Il Vinaio, the downtown Mesa wine bar and restaurant that offered a special “Beer & Doughnuts” tasting in March, has come up with another unusual pairing: hemp ale and hemp brownies. From 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, you can enjoy a pint of Hemp Ale, made by California microbrewer Firestone…
An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is this Sunday. If you have yet to make plans for the woman you owe your life to, we have a couple last minute ideas for you. Eddie’s House will be hosting brunch from…
Out of a job? Worried about spending? Fast-food restaurants feel your pain, right in their grease-soaked wallets, and right around breakfast time. At a 26-year high, the current jobless rate and economic stressing-out mean more folks are scarfing down Sugar Puffs at home instead of sausage biscuits on the go…
You can go vegan for a day or for a lifetime, and there are compelling reasons to do so. Perhaps it’s for ethical and environmental reasons, or maybe it’s just to keep your waistline in check. But for me, it all boils down to one simple thing: Is it delicious?…
On the list of things that can’t be ignored, a box full of beer is fairly high. So you’ll understand my position when I tell you that this is the precise situation I currently find myself in. Sitting in and about my office are no fewer than twenty bottles…
Yesterday we heard from Sous Chef Nick Sheley of Boa Bistro. Today the conversation continues. Sous Chef Nick Sheley’s no stranger to working with local farmers — he used to be one. Sheley grew up on a farm in Iowa, which he says was a big influence in his love for…
Scarfing down a sausage muffin before work? You’re one of the lucky ones. Thanks to the high unemployment rate and crap-ass economy, millions of people are no longer making the sunrise sojourn for fast-food breakfast fare. Instead, they’re sleeping in — opting for a bowl of bran flakes at home…
It’s time to give it up for moms. Yes, this Sunday is Mother’s Day and if you’ve already made reservations, the rest is pie. If you haven’t, however, here are some of the places in the Valley that might have a few extra tables. After all, it is the busiest…
A recent piece on National Public Radio highlighted the impact the Gulf Coast oil spill is having on the region’s seafood industry. Oil slicks threaten Louisiana, in particular, as the state’s $1.8 billion seafood biz is the second largest in the U.S. after Alaska. For landlocked seafood lovers in Arizona,…
Chef Charleen Badman’s creative, farm-fresh American cuisine, Pavle Milic’s expert selections of top Arizona wines, and a relaxed, convivial atmosphere have already turned Scottdale’s FnB into a favorite haunt of food enthusiasts, wine geeks, and other bons vivants, but now there’s another reason to visit the cozy five-month-old eatery. Next Tuesday marks…
Adam Richman, host of Man v. Food on the Travel Channel, took on an 11-pound, 30-inch meat-covered pizza in Atlanta, a 7.5-pound hamburger in Memphis, and a 72-ounce steak in Amarillo. Now, the kinda-looks-like-Fred-Savage feaster has taken the Ultimate Slider Challenge at the Chompie’s location in Tempe. In March, and…
Happy Cinco de Mayo, Chow Bella readers! Last week, we got your mouth watering with our Salsa Showdown — four different salsa recipes prepared by our contributors, all sampled by yours truly. They were so good, I made a mini-meal out of them, nibbling back and forth between Claire’s deliciously…
Happy Cinco, everyone! In honor of the Mexican holiday that most Mexicans don’t actually celebrate, we’re battling the most gringo-friendly item on any Mexican restaurant menu: fajitas. You can’t help but love a dish that arrives on your table sizzling. For this week’s battle, we pitted one margarita-inspired restaurant against another. After…
Carol Blonder Fresh Green Almonds Beginning this week, I’ll be writing a weekly entry called “Ask the Chef”. Who am I, you might ask? My name is Carol Blonder. I’ve been contributing to Chow Bella for a few weeks. I have worked as a pastry chef, private chef, caterer and culinary…
Our sister paper, Westword, has a tasty interview today with Mark Tarbell. His Phoenix restaurant, Tarbell’s, has long been a Valley favorite, and he also runs two organic pizza joints in the Denver area. The always-entertaining Tarbell — one of his claims to fame is beating Cat Cora on Iron…
Executive Chef Payton Curry of The Original Caffe Boa on MillAve. and Caffe Boa Bistro is best known for championing the farm-to-tabledining philosophy in Arizona. What is the best dish your mother ever made? My mother makes the world’s greatest chicken noodle soup. It’s something that I crave when I…
An early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives. It’s Cinco de Mayo or cinco de drinko yourself sick on margs and tequila shots. Either way, it’s an excuse to get out on a Wednesday. Don’t have any plans? Click here and find something to do with…
photo by Claire Lawton Nick Sheley’s boss, Chef Payton Curry is hard to catch. Between his two restaurants, Caffe Boa in Tempe and the newly opened Boa Bistro in Mesa, Curry clocks in around 90 hours per week. Luckily, we were able to nab his sous chef for a quick rundown on…
On the list of things that can’t be ignored, a box full of beer is fairly high. So you’ll understand my position when I tell you that this is the precise situation I currently find myself in. Sitting in and about my office are no fewer than twenty bottles of…
The process of choosing which restaurants to review is a perennial subject of inquiry. How do you decided where to go? Does someone assign it to you? Actually, I pick the places, although I’m always open to suggestions (especially since I spend so much time picking people’s brains about where…
A quick run down of our new food friends the month of April introduced us to. Echo Coffee Chez Vous Creperie & Gelato Lush Burger Calico Jack’s Big Daddy’s BBQ Thai Café in Chandler Tara Thai Zoyo Frozen Yogurt (red velvet frozen yogurt — Thank you!) Bogey’s Steak and Seafood…
