I decide to go grocery shopping on a Sunday. And for a minute, I forget I am in Arizona. In the largest open-air marketplace in North America, Mercado de la Merced, located just a short distance from the original Aztec Tenochtitlán market in Mexico City, you stand among a sea…
Aieee! It’s the attack of the mutant killer salmon! Following deeply disturbing news reports of 115,000 farm-raised Atlantic salmon escaping in Washington state waters in 1999, and 300,000 salmon escaping in Maine waters in 2000, more than 200 grocers, restaurants and seafood distributors nationwide have called for a ban on…
As you enter the backdoor entrance of Durant’s restaurant in Phoenix, you cannot help but notice the hardworking cooks trying to hide their sweat and fatigue while giving you a friendly smile and muffled hello in broken English. The Valley’s kitchens are full of these men and women in white…
Roaring Fork chef Robert McGrath is offering his help to other local restaurateurs. Concerned that his competition appears to be challenged in their ability to name things, he says he’s willing to give assistance in baby monikers. Should parents find themselves stumped upon the birth of their child, McGrath says…
For chain Mexican restaurants, it’s bigger than New Year’s in terms of revenues. Their budgeting depends on it. Special events and promotions are brought in, the bartenders get ready to sell tons of Coronas and shots of Cuervo Gold tequila, and the local police are on extra alert. Welcome to…
Who’d have thought I’d find really terrific, wow-that’s-good meat loaf in a nightclub? But I did, served at Soho, right alongside potent concoctions like an espresso martini (a creamy, macho blend of Stoli Vanil, Kahlúa, Frangelico, espresso and Bailey’s) and a decor that’s downscale Goth. Black and burgundy velvet curtains,…
My tab for three martinis will be $22.50. Plus tax and tip. Ouch. Is it just me, or does meeting a friend for a drink these days require a pretty healthy wallet situation? The two of us plan to make the best of it, loitering at the bar for more…
New York chef Christopher Sells takes credit for creating the deep-fried Twinkie. It’s exactly as it sounds: Twinkies are dipped in vinegar-based fish-and-chips batter before being dunked in 400-degree oil. For a gourmet touch, he sprinkles the hot Twinkies with confectioner’s sugar and rests them atop a four-berry coulis. It’s…
My friend is visiting from Hawaii, the year-round paradise of Maui. He wants to embrace Arizona despite its bright full sunlight, he’s insisting, with a special emphasis on checking out all my favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall restaurants. (Maui is beautiful, but simple, satisfying Sonoran cuisine has yet to make it to…
Infamous Van Buren Street is notorious for prostitutes, dilapidated hotels and a quick drug deal. Or at least I hear it is. But next Sunday, when you are done mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool and reading the paper, load the family into the SUV and take an excursion to…
Whatever happened to sleeping through the summer? Remember how the Valley used to just shut down during the warm months, and to work was considered some sort of crime? Somebody tell that to our chefs today. The toqued talent has been busy lately, opening new operations and renovating existing ones…
This was to be my birthday dinner to remember, a landmark event staged last week at one of the world’s best restaurants, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Chez Panisse, of course, is the creation of legendary chef Alice Waters and, since it opened in 1971, it’s come to be known…
The sky is partly cloudy, the sun teasing me with its warmth on this chilly Sunday afternoon. There is a melodic murmur of vendors selling their goods, and buyers inspecting and haggling prices for future purchases. The feel of the hustle and bustle of a busy Mexican mercado, or marketplace,…
I just ate a $22 piece of smoked salmon. The deep-pink curl of cold fish was perhaps an ounce, maybe just a little more. It was slightly salty, fleshy firm, quite nice, really. Oh, and the water was excellent, too. The sparkling beverage came in an oversize glass tumbler, with…
I really should apologize to Cabo owner Chris Harter right now. I should be sharing with the dining public what a great restaurant he’s created (because he has given us a fun, creative, top-notch salute to Mexican seafood). But I can’t stop laughing. Because while Harter has successfully navigated the…
It was one of those beautiful Arizona nights. The sunset was doing its magical and colorful dance upon the Phoenix skyline, and the weather was perfectly inviting. Being indoors was unappealing to me. Like a comic-book hero, I hurriedly changed, leaving a trail of chef clothes on the floor for…
I’d been trying to write a cookbook. One day, just as I was on a roll, my fingers dancing on the keyboard, thoughts pouring from my head, I heard a thumping at the door. “Not now,” I muttered as I walked toward the demanding knock and opened the door. Sweat…
I know I’m opening a brand-new can of worms here — raw worms — by even broaching this topic, but I can’t help myself. Given the absurd number of passionate letters I got after writing about Tempe’s Rawsome! Cafe, I imagine now I’ll be hearing from equally frenzied pet owners…
My mom, as always, is thinking. And, as always, she’s come up with a great idea. “A laminated plastic sheet,” she muses, peering over the 13 little dishes of pickles with which our server has blanketed the table. “With pictures. Like they do for sushi, so we know what we’re…
Chris Bianco, legendary chef-owner of Pizzeria Bianco and its next-door Bar Bianco, is opening a bakery, snack and hangout spot in central Phoenix named Pane Bianco. Located in a converted 1940s pawnshop at Central and Indian School, the spot (it’s not a cafe, insists Bianco) will serve what the chef…
Her eyes are glowing brightly, the way they always do after that third glass of Merlot. It’s a brilliant, giddy look of edges erased, a realization that the craziness of another workweek will be survived. I drink in her expression as deeply and gladly as the Sauvignon Blanc I’m sipping…
