Donut lovers rejoice! A celebration dedicated to the sweet treat is taking place at Margaret T. Hance Park this Sunday, November 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Downtown Donut Festival will feature more than 20 local donut purveyors including Bosa Donuts, Jake’s Donuts & Treats, Pokitrition, Berrie Kabobs and Alien Donuts. Live music will be provided by New Wave Order, The Maya Spectra and Davina. The all-ages event will also feature lawn games,...
THE SCENE It’s grand indeed at Century Grand, the 1920s-inspired cocktail compound from the minds of Jason Asher and Rich Furnari of Barter & Shake. You feel like Jay and Daisy from the moment you walk into the Arcadia building that houses Century Grand (a Prohibition-era cocktail bar with dim sum carts bearing nibbles, cocktails and wine), the Grey Hen Saloon (a tasting room and spirits shop where Valley whiskey maestro and general manager John...
PHX Beer Co. is probably best known for its craft beer, but they also make first-rate thin crust pizzas cooked in black iron pans. According to Richard Stark, PHX Beer Co. director of hospitality, black iron pizza was inspired by his late aunt and uncle’s pizzeria in Baltimore. Stark, who is the former CEO of NYPD Pizza, shares PHX Beer Co.’s mashed potato pizza recipe, which came from a pizza he tasted while vacationing in...
A Taco Bell Cantina is opening at the former Restaurant Mexico site on Mill Avenue in Tempe. A Taco Bell spokesperson confirmed that the cantina is set to open before 2020. The site at 423 S. Mill Avenue previously housed Restaurant Mexico, which had been around for nearly four decades in four different locations. Its doors closed on August 15, as owner Carolina Chavarria, 83, was ready to retire from the restaurant business. The new...
AZ Barrels, Bottles and Brews, which returns to Salt River Fields for the second year on Saturday, November 23 at 2 p.m., started as a “passion project,” says the venue’s director of marketing, Chris Bonnell. He and the Salt River Fields’ director of ticketing and special events, Shaun Northup, are both craft beer connoisseurs and wanted to showcase the great beverages coming out of the Grand Canyon State. “We wanted to highlight the breweries, distilleries...
There’s no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen for Ghost Ranch chefs Rene Andrade and Robert Centeno. In fact, they just launched a monthly series where they invite other locally renowned chefs into the kitchen with them to create a unique five-course meal. The first guest chef is Samantha Sanz of Talavera on Wednesday, November 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. Andrade, Centeno and Sanz are all from Nogales and each dish...
THE SCENE I must admit my bias at the start: The Hermosa Inn is one of my happy places. I’ve covered political fundraisers there, enjoyed romantic staycations with my beloved there (we even brought our firstborn fur son one year, since the hotel is dog-friendly) and feasted on countless media dinners and happy hours with friends and colleagues there. I even wrote a profile of owner Ron Allred (and his lovely wife, Joyce) a couple...
This week, Ghost Ranch executive chef Rene Andrade shares a street taco recipe that’s popular in his hometown of Nogales, Mexico. “Potato tacos are soul food for us.” Andrade’s recipe calls for Chiltepin chili, a hot pepper that his family has used for generations. “It’s one of the only peppers that grows in the Sonoran Desert, so it’s really special to me and to our culture.” It’s also hard to find, Andrade says. He sells...
Personally, if I had a dog, I wouldn’t date anyone they didn’t like. What better way to make sure your closest companion approves of the person you’re seeing than taking them on a date with you? Check out these four puppy-approved spots: O.H.S.O Brewery If your dog doesn’t like your date, at least they’ll like O.H.S.O.! The local brewery is so dog-friendly that it’s certified by Trips With Pets. It’s so common to see a...
If you’re alcohol-averse, it can be hard to find delicious drinks sans booze. That’s why Sushi Roku at W Scottsdale recently unveiled its new mocktail menu, which features three handcrafted concoctions with all the flavor and fanfare of a regular cocktail without the alcohol. As more people jump on the “sober curious” bandwagon, the demand for healthy, alcohol-free alternatives to traditional cocktails is growing. Sushi Roku is at the forefront of the trend. Are you...
McDonald’s, Burger King, Five Guys – you were all delicious and convenient, but in 2020, we might have to leave you behind. The White Castle for Asian Americans everywhere is coming to Chandler. Jollibee, the hit Filipino fast food chain that was once only seen in the Philippines, California and some other states scattered across the U.S., has finally decided to break ground in one of the cities with the largest Asian population in Arizona. ...
THE SCENE There’s a very “young Scottsdale” vibe at Hand Cut Burgers & Chophouse at Scottsdale Waterfront. The décor is polished, but energetic – shiny wood floors and tables, white subway tiles, bright yellow high-top stools perched on squares of faux grass, a green wall festooned with golden cow heads, a white tile bar with cushy black leather stools. It’s fun and eye-popping, with splashes of emerald and daffodil everywhere. The staff and clientele are...
Most restaurants these days have a respectable selection of salads, some with a choice of protein and others with protein included. At Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails, executive chef Dushyant Singh offers both. Today, Singh shares his Beef & Bleu Salad (available at lunch only), a robust offering that doesn’t take long to prepare and is great for entertaining as long as your guests are partial to bleu cheese. You might ask ahead of time...
The new happy hour menu at The Covenant in Paradise Valley Lite. Killer roasted Brussels sprouts with Andouille sausage, amazing beet-scallop duos (pictured) and $6 French 75s. thecovenantaz.com The three-course “Thanksgiving to Go” menu at Liberty Station. Because cooking is hard. libertystationtavern.com As many bao sandwiches as we can eat at Deez Buns in Tempe. Particularly the tangy, fish-saucy pho bun – which does taste uncannily like a bowl of pho. facebook.com/deezbunsaz A new gastropub-ish...
It’s 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29 and the corner of Via Ventura and Pima Center Parkway in Scottsdale is flooded with cars. Some are scrambling to find a spot in the expansive parking lot while others join a serpentine line of other vehicles. A man in a neon green shirt is directing them. This is the location of Arizona’s first White Castle. A week ago, when the wildly popular burger haven had its grand...
