When brands go bust, local franchises suffer. In 2008 alone, seven of America’s best-known brands in the food industry have filed for bankruptcy in reaction to the slowing economy — leaving their local franchises fighting to stay afloat. In a new report from CNN, the pattern is clear. From the…
Another local gem has shut its doors recently: Second Line Creole Caribbean Cuisine. At least, we can probably assume that from the “closed” sign in the window during its usual business hours, and the disconnected phone number. New Orleans native Duma Shange had opened the south Phoenix restaurant back in…
When Barry Solomon was 12 years old, he got a job in a restaurant. Apparently, they let you do things a little prematurely in small towns like the one he came from in northern California. “I didn’t want to be a shop rat the rest of my life,” he says,…
Barry Solomon is a lot like the bar he works behind: Cool. Merc Bar is so cool, in fact, there’s barely a sign marking its existence outside the door. “It’s sort of — you either know we’re here or you don’t,” Solomon says. That message of exclusivity resonates inside as…
Family-style Italian chain Buca di Beppo is launching an eClub — and they want you to join. What’s in it for you? Free stuff, of course! They’re offering a free appetizer just for joining, plus free desserts or appetizers on your birthdays or anniversaries until you’re…well, really old. Discounts total…
We’ll admit it. A childhood built on eating Mexican food from the unending selection of generic joints strewn about Houston, Texas suburbia did not prepare us for the glory of New Mexican…er…Mexican. That’s why we’re looking forward to filling our mouths with chilies courtesy of Si Señor Restaurant as featured in…
It’s not over ’til it’s over. An earlier report by the Republic was premature; Canal at SouthBridge hasn’t closed quite yet. It will continue dinner service today through Saturday. Chef Justin Beckett will be offering the regular menu as well as a special $25 prix fixe menu…
In this week’s Forking column, Colin Redding extols the benefits of being romantically involved with a “healthy, freaky chick.” The relationship eventually fizzled out, but the sautéed spinach recipe he picked up before he was sent packing continues to sizzle in Redding’s kitchen. Simple Sautéed Spinach One bag baby spinach…
We really should have started a restaurant death pool this summer. If only I’d been so organized, I would’ve put Canal at the top of the list — based on all the rumors of the SouthBridge restaurant’s excruciatingly sloooooow business. The place just closed, reports the Republic, likely soon to…
Toot, toot! It’s summertime in Phoenix, meaning the streets are as deserted as a Wisconsin cul-de-sac in December. We’re all inside, watching TV. I’ve been watching a lot of animated movies — my Blockbuster account is full of them: Madagascar, Chicken Run, Monsters, Inc. I’ve also settled into watching a…
You’d think that my recent run-in with a jalapeño at a central Phoenix hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint would’ve killed my appetite for the spicy stuff. It did. That hideously hot little bugger brought me down within 15 minutes of eating it and wrecked me for a day. To be sure, I…
There’s been a lot of talking and tweeting today about yesterday’s blog post on the return of Counter Culture, this time, we’ve heard, to a prime location on Mill Avenue. Andres Yuhnke, co-founder of Counter Culture, told Chow Bella earlier this week that his business was a lock to reemerge on Mill. While…
With one post of her Facebook and another on her Twitter account yesterday, Lisa Giungo (of Lisa G Cafe Wine Bar) raised $250 and two plane tickets for her longtime friend and colleague, Lionel Geuskens. And that was just in one day, “so I know I can get him home,”…
It was less than 3 weeks ago that we announced they were downsizing. Valley foodies barely had time to pine away for the culinary stylings of Chef Payton Curry before word spread of the reopening of Valley favorite Digestif, tonight at 5. Reservations are coming in quickly, but if you…
The travels of Deborah Knight are documented in her recipes. She’s visited almost every continent (Australia and Antarctica seem to be the only two left off her list) and she’s getting ready to head off again, when her restaurant, Mosaic closes for two months on August 1st. The chef, who…
Remember all those eager reports in the news last fall ballyhooing the arrival of a Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market just a mile from downtown Tempe? The grocery chain was applying to the Tempe City Council for a liquor license. It sounded delightful, but more than six months later the…
Monday we introduced you to Sloane Burwell’s salt obsession. Yesterday we told you where to get your own salts. Today we’ll put those various salts to the culinary test. Want a perfect recipe for your newfound salt obsession? Try gravlax. Chef Carol Blonder, resident chef and culinary advisor at Sur…
Urban Cookies vs. Cupcakes It’s been several years since the cupcake craze ignited. According to most food fad timelines, cupcakes should have jumped the shark by now, but they obviously haven’t because there’s still no shortage of frou-frou cupcake boutiques around the Valley. That’s fine with us — what…
CenPho’s very own Phoenix Public Market can officially call itself a foodie destination. Epicurious.com, the Web site, information hub and social forum “for people who love to eat,” has made the Phoenix Public Market it’s first stop on their second annual summer Farmers’ Market tour. Our very own Southwestern local…
The FAEMA E-61 was a revolution in espresso when it was presented in 1961. It represented the sleek design ushered in with the 60s — and introduced the new technology that made espresso better for good. Today, there is an E-61 machine operating right here in the Valley — at…
It seems that everyone’s favorite 24 hour coffeehouse is on the verge of a comeback. The Counter Culture Cafe used to offer music, art, and locally-made goods and clothing along with coffee, light snacks, sandwiches, and wifi available at all hours until they were unceremoniously booted from their home on the northwest…
Deborah Knight would simply not make it on Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen. It’s not that she’s not good enough. She’s just too nice. She teaches rather than barking orders, which may be why her employees call her “Mom.” And they tend to stick around for five or six years — an…
