Phoenix Public Market’s Indoor Addition Underway Downtown

Downtown urbanites will no longer have to brave the summer heat for their local veggies and fruits come September. The folks behind the Phoenix Public Market, the Saturday farmer’s market for the downtown set, are making progress on the construction of its indoor incarnation, the Urban Grocery and Wine Bar…

Local Spots to Source Gourmet Salts

Need a salt fix? Never tried vanilla sea salt? Want to try salt on ice cream? (Trust us, it’s a winner.) Salt has moved out of the cupboard to take its place as the seasoning of choice, so if there’s no sea salt to be found in your house, it’s…

Majerle’s Sports Grill Opening in Goodyear

The (far) West Valley is on its way up — the Valley food chain, that is. Next Monday, Majerle’s Sports Grill will open its third location at 13375 W. McDowell Rd., just west of Dysart Rd. in Goodyear. Majerle’s, which is named for (and owned by) Dan Majerle, the three-time…

Your Meal Ticket to Exotic Meats and More

Ever since we posted Posh’s recipe for kangaroo steaks last week, we’ve been hearing requests for unusual meat entrees. Ever tried fried gator? How about elk? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we track down some of Phoenix’s more exotic restaurant (m)eats. Valley diners may feel hard-pressed to find…

Yelp Eats $25 Prix-Fixe Menu Starts Today

OK, Phoenix, indulge a little. We’ve been telling you about it all summer, and today the week-long event is finally kicking off. All week (until Sunday, July 26) fifteen of the Valley’s best restaurants are just asking you to let them do the dirty work for you. Yelp.com has recruited…

An Obsession with Salt

“You want what for Christmas?” My mom says this every year. And every year my request is the same – salt. I love salt in every incarnation — the weirder the better, whether it’s pink, blue, black, smoked, or infused. Salt can turn the blandest dish into something special. It’s…

Richardson’s, RIP

As the remains of one of our favorite Phoenix restaurants smolder, we are thinking back to good times had at Richardson’s. This place was (and hopefully will soon be again) an institution in a town with far too few. For evidence, we reached into the not-so-way-back machine for this gem,…

Joe’s Real BBQ: Summertime Secret

Summertime is on full blast, which means that we’re definitely in the midst of barbecue season. To tell the truth, though, while there’s nothing more satisfying than serving up juicy burgers, plump franks, and roasted veggies to pals, grilling under a hateful Phoenix sun can be less than ideal. (Not that…

Monday Night Martha: Bagna Cauda

Bagna what? We found this recipe nosing around Epicurious. It’s an anchovy fondue-style dip from the Piedmont region of Italy. According to Wikipedia, bagna cauda means “hot sauce” and is typically eaten in the fall or winter. We’re one of those odd ducks that adores anchovies — all canned fish,…

Caffiend: Copper Star Coffee’s Coconut Mocha

There’s something about old, recycled gas stations we just love. Maybe it’s the quaint feel of days gone by, or the security of being surrounded by hearty brick-and-mortar, but whatever it is, Copper Star Coffee’s got the cute, indie coffee cafe vibe down pat. The place still features  gas pumps…

Summer Beer Quest Week Eight

Another week, another three beers to put to the Summer Beer Quest test. This week we might up with Top’s Liquor owner Greg Eccles to see what brews he fancies during the Summer months. We also got the skinny on a new bar he’s opening up at the end of the…

Trente-Cinq 35 Closes

Chef and owner Lionel Geuskens has closed Trente-Cinq 35, the Belgian restaurant he opened in 2006, according to the Arizona Republic. Geuskens is reportedly suffering from health problems, and hopes to reopen in a few months time. The restaurant, which was located at 2333 North Seventh Street, trumpeted fare from…

Brew Review: Dogfish Head’s Sah’tea

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of attending the Draft Magazine Microbrew Festival at Turf Paradise. It was a fairly great time marred by one great disappointment. I ran into Louis Dolgoff, Arizona’s Dogfish Head sales manager who explained to me that he was in possession of Sah’tea, a…

Tops Liquor to Open Beer and Wine Bar in Tempe

Tempe residents will soon have a new watering hold to consider when attempting to decide how to spend those precious drinking hours between leaving work hitting the snooze button.The good folks at Tops Liquor on University are opening a wine and beer bar called “Taste of Tops” right next door…

This Week In Chow Bella

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 Chat: Josh Hebert, Posh Bashas’ Closing 10 Grocery…

Chef Fukuda at the Welcome Diner Saturday Night

If you’re jonesing for the yummy eats of the amazing (and James Beard Award winning) chef Nobuo Fukuda, head down to The Welcome Diner this Saturday. Chef Fukuda will be cooking up Japanese street food from 8 p.m. to midnight. Chef Fukuda operated Sea Saw, which closed in June. He’s…

Tutto Opens in Scottsdale

Valley chef Joseph Gutierrez wastes no time. He’s the new owner of Tutto, an Italian restaurant at 7114 East Stetson Drive in Scottsdale. If the address rings a bell that’s because it’s the old spot for Digestif, which is opening soon (but not that soon) across the street in See…

Smeeks Candy Shop Opens Downtown

It’s nice to see a price tag on anything that reads 5 cents. It calls to mind a time way back (a time few among us can remember, but perhaps have read of in books) when gas cost 20 cents a gallon and kids said, “Shucks!” But that’s what you’ll…

Beauty Food: Mango Hair Masque

Dinner’s not the only thing you can whip up in the kitchen. Yeah, we all know it’s important to eat your fruits and veggies, but what if you slap them right on your skin? Does that count as a serving? I think so. With a few ingredients most folks keep…

Recipe: the CenPhopolitan from SideBar

There are 57 vodkas, two shelves of tequila and 50 different kinds of beers taking up the limited shelf space of SideBar in downtown Phoenix. For a bar that’s about the size of a college dorm room, that’s not too shabby. OK, a college suite. With house-made flavors and fresh-squeezed…