As if Lyme disease and the knowledge that a bug can attach itself to your skin and suck the life-giving blood right out of you aren’t good enough reasons to avoid forests and (let’s be honest) the outdoors in general, scientists are now saying that a bite from this particular…
No matter how you view the French, you cannot deny they know their food. And there are few better places for French cuisine in the Valley than Zinc Bistro. There even is a miniature model of the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the quaint restaurant to make you feel…
Twisted Rose Winery and Eatery is now serving Sunday brunch…
Next month the Heard Museum’s Books & More will welcome journalist and author Stephen Fried to its Steele Auditorium for a free public lecture. Fried, making a return appearance to the museum, will sign copies of his book Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild…
Following a whirlwind of executive chefs and a trip to renovation land for the summer, the Royal Palms Resort & Spa has announced a new bar concept to accompany the re-opening of its new and improved T. Cook’s Lounge on Monday, September 9. Called The Mix Up Bar, the upscale…
This September, East Valley hot dog fans will be getting a little more Willy — Pittsburgh Willy’s that is. Randy Walters, owner of Pittsburgh Willy’s, the five-year-old hot dog, sandwiches, chili, and pierogi joint inside Chandler’s Merchant Square Antique Mall, is opening a hot dog-only spinoff in downtown Chandler. “I’ve…
Ask who has the best tamales in the Valley and chances are you’ll find yourself in an endless debate involving countless national and international variations of the wrapped snack. Ask who has the best tamales oaxaqueño and the discussion stops with Elizabeth Hernandez, owner of La 15 y Salsas, the…
Good Eats fans and cooking geeks, get excited, because your hero is coming to town. Alton Brown will take the stage at Mesa Arts Center this October for Alton Brown Live! The Edible Inevitable Tour. If you’re not familiar with the man that is Alton Brown, you probably don’t watch…
According to news reports from Canada, a performance at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival treated audience members to the show of a lifetime by including several mayo enemas and just a little bit of fellatio. “What I saw were not one, not two, but three mayonnaise enemas,” Fringe Festival reviewer Michelle…
On the subject of who has the best tamales in the Valley, the debate never seems to end. Given the countless national and international variations of the wrapped snack, the issue won’t resolve itself anytime soon. But when it comes to tamales oaxaqueño, the discussion stops with La 15 y Salsas,…
It began in the mid-’90s, when Monsanto developed genetically modified (GM) crops such as soybeans, alfalfa, sugar beets, and wheat. These Frankencrops were immune to its leading weed killer, Roundup. That meant that farmers no longer had to till the land to kill weeds, as they’d done for hundreds of…
Picture this: It’s 9:30 on a Sunday morning. The sun pierces your curtains. Your head throbs. Your stomach turns. Saturday night was fun, but no longer kind to you now. You, our friend, have a hangover. Lucky for you, nothing known to man battles the effects of a hangover quite…
As the monsoon storms roll in to smother the dry heat, Phoenix inhabitants have begun to hibernate in the chill of their air-conditioned homes. Transporting frosty treats is near impossible, as they melt into puddles before we can puzzle-piece them into our already packed freezers. I’m a custard freak. During…
On the heels of the announcement that Sportsman’s Fine Wines & Spirits in Phoenix is shuttering at the end of August comes news of a more positive sort — its salvation via Valley chef-legend Mark Tarbell, whose restaurant, Tarbell’s, is right next door. A combination wine bar and liquor boutique,…
My high school singing group, The Sounds of Young Hawaii, spent a month in Japan the summer of my senior year, and we ate sushi, chicken-feet soup and, for breakfast, a bowl of hot rice into which we cracked a raw egg and let it cook, then wrapped the concoction…
Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Last month, in the health section of U.S. News & World Report, Dr. David Katz,…
The difference between the Los Angeles food scene and the Phoenix food scene is that in L.A., every restaurant is a scene. And that’s fine by us. L.A. is the place where the American cupcake takeover began (Sprinkles Cupcakes), In-N-Out was founded, and juicing became an acceptable diet. No, these…
One 4-year-old got either the best- or worst-ever prize inside a Burger King kids meal — depending on how you feel about giving 4-year-olds ready-to-smoke, pre-packed marijuana pipes…
The Spot: El Chorro 5550 East Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley 480-948-5170 www.elchorrolodge.com…
The Guilty Pleasure: Midnight Mac (the DIY Pig Mac) Where To Get It: McDonald’s, locations everywhere The Price: About $6 What It Really Costs: About 900 calories, but in the middle of the night, who cares? Last week, I got to sing the praises of the Pig Mac at Brat…
I sat the square box on my dining room table and took a deep breath. Tentatively, I pulled the cardboard top away from the base. A classic Margherita. A few, straggly pieces of basil. Another gut-wrenching disappointment. It never used to be this way. A year ago, I never would…
As author of Chow Bella’s “Dessert First” column, I tasted my share of sweet in this city. (To say photographer Dayvid LeMmon and I enjoyed the research is an understatement.) What follows is the absolute best of the best. Restaurants change their dessert menus on a regular basis — seasonally…
