No, the house that Johnny Chu built is not closing, as far as I know. But Fate is definitely in the midst of a name change, now that Chu’s effectively out of the picture. The signs out front have been taken down, and although employees still say “Thank you for…
Today, the torch passes to a new generation. But some will never forget certain meals enjoyed during the Bush Administration. On October 13, 2004, in an act some might consider tantamount to cannibalism (shame on you), President George Walker Bush dined on turkey-stuffed enchiladas at Dick’s Hideaway in Phoenix. (Dick’s…
So, the Cardinals beat the Eagles, and now Arizona residents get an unexpected perk for seeing their football team head to the Super Bowl: free fish tacos. Tomorrow, January 21, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill will give you a free taco anytime from 2:30 p.m. to close. Either plan on a…
Before the election, the stretch of Roosevelt around 6th Street seemed unusually busy, no doubt due to the Obama campaign headquarters located in an old house, amid the art galleries and shops. Brilliantly, pastry guru Tammie Coe — whose shop is right across the street — came up with Obama logo…
The Arizona Cardinals headed to the Super Bowl, and unless you’re prepared to brave rowdy crowds at a hellishly over-packed sports bar, you’re probably going to be headed to someone’s house to watch the game. If you’re looking for something fun to bring, try making a fruit-topped Arizona flag cake…
How nice of them. The folks at Humble Pie are celebrating their own one-year anniversary by giving us the deal: half-price pizzas, available all day long, on Tuesday, January 20. That way, if you’re undecided about whether to get the one with Schreiner’s sausage, roasted fennel, mozzarella, and tomato sauce,…
The makers claim that a 2-ounce shot of 5 Hour Energy contains “350% the energy” of a Red Bull, but they don’t disclose the actual caffeine content. We estimate it to be about 80 mg, or the equivalent of a Red Bull. The shots also contain 40 mg of vitamin B6 and 500 mcg of B12.
These days, restaurant competition is so tough that chefs can’t just write a menu, keep it static, and ride the wave. The good ones know you need to stay on top of what’s fresh and in season, and find a way to work as much of it into the rotation as…
The new cookbook from Alinea certainly topped a lot of Christmas lists, and some of us were lucky enough to get it. For those not completely obsessed with molecular gastronomy, Alinea is the hoity-toity Chicago restaurant that’s famous for its ueberly deconstructed food. The twenty-five course menus include oddball delectables such…
If there is one way in which beer falls flat to its grape-based partner in alcoholic frivolity, wine, it is in its lack of ceremony. Popping a cork, smelling, swirling, these are all things enjoyed by wine connoisseurs with the regularity of a religious ritual. Beer is about drinking. It…
What better way to show your support for the Arizona Cardinals than to eat an edible version of their mascot? It’s sort of like how ingesting certain animals is believed to give you the power of that animal in Asian cultures. But instead of eating monkey brains to be smarter,…
You may not be signed up to compete in this Sunday’s PF Chang’s Rock ‘n Roll Marathon — billed by PF’s PR people as the largest-ever marathon/half-marathon — but that doesn’t mean you can’t pig out at the Health & Fitness Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center, free and open…
Last night at dinner, discussion came up about whether it’s a good idea to go back to school during a recession. Of course it is! You’re going to be toughing it out on a student budget whether the economy’s good or bad, so you may as well bide your time,…
For the last three and a half years, Rhonda McDonald and Kathy VanDerworp have been working as coffee vendors at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, but they’ve recently taken the leap into full-time coffee shop ownership. Coffee & Tea Express (5835 W. Palmaire Ave., Ste. E, in Glendale) has been open since…
Things are starting to perk up downtown. Randall Denton, who managed the Willow House for three years, has a two-month-old coffee roasting business called Xanadu Coffee Co., located behind the former “new” Willow House space on Van Buren (call 480-220-8779 for info). His clients include the Hotel San Carlos, Paisley…
Among our New Year’s food resolutions (yours, too, most likely): Cook more. And eat more healthfully. Trader Joe’s keeps both promises with a fresh, pre-packaged, pre-washed and cut mix of several Southern greens — mustard, turnip, collard, and spinach — all for $2.49. Greens get points from nutritionists as a…
Svetlana and Abram Sulaymanov opened Russian Market over a decade ago in a dusty strip mall on the corner of 19th Avenue and Northern. Since then, they’ve been bringing the best dishes from the homeland to a hungry, and often homesick, community of ex-pats, immigrants, and globetrotting foodies. From beers,…
I’ve had it. This week I’ve read menus from three different fancy restaurants, all pimping their “kurobota” or “korubuta” or some other misspelling of kurobuta, a word you shouldn’t use unless you expect at least half of your diners to know what the hell it is in the first place…
The man and his oven (photo courtesy of vincentsoncamelback.com) One of the Valley’s superstar chefs, Vincent Guerithault, has a relatively new addition to his benevolent empire: pizza. Vincent’s Back Door opened last summer with Friday-night-only service behind his Vincent Market Bistro, next to his Vincent’s on Camelback, near the corner…
After six months with the lights off, the freestanding building that formerly housed Dish — part of the Shops at Gainey Village, at the southeast corner of Scottsdale and Doubletree Ranch Roads — is about to get a second wind. A new company out of Sacramento plans to open The Kitchen By Good Eats…
When it comes to playing hooky from work, you’d better be on your game – particularly if you work in a busy restaurant. Where my own exploits are concerned, experience has proven the best teacher. Susceptible to bouts of Cactus League-triggered spring fever, I’ve called in sick one day and…
What I’m trying to do is guide you through a series of date possibilities — all related to food. This week, we’ll venture out of the kitchen. I always take a first date out for buffalo wings. Yes, chicken wings! You can tell a lot about a person by how…
