By Jay Bennett A faithful Budget Beat reader recently steered me toward a place I’d never heard of called El Taco Tote. Like just about every living being, I love Mexican food, so I was excited about this discovery on Phoenix’s west side, on Camelback Road near 35th Avenue. Expecting…
One of the most intriguing things about Phoenix is how people can reinvent themselves and find success here. We need to make a bigger deal about the beauty of the blank canvas that is our cultural scene. Let me start by celebrating the latest example: Restaurateur Dwayne Allen, who leapt…
By Wynter Holden I’m trolling local markets sniffing out the weirdest, wackiest foods found on grocery store shelves. For the inaugural Shelf Life, I was imagining some exotic unknown foodstuff, or maybe a soda pop with a name that got butchered in translation. That was, until I saw this at…
By Michele Laudig Honey, I knew you were hot even before you did. That’s why I did the homework for you and wrote up a whole slew of groovy local joints selling tart, tangy Korean-style frozen yogurt, the kind of stuff that put Pinkberry on the map seemingly everywhere but…
By Michele Laudig Living in other cities, I always looked forward to Restaurant Week — when local eateries would offer prix fixe menus at a special price, as a way of showcasing their food to the community. For the curious and the budget challenged (both, in my case), it was…
Brunch at Mandala Tea Room. (Photo by Oliver Polk.) By Megan Irwin About a month ago a commenter asked me where he could get a decent vegan breakfast in this town. I intended to answer his question the following week, but breakfast seems like such a weekend thing and my…
By Michele Laudig As you know, I did my fair share of splurging when Sprinkles opened its Scottsdale location last month (at Scottsdale Rd. and Camelback), and now, history has repeated itself. This time, it’s in the name of patriotism, as the high-style cupcake bakery is launching a limited-edition flavor…
By Wynter Holden In my freshman year of college, this hot musician I’d been salivating over asked me to dinner at a fancy Thai restaurant. I remember seeing “chili padi” listed as an ingredient in my dish; but I wanted to keep the smart girl image in front of my…
By Michele Laudig So did you catch the New York Times’ feature about food at ballparks around the country? Phoenix gets props for its garlic fries, which I’ve eaten my fair share of, but that’s about it. A creature of habit, I also go for either the Italian sausage sandwich…
by Robrt L. Pela Last week, a reader wrote pleading with me to tell her about my favorite spatula, but I cannot. I’m afraid that if I do, my other spatulas will feel bad. If I single out one spatula, the others might stop working properly. I can imagine those…
By Steve Jansen This place rocks It’s no secret that it’s bloody hot out there. But instead of whining about the inevitable (after all, we do live in a desert), I’m going to celebrate the arrival of nuclear temperatures by switching from hot to iced coffee in the mornings. This…
By Michele Laudig Locavore 2: Synchronicity — that might sound like the latest summer blockbuster, or perhaps some remix of a Police album, but it’s what the folks at Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar are calling their upcoming Arizona food and wine dinner. The first such locavore event, held back…
By Michele Laudig In mid-May, when Methode Bistro chef/owner Matt McLinn revealed his plans to sell the restaurant, he wasn’t quite ready to talk about his future plans. But now it’s official: McLinn has just been appointed the new executive chef at Pointe in Tyme, at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio…
By Jay Bennett Since moving to Phoenix three years ago, I’ve found that 16th Street is the strip to troll for great food, especially Mexican food — whether it’s the dirt-cheap burritos at Asadero, the wonderful Mexican sandwiches at Tortas El Güero, or the high-end stuff at Barrio Café. But…
My natural instinct is to haul ass on the highway, but lately I’ve been hyper-miling in my econo-car. Around my neighborhood, I’ve been riding my beach cruiser. Several of my coolest new wardrobe additions have come from the Goodwill. And instead of resorting to air-conditioning my house just yet, I’ve…
Look at the pretty cocktail! By Sarah Fenske I’m a sucker for good lighting. I have certain thrifty friends who will take one look at the menu and back out of a restaurant, howling, “$28 for an entree?!?” Or, “$15 for a cocktail? What is this, highway robbery?!”? Not me…
By: Megan Irwin My cure for a terrible, awful, no good, very bad day: Persian Garden. Today I am extremely grumpy. It’s been the kind of day where every car in front of me is going 5 m.p.h. under the speed limit, every song on the radio is by Chris…
by Robrt L. Pela I love kitchen crap. Spatulas, mixing bowls, those fake wooden spoons from the dollar store that are actually made of plastic. I have more junk in my kitchen drawers and cupboards than you’ll find in the stockrooms of all the Linens ’n’ Things combined. And because…
By Michele Laudig Hey, weren’t you craving a bagel? For National Hunger Awareness Day, the folks at Chompies will donate 15 percent of today’s proceeds to St. Vincent de Paul. All three locations (on Shea Blvd. in Scottsdale, on University in Tempe, and at the Paradise Valley Mall) are participating…
By Michele Laudig Oh. My. God. I am dying to try the artisan ice creams and sorbets at Sweet Republic, a new Scottsdale sweet shop that opened last week. (Thanks to the Chow Bella reader who emailed me with the great tip!) Owners Jan Wichayanuparp and Helen Yung make their…
By Michele Laudig Is it any coincidence that the first day the weather forecast shows nothing but three-digit temperatures for the next week, I discover a brand-new ice cream shop? Finding week-old Pink Spot, which just opened its doors next to ZPizza on Thomas, came at the perfect time. As…
by Robrt L. Pela I love kitchen crap. Spatulas, mixing bowls, those fake wooden spoons from the dollar store that are actually made of plastic. I have more junk in my kitchen drawers and cupboards than you’ll find in the stockrooms of all the Linens ’n’ Things combined. And because…
