God bless my grandmother. Well into her 70s, she taught herself how to read by reading the Bible. Yes, this beautiful little wrinkled and toothless abuelita was a powerful and moral woman. But she had one vice: watching lucha libre, Mexican wrestling. Lucha libre literally means “free fight” or freestyle…
Bite Me takes St. Patrick’s Day very, very seriously. She’s got some Irish in her lineage and whenever she has the chance to be, ya know, a traditional gal, she jumps on it. Bite Me prepped for her trek to Rosie McCaffrey’s by cookin’ up some corned beef delights to…
Q. So where is the new Fusion restaurant you mentioned last week, really? A. I trusted the phone company directory. My bad. The two-week-old Fusion is at 4441 North Buckboard Trail in Scottsdale. For folks who also found only the fax number in directory service, the right phone number is…
No, I haven’t seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The premise rankles my sensibilities way too much (really, a chick is dried up and desperate because she isn’t married by 30?). Even though the public at large seems to love it, I have to keep in mind that this is…
Several years ago the Coronado Homeowners Association commissioned a mural as an effort to promote and clean up the historic Coronado neighborhood. Located on 16th Street just south of Thomas, the mural today forms a backdrop for one of the dirtiest bus stops in Phoenix. Its scenes move from downright…
The hook was a good one: the opportunity to hang out with a dozen of the nation’s favorite celebrity chefs and purchase autographed copies of their cookbooks. Yet really, the only truly big name in attendance at the recent Scottsdale League of Arts fund raiser was Jeremiah Tower, chef/owner of…
Bite Me has a loving, trustful friend who didn’t know what he was in for when he offered to treat your humble narrator to a birthday dinner just after she hit the Valley. The poor sap suggested a swanky joint, not realizing that, when she’s on a freebie, Bite Me…
You know there is something wrong when a gringo knows more about your own culture than you do. I felt this way about chef Rick Bayless. How can this skinny, freckle-faced guy be telling me how they eat in Mexico? Although Señor Bayless does an excellent job and is very…
Q.I’m stuck planning my office’s happy-hour party. Where’s a place that’s fun without being too loud and overrun with drunks? A.The only drunks at Cabo will be the ones you invite. The Mexican restaurant at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard offers private parties on its patios, for up…
The best place to eat in all of Arizona is a tiny spot hidden away in Paradise Valley. It’s got limited seating: just one formal table, with eight chairs. If need be, overflow can fit more casually at a three-chair glass-topped nook table, or, in a real pinch, four diners…
The last thing Bite Me wanted to do last week was slosh around in the rain looking for the really hard-to-find AZ88. (Drought? What freakin’ drought?) She got the address and directions easily enough, but then found herself discombobulated in a Scottsdale parking lot. She called the restaurant on her…
“Excuse me, sir,” I said as I waved my arms, desperately trying to get the man’s attention. “You have a little something on your forehead,” I whispered, trying not to embarrass this complete stranger. But I turned out to be the one who felt stupid. Ah, Ash Wednesday, that day…
Q.What’s happening with the new Richardson’s place you mentioned, the Rokery? A. It’s still coming, from Richardson Browne, owner of Richardson’s and Dick’s Hideaway in Phoenix. The smokehouse at 16th Street and Maryland will focus on steaks and fish (full meals, not à la carte) with meats from the same…
Last week, the Cactus League got off to a soggy start, and so did my efforts to find decent eats near one of the meccas of springtime desert baseball, the Peoria Sports Complex. The results, you’ll know if you’ve been paying attention, were disappointing: Despite a superabundance of eateries near…
Urchins, octopus and eel, oh my! Bite Me shore do love her some sushi. But such was not always the case. She’s only taken to it in the last few years. Prior to that, the idea of chomping on raw fish didn’t do much for her. Now that she’s been…
For the first time in my life, I’m wishing that I adored baseball. Specifically, baseball as played by two teams: the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners. Because then I could be as excited as the rest of the world seems to be over the new, improved northwest Valley,…
Salsa. Oh, how I remember it. Not the condiment. The dance. Salsa, disco, no matter what kind of music – there was a time when I always had a dance partner. But it’s funny how time passes and things change. Butts get bigger, tits sag and going out dancing becomes…
Bite Me nearly wet herself the first time she heard one of her new Phoenix pals say – with a straight face, even – that the traffic around here bummed him out. When her nose had stopped running and the laugh-shakes had finally settled down to small convulsions, your ever-lovin’…
When I was a little girl, my family would take monthly trips to Tijuana, and my mouth would water the entire trip in anticipation of the culinary treat I was about to enjoy. As soon as we crossed the border, the Salcido family would be in an eating frenzy over…
Bite Me’s been encouraged to check out Hamburger Mary’s since she pulled into town. The gay joint on North Seventh Street is supposed to have amazing food and the most delicious atmosphere ever. So she decided to see what all the fuss was about and attended Gong Show Karaoke night…
The morons who built my backyard fire pit had everything figured out to the last detail, except for one thing. They forgot that fire – a critical component of any fire pit, I would think – is hot. The first time I used the contraption, it collapsed. The weak concrete…
Q. I’m looking for teppanyaki in Chandler, preferably near the new mall. A. The new Hon macHi Grill (yes, that’s its name) is just north of Chandler Fashion Center at 3450 West Chandler Boulevard. The chefs fire up the teppanyaki tables for dinner, with choices like calamari, chicken, shrimp and…
