By Jay Bennett There’s no shortage of cooler, hipper, trendier, more unique breakfast joints in the Valley, but there may be no better morning spot around than the unassuming, totally uncool — and proud of it — Ranch House Grille, on East Thomas Road near 56th Street. It’s been only…
Don’t blame the Olympics. I’ve been craving some good Chinese food for a lot longer than the past couple of weeks that we’ve been bombarded with coverage of the games. If anything, TV segments about bizarre Beijing street foods have somewhat lessened my appetite for it. (I’m adventurous, but I’m…
By Michele Laudig The word on the street is that there have been big changes at Estate House, the mansion-like fine-dining spot at SouthBridge, Fred Unger’s upscale Scottsdale shopping and restaurant complex across the canal from the Scottsdale Waterfront. Ron Dimas, the executive chef who opened the restaurant six months…
By Michele Laudig Talk to the food fanatics around town, and Noca’s got the buzz du jour, which is saying a lot for a three-and-a-half-week-old restaurant. I won’t name any names, but the place has been crawling with local chefs, celebs, and even some restaurants critics. (And no, I’m not…
By Wynter Holden So, apparently clogging your arteries with greasy fast food just isn’t enough for Burger King. No longer satisfied with their meager billion-dollar business, they’ve scored some valuable real estate on supermarket shelves with Burger King Ketchup & Fries potato chips. I can appreciate the need for a…
By Michele Laudig Wow — I just stumbled on to a fascinating Yelp discussion about whether or not the Yelpers think it’s okay to accept free food in exchange for a (possibly) favorable review on the popular everyone’s-a-critic website. I’d secretly hoped that the majority of Yelp postings were sincere,…
By Amy Silverman I admit it, I’m shallow. About as deep as a cupcake, as long as it’s a super-cute, tasty one. Which is a good part of why I’m willing to pooh-pooh the county’s most recent inspection report of Sprinkles Cupcakes, the boutique confectionary that finally opened earlier this…
My new favorite meal deal: Soma Cafe’s veggie burger and strawberry-kiwi iced green tea. Sometimes life is filled with happy coincidences. Like when my bosses here at Phoenix New Times recently announced they were looking for someone to take over the vegetarian dining beat for Chow Bella after the illustrious…
By Wynter Holden Holy basil. I giggled like a schoolgirl when I saw this heavenly sounding herb on the menu at Thai Elephant in downtown Phoenix. You know when something you see or hear just makes you bust a gut laughing — and no one else at your table seems…
By Michele Laudig It seems like everybody’s looking forward to Labor Day weekend, but now there’s something to look forward to after the big holiday: restaurant openings! For some reason it feels like the whole city starts to wake up in September, even though the heat isn’t going anywhere. W…
By Michele Laudig Megan Irwin’s weekly installments of Veggie Girl were an instant hit on Chow Bella when they started earlier this summer — readers gave lots of feedback, and Megan was enthused about covering vegetarian dining. And alas, just when it seemed she was on a roll, Veggie Girl…
by Robrt L. Pela I keep getting up from where I’m sitting to go look at the tablecloth our friend Ruth Beautmont brought over last night. Ruth (a former Floradora girl) knows that Mr. Grossman has a thing for old linens, and when I phoned last night to say, “We’re…
By Steve Jansen It’s alive! My only two regrets from visiting the Mill Avenue My Big Fat Greek Restaurant and ordering this custard piled high with vanilla ice cream and caramel? That I didn’t get a photo of dude setting this dish (and almost himself) on fire with flambed brandy,…
By Michele Laudig Gio Osso is already gone from Luc’s, the luxury El Pedregal restaurant, barely more than three months after taking the executive chef post. According to owner Robert Hall, the change-up happened about a week ago. As I reported in May, Osso was chef number three for the…
By Michele Laudig One of the most high-profile restaurant developments of 2008 also happens to be a home-grown Arizona original. Prado is the name of the new Spanish-style signature restaurant at the soon-to-open InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, and unlike some of the other high-profile eateries anticipated for 2008, it’s…
By Michele Laudig If you’re craving Thai food for dinner tonight, I have a tasty suggestion: Yupha’s Thai Kitchen. Yupha Dequenne says it’s a little bit bigger now — about 100 seats instead of 77 — but feels quite a bit bigger, thanks to a new layout. The scrumptious Thai…
by Robrt L. Pela There’s plenty to love about this one: Its diminutive size; the fact that it’s a hardcover (rare in small, old cookbooks); its great cover graphic, which carries over to the back cover; and, of course, its concept. I love, too, how it opens with a rather…
By Wynter Holden 34-year-old Mesa native Jenifer Stern is the kind of woman who can’t sit still for long – so it’s no surprise that she works at a coffee shop. Before settling into life as a barista, Stern did stints as a corporate buyer, photographer, theatrical prop maker, security…
By Jonathan McNamara Here on Brew Review we’ve analyzed beer from a religious perspective; we’ve looked at it in terms of refreshment; we’ve criticized certain bottles for their blatant novelty and more. Today we’ll be looking at beer as a mood enhancer. I’d just popped in to Casey Moore’s Oyster…
By Jay Bennett Hummus, kebabs, falafel — just say the word and I’m there. So when a Budget Beat reader named Natalie said the word, I was more than willing to oblige. She suggested I hit up one of her favorite Middle Eastern spots, Ararat. So the missus and I…
By Wynter Holden The first rule to dieting and still living in the real world (you know, where you actually go out to eat without your kitchen scale in tow) is to learn the “safe” hotspots in town and memorize them. That way, when your co-workers suggest lunch at Black…
In rural India, a dhaba is a roadside pit stop where truckers can fill their tummies after they’ve filled their tanks at the petrol station next door. It’s a place for a cheap, filling meal of Northern Indian food, and maybe even a quick snooze on a charpoy, a squat,…
