By Michele Laudig Are you a chef? Are you a glutton for punishment? And are you willing to let brilliant British chef Gordon Ramsay rip you a new one on national television? If so, hit up the Hell’s Kitchen casting session from 5 to 10 p.m. next Tuesday, October 7,…
By PJ Standlee SanTan Brewery’s first ever Oktoberfest on Sept. 27 packed a crowd of hundreds to sample tasty beers from Arizona breweries, but the long lines, tiny tasting cups, and lack of lederhosen relegated the advertised German styled Oktoberfest to a lesser beer tasting event. While most happily suffered…
By Eddie Matney Chef Eddie Matney is the owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale…
There aren’t many places in town worse for dieters than the Indoor Swapmart near 27th Ave. & Camelback. Well, there’s the state fair. Or the Heart Attack Grill. But a recent costume-hunting excursion to the ‘Mart (don’t even ask…you’d guffaw like a schoolyard bully at my geekiness) had me prowling…
By Michele Laudig Tammie Coe. I’m an Obama girl myself, although I wouldn’t mind taking a big bite out of that shiny McCain-Palin cookie, too…
By Wynter Holden 27-year-old barista Joseph Boos comes off as an innocent Virgo-type, but there’s a Gemini duality brewing under the skin. His Jekyll side sings cheesy ‘80s pop tunes with his co-workers while dishing up lattes at Coffee Rush in Chandler, and speaks fluent “Starbuckanese” – though he gently…
By Eddie Matney Chef Eddie Matney is the owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale…
By Jonathan McNamara I haven’t enjoyed it (not entirely true) but lately I’ve been sucking down a lot of sweet-tasting beers in order to prevent you, the reader, from following in my sickeningly sweet foot steps. Though I’ve penned these saccharine-laced reviews in the hopes of assisting you in your…
By Amy Silverman If you were a teenage girl in Phoenix in the 1980s, chances are that you indulged more than once in Tokyo Express. The whole notion of (relatively) healthy fast food was a novelty at the time — except for the baked potato at Wendy’s, everything quick and…
By Jay Bennett I can never eat a “regular” pancake again after trying a few bites of the sweet potato pancakes at Lil’ Mama’s Soul Cafe, a little storefront eatery on Seventh Avenue halfway between Indian School and Camelback roads. The missus and I ducked into this unassuming little strip-mall…
By Michele Laudig Is it a bible? Is it a phonebook? Is it the September issue of W? No, it’s the New Times Best of Phoenix issue! The thing finally comes out today, and it is full of so much food and restaurant stuff that you won’t believe your eyes…
The restaurant name is so evocative: Imagine Spain. It has me thinking of a country that’s sophisticated, exciting, and naturally beautiful, where the good life is all about sharing fantastic food with friends in a warm, inviting atmosphere. “Convivial” is the word one of my pals used to describe the…
The perfect comfort food. By Sarah Fenske Every time I go to Cheese ‘n Stuff, the remarkable little deli/food shop on Central, I order the same thing. This is not the fault of the owners. They have an amazing variety of food here, from sandwiches made with Boar’s Head meats…
By Michele Laudig The 43-year-old chef who fed many happy customers at Different Pointe of View and Convivo and other Valley restaurants passed away last week in Dallas, Texas, according to an obituary today. How incredibly sad…..
By Amy Silverman And now we bring you a Special Election Edition of Gross Out! For years, the west Phoenix restaurant Pho Bang has touted itself as John McCain’s favorite Vietnamese joint. So we decided to research health inspections at Pho Bang and see if we can recommend it. Um,…
By Benjamin Leatherman The three-course meal personified. Lady Luck’s been smiling at me lately. No, I didn’t win the Powerball jackpot, or experience some other windfall. It’s just that things have seemingly been going my way lately. Like yesterday, for instance, when I was doing a full-tilt boogie around the…
By Michele Laudig So have you checked out any of the local restaurants participating in Arizona Restaurant Week? The first annual event got started on Saturday, and everybody was talking about it over the weekend. But don’t forget — it continues through the rest of this week. Technically that’s four…
By Amy Silverman Okay, I’m back to the whole glove thing. I stand by my previously stated opinion: Gloved hands do not equal clean hands. Consider these notes from a recent county inspection at Steamers, the sorta-hoity-toity seafood restaurant at the Biltmore Fashion Park: EMPLOYEE BREADING FISH WITH GLOVES THEN…
Dieters, beware! I’m about to reveal the greatest lie in dieting history. It’s bigger than the DaVinci code. More annoying than Palin’s “Troopergate” fiasco. Worse than imagined weapons of mass destruction. Are you ready? Here goes. Salads are often the most fattening items on a restaurant’s menu, especially when it’s…
By Michele Laudig Now this is different: A dessert shop specializing in rice pudding. You heard me. It’s a new joint at The Promenade in Scottsdale (southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright) called Miami Rice Pudding Co., and they serve up rice pudding in more flavors that…
By Eddie Matney Chef Eddie Matney is the owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale…
By Wynter Holden This week, we’re hunting for the elusive creature known as “The Good Guy” — a grown man who doesn’t drink, party or leer at women even when they’re half-dressed. The kind of guy you can bring home to mom. Some say he’s just a myth, but, with…
