Things must be going well for the wine industry — or at least for the vino superstore Total Wine & More. The retail chain is stocked from floor to ceiling with thousands of bottles from around the world, along with beer, booze, cigars, and bar-friendly accoutrements. Today’s the opening of…
Like any bartending pro, Mona Watkins has a cadre of regulars and knows their preferred poison by heart. Thing is, a good chunk of her return customers are bit more noteworthy than your garden-variety barfly or martini sipper. As one of the main barkeeps and manager at the Rhythm Room,…
Armed with a super sharp sushi knife and some of the freshest fish to be found in a desert, sushi chef Shin Toyoda takes Arizona tastebuds to Tokyo, one happy customer at a time.Toyoda got his first job in a restaurant when he was 16 as a busboy and has…
When rustic American restaurant St. Francis finally opened its doors for Labor Day weekend, I think Phoenix food fanatics heaved a huge sigh of relief. Why? To say the place was highly anticipated is an understatement. First, take a look at chef-owner Aaron Chamberlin’s résumé. After working in Washington, D.C.,…
There’s nothing like candy to release your inner 5 year old. From all day suckers to wickedly sour candies strong enough to make a grown-up wince, there’s a sticky sweet treat to satisfy every taste bud. Nowadays, it seems like nostalgia reigns supreme as quirky candy from the good old…
With Digestif being the latest in a line of popular Phoenix-area restaurants to close, we’re not exactly holding our breaths as the ecomonic forecasters declare the recession over. But there are definitely a few good signs here in Phoenix, especially in the restaurant industry. New eateries are popping up all over…
I can only go so long without a Gallo Blanco fix. Even after having been there too many times to count, I still get indecisive when I look at the menu, just because I want one of everything. So I dragged my colleagues there for a meeting yesterday, and once…
Seems like there’s no end to the gourmet burger trend. Delux has been getting the lion’s share of the attention for the past few years, but come December, there will be a new kid in the neighborhood. Headed by chef Matt McLinn (former chef-owner of Methode Bistro) and owned by…
The folks behind Crave Arizona set the bar really high with the event’s debut last year (it was originally dubbed Eats3), but round two, set for October 22 to 24, promises to be an even bigger culinary blowout, featuring 50 high-profile Arizona chefs and a handful of celebrity guests who’ll…
Fans of the Big Butter Burger at Matt’s Big Breakfast can rejoice. This Friday night, Matt and Ernie Pool’s homage to the all-American classic will be the featured flavor of the week at Welcome Diner, as owner Sloane McFarland continues his series of weekly culinary one-offs. “We’re really excited about this,”…
There’s nothing like candy to release your inner 5 year old. From all day suckers to wickedly sour candies strong enough to make a grown-up wince, there’s a sticky sweet treat to satisfy every taste bud. Nowadays, it seems like nostalgia reigns supreme as quirky candy from the good old…
I know there are some longtime Chow Bella readers who go crazy for bouillabaise, so this blog’s for you. Petite Maison PR gal Wendy Goldman just dropped a line to tell me about the latest menu change-up at the bite-sized Scottsdale French restaurant. Although their whole fish for two (so…
Chef Payton Curry had planned on staying with Digestif through this coming weekend (for the Crave culinary festival), but last night was his final turn in the kitchen there. Curry recently gave notice at the Old Town restaurant to make a move to Tempe’s Caffe Boa. Spaghetti Western “buzz and…
Will it be the gourmet panini restaurant, inspired by Ino in New York City, that he’d been trying to open before the economy took a dive? Or will it be an entirely new concept? It remains to be seen, but Prado general manager Pavle Milic — one of the city’s…
We love the East Coast-style pizza at Mamma Mia, but this latest special has us thinking twice about our order. With all of those fried goodies shoved into a cheesesteak, that sandwich has got to be one fat bitch. Do we dare eat one?…
Thanks to props from Oprah, Martha, and all the culinary mags, Pizzeria Bianco’s wood-fired pies are about as famous as it gets. But the wait at the restaurant is just as legendary. On a good night, you might wait an hour and a half, killing a bottle or two at Bar…
The human sense of smell is one of our strongest survival tools. Without our olfactory perception, we might eat rotten food, not shower for days, and fart in church. We are biologically engineered with the ability to deduct that something that smells like crap probably tastes like crap, too. I almost didn’t want to take…
Guten tag, German food fanatics! If you haven’t been getting your fix of schnitzel, sauerkraut, and strudel, head on over to Tonto Bar & Grill in Cave Creek for their Oktoberfest celebration.German chef Ernst Andreas was brought in from Tonto’s sister restaurant, Stables Ranch Grille, to prepare authentic Deutschland cuisine…
Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Chef Payton Curry to Leave Digestif for Expanding Caffe…
Yesterday, luxury department store chain Barneys New York opened its first Arizona location ever at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Along with high-end fashion Barneys brings Scottsdale the culinary creations of Fred’s Restaurant. This marks the third Fred’s restaurant with the other two belonging to Barney’s in New York and Chicago. See a…
This Sunday brings another chance to eat, drink, and be merry in the name of charity. Taste of the Park, Litchfield Park’s third annual culinary festival, will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on October 18 in downtown Litchfield Park, at Old Litchfield Rd. and Wigwam Blvd. And it…
Seafood and sushi fanatics, rejoice. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to stuff yourself silly at Roka Akor’s decadent new Saturday brunch buffet. For $35, take a deep breath and dig in to five kinds of sushi rolls, such as the salmon avocado roll, as well as salads and appetizers like…
