This summer, north Valley residents in search of Italian flavor without the guilt may want to get into the kitchen — you know, the thin Italian one. The Skinny Italian Kitchen, a new concept from Mancuso Restaurants Inc. (led by New York native and longtime Valley restaurateur Bobby Mancuso, who…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
It’s weekend time and there is a whole bunch of foodie stuff to do. Whether you’re hitting up the Greek Festival, meeting Giada de Laurentiis in Scottsdale, or just make a nice dinner at your house, I hope you get to eat something delicious! Here’s what’s on my plate this…
Fast food behemoth Wendy’s is unsatisfied with simply being America’s second-largest fast-food chain. Now they are moving to swell the hearts, and possibly the cholesterol levels, of Canadians by petitioning (“poutitioning” in Canadian) for poutines to be recognized as the Canadian national dish. In completely related news, Wendy’s also announced…
May 27 no doubt will be a dark day for Tucson food lovers. Two of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants — Janos and J Bar — will serve their last suppers on May 26 before permanently shuttering their doors at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. In a phone…
For this week’s Cafe Review, New Times Food Critic Laura Hahnefeld explored the flavors of southern Mexico without having to leave Phoenix. Hahnefeld ventured to Jose Garcia’s, La Barquita (the little boat) and found an authentic restaurant that is a true homage to Mexican cooking…
Generally, cocktail books are easy. Slap a few recipes together, pair each one with a drool-inducing photo, put out a few thousand paperback copies, and you’re bound to make some cash. Providing value — and doing it stylishly — is another task entirely. The PDT Cocktail Book was released in…
This week in Chef Chat we brought you our interview with Chef Brian Hulihee of Roaring Fork in central Scottsdale. On Monday, he talked about how he got into the business and what it’s like to be entering his 10th year at the restaurant. Yesterday, he recalled family memories involving…
Mmmmm, macarons. I love them. Mostly, I’m in love with the way they look. It’s one of those desserts you actually feel bad biting into because you don’t want to destroy its beauty. That makes them perfect for Pinterest. They’re pricey, but after making them, I understand why. They’re finicky…
They roll up to hungry lunch crowds on Food Truck Friday at the Downtown Phoenix Market and into the New Times parking lot at 12th Street and Jefferson on the same day — but who said the mobile kitchen lunch bunch should stop there? From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m…
The 2012 James Beard Foundation Book Award finalists include several of our favorites. Any of yours? Chow Bella Book Club read one of the finalist’s books: Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. We’ll be reading another nominee, Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller,…
Don’t: add sparkling water (or 7Up) … That’s a spritzer or wine cooler and you’re either a girl in high school or reliving your glory days as a girl in high school.
In January, I reported that Fox Restaurant Concepts had plans to open a second Arizona location of its trendy Scottsdale gastropub, Culinary Dropout, in Central Phoenix (another location in Las Vegas was announced earlier this month.) Located at 5632 North Seventh Street (between Camelback and Bethany Home Roads), the restaurant…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
Attention, Food Network fans! This Sunday, Giada de Laurentiis, the Italian-American chef, host of Giada at Home, and author of six cookbooks, including Everyday Italian and Giada’s Family Dinners, is coming to Kierland Commons in Scottsdale. The event kicks off with a Q&A in the Center Plaza at 11:30 a.m.,…
So, how’s your mom’s cooking? C’mon, be honest. This year, in honor of Mother’s Day, Chow Bella really wants to know about your mother’s skill with a skillet, whether she’s a regular Julia Child or dinner always seem to go up in flames. So we’re holding a good, old fashioned…
Editor’s Note: An astute and undoubtedly well educated reader has pointed out that the Pantheon is actually a building in Rome whereas the Parthenon is the proper name for the temple constructed by the Greeks. We have corrected our caption to reflect this. Saganaki. You’ll probably want to go ahead…
The molcajete, the Mexican version of the mortar and pestle, isn’t particularly rare. For thousands of years, the three-legged round bowl, made from a single piece of rough, gray volcanic rock, has been used for making guacamole and salsas and for grinding spices. But at La Barquita, a Mexican restaurant…
Summer is upon the Phoenix area once again. Sure, the official start of summer is a couple of months away, but hearing people start every conversation with “Damn, it’s hot!” is our equivalent of the first robin of spring. It means different things to different people. For me, it means…
Yesterday, we shared the first part of our interview with Chef Brian Hulihee of Roaring Fork who celebrated his 10th anniversary working at the Old Town Scottsdale eatery in January. Today, we get personal as Hulihee shares some of his childhood memories and talks about his family…
Ahhhh, the banh mi. Such a tasty and cheap little Vietnamese sandwich. Soft French bread filled with carrots, jalapeños, cilantro, and a delightful meat. It’s one of our favorites, but we tend to overlook the little guys when we are at our favorite Vietnamese spots because, well, because there are…
The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, is coming to our frontier! On Saturday, April 28, Ree Drummond will be signing books and shaking hands with fans in celebration of her second book, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks Food From My Frontier,” at an event sponsored by Changing Hands Bookstore. The event will…
