Yesterday we heard from Chef Greg LaPrad of Quiessence. Today the conversation continues. Chef LaPrad describes his own kitchen as boot camp. The hand full of cooks and chefs in the kitchen are constantly reinventing the menu and their recipes — it’s a new menu every day. “It’s hard…
The daily menu is not a new concept by any means — LaPrad thanks his younger kitchen experiences in Italy for the inspiration — but the challenge fit nicely with the restaurant’s location on the Farm at South Mountain. The chef just has to walk outside every morning to look…
We can all thank KFC’s Double Down Sandwich for raising the grossness bar when it comes to eating. Since April, nothing has touched it. They have expanded the playing field of repulsive, have gone the extra mile to create colon explosions of untold severity, and have raised their middle finger…
When Aric Mei stumbled upon Salon De Venus on Camelback Road, he had no intention of getting a haircut. In hot pursuit of a location for his new restaurant, Mei met Ted and Mary Williams, who were in their 80s and looking to hand over ownership of the building they…
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: -…
Kathy Cano-Murillo The namesake/operator of www.CraftyChica.com, artist, author and Senior New Product Developer and National Spokesperson for iLoveToCreate recently added “novelist” to the list with the release of her new book, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter (Grand Central Publishing). What’d you eat for dinner last night? Where’s the…
Finally, some truth in advertising. Dig this spot for McDonald’s fourth annual “Great Tastes of America” promotion in the UK, a five-week program involving the introduction every Wednesday of a new American-themed burger. Beginning with the New York Special, Mickey Dee’s “Great Tastes of America” will also feature the Chicago…
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: Now Open in Scottsdale: Nourish Joe’s Real BBQ to…
In this week’s Chef Chat, we heard from Chef Bryan Hulihee of Roaring Fork. Today he shares his recipe for a Roaring Fork classic: Fondue Pot and Chile Pecan Bread (lamb chops optional). Here’s how it’s done…..
Decor is nice, but the true substance of a restaurant should be measured in its edible content. Hence the critique of RnR in this week’s “Cafe” column. Food Critic Michele Laudig on RnR: So, breakfast. I might’ve liked the Sundried Scramble if it had been hot. Chopped sun-dried tomatoes, basil,…
Carol Blonder Preparing salmon for sushi So, it’s Valentine’s night in a Missouri college town. At a local sushi restaurant, the chef walks out on his job. The tall blonde waitress convinces the Chinese owner to train her to take over. Sounds like the set up for a politically incorrect joke,…
Butter burgers? Custard? Fried cheese curds? For those not familiar with Wisconsin-based Culver’s, the Midwest’s favorite blue-roofed home of fresh fast food, those eats may as well be served on board the V’s mother ship. Luckily, this Fry Girl’s spent some quality time with the good folks of Wisconsin, where…
T.K. Campo The bassist for The Hunger Artists plays shows all over the Valley and volunteers at The Trunk Space. What’d you eat for dinner last night? Leftovers–sausage and some multigrain rice. Favorite food: Beef burgeon (burgandy in English). I used to work for an executive chef in Tempe who…
With two-month-old RnR, the folks responsible for a major part of Scottsdale’s notorious club scene have made a grand entrance into the neighborhood’s dining mix, and in many ways, the restaurant is much as you’d imagine it. Like Axis-Radius, Myst, and Suede — the long-running, perennially packed nightlife staples owned…
You walk into another dimension. A dimension of far-out fast food. A place where customers eat in rather than drive through, where cleanliness is next to godliness and employees are so happy you’d swear they’re about to burst into song. You’ve just crossed into the Culver’s Zone. Opened on Camelback…
Yesterday we sat down with Bryan Hulihee of Roaring Fork in Scottsdale. Today the conversation continues … Hulihee’s been with the Roaring Fork since 2001 and has brought his own family influences and ingredients to the menu — like pink sea salt and tuna tartare (he saves the spam for…
The pan-Asian restaurant opened in November but lost its interim liquor license in early March after hosting an event for an ASU fraternity. Although frat members 21 and over were issued wrist bands, several underage members failed breathalyzer tests. Siracha chef-owner Virakon Vongphachanh argued most of the underage drinking took…
A longtime friend and fellow East Coast Transplant recently remarked that Phoenix is “a bagel wasteland.” According to him, the best way to get a decent bagel here is to have it flown in from New York. It can’t possibly be that difficult to find a tasty bagel. Or can it? This…
Oh, sweet success. If you stopped by one of the 14 Valley Bake for Hope bake sales last week, you probably spotted Julie Zagars and her pink wig. Zagars, the Regional Director, says the events held May 2 through May 8, were a huge success. Grassroots teams in Arizona raised…
You might pass Roaring Fork’s executive chef, Bryan Hulihee, on the highway. He’s the one in the slow lane and he’ll confess — he takes his sweet, silent time. “My commute to work is half an hour and it’s absolutely my sanctuary. Thirty minutes of silence — no radio …..
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: -…
The 120-degree temperatures that turn your vehicle’s interior into a blast furnace. Aerial shots of the thrice-weekly walls of dust generated by the monsoon. The lamentable way the Arizona Diamondbacks play baseball. But here’s something to actually look forward to this summer:…
