By Sarah Ventre It’s official. Summer has arrived. Maybe we haven’t seen the solstice, but for us Arizonans, when the temperature breaks 100 degrees for the first time, it’s here. It’s time for swimming, fireworks, activities that don’t involve being outside of the realm of air conditioning or submerged in…
By Michele Laudig You heard of Pimp My Ride, right? Well, how about Pimp My Restaurant? That’s what I’m calling the dramatic transformation of an eatery at the Phoenician. It started off as The Terrace, a traditional American restaurant, but a million dollars later, it’s now stepping out as Il…
By Michele Laudig James Beard Award-winning chef Robert McGrath honored his friend Chris Pischke when he took over the late restaurateur’s Old Town Scottsdale eatery, Pischke’s Paradise, and transformed it into Pischke’s Blue Ribbon last year. But now the restaurant’s more than 20-year run is about to come to an…
By Michele Laudig This, my friends, is so damn clever — the best spin on the cupcake trend so far!…
By Jay Bennett Dropping big bucks on dinner is great, but how often do you really treat yourself to a classy meal? When you’re not eating at home (admit it: seems you hardly ever do that anymore), it’s all about finding the best eats for those few bills left in…
Feed me now. I’m hungry. I’m grumpy. I’m in a hurry. I have plenty of easy excuses to fill up on fast food. But most of the time, novelty isn’t one of them. Just think of the comforting familiarity of hot, salty McDonald’s French fries — they’re available everywhere, and…
This week’s fried food is a BLT at Drip. And, yes, I had to take a bite before taking the picture — I was starving. by Sarah Fenske There is nothing more sublime than a BLT: Think crisp salty bacon, ripe tomatoes dripping with juice, a sheet of crisp iceberg…
By Amy Silverman A few years ago, I hosted a dinner party to celebrate the last episode of Seinfeld. That was easy. We had Kenny Rogers chicken, hi-cal frozen yogurt and black & white cookies. But when a friend put me in charge of movie snacks for her Sex and…
By Michele Laudig A friend just passed along the sad news that Weather & Coffee, weatherman Ed Phillips’ coffee and pastry shop on Bell Road, has recently closed. But looking on the bright side — no pun intended — the business will live on in the virtual world. An online…
By Michele Laudig It’s official: Chef Claudio Urciuoli is back in action, this time as the chef at the signature restaurant at InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, the swanky new resort under construction in Paradise Valley. He starts on Monday, June 2, and his new menu — along with the…
By: Megan Irwin The desk of a New Times reporter, made prettier by her sandwich. I am in a major time crunch today after the holiday weekend (during which I was stranded at DFW airport for eight hours…), so for lunch I visited my favorite cheap sandwich spot in central…
By Michele Laudig Need a cold pint to shake off the work week? Yeah, I know this is more of an Irish coffee kind of day, but I’ll take a beer anyway. Joining the growing list of restaurants at Tempe Marketplace, a new pub called D’Arcy McGee’s opens today, just…
By Michele Laudig This takes the cake for coolest summer vacation idea: Chef Marcellino Verzino and his wife Sima, whose restaurant Marcellino is one of the best destinations in the Valley for homemade pasta, will be leading a weeklong trip to the Campania region of Italy this August. From August…
We’ve heard all about the heart, but does absence make the palate grow fonder, too? If it’s top-notch Afghan cuisine — something the Valley’s been deprived of since the early ’90s — then the answer is an enthusiastic “yes.” To my knowledge, the long-defunct Chopandaz in Tempe was the first…
By Michele Laudig Reading menus really is one of my favorite pastimes, and lately there have been quite a few landing in my inbox. The newest one comes from Eddie’s House, chef Eddie Matney’s new spot, which opens to the general public tonight. Among the quirky, Middle Eastern-inspired entrees, there’s…
This week’s fried food: Calf fries at the Stockyards By Sarah Fenske I’ve never been a particularly healthy eater. For one thing, I’ve got a fast food jones to rival the Hamburglar’s — I go through the drive-through at least four times a week. And even when I take the…
By Megan Irwin I just got back from the preview opening of swanky new Scottsdale eatery Eddie’s House. First, let me apologize for my lack of photographic evidence — the place looks fantastic (I especially loved the wrought iron chandeliers) and is totally pulling of the living room vibe –…
Just in: La Bocca Urban Pizzeria + Wine Bar owner Julian Wright is getting the word out on his new weekly dinner parties. Last Thursday was the first one, and it was a success, so it looks like reservations are essential (call 480-967-5244; La Bocca is located on Mill Ave…
The Art of Soup — perfect (and cheap) vegetarian lunch spot. By Megan Irwin Eating vegetarian is not a fringe lifestyle choice. According to the Vegetarian Times 7.3 million Americans are vegetarians and 22.8 million follow a mostly vegetarian diet. So why is it so hard to find a good…
Start looking for more bylines in Chow Bella starting today, with the debut of Megan Irwin’s weekly Veggie Girl mini-review coming up shortly . . …
Now that Urban Campfire owners Robert Stempkowski and Stephen Wolff have prevailed in the civil suit that’s been sapping so much of their time, energy, and cash, they’re “celebrating” by finally moving forward with some much-needed renovations to the property. “The consensus rap has just been the dreariness of the…
Lately I’ve gotten inquiries about who’ll be appointed the new restaurant critic at Phoenix Magazine, in the wake of longtime critic Nikki Buchanan’s much-talked-about dismissal. No one, as it turns out. Ashlea Deahl, the magazine’s editor, explained, “We don’t have any immediate plans to hire another full-time dining critic.” Instead,…
