The stock market may be sinking, but at swanky new Sushi Roku, you can still party like it’s 2005. That was my stunned first impression of the super-trendy Japanese restaurant that opened a month ago at the W Scottsdale hotel. How to describe the decadence? Completely over the top. Good-looking…
By Michele Laudig Yes, it’s true. The team behind Urban Campfire is at odds over the future of the business. According to co-owner Robert Stempkowski, his business partner Stephen Wolff’s vision for the Tempe restaurant is so different from the original concept that Stempkowski says he “can’t participate in it.”…
By Benjamin Leatherman GFCB’s “Chocolate Delight” Cookies: egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, but not flavor-free. When I last visited my doctor in April, he didn’t pull any punches. Start losing weight now, he told me, or you’ll be dead in 10 years or less. Damn. As depressing as his proclamation was, it…
By Michele Laudig What just happened? I heard from a couple of sources that chef Matt McLinn — former owner of the now-defunct Methode Bistro — just got fired from his postion as chef de cuisine of BLT Steak, celeb chef Laurent Tourondel’s fancy new steakhouse set to open at…
By Amy Silverman There seem to be some storage problems at Tortas Ahogadas Guadalajara in Chandler. A recent inspection revealed a first aid kit stored on top of tortillas, and a hat on top of the potatoes. Raw chicken was stored above “ready to eat items” — a big “no…
By Michele Laudig Are you a chef? Are you a glutton for punishment? And are you willing to let brilliant British chef Gordon Ramsay rip you a new one on national television? If so, hit up the Hell’s Kitchen casting session from 5 to 10 p.m. next Tuesday, October 7,…
By PJ Standlee SanTan Brewery’s first ever Oktoberfest on Sept. 27 packed a crowd of hundreds to sample tasty beers from Arizona breweries, but the long lines, tiny tasting cups, and lack of lederhosen relegated the advertised German styled Oktoberfest to a lesser beer tasting event. While most happily suffered…
By Eddie Matney Chef Eddie Matney is the owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale…
There aren’t many places in town worse for dieters than the Indoor Swapmart near 27th Ave. & Camelback. Well, there’s the state fair. Or the Heart Attack Grill. But a recent costume-hunting excursion to the ‘Mart (don’t even ask…you’d guffaw like a schoolyard bully at my geekiness) had me prowling…
By Michele Laudig Tammie Coe. I’m an Obama girl myself, although I wouldn’t mind taking a big bite out of that shiny McCain-Palin cookie, too…
By Wynter Holden 27-year-old barista Joseph Boos comes off as an innocent Virgo-type, but there’s a Gemini duality brewing under the skin. His Jekyll side sings cheesy ‘80s pop tunes with his co-workers while dishing up lattes at Coffee Rush in Chandler, and speaks fluent “Starbuckanese” – though he gently…
By Eddie Matney Chef Eddie Matney is the owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale…
By Jonathan McNamara I haven’t enjoyed it (not entirely true) but lately I’ve been sucking down a lot of sweet-tasting beers in order to prevent you, the reader, from following in my sickeningly sweet foot steps. Though I’ve penned these saccharine-laced reviews in the hopes of assisting you in your…
By Amy Silverman If you were a teenage girl in Phoenix in the 1980s, chances are that you indulged more than once in Tokyo Express. The whole notion of (relatively) healthy fast food was a novelty at the time — except for the baked potato at Wendy’s, everything quick and…
By Jay Bennett I can never eat a “regular” pancake again after trying a few bites of the sweet potato pancakes at Lil’ Mama’s Soul Cafe, a little storefront eatery on Seventh Avenue halfway between Indian School and Camelback roads. The missus and I ducked into this unassuming little strip-mall…
By Michele Laudig Is it a bible? Is it a phonebook? Is it the September issue of W? No, it’s the New Times Best of Phoenix issue! The thing finally comes out today, and it is full of so much food and restaurant stuff that you won’t believe your eyes…
The restaurant name is so evocative: Imagine Spain. It has me thinking of a country that’s sophisticated, exciting, and naturally beautiful, where the good life is all about sharing fantastic food with friends in a warm, inviting atmosphere. “Convivial” is the word one of my pals used to describe the…
The perfect comfort food. By Sarah Fenske Every time I go to Cheese ‘n Stuff, the remarkable little deli/food shop on Central, I order the same thing. This is not the fault of the owners. They have an amazing variety of food here, from sandwiches made with Boar’s Head meats…
By Michele Laudig The 43-year-old chef who fed many happy customers at Different Pointe of View and Convivo and other Valley restaurants passed away last week in Dallas, Texas, according to an obituary today. How incredibly sad…..
By Amy Silverman And now we bring you a Special Election Edition of Gross Out! For years, the west Phoenix restaurant Pho Bang has touted itself as John McCain’s favorite Vietnamese joint. So we decided to research health inspections at Pho Bang and see if we can recommend it. Um,…
By Benjamin Leatherman The three-course meal personified. Lady Luck’s been smiling at me lately. No, I didn’t win the Powerball jackpot, or experience some other windfall. It’s just that things have seemingly been going my way lately. Like yesterday, for instance, when I was doing a full-tilt boogie around the…
By Michele Laudig So have you checked out any of the local restaurants participating in Arizona Restaurant Week? The first annual event got started on Saturday, and everybody was talking about it over the weekend. But don’t forget — it continues through the rest of this week. Technically that’s four…
