Monday Night Martha: Exploding Chicken

Today’s entry could also be called “How Not to Roast a Chicken.”  The adventure started out in an innocuous attempt to cook a whole chicken with soy sauce, honey, ginger and scallions.For most households, this would be a simple, everyday occurrence, barely worth a mention. You’d think we’d be old…

Twestival Local Phoenix Raises Money for St. Mary’s Food Bank

Last night, local twitter-users gathered at the Aloft Hotel in Tempe to socialize, try great food from local businesses as donate money to St. Mary’s Food Bank during Twestival Local Phoenix. Twestival started as a Twitter-based meet-up but has grown into an event that benefits local charities all around the…

This Week In Chow Bella

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Dine4AZ Campaign Starts Today 7 Reasons to Attend Phoenix…

Brew Review: Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

The Stone Brewing Co. is not the type of brewery to get involved in any marketing schemes; especially not with their Arrogant Bastard brand. As a matter of fact, they make several references to how pointless “multi-million dollar ad campaigns” are right on their bottles. It’s a bit of a…

Padre’s Auctions Chairs to Benefit Orphanage in Mexico

Tomorrow at 5:30 p.m., Padre’s Modern Mexican Cuisine will auction off a collection of artistic chairs created by Valley artists. Padre’s hopes to raise $10,000 for the Children of Tapachula Mission Mexico Orphanage. New Times took a look at the chairs, currently on display at the restaurant, and shot the following…

New in Scottsdale: Crudo Cafe

There’s a new breakfast and lunch option in Old Town Scottsdale. And soon, it will be a dinner destination, too. After this summer’s unfortunate demise of Fine’s Cellar, chef Cullen Campbell teamed up with his good friend, chef Brandon Crouser, formerly of Atlas Bistro, to open Crudo Cafe, located in the Stephen…

Recipe: Chitarra Alla Amatriciana from PastaBar

Moises says Chitarra Alla Amatriciana (pronounced: key-tar-ra alla ama-treet-chee-ama) is from the town of Amatrice, north of Rome. Unlike most Italian dishes that use pancetta, Chitarra Alla Amatriciana is marked with its use of guanciale. While similar to pancetta in structure, guanciale is specifically made from the jowls of the…

Cafe: Chakra 4 Herb and Tea House

Health food means it has less butter, right? Look. we’d like to be in shape as much as the next guy, but is it possible to do it without eating rabbit food? This week’s cafe column indicates the answer may be “yes.” Food Critic Michele Laudig on Chakra 4 Herb &…

Dine4AZ Campaign Starts Today

Regular readers of Chow Bella already know we’re big on putting your money where your mouth is. Now Governor Jan Brewer is helping to push the same message as part of a statewide campaign to “kick-start the economy” through dining out at local restaurants.   Dine4AZ, launched today by Shamrock…

7 Reasons to Attend Phoenix Twestival on Friday

The talk of the town — in the Twitterverse, that is — is this Friday night’s Phoenix Twestival 2009, a massive tweet-up (um, meet-up, in Twitter-speak) for charity. From 6 to 9 p.m. on September 11, guests will get to meet, greet, tweet, and eat at Aloft Tempe in the name…

Chef Chat: Wade Moises, PastaBar

Many restaurants that use local produce love to brag about the fact, plastering the words all over their menus, windows, and Web sites. But you won’t see Wade Moises use hip buzzwords like organic and locally-grown on his menu.What he does say is that creating dishes from local foods should…

Battle of the Sweet Potato Fries

Stax Burger Bistro vs. Indulge Burgers & MoreGood sweet potato fries are not easy to find. Making them well is like successfully solving a complex equation whose variables include salt, oven temperature, fry grease and potato thickness. This week we check out two Scottsdale burger joints where sweet potato fries…

Campus Coffee: Fair Trade Is Now Available Between Classes

In an effort to show its dedication to sustainability, the city of Phoenix revamped the historic A.E. England Building and opened it to shops. Fair Trade Café snatched up one of the retail spaces, in a prime location across from ASU’s Cronkite School and University Center, and opened its doors about…

Chakra 4 Herb & Tea House Makes Bingeing Good For You

Have you ever gotten on an evil junk food binge that you know you need to kick? That’s been me lately. I’m usually a well-balanced omnivore even when I’m not on the job, but for some reason I’ve been eating unusual quantities of blatantly bad-for-me stuff in the past few…

Campus Coffee: Drip Coffee Lounge Tastes Like Growing Up

Drip Coffee Lounge is tucked away in a multitude of shops and eateries off 7th Street south of Thomas. It’s a little hard to find and usually only open until 3 p.m.Overcoming those hurdles, the strong coffee and impressive lunch menu are worth the minor inconveniences. However, we will say…

Z’Tejas Hosts Chile Fest for Charity

All four Valley locations of Z’Tejas are serving up a special menu of chile-centric dishes this month to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s fight against cancer. The fifth annual Chile Fest menu features four entrees and a dessert for lunch; Z’Tejas will donate one dollar to the non-profit…

This Week: Half Off at Sushi Roku

For their one-year anniversary, the folks at Sushi Roku, the high-style Japanese restaurant at the W Scottsdale, are offering up an enticing deal for regulars and first-timers alike. Today through September 13, guests will get a 50 percent discount on all food items for lunch and dinner, from traditional sushi…

Campus Coffee: Lola Coffee Might Be the Best Part of Waking Up

U-Pass holders rejoice! This week’s Campus Coffee series uncovers some café gems in downtown Phoenix.Take the light rail westbound to Central and Camelback, head south a couple blocks, and you’ll find  Lola Coffee, a cozy little café popping out of an equally delightful little shopping center. If you need more…

St. Francis Restaurant Now Open

Chef-owner Aaron Chamberlin’s long-awaited St. Francis — located in a completely renovated midcentury Harold Ekman building at 111 E. Camelback — is open for dinner tonight. According to some friends who went to the restaurant’s preview last night, tonight’s soft-opening will have a limited menu. A big wood-fired oven is the…

This Week In Chow Bella

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Dairy Club Offers Fresh Farm Food at Discount Prices…

Market On Mill In Photos

Despite a valiant attempt by Mother Nature, the first-ever Market on Mill was not rained out last night. Instead, delicious bread, ice cream, herbs and other market-fresh items were up from grabs. Check out a few photos from last night. …

Coming Soon: Lunch at Lola Tapas

Further proof that if enough people wish for something, it just might happen: Lola Tapas will soon start opening for lunch. “It seems like every week I have regulars and new people telling me we should be open for lunch,” says owner Felicia Ruiz. She confirmed the rumor today, explaining…