Sure, we’ve been to plenty of restaurants, but without actually working in the food and beverage industry, it’s hard to understand what goes into making a restaurant tick. If you’ve always been curious about what happens behind those kitchen doors or how the business really works, then we’ve got some answers…
Chandler residents, you’ve got a new destination for salads, wraps, and other healthy fare. Last week, Crisp Greens opened its doors at 250 South Arizona Avenue, near the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Chicago Street. The restaurant comes courtesy of Brandon Fisher and Darron Moffatt, who enlisted help from chef…
Sorry, sailors, but it looks like you have one less place to get your seafood fix. As of earlier this month, The Yacht Club in Arcadia has closed its doors for good. The restaurant, which occupied a high-profile location on Indian School Road near 44th Street, has been dark for…
Terri Nacke thinks sugar is the new salt. Of course, as the owner of Terre Botanicals, a local company that makes aromatic sugars, she’s somewhat biased. But with sugar getting such a bad rap these days, Nacke’s trying to revitalize its popularity, to bring attention to what she calls the “new…
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…
Don’t act like you’re not excited, Phoenix. Because the truth is, ever since we told you Lou Malnati’s was coming to the Valley last year, we know you’ve been dreaming about Chicago-style, deep-dish pizzas with gooey cheese, pepperoni, and beautiful, buttery crust. The good news, pizza lovers, is the wait…
Things rarely stay the same in the restaurant industry. Whether it be a remodel, a menu overhaul, or a new executive chef, sometimes time and transitions mean we want to give a restaurant a second look. A Double Take, unlike a full review, revisits restaurants to check in and check…
Chef Tomaso Maggiore’s namesake restaurant has long been a fixture of the Camelback Corridor, thanks in no small part to its prominent location on the northeast corner of 32nd Street and Camelback Road. Many restaurants have come and gone since the restaurant debuted nearly 40 years ago, but the white…
Growing hops in Arizona. Sounds impossible, right? After all, more than 95 percent of domestic hops — that all-important flavoring and stability agent in beer — are cultivated in the area stretching from the Pacific Northwest to Idaho’s panhandle, places with notably different climates than the Sonoran desert. To grow hops,…
Chef and restaurateur Aaron Chamberlin already has two well-loved Central Phoenix restaurants, St. Francis and the Phoenix Public Market Cafe. But the success of both eateries isn’t slowing him down. This spring, Chamberlin launched a new wholesale bakery division of his downtown eatery, making Phoenix Public Market Cafe the largest…
I bet you thought there’s no way metro Phoenix can support another fast-casual pizza restaurant where diners can — gasp! — customize their own pizza pies by selecting ingredients from a list before sending their creation through a super-sized, really hot Easy Bake oven. “We’ve already got plenty of places…
We’ve got bad news for sports fans and trivia lovers. Next month, Arcadia’s well-loved sports bar Hazelwoods First Place Sports Grill will close its doors to the public and shut off its many flat-screen TVs. The bar and restaurant, located at 3626 East Indian School Road, has been sold to new…
Unless you happen to live or work nearby, it’s unlikely that your first visit to Cafe Agit will happen by accident. Most likely, you’ll be drawn to this nondescript Korean bar and grill in Mesa, which resembles any other number of aging strip mall bars from the outside, on the…
Todd and Kelly Bostock, winemakers and co-owners of Dos Cabezas WineWorks, live deep in Arizona wine country, in a tiny corner of the small town of Elgin. Their property is adjacent to an old cemetery, a relic left over from when the Southern Pacific Railroad traveled through town, and a…
In February, we told you about chef Kevin Binkley’s plans to close his award-winning namesake restaurant and relocate to midtown Phoenix. The James Beard award-nominated chef told us he’ll reopen Binkley’s restaurant in the current Bink’s Midtown space after closing that restaurant and renovating the space. Now we know when…
More than a dozen restaurants in Maricopa County didn’t do so well during health inspections last month. We noticed quite a few chain restaurants including Denny’s, Domino’s, and Sonic made the list — plus an appearance by Smoke Dem Bones Barbecue on Indian School Road in Phoenix. Check this list…
Since 2012, NCounter has been a popular destination for breakfast and lunch on Mill Avenue in Tempe. The fast-casual restaurant, founded by Thom and Kathy Coker (also the folks behind TC Eggington’s in Mesa), is known for its energetic atmosphere and menu of classics fare including waffles, omelettes, sandwiches, and…
There are plenty of coffee shops in downtown Phoenix. There are coffee shops for coffee nerds, a coffee shop for bikers, coffee shops for creative types, and even a coffee shop with a menu entirely en español. Basically, there’s a coffee shop for pretty much every kind of coffee drinker, not…
Sure, we all ask for a menu adjustment here and there. Maybe sauce on the side. Or sausage instead of bacon. But when you work in the restaurant industry, you’ve probably heard far stranger requests than the average diner can even imagine. From customers who asked for raw meat to…
Don’t freak out, but we have good news. New York City’s famed The Halal Guys are expanding to Arizona, according to a press release. The restaurant (originally a cart on 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan) serves gyro meat, falafel, and chicken either in a platter or wrapped up in…
Every year the Arizona Restaurant Association recognizes some of the Valley’s top culinary talent with the Foodist Awards. This year, the association named three finalists in 13 categories that range from Top Chef to Premier Beer Program with finalists running the gamut from a longstanding local steakhouse to the Kitchen…
It’s been two years since the Valley said goodbye to Karsh’s Bakery, which was widely recognized as the best Jewish bakery in metro Phoenix before it closed. At that time, Karsh’s fans mourned the loss of the bakery’s famous challah, babka, and rye bread, decrying the lack of other good Jewish bakeries…
