Last year, Chipotle debuted The Scarecrow, a three-minute animated video ad that attacked the processed-food industry with sad images like the one above. It was called both one of the best and worst ad campaigns of the year, but the mixed reviews didn’t stop the video from getting more than…
Beer: Shake Down Series Anniversary Porter Brewery: Wanderlust Brewing Co. Style: Baltic Porter ABV: 10 percent You might think brewing is an easy job. It isn’t. Sure, there are perks — you make your own hours, your work uniform consists of sweet boots and a manly beard, and drinking on…
Just weeks after Craig DeMarco and Lauren Bailey opened Joyride Taco House in Central Phoenix, the restaurateurs announced they have their sights set on a whole new neighborhood. This fall, Upward Projects will open a fourth location of Postino Winecafe just steps off Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. The restaurant…
On Thursday, January 23, 150 guests, five chefs, and their kitchen teams gathered at Phoenix Art Museum for the Ripe Awards, hosted by the museum’s Men’s Art Council…
If you’re looking for homemade sauces, pizza dough, and bread in North Phoenix, you’ll be happy to know about Villa Italia Ristorante. The new restaurant, located at 1219 East Glendale Avenue, comes courtesy of owner and chef Peter Pizzurro, a native of Palermo, Sicily. The restaurant, which opened in December,…
Quiessence at The Farm at South Mountain Tuesday, January 28 This week will be your last opportunity to get in on a pretty hot deal at Quiessence at the Farm at South Mountain. The first 12 people who mention a “Taste of Quiessence” when calling to make reservations on Tuesday,…
We’ve mentioned it before, but in case you didn’t know, we’ll tell you again: The serving sizes you see on food packages today are actually based on data gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1970s and ’80s. As you can imagine, that data is outdated and so…
A wise person once said to me that “expectations are prepaid resentments.” The remedy, of course, is to set one’s expectations so low that resentment — and disappointment — are unlikely. But low expectations do not factor into the opening of The Clever Koi, one of the most anticipated and…
In its third year, New Times’ annual Street Eats Food Truck Festival has become a must-attend event for the food truck fan and novice alike. I’ve attended (and written about it) every time. After a warm, filling Day One at this year’s Street Eats, I can tell you that this…
Add gourmet burgers to the list of dining options at the Shops at Gainey Ranch as of Sunday, January 26, when Notorious Burgers opens its doors. This will be the second restaurant in the shopping center to come from restauranteur Joey Maggiore, the son of Tomaso’s owner Tomaso Maggiore. Notorious…
As if there aren’t enough reasons for CenPho folks to be doing a happy dance, add another solid restaurant option to the lineup that already includes Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, Pizzeria/Trattoria Bianco, and a brand spankin’ new Whole Foods Market. Grassroots Kitchen and Tap, the plainly delicious restaurant from fourth-generation…
There are plenty of spots in north Scottsdale where you can get a hoagie or a BLT. But there’s probably only one place in the entire Valley where you can also get a bowl of bibimbap. That is Croque Famous Sandwiches, a counter-service sandwich shop with Korean connections. Owner Lilian…
One thing about being behind the bar for as long as I have is that part of my mind is an overstuffed Rolodex full of drink recipes. Sometimes things get misfiled (there’s a slight chance I’ll make you a Negroni when you ask for an Americano), but I generally have…
About two years ago, we tried our first Cara Cara orange. While sweet, tangy blood oranges have have been popular the past few years, we feel Cara Caras deserve as much, if not more, hype. Orange on the outside, bright pink on the inside, this fruit is thought to be…
Gilbert residents can add one of the Valley’s hottest breakfast spots to the list of independent restaurants located in their ‘hood. Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, the restaurant chain that started in Denver, will be opening a second Valley location in the Gilbert Historic District later this year. The first Snooze…
Lunch break means a quick dash to pick up a cheeseburger or sub down the street, right? Not always. Don’t let your sad wallet get in the way of your Japanese fix. Head over with us to Harumi Sushi…
Last year, the Arizona Restaurant Association honored restaurants, chefs, and other food service professionals whose talents set them apart as industry leaders with the inaugural Foodist Awards. The association defines “Foodists” as “a collective of like-minded food worshipers. A Foodist breathes and sleeps in order to eat and drink. They…
North Valley-ites who hang around the CityNorth/Desert Ridge neighborhood will have a new locally owned option for pizza and a glass of wine. Restaurateur Julian Wright’s second location of La Bocca Wine Bar & Urban Kitchen opened earlier this week on High Street at CityNorth. The concept will be similar…
Forget about those weird watermelon Oreos from August. Seriously. Because in just a few short weeks we’ll all be able to dig into a bag of cookie dough-flavored Oreo cookies. And if a cookie dough-flavored cookie doesn’t sound damn delicious to you, then what the hell are you doing eating…
If you’re reading this, you at least have a casual interest in wine and probably probably tasted many different wines, possibly even taken tasting notes on some wines. Even if you haven’t taken notes, you probably can tell the difference between, say, a Pinot Noir and a Syrah. If you’re…
In June, the 16-year-old Scottsdale dance club Axis-Radius closed its doors for good, at which time Evening Entertainment Group announced it had plans to turn the space into a concert venue and dining spot. Now we know what those plans are. The food and drink side of the new operation,…
Joe Johnston’s Arizona roots run deep. His parents planted the seed in 1960 with the purchase of a 160-acre farm in rural Gilbert, and Johnston’s mark on the East Valley has been flourishing ever since…
