Whole Foods Camelback Wednesday, October 23

There's a handful of reasons you might want to check out the Valley's newest Whole Foods location, including its in-house restaurant, bar, and coffee shop. But this week you can also catch Phoenix's pizza legend Chris Bianco in the flesh when he heads to the grocery store for an exclusive chef event. At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, he'll be discussing the importance of good ingredients, his Bianco Di Napoli tomato project and his philosophy about pasta. Bianco will also be doing a cooking demonstration of a pasta dish. RSVP to the event by emailing sp.cma.events@wholefoods.com.

Rico's American Grill at the Pointe Hilton Wednesday, October 23

This Wednesday, head to the garden at Rico's American Grill for an educational dining experience with chef Ken Arneson. The weekly Garden Lunch invites diners to the restaurant's patio and large garden for a four-course meal of the garden-to-table variety. The adventurous menu includes dishes like tomato quinoa salad with Arizona citrus and garden herbs, as well as risotto stuffed Swiss chard with chili marinated shrimp, orzo rive, and chimichurri sauce. The lunch goes from noon to 1 p.m. and costs $25 a person. Reservations are required and the event is limited to 20 people. Call 602-997-5850.

Gertrude's at Desert Botanical Garden Thursday, October 24

It's going to be pretty salty this Thursday at Gertrude's when chef Stephen Eldridge teams up with local salt maven Aaron Eckburg of go lb. salt for a one-night dinner event. The five-course dinner includes dishes such as 60-day dry-aged beef and cured and smoked tuna. Two desserts will be available as well made by Gertrude's Executive Pastry Chef Marisa Lown and local pastry chef Rachel Miller, owner of Pistol Whipped Pastry and a Chow Bella contributor. Space is limited for the event. You can book your seat by calling 480-719-8600 or visiting the Salt Smitten website or calling 480-719-8600.

Barrelhouse American Kitchen and Cocktails

Every day is a good day for happy hour, and thanks to our roundup of the best spots for drinks after work, you have plenty of options these days. Chandler's Barrelhouse American Kitchen and Cocktails offers happy hour Monday through Saturday from 4 to 6:30 during which time you can get tasty bites like roasted chile shrimp with pasilla, fried artichoke bruschetta, and maple-smoked pork belly with crostini. Not feeling it? Check out the complete list of the Valley's best happy hour spots.

Four Peaks Brewery

With the 2013 Great American Beer Festival behind us, Arizonans have a few things to celebrate. Four things, in fact since four of our state's breweries took home medals at the country's largest beer competition. Along with Lumberyard Brewing Company in Flagstaff, Fate Brewing in Scottsdale and Thunder Canyon Brewing in Tucson, Tempe's Four Peaks Brewery took home two medals. You can head to any of their locations to celebrate theirs wins for their Hop Knot in the category of American Style Strong Pale Ale and Kilt Lifter in the category of Scottish Ale. Chow Bella's resident beer expert and cicerone also complied a list of all the GABF winners you can get in Arizona, so take a look and expand your beer drinking horizons.

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