By Eddie Matney Arizona-grown? Tacos? Menudo? Carne Asada? Nobody ever thinks wine. We insiders have a feeling that’s going to change. For the first time for this fine state, the wine coming out of here looks promising. And we hear Jerome is on the brink of another boom…this one will…
By Jonathan McNamara It’s a fond childhood memory based on a last minute solution from my dad. I was attending summer camp and had to pack a bagged lunch each day. To keep my food refrigerated in the traveling medium of a paper bag, pops would freeze boxed Minute Maid…
Editor’s note: The below letter from chef Eddie Matney is in response to restaurant critic Howard Seftel’s review of Eddie’s House, in yesterday’s Arizona Republic. Dear Howard, It was just a few months ago that we were both so excited to date again. But you’re right. You have changed. You…
By Jay Bennett Outside of scarfing down Jack in the Box or raiding the dollar menu at McDonald’s, it just doesn’t get any cheaper than this: For $10.38, the missus and I scored at Da Vang. That’s right. For $10.38, we enjoyed two entrees and an appetizer at this Vietnamese…
Dinner and a movie should be a no-brainer, but logistically, it’s not always as simple as it should be. Sometimes it takes some strategizing to get in, get fed, and get to the theater on time — especially when you’re seeing the hottest new film. And despite your best efforts,…
By Wynter Holden After a visit to the lovely Phoenix Public Market last Saturday (where I scored some awesome tomato garlic pasta, plum spread and fresh-baked cinnamon bread), the hubby and I made a pit stop in the shopping plaza 3701 East Indian School Rd to peruse the pathetic linen…
Poor little sandwiches … By Sarah Fenske It might sound weird to a normal person, but I stopped going to KFC because of the Pepsi. There are two types of fast food junkies in the world: Coke people and Pepsi people. Some time during college, I realized I was a…
By Amy Silverman Bad electricity karma, perhaps? The light in the women’s room was burned out when county restaurant inspectors visited Honey Bear’s BBQ on Van Buren Street on August 31, but that wasn’t the worst electrical failure. The place might not have passed muster to begin with: inspectors noted…
By Benjamin Leatherman Fresh Mint’s version of a balanced meal. To me, there are only two kinds of fake meat in this world: good or bad. By “bad,” I mean bland clumps of tofu (or a similar soy-based substance) which have been fashioned into a substance that vaguely resembles in…
By Eddie Matney If I had only $3 in my pocket, I’d indulge with two double cheeseburgers and a small Hi-C: $2.97 from McDonald’s. Why am I telling you this? In this blog, we’re going to talk about the good, the bad, and the cheap. The way I see it…helping…
by Robrt L. Pela This is a watercolor of the blue bowl I mix cake batter in. The painting is by my spouse, Mr. Grossman, who’s good at everything he does because he’s a Jew. The bowl was a wedding gift to my mother in 1946. It turns up in…
By Michele Laudig I’ve done plenty of drooling in print and on this blog about the charcuterie at Digestif, but now there’s somebody else hamming it up: The Wall Street Journal. They recently name-droped the Scottsdale restaurant as part of a national trend piece. Nice!…
By Michele Laudig I’ve been to enough spas around town to know that brownies are definitely *not* on the typical refreshment buffet. Usually, the offerings are along the lines of shiny ripe apples, herbal tea, and water with lemon and cucumber. Show up hungry, and your growling stomach will drown…
By Wynter Holden Barista Russ Kaskalla is your average 23-year-old college student. He switches majors like coffee flavors, doesn’t like to think about the future, and enjoys getting blitzed after a hard day. Most days, you can either find him decorating lattes and working the drive-thru window at Tempe’s Xtreme…
by Robrt L. Pela Okay, seriously. This is just gross. I actually really like liver, but please don’t serve it to me in a loaf. This one is from Money-Saving Main Dishes, a book I come back to again and again for a good laugh. Among my favorites are Curry-Chicken…
By Michele Laudig After five months on board as the executive chef at Different Pointe of View, the fine dining restaurant at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs, Anthony DeMuro has finally given us a chance to see what kind of dishes he’s been dreaming up over the summer. The brand-new…
By Jonathan McNamara Be not free of worries when you face the inebriated monk statues that stand guard in the various sections of Papago Brewing in Scottsdale. Behind their calm exterior lies a secret: they brew beer not with tender love and care but with a balls-to-the-wall sense of the…
By Michele Laudig Yes, it might be a teensy bit premature to start thinking about white truffles — one of the most mysterious and heavenly things I’ve ever eaten — but I get a lot of satisfaction just knowing the season is right around the corner. Thanks to the fine…
By Amy Silverman There are certain rites of passage, I’ve learned, for the Gross Out Girl. Like the first time I read about slimy mold build-up in an ice machine, or my first dead roaches on the floor of an ice cream shop. Blood in the aisles at a dollar…
By Jay Bennett Last week, I wrote in this space about the budget-tastic happy hour at Fenix Eatery & Bar, an otherwise pricey bistro in the Arcadia neighborhood. After that posting, a reader named Joel steered me toward another pricey joint that just happens to have a happy hour for…
By Wynter Holden I admit it. The name alone suckered me in. Every time I took one particular route home from work (or play), I passed a new-construction strip mall with a big, cartoon-y sign in the corner that read “Spicy Pickle,” flanked by an animated icon of the tart-and-sour…
There’s plenty in the way of high-profile restaurants in Phoenix, although if you’re really into food, you also have to fine-tune your radar for inconspicuous hole-in-the-wall gems, off-the-beaten-path indie eateries, and humble mom-and-pop spots. But how often do you literally get to meet mom and pop? At La Piccola Cucina…
