Way to go, Cheesecake Factory. Congratulations, California Pizza Chicken. Jabba the Hutt would be pleased. Along with P.F. Chang’s, Chevy’s, Bob Evan’s, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and Outback Steakhouse, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has named scale-tipping fare from these restaurants as “winners” of its…
Like bangers and mash or bubble & squeak, fish and chips is the kind of perfect pairing you’ll find at any decent English pub. It’s also the only way most parents can get their kids to eat fish — because everything is better when battered and fried. For this week’s battle, we…
Hungry yet? We’re working up our appetites for our huge Best of Phoenix issue, out September 30, with daily servings of Chow Bella’s 100 Favorite Dishes from across the Valley — in no particular order. Leave your suggestions for upcoming favorites in the comments section. Visit our sister blog, Jackalope Ranch, for a companion series…
Hungry yet?We’re working up our appetites for our huge Best of Phoenix issue, out September 30, with daily servings of Chow Bella’s 100 Favorite Dishes from across the Valley — in no particular order.Leave your suggestions for upcoming favorites in the comments section.Visit our sister blog, Jackalope Ranch, for a companion series on 100 Creatives who make Phoenix…
How well do you know your favorite cookhouse contraptions? See if you can guess today’s gadget and check back next week for the answer, and to see if you’ve won a most-awesome prize. Here are a few shots at this week’s trickster, add yours to the comment box below: -…
Like Chick-fil-A? Like free? Then this one’s for you. The Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A’s first new sandwich since 1989 (hello product development – are you there?) will be offered free to customers via an online reservation before it officially launches on June 7. That’s right. Click for Chick. Want one?…
James Keenan The singer/bassist/synth player for electronic rock band A Life of Science and art director for Sundawg Records performs with A Life of Science at Phoenix Comicon Saturday, May 29 at 5 p.m. and is a part of the A Life of Science “Creating Multimedia Comics” panel at Phoenix…
May, as National Burger Month, is officially sucking ass. No new burgers, high beef prices, a dehydrated disaster from Burger King called Fire-Grilled Ribs, and a boneless chicken brouhaha is making this holiday as senseless as the movement to retire Ronald McDonald. The boneless chicken bedlam, made infamous by KFC’s…
Hungry yet? We’re working up our appetites for our huge Best of Phoenix issue, out September 30, with daily servings of Chow Bella’s 100 Favorite Dishes from across the Valley — in no particular order. Leave your suggestions for upcoming favorites in the comments section. Visit our sister blog,…
So last week, Andrew Zimmern goes on a quest for real Sonoran cuisine in Arizona on Bizarre Foods and hooks up with Chris Bianco, the wait-in-line-for-two-hours pizza guy of Pizzeria Bianco. Huh? What? Why? Were all the Mexican foodies in the Valley busy? Did Silvana Salcido Esparza, owner of Barrio…
Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let’s have one last look at the blog posts from this week: McDonald’s “Great Tastes of America” in the UK: Cue…
A few sweet pastries, good company and a huge, refillable cup of coffee. This, friends, is truly a breakfast of champions (or at least it’ll tide us over until the weekend officially begins). Can you guess where I’m eating? Last week’s winner guessed the answer in record time. Congratulations “Booger,”…
Sunflower Market is the latest in a long line of restaurants, food manufacturers and grocery stores catering to the gluten-free market. No, they’re not ditching the Bertolli pasta and burning whole wheat tortillas in effigy. But they are labeling all of the gluten-free products in the store with special “Smart Tags,” offering…
Fast-food value menus and dollar deals. These days, you can’t swing a bag of burgers without hitting one. And when you’re hungry and have only a few dollars to spare, they may be your best bargain. But then again, maybe not. So far, Jack in the Box has avoided dollar-menu…
Is there anything as satisfying as a huge bowl of noodle soup? We don’t think so. That’s why we’re so stoked to hear about Pho Thanh. Food Critic Michele Laudig on Pho Thanh: As the name would suggest, pho is the house specialty, with quite a few different variations, including…
We knew something wasn’t quite right today when we walked into Tradiciones, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. The music was a little too loud, the servers looked flustered. When our chicken fajitas arrived, they looked different, too. Then the tortillas hit the table, and we knew something had gone…
Chef Greg LaPrad of Quiessence at the Farm at South Mountain joined us for this week’s Chef Chat. When LaPrad’s not busy planning the day’s menu, he can be found in the kitchen experimenting with local produce. This week, he shares his recipe for a Quiessence dessert: Lavender Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta …..
As the Average Joe and Jane become more interested in the culinary arts, gourmet trends like edible flowers are increasing in popularity. Just look at the number of lavender desserts that popped up in Phoenix last year: blueberry-lavender ice cream at Roy’s, lavender streusel at Bourbon Steak, strawberry-lavender jelly sandwich cookies from Sweet Pea…
The lid of the black, shiny box holding the new fire-grilled ribs from Burger King says, “Straight From the Grill.” That’s an error. It should say, “Left On the Grill.”…
I mourned the loss of Pho Bang restaurant even before it closed last year. For many years, the longstanding Vietnamese eatery at Camelback and 17th Avenue was my go-to place (in that part of the Valley, anyway) for a steaming, soul-satisfying bowl of pho, a cheap, filling rice dish, or…
You’re hungry, on the road, and have just a few bucks in your wallet. The fast-food giants are waving value menus and dollar deals in your money-starved face. Will most of us bite? Sure, we will. Grab a burger for a buck and a regular-size soda and we’re on our…
A tamale is like a holiday present — you never know what’s inside the wrapping until you open it, and the likeability of what’s inside is often dependent on who gave it to you. That’s why we opted to check out two local favorites, one Mexican and the other Spanish-influenced, for this week’s Battle of the Tamales. …
