In every office, there are those upbeat team players who love getting into the holiday spirit. They wear theme sweaters, festoon their offices with garland and candy canes and play Christmas music on portable CD players. It’s usually one of these do-gooders who spearheads the annual office holiday potluck. After…
Tequila. It’s not just for binge drinkers anymore. Super-premium blends have become super popular with well-heeled inbibers, and in the process, super profitable for some bar owners.At Scottsdale’s Coyote Grill, guests can savor a $145 shot of José Cuervo 1800 Colección, straight or blended in a margarita. Though only a…
Yes, Virginia — and Arizona — there is a Santa Claus.I say this not because of my belief, deeply held though it is, that there’s a spirit of generosity and kindness and merriment and good cheer that resides in the hearts of all people. No, I say this because I’m…
My Italian husband balks at food that isn’t red or green. When I brought him to his first Polish Christmas Eve supper, he looked at our food and grimaced: “Everything is brown!”We surveyed the landscape of our table — a sable sea of black mushroom soup steaming in Grandmom’s tureen,…
A recent survey, conducted extensively among people on my speed-dial list, has uncovered a startling finding. The entire state of New Mexico is nothing without its chiles.A half-dozen people answering the phone can’t be wrong. When asked what the cuisine of New Mexico is comprised of, all my study subjects…
Arlene Silver wants to make it clear — very clear — that the Taste of Chicago sandwich store at Scottsdale Road and Thunderbird is not affiliated with the Taste of Chicago at Hayden and Mountain View. Both of the Scottsdale stores were founded by a single owner, but several years…
Even with the lunchtime rush in full swing at Thai Rama, Roland James isn’t hard to spot. He’s the middle-aged guy sitting alone, with pamphlets spread out on the table in front of him. I sigh as I head toward the booth, bracing myself for a preachy midday meal.The surprise…
Sometimes, you just know that things aren’t going to work out. Maybe it’s the body language that clues you in, when your intended won’t look you in the eye or respond to your requests. Perhaps it’s the tone of voice that’s telling of demise — when it’s short, exasperated and…
Professional chefs are born different from the rest of us. While the home chef may cook to relax, the professional cooks out of a compulsion to create. We may rummage through our shelves as we go, making do with what’s available, yet the professional won’t start until he has every…
Over the past month, a number of the Valley’s better-known restaurants have failed health inspections, with dismal scores ranging from 60 to 70. While it’s no surprise to find unsanitary conditions at a no-name dive, it’s unsettling when these fancy or corporate-controlled restaurants slip up so stupendously.Peter’s European Cafe is…
It doesn’t take much to get me to Tucson. Tell me there’s an opera or a play down there, or even a good used book store, and I’m heading south down Interstate 10, past the Casa Grande outlet stores and the roadkilled coyotes and the ostrich ranch. Certainly the chance…
Alligators don’t make good pets. Amazing, I know, but true. As a child growing up in Tokyo, I happened upon a pet store that was selling, along with fuzzy kittens and velvet-furred puppies, baby alligators. In a truly weak moment, my mother bought me one, packaged in a little plastic…
The dust jackets of Diana Gabaldon’s novels inform us that she “holds a master’s degree in Marine Biology and a Ph.D. in ecology, none of which has anything whatever to do with her books.” True enough. Virile Scotsmen romancing spirited heroines, exhaustive historical detail and time-travel fantasy — that’s the…
Pity the poor Chilihead. As if Chili’s employees didn’t already have enough grief in their working conditions (they’re barraged with that creepy “baby back ribs” TV jingle), they’ve got to suffer through what’s surely one of the most pea-brained training manuals in restaurantdom.It seems Chili’s corporate management knows no bounds…
We’re picking things out of our tom yum soup at Jax Thai Bar, a Tempe restaurant that’s the newest addition to Mill Avenue’s increasingly cosmopolitan culinary scene. Barklike nubs of galangal, a southeast Asian vegetable that’s a member of the ginger family. Whole kaffir lime leaves, dark green and similar…
In what has to be one of the most fiercely guarded transactions of the year in Valley restaurant circles, Convivo has been sold to former Different Pointe of View chef Jeffrey Beeson.The sale is noteworthy on its own — former owners Mark and Pat Bloom made the tiny, New American-themed…
“The problem in Phoenix, the way I see it, anyway, is that there is a real separation of the Latinos and the Anglos.” Mad Coyote Joe isn’t talking about bilingual education versus English immersion, or South Phoenix versus North Phoenix. He’s talking about restaurant culture. “You go to Albuquerque, New…
The phone is ringing again, rattling in its perch on the reservations podium next to the bar at Acqua e Sale. We’ve been listening to it all through dinner, not because it’s an irritation to our meal, but because we’ve been eavesdropping on the host. He’s telling yet another caller…
Another dot-com company has gone bust, hitting several local freelance restaurant writers where it really hurts — in the pocketbook. Instead of collecting overdue paychecks, contributors to Foodline.com are being offered used furniture and computer hardware salvaged from Foodline’s corporate offices in New York. How an Arizona resident is supposed…
It’s the day after Election Day, and I’m having lunch in the heart of Mesa with a Communist elected official. If that’s not surreal enough, neither of us yet knows for sure who the next president of the United States will be. Nor does CNN.Fabricio Rodriguez, student body vice president…
If you order your wine by the glass when you go out for dinner, you may be getting gouged.Some high-end restaurateurs are increasing their already inflated profits on booze by hiding small servings behind those elegant, single-serving carafes and humongous glasses. You’ve seen them popping up at places like Tarbell’s,…
There’s a new book out called Zeguts. It should not be confused with the international restaurant guide of the similar name, Zagat. Because while both track dining establishments and rate them on similar terms of concept, food quality and ambiance, Zeguts is strictly a parody of made-up establishments.At least I…
