Cave Creek Balloon Festival Saturday, January 4 The fifth-annual Cave Creek Balloon Festival will bring glowing hot air balloons to the Rancho Mañana Golf Course. The event, organized in part by Tonto Bar and Grill, will include live music, food, cocktails, beer, and wine. Food vendors will include The Buffalo…
At Sunnyslope’s Let It Roll Bowl, the days of mole and tlayudas sharing the same space as strikes and spares is no more. Last month, Oaxaca Restaurant, the Mexican eatery inside the vintage bowling alley at 8925 North 12th Street, pulled up stakes, moving into a new space in North…
Royal Coffee Bar, owner and architect Hayes McNeil’s shop of expertly made espresso drinks and fresh pastries, has come to downtown Phoenix — again. Originally opened in 2006 at Second Avenue and Jackson Street, Royal eventually moved to downtown’s Phoenix Public Market, where it shared space with the Phoenix Urban…
If you were just thinking to yourself how fast the past year flew by, wait until you check out our list of the year’s restaurant openings and closings. Can you believe it’s been 10 months since we welcomed Doug Robson’s Otro Cafe onto the scene? And a whole year since…
Grabbing a candy bar is always one of the tastiest ways to get a little burst of energy. For a serious jolt, the Caramel Toffee Nut Mocha at Urban Beans in Central Phoenix has enough sweet ingredients to get you in high-energy mode and you’ll feel like you’re drinking a…
Listen up, Valley chefs, cooks, and caterers: Do you have the ability to make something out of nothing? Is your personality as memorable as your food? Do you know what the f*ck a grocery store is? If you answered yes to these questions, you could win up to $20,000 on…
Yep, 2014 is coming on strong. Might we suggest that taking a class on growing food or other earthy practices is easier than losing weight — and more fun, too. It might even help you get in shape. Here are several great classes to sign up for now with a…
In Chow Bella’s new comic, Wait or Die, we tell the stories of waiters and waitstaff from restaurants around the Valley. Submit your stories here: waitordie@newtimes.com — and be sure to let us know if you wish to remain anonymous…
Welcome to Chow Bella’s Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you’d like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. With the New Year now officially underway, it’s tough not to reflect on life lessons…
Welcome to “Schaefer,” in which Eric Schaefer — a local guy with a big (but discerning) appetite and a sense of humor to match — takes on the Phoenix food scene. For my last column of 2013, I’m sharing with you a secret. No, it’s nothing terribly earth-shattering or lascivious,…
The Guilty Pleasure: Fresh-Baked Buns on Six Dollar Thickburgers Where To Get It: Carl’s Jr. locations Valleywide Price: Five or six bucks What It Really Costs: These burgers hover around a thousand calories each. Good grief. Over the past year or two, the brass at Carl’s Jr. has made some…
What were we doing a year ago? We were waiting on news about that second restaurant from Citizen Public House owners Bernie Kantak, Andrew Fritz, and mixologist Richie Moe. And we didn’t know it yet, but were headed for a cold snap that would cost local farmers and restaurants thousands…
Set your DVRs to “lively roundtable restaurant discussions,” folks. The new season of Check, Please! Arizona, the Emmy Award-winning series in which Arizona food fans review locally owned restaurants, premieres at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 2, on KAET Channel 8. Hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef Robert McGrath, the fourth…
Just over a month following the split between ex-Kai chef Michael O’Dowd and partner Ed Leclere of Vivid Lifestyle Concepts (VLC), Renegade in North Scottsdale has shuttered. First opened in May under the moniker Renegade by MOD, O’Dowd and Leclere’s restaurant featured an eclectic menu of re-invented foods from around…
There have been a few changes this year at our beloved Valley Permaculture Alliance (VPA). The public is mostly familiar with the public programs the VPA sponsors like the Tour de Coops and the Shade Tree program in conjunction with APS and SRP, and there are many classes and programs…
Where will folks in Arcadia go for 20- and 14-inch pizzas made in a hearth-stone oven? Giant Rustic Pizza hopes it will be 3945 East Camelback Road (formerly Taco del Mar) in the Arcadia Village Shopping Center. The second location of the takeout and delivery restaurant from John Wunder, owner…
For those who may be wondering about the fate of the little building at 4140 North Seventh Avenue in Central Phoenix’s Melrose District, here’s your answer: burritos. As of this week, Phoenix Burrito House has opened its doors in the former space of The Fry Bread House, the 2012 winner…
The popular Chili’s location in downtown Tempe will close its doors on January 8, ending a 25-year run as one the area’s most stable restaurants. Located at the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive since 1989, Chili’s Tempe lasted through several periods of immense change in the downtown…
The Guilty Pleasure: Bacon Portabella Melt on Brioche Where to Get It: Wendy’s, locations Valleywide Price: $4.69, give or take What It Really Costs: Welcome to Sodium City. Population: you. It’s a little odd to watch major food outlets synch up with each other. Quick-service restaurants don’t do anything on…
Besides having one of the longest and fiercest rivalries in baseball (see: “Curse of the Bambino”), the competition between Boston and New York has also included summer hangouts, bars, and even marathons. So, you know how you were saying, “Why can’t these two major U.S. cities take their fight to,…
Charity Pie Night Friday, December 27 Christmas is over, but you still have a chance to get into the spirit of giving during the holiday season. From 7 to 9 p.m. Friday head to Practical Art for its monthly Charity Pie Night. A $5 donation will get you a slice…
Phoenix folk have been buzzin’ since hearing former Lux baker Lindsay Magee would be opening her own little sandwich shop featuring her fresh-baked bread. We’ve even spotted some people peeking in the windows of the shop-in-progress off McDowell Road just west of 16th Street trying to catch any glimpse of…
