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. Think chefs don’t rely on a little help from the neighborhood supermarket to kick up…
The Guilty Pleasure: Jack’s Munchie Meals Where to Get It: Jack in the Box, locations Valleywide Price: $6. What it Really Costs: Staggering amounts of calories, fat, and sodium. If you’re in the target demographic, you won’t care. Jack in the Box doesn’t usually do much to advertise to folks…
Halo-Halo Kitchen is like a mullet gone the way of the Philippines: Filipino food business in the front, Filipino karaoke party in the back. Tables spread throughout the West Phoenix restaurant’s two decidedly distinct rooms allow for guests to decide which portion of the hairstyle, er, Halo-Halo they most associate…
A public health alert was issued Monday for raw chicken packaged at three Foster Farms facilities in California. Since March, some 278 people have gotten sick from salmonella Heidelberg infection, mainly in California, though the illness has reached a total of 18 states so far. Though the USDA was first…
Not many restaurants can say they have a “Marilyn Monroe table” and actually have a plausible story to back up the claim. But the legendary Durant’s steak house does, and it’s a little surprising. Talk to any of the waiters or employees and you’ll quickly realize that the majority of…
This week, we’re chatting with Blaise and DJ Aki of The Sushi Room in Chandler. The father-son team has been working together since as long as 18-year-old DJ Aki was old enough to help his dad with his catering business. On Monday, we got the scoop on how this Hawaiian…
Ramen may be all the rage in the Los Angeles and New York food scenes, but I’m quite certain that I know the next Big Thing. It isn’t Cambodian food, or Bolivian or even Australian (Outback has that covered, right?). It’s Canadian. That’s right. Canadian food will be huge in…
Got a hankerin’ for South African biscotti, a Cuban sandwich, or an Estonian roosamanna? You’ll want to check out Alo Cafe, the globally inspired breakfast and lunch spot in downtown Scottsdale. Courtesy of husband-and-wife team Hilja and Steve Martinez, who have roots in Estonia, Alo Cafe, named after Estonian composer…
The Guilty Pleasure: You name it, deep-fried, bacon-crusted, and/or chocolate covered. Where to Get It: The Arizona State Fair, October 11 through November 3 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) Price: Fair admission plus a few bucks. What It Really Costs: Your waistline is already quaking with fear, isn’t it? Guilty pleasure…
Many months ago, we allowed ourselves to get just a little bit excited about the prospect of a second location of Tempe’s Essence Bakery Cafe. Back then, we reported that owners Gilles Combes, husband of Essence Bakery chef and owner Eugenia Theodosopoulos, was “cautiously optimistic” about acquiring a space in…
If you haven’t been to Virtú Honest Craft in Scottsdale yet, you might want to make reservations soon. The tiny, wonderful cafe from chef-owner Gio Osso has been tapped by Esquire magazine’s restaurant features writer John Mariani as one of this year’s Best New Restaurants…
Blaise and DJ Aki Chefs The Sushi Room www.sushiroomaz.com 480-821-9000 A restaurant called The Sushi Room in Chandler probably isn’t where you’d expect to find some of the city’s most authentic Hawaiian cuisine. But thanks to the restaurant’s chef, Blaise Aki, this Japanese joint is turning out impressive versions of…
Autumn isn’t official until the first leaf falls from the shit-show tree, which means the now-infamous Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale is back in the news. Following up on the best/worst episode ever of Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares, in which Gordon Ramsay walks out on high-strung owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo,…
Central Phoenix residents watch out because Rancho Pinot and FnB’s Sacha Levine is invading your ‘hood for a series of pop-up dinner events this fall. Levine, who works full-time at Rancho Pinot in addition to working at FnB, is partnering with Colleen Frisbie, who works the front of the house…
On Saturday, September 28, Carefree Station, the nine-year-old Southwestern restaurant located in Carefree’s Spanish Village, closed for the weekend citing “unforeseen circumstances beyond our control” via their Facebook page. By last Wednesday, Carefree Station still had not opened its doors. A representative for the restaurant, owned by Robert and Linda…
What’s happening at Noca these days? The better question may be what isn’t. Eliot Wexler, owner of the venerated restaurant in the Biltmore area, tells me that, in March, executive chef Claudio Urciuoli went to San Francisco to further his baking skills at the San Francisco Baking Institute. That decision,…
This Saturday, October 5 we’re hosting a blow out party to celebrate our Best of Phoenix issue. And if you don’t already have your tickets, unfortunately you’re out of luck. As of yesterday the 14th annual Best of Phoenix A’fare is officially sold out. For those who got your tickets…
Wok Box, the quick-service Asian eatery that invites its customers to “Take a walk down the delicious side of Asia!” (spoiler alert: not a real geographical location) opened its first Arizona store in Scottsdale in January of this year. But the eight-year-old Canadian-founded company with 70 franchises worldwide is hungry…
When a new spot opens in town, we can’t wait to check it out — and let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that…
The first time I ate shrimp, I was with my father. It was 1972; I was 10, and Dad’s youngest brother, my Uncle John, was visiting from New Orleans. Dad wanted to take John out to dinner at someplace fancy, and so we drove all the way downtown, from the…
We’re all about spreading our love for the bean among the several independent coffee shops that have made it a mission to deliver a bold, and aesthetically delightful, cup. Bringing some coffee cool to Central Phoenix’s Coronado ‘hood is Mud Dauber Coffee — part of an insectual group of businesses…
Chef Ken Arneson of Rico’s American Grill at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak created a garden and started composting green waste via Singh Farms upon his arrive three years ago. The restaurant’s patio has a large garden and it serves as inspiration and educational backdrop for the Garden Lunch Series…
