The holidays mean hosting parties, and parties mean booze (at least the fun ones), and booze means playing bartender, at least for the night. Knowing you’re so far beyond premixed store bought drinks, we’re guessing you’ll be trying to impress the guests with your flashy bartending skills. Hey, maybe you’ll…
This is part two of our interview with Lester Gonzalez, comfort food enthusiast and Executive Chef at Cowboy Ciao. To catch up on Gonzalez’s food truck fantasies and his take on the bacon obsession, check out part one of interview. See Also: Peter Kasperski Considers Using FnB Name in San…
Yelpers went nuts over the weekend — and guess who was the topic? Amy Bouzaglo of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, who apparently cooked up a storm on Saturday. In fact, I reached out to one diner who was at Saturday night’s taping of Kitchen Nightmares at Amy’s. He got…
The Verde Valley — encompassing Sedona, Jerome, Cottonwood, and Camp Verde — is going to experience an influx of visitors in the next year because Lonely Planet just named the Arizona vacation spot as one of the Top 10 U.S. Travel Destinations for 2013. The big draw? Not only are…
If anyone could have seen this coming, it would have been Wes Pallin. The fourth-generation medium and member of Spiritwalker Enterprises, the business listed as the owner of White Sage Espresso, is the man behind (most likely) the only coffee shop in the Valley to boast its own in-house psychic…
Ah, the holidays. Christmas is all about love, sharing, sweetness and light — and keeping the antacids handy. In keeping with the spirit of the season, Chow Bella presents “Eating Christmas,” in which some of our favorite writers nosh on the real lessons we learn this time of year. Today,…
Lester Gonzalez Cowboy Ciao 7133 E. Stetson Drive Scottsdale See Also: MJ Coe Dishes on the One Thing He Couldn’t Eat and the Death of Cupcake Wars This is part one of our interview with Lester Gonzalez, executive chef at Cowboy Ciao. Check back on Tuesday to learn more about…
Every week, there’s a cornucopia of Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you’re like most people, you probably just don’t have the time to get to all of it. It’s kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won’t all…
On the off chance we haven’t provided you with enough holiday gift-giving ideas for every conceivable kind of food and drink-oriented person in the universe (did we overlook the gluten-free, nut-allergic grill-master on the Paleo diet?), we thought we’d hook you up with local food maven Natalie Morris, who is…
Not only is Nosh Arizona planning on hosting tastings for its wine — one day, the restaurant that describes itself as “a cozy, small plate gastro pub and Pico-winery,” hopes to make its own. See also: November Openings and Closings Opening later this month and located at 4080 West Ray…
The Valley’s own Julia Baker, founder, executive chef, and CEO of Julia Baker Confections, is no stranger to success. The Le Cordon Bleu grad and Paris-trained chef is currently making sweet Christmas gifts for Elton John, designing Robert Redford’s birthday cake, and recently, got ink in the holiday gift guide…
Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out what’s on our plate. See Also: The Handlebar and Grill: Happy Hour Report Card Latke Lowdown: Guest Critic Eric Schaefer Pits Abe’s Against Goldman’s Crafeteria The weekend is always cause for celebration, and to…
Ah, the holidays. Christmas is all about love, sharing, sweetness and light — and keeping the antacids handy. In keeping with the spirit of the season, Chow Bella presents “Eating Christmas,” in which some of our favorite writers nosh on the real lessons we learn this time of year. Today,…
Flavoring spirits by soaking herbs, spices and fruits in them is nothing new. In fact, the practice is almost as old as distilling itself. But in the last four or five years, since cocktails went craft, infused booze (flavored with anything and everything, including meat) is big and getting bigger…
See Also: AndyTalk: Potato Latkes Can Be Trendy … Really – Six Ways to Celebrate Hanukkah in Metro Phoenix I want to share a recipe that didn’t work. Actually, part of the recipe worked, and part didn’t. I’ve been nibbling at the good part for a couple of days, but…
The Guilty Pleasure: The McRib Where To Get It: McDonald’s, scores of locations Valleywide Price: About $2.50 What It Really Costs: Several more days of patience. Some foods transcend being a guilty pleasure, and turn into cult classics. The king of them is McDonald’s McRib. Since the sandwich wouldn’t sell…
While a jumbo tub of hot buttered popcorn is one of our most frequently indulged guilty pleasures, we think a good movie deserves a little better company than junk food. Try out our movie and meal pairings for yourself or feel free to suggest one of your own favorites in…
Editor’s Note: In this special edition of “Battle of the Dishes,” we asked our favorite mensch, Eric Schaefer, to do some latke research for us. Latkes are the culinary poster child for Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights that is of relatively minor religious significance but gives us Jewish kids…
Khyber Halal is a culinary crossroads of sorts. A unique mix of the familiar and the unexplored, this casual spot in Phoenix features foods from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, where each nation’s cuisine is as diverse as the restaurant’s staff of family members. “Pakistani dishes take longer to prepare, are…
Ah, the holidays. Christmas is all about love, sharing, sweetness and light — and keeping the antacids handy. In keeping with the spirit of the season, Chow Bella presents “Eating Christmas,” in which some of our favorite writers nosh on the real lessons we learn this time of year. Today,…
Khyber Halal Restaurant is a culinary crossroads of sorts — a blending of foods from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, where each nation’s cuisine is as diverse as the restaurant’s staff of family members. Here, flavorful bowls of rusty red chicken tikka masala and plates of rich goat biryani sit alongside…
The Association of Arizona Food Banks, a non-profit that supplies five regional food banks, has teamed up with businesses in the area to help hungry families this holiday season. We don’t normally get too sappy, but here at Chow Bella firmly believe no one should go hungry –especially not at…
