For the past two years, Sacha Levine has been at Scottsdale’s Rancho Pinot working with chef Chrysa Robertson. But now the up-and-coming Levine is headed to Quiessence at the Farm at South Mountain to be sous chef with chef Dustin Christofolo, who took over this fall after the restaurant’s chef…
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. What would you do if you were responsible for the long-awaited expansion of a Midwestern legend into a city…
It’s been a busy year for the owners of Pomo, the three-year-old, certified authentic Neapolitan pizzeria from executive chef Matteo Schiavone and partners Stefano Fabbri and Mark Proto. Since losing their restaurant’s home at The Borgata of Scottsdale shopping center early this year, the Italian trio not only made plans…
From time to time, Chow Bella’s contributors challenge one another to a showdown: Make the best dish you can, using one common ingredient. This time (naturally), it was pumpkin. For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the results, and at the end, we’ll let you know who won. Today:…
Dozens of the Valley’s food trucks hit Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon for the Taste of the Trucks food truck festival. We headed out on Sunday to sample just what the fest had to offer — and we’re happy to say many of the…
Stacy Phipps may have taken a few hits in his restaurant career, but the Phoenix barbecue man hasn’t been knocked out yet. After his second Scottsdale location of Stacy’s Smokehouse shuttered at the start of last year (after being open just six months and setting Phipps back about $120,000), Phipps…
Once you’ve wrapped your head around the fact that the luxury hotel and resort chain Four Seasons has its own food truck, you might want to get ready to eat. The Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North and Scottsdale’s Food Truck Caravan are teaming up for two downtown Scottsdale…
Jay Bogsinke Chef St. Francis stfrancisaz.com 602-200-8111 This is part one of our interview with chef Jay Bogsinke of St. Francis. Bogsinke has been at St. Francis since August, when chef/owner Aaron Chamberlin decided to call in some extra firepower for the restaurant as he wrangles with the new Phoenix…
Set those alarm clocks, breakfast biters. Snooze Eatery, the Colorado-based breakfast and brunch joint that’s had the Valley buzzing since the announcement of its first Arizona location in the Town & Country Shopping Center in May, has set a grand opening date. At 6:30 a.m. on Monday, November 25, Snooze…
Construction is coming to an end at the newest restaurant concept from popular grocery and pizza spot La Grande Orange in Arcadia. Once used for much-needed additional parking, the northwest corner lot of Campbell and 40th Street (across from LGO) now sports a cylindrical structure of gleaming metal and brick…
Coffee: Elixir of the gods — or at least the sleep-deprived. Here in the Valley, there are plenty of places to get a fix of fresh-brewed coffee. But if you’re looking for a particularly satisfying jolt of caffeine we’ve narrowed down the options in this year’s Best of Phoenix® edition…
Copper Star Coffee barista Emma Truitt is partial to the shop’s lavender cappuccino — but it isn’t because she has hair the same color as the gently fragrant herb. It is because she is aware of how its flavor lends itself in a good way to the popular frothy espresso…
From time to time, Chow Bella’s contributors challenge one another to a showdown: Make the best dish you can, using one common ingredient. This time (naturally), it was pumpkin. For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the results, and at the end, we’ll let you know who won. Today:…
Talk to chef-owner Jordan Murray about his new food truck, Rock A Belly, and it isn’t hard to figure out what he’s passionate about. With a love of rockabilly (Murray’s a member of the Phoenix-based psychobilly band Stitch Hopeless and the Sea Legs), cooking, his Pittsburgh roots, and Arizona, Murray…
Have an image of a cozy Thai cafe? It probably looks a lot like Krua. The little eatery on the city’s north side is a pleasant space, small and tidy, with a handful of tables and booths frequently occupied by guests who tuck into bowls of steaming, fragrant curries, spicy…
It’s a busy weekend for Valley food lovers. With a two-day food truck festival and plenty of Halloween-themed dining and drinking in the works, we’re planning on hitting it hard. Here are the best things to put in your mouth this weekend. A Taste of the Trucks Saturday, October 26…
Whether you think offal is awful or awesome, there’s a good chance you’ll at least be intrigued by chef James Porter’s Fourth Annual Halloween Offal Dinner. If you’re unfamiliar with this kind of food, offal (pronounced just like “awful”) means the bits of animals that usually are cast aside —…
From time to time, Chow Bella’s contributors challenge one another to a showdown: Make the best dish you can, using one common ingredient. This time (naturally), it was pumpkin. For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the results, and at the end, we’ll let you know who won. Today,…
When 30-year-old Brandon Bennett was deciding on the name for his food truck, he landed on the nickname his friends in Arizona called him when he moved to the Valley from Eugene, Oregon, in 1994: Yeti. “I was a tall, lanky hippie kid with an Afro,” he says. “I didn’t…
Grassroots Kitchen & Tap, the Scottsdale restaurant from fourth-generation restaurateur Christopher Collins (whose father is Wally Collins of Wally’s American Pub N’ Grille) is bringing its American standards with a Southern twist to a second location in Phoenix…
Persimmons are the “hot” fruit. You can look for them this time of year at a few farmers markets, including the Old Town Farmers Market in Scottsdale. That’s great because they’re pretty to look at and in season, but, um, what do you do with them? Don’t worry. We’re here…
There’s one reason and one reason only for making flour tortillas at home: lard, my favorite four-letter word. Why else bother with all the rolling and flour dusting if it were not for the melt in your mouth delicious flavor of lard? It’s a sad reality, but commercially produced lard-based…
