ appetizers — and there’s hardly anywhere in the Valley…

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Chuckbox

The Chuckbox in Tempe is crazy-friggin’-good — but then, you already knew that. What you may not know, supervisor Paul Marquardt does. He’s worked at the simple, trend-resistant, survivor of a burger joint for 371/2 of its 38 years, starting when he was a “Mill Avenue punk looking for a…

Over Easy Moving to New Arcadia Location

After more than two and a half years in business, and spawning a second location in North Scottsdale, chef Aaron May’s breakfast joint Over Easy has finally outgrown its original digs.Currently based in a renovated Taco Bell at 40th Street and Indian School, the restaurant will soon be moved just…

Small Intestine: Tacos de Tripas at La Salsita

 Despite what the supermarket aisle may lead you to believe, there’s more to an animal than neatly wrapped styrofoam trays of meat. From tongue to tail, offal (pronounced awful) encompasses all those taboo edibles that don’t make the cut at your local grocer. Just Offal is here to explore these…

P.croissant: Lunch $10 and Under

Pleaissant Croissants, better known as simply Pcroissant, shrugs off the pretense of most patisseries that sell the quintessentially French pastry. Hidden away in Fiesta Plaza off Elliot and Rural in Tempe, the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the bakery’s logo is a nod to the croissant’s origin without beating it over your head.

Downtown’s Tammie Coe Goes on Hiatus

Summer vacation: everybody’s doing it.Pastry chef Tammie Coe says her decision to close her Roosevelt Row location for several weeks just made sense, since so many of her employees were already taking time off.This Friday (First Friday, that is) will be the day downtowners can get their Ooey Gooey Cupcake…

CrazyAmy Yelp Feud Lands on TV

What does it take to make the evening news? A Yelp feud and a whole community chatting about a restaurant owner who went ballistic. Check out the clip from last night:…

Open and Closed Restaurant Round-up

It’s August already? Time for a quick look back at our new restaurant options and the ones we unfortunately lost during the month of July. Lucky for us, the number of restaurants opening is still greater then the number lost.Hello!  Loving Hut, PhoenixMaui Dog, PhoenixNobuo at Teeter House, PhoenixGasper’s Casual…

Going Postal on the Web: More Lessons From the CrazyAmy Saga

When I called it a “shit show,” I had no idea just what kind of vague de merde was heading our way. My jaw dropped yesterday when I noticed a local restaurant owner’s name-calling tirade in response to a negative Yelp review, and when I wrote an impromptu blog post, readers…

Now Open in Arcadia: Vatra Grillhouse

East Indian School is really hoppin’ right now. Along with last week’s openings (Maui Dog and Loving Hut) and another spot coming soon (Beckett’s Table), the latest debut is Vatra Grillhouse (at the southeast corner of Indian School and 56th Street). “The name Vatra means “fire” in a number of Slavic…

Chef Chat: Tracy DeWitt of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Scottsdale

Tracy DeWitt, the American Culinary Federation Western Region’s Pastry Chef of the Year for 2010 who is vying for the national title this week, had no career aspirations of being a chef. But when she started working part-time in a New Jersey bakery at age 15, a fascination with the bakers and cake decorators lured her in and a trip to Paris for a food show with the bakery’s owner had her hooked.

Stingray Sushi: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: Stingray Sushi, 2502 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, (602) 955-2008, http://www.stingraysushi.com The Hours: Between the hours of 3 and 7 pm, Monday through Friday. The Details: $5 sake bombers, $4 wine by the glass, $6 specialty cocktails and carafes of sake at half price. A variety of rolls and…

Now Open: Paletas Betty

The universe is listening to me. Remember me wishing that somebody would start selling homemade paletas, an obviously welcome treat in the middle of the Sonoran summer? Last week Paletas Betty opened in downtown Chandler (96 W. Boston, Ste. 100), and I can’t wait to try it. Owners Alvin Hong…

Bill Binder, What Are You Eating?

Bill Binder The Torch Theatre improv instructor and producer of The Phoenix Improv Festival performs in Story Time, an improvised pre-school story time for grown-ups, Wedensday, August 25 at The Trunk Space. What’d you eat for dinner last night? The Bistro Burger at Maizie’s with bacon and sweet potato fries,…

Nobuo at Teeter House Starts Dinner Service

You asked for it, foodniks. Nobuo at Teeter House is finally launching its dinner service, starting tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. Chef Nobuo Fukuda’s highly anticipated downtown izakaya had its lunch-only soft opening last month. While Fukuda’s previous restaurant was a temple to cutting-edge (read: pricey) sashimi and Japanese-meets-Western dishes, this one…

Pot Roast and Summer Vacation

We decide to make a pot roast mainly because our husband spent the vast majority of his childhood summer vacations sharing the backseat of a silver stationwagon with his two brothers, while the family made their way from Philadelphia to Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina. They were on their way to…