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The holidays are over and many of us have vowed to eat healthier foods in 2020. To that end, we decided to start off the year with a nutritious recipe for stir-fried vegetables and noodles from Pita Jungle. Another plus for this recipe: If you’re concerned about your carb intake, shirataki noodles (traditional Japanese noodles made from konjac yams) are very low in digestible carbohydrates as well as calories. If you’d like to give the...

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Hidden in plain sight, Sel is exactly the kind of place you want in Old Town nestled among art galleries, with its sophisticated flavors, chic modern vibe and dishes that look like works of art. When I walked in, its contemporary décor with accents of tufted purple velour and crystal chandeliers reminded me of a place one would find in Palm Springs or Miami. The clientele was a mix of young professionals, intimate dates and...

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The Valley’s first sushi hand roll bar and ramen restaurant will open in northeast Phoenix this January on Camelback and 20th Street. Wade Foster Hospitability Group (the company behind the Ahipoki restaurants) and California-based Ahi Mahi Group collaborated with award-winning ramen chef Jared Lupin to open Dori Hand Roll Bar and Ramen. With 10 years of ramen making experience, Lupin says Dori Hand Roll Bar will provide guests with an intimate, street-style roll experience. “We...

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If you’re hosting a holiday gathering and searching for a delicious appetizer, we’ve got you covered. Nico Heirloom Kitchen owner, Brad Kircher, shares the Gilbert restaurant’s filet tip recipe. At Nico, the filet tips are billed as a starter, but you could definitely serve this hearty dish as a main course. The recipe calls for a unique espresso lavender rub, a combo that Kircher and staff discovered after experimenting with ingredients. “The two just seem...

To quote the great Happy Gilmore, “Sorry, ladies, I’m not the golfing type.” I like my birdies fried and my bogeys Lowenstein, thank you. Occasionally, though, the promise of good food lures me to restaurants that just happen to be at golf courses. Take Toro Latin Restaurant & Rum Bar, which is a property of Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort but lives across the street on the 18th hole of the TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course, with...

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After a few days of drizzle this December, I was ready to neglect the Trader Joe’s frozen meals sitting in my fridge and drop $20+ on a Postmates delivery. I decided to turn to the holy grail of recommendations, the Instagram Story question feature, for some cozy suggestions. Readers, I was not disappointed.  Here are some of the places I was directed to cozy up with: Phở at Phở Thành By far one of the...

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The Giving Tree Café, an organic, gluten-free restaurant, recently opened on Seventh Street in Phoenix. The café, also known as “a space of love,” offers all-day breakfast, a vegetable-heavy lunch and dinner menu, along with some really creative desserts, including a vegan and gluten-free Hazelnut Chocolate Pudding Pie made with avocado. I know you’re wondering if the pie tastes like avocado and the answer is no, says Giving Tree’s owner David Warr. “…The cacao flavor...

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Four years ago, Karen Greenstein was looking for a way to simultaneously support the environment and adults with autism. Greenstein, who has a son with autism, decided to take a leap, buy some bees and get into the honey business. Based in Tempe, Rango Honey produces raw, natural honey while providing job training and support for autistic adults. Its profits also fund Neshama, an assisted living community for people 18 and older with autism. Neshama...

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Restauranteur M. Dana Mule’s new Hula’s Modern Tiki location is set to open this January on High Street in north Phoenix. “You’ll get everything you used to at Hula’s but with a slightly different perspective,” Mule says. The new space will depict the same ’50s and ’60s modern mid-century inspired tiki bar elements like the Old Town Scottsdale and Uptown Phoenix locations, but Mule says this new restaurant will be beachier and “a little less...

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This time of year, some of us go a little overboard on eating and drinking and throw our digestive systems into a tizzy. If this sounds like you, check out Suzette Smith’s Kowboy Kicked Toast recipe that uses her Garden Goddess Kowboy Kraut. It’s chockfull of probiotics to help with gut health. You can purchase Garden Goddess products online or at local farmers’ markets, but Suzette is also sharing the kraut recipe if you want...

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Hearth ’61 at Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale will launch a new cooking demo series and tasting with executive chef Charles Wiley this January. For one Saturday afternoon each month, the public can join Chef Wiley for one hour of intimate cooking instruction. Each event will be suited to the corresponding season and will be held in a private dining room. Chef Wiley has over 40 years of culinary experience and is excited to not...

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For better or for worse, Dutch Bros. Coffee has become known over the years as a stereotypical Arizona staple, despite the chain being based in Oregon. That popularity recently backfired on Dutch, at least at its central Phoenix store. Because of traffic overflowing on the road, the stand on Central Avenue and Camelback Road will be forced to close on Dec. 28, the Arizona Republic reported. It’s currently the only Dutch Bros. in central Phoenix,...

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Chef Lee Hillson recently returned to T. Cooks at Royal Palms Resort and Spa as executive chef and he couldn’t be happier. He spent 12 years at the iconic resort in the early 2000s as executive sous chef and then as executive chef. Hillson, a James Beard House featured chef and a participant on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America, has also graced the kitchens of The Phoenician Resort and the Sheraton Grand at Wild...

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Mead is decidedly having a moment. In fact, a new meadery opens in the U.S. every three weeks. There are now five in Arizona. The Valley’s most recent is Scale & Feather, a medieval-themed meadery that set up shop in Avondale in May. For the uninitiated, mead is wine made from fermented honey. Scale & Feather’s mead is made in giant, egg-shaped tanks that co-founder Ben Chaney affectionately refers to as “the dragon eggs.” He...