https://www.phoenixmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/MSKdeviledeggsINTEXT.jpg

There’s a new chef in the kitchen at Market Street. After honing his culinary skills in Chicago at the original Weber Grill and the Four Seasons (and following Phoenix stints in the kitchens of Sam Fox’s Bloom Restaurant and Roy’s at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge), Michael Hunn took the helm of Market Street Kitchen last month. The Chi-town native nudges the restaurant’s rustic American cuisine (pastas, soups, salads, slow-cooked and wood-fired meats) up a notch with his focus on farm-to-table fare; according to a press release, “Chef Hunn’s favorite part of each day is talking shop with his fishmongers, produce farmers and his meat dude.”

Every chef should have a “meat dude.” And if the thick and smoky bacon in my grilled cheese sandwich was any indication, Hunn’s got a pretty keen one.

https://www.phoenixmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/chimichangaINTEXT.jpg

 

Americans have a knack for “happy accidents,” especially when it comes to junk and novelty foods. While Europeans try to build a better beet salad, many Yanks yearn for all manner of deviant dishes. Hot dog-hamburgers. Taco pizza. Deep-fried Twinkies. Triple-stacked and double-wrapped everything with two sides of ranch dressing. And all of that on purpose. But accidents happen, too, and sometimes, delightful dishes like the five below result, proving that it pays off to drop things on occasion.

#1. The chimichanga: Arizona’s own contribution to the world of glorious culinary mishaps, this deep-fried burrito has disputed origins. One source says the chimichanga was born at El Charro restaurant in Tucson in 1922 when the owner accidentally dropped a pastry in the deep fryer, but the founder of the Macayo’s chain claims he came up with it in 1946 after experimenting. Whatever the case, the taste of this happy accident lasts almost as long as the invention debate.

Chef Mel Mecinas is working his communal culinary magic again this year. The executive chef of Talavera at the Four Seasons Scottsdale first cooked up his “Monthly Mashup” dinner series last year, bringing fellow notable chefs like Silvana Salcido Esparza into his kitchen to collaborate on four-course epicurean adventures. This year, Mecinas brought a whole new crew into his kitchen to share the duties of producing deliciousness.