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This Thursday, April 29 is National Shrimp Scampi Day and North Italia is celebrating by revealing its signature Wild Shrimp Scampi recipe. Inspired by a meal from North Italia’s corporate chef Chris Curtiss’ childhood, the hearty dish features plump prawns, juicy cherry tomatoes, garlic, butter, black pepper, dry vermouth, chopped parsley and breadcrumbs. “I’ll never forget the first time I tasted shrimp scampi while my parents had taken my sister and me out to dinner...

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This weekend, Arizona Tiki Oasis will take over the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale with food and drink tastings, art and music for tiki enthusiasts across the state. The event is the companion event to the highly regarded Tiki Oasis Festival in San Diego. Kick off your weekend of island life in the desert with the official launch party at HULA’s Modern Tiki in Old Town Scottsdale on Thursday, April 22 from 3:30 to 6...

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All the news that’s fit to nosh.   In Vodka Veritas: One of the Valley’s preeminent wine pros is dipping his toe into the vodka still. Mark Tarbell, chef/owner of Tarbell’s restaurant and The Wine Store at Tarbell’s, is partnering with distiller Weston Holm of Old Town Scottsdale’s Blue Clover Distillery on a new citrus vodka. The lemon- and orange-infused spirit will be available just in time for summer sipping. Pick it up exclusively at The Wine Store starting this week. My Big Fat Greek Dinner: Downtown Phoenix’s arty FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel continues its...

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Cool down during the sweltering summer months ahead with these refreshing cocktails from Valley restaurants. Photo courtesy Zinqué   Zinqué Sangria Take your mind off the heat with this tasty tipple from Scottsdale Fashion Square’s French-inspired eatery, Zinqué. The ice-cold beverage ($13) consists of chilled wine and seasonal fruit like lemon, lime and various berries. 4712 N. Goldwater Blvd., 623-745-9616, lezinque.com   Photo courtesy The Knight Agency Blue Clover Distillery Lemon Dropsicle This micro distillery in...

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Photo by Aimee Smith    Wake up! Fever Dream Coffee is now open. Downtown’s newest caffeine provider is perched on the porch of Pemberton PHX. The aesthetic is an Instagrammer’s dream, from the cosmic sign to the colorful pastries. The muffins topped with edible flowers are almost too pretty to eat, at least not until you’ve had a photo shoot with them. In addition to standard coffee drinks, Fever Dream’s Magic Coffee menu includes spicy...

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Photo by Leah LeMoine   THE SCENE I am embarrassed by how many times I have driven by locations of Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen without giving it a second thought. I think for many years I assumed it was a gluten-free version of Panera Bread – an unremarkable chain bakery/cafe. Why would I go out of my way to eat there when I could support our homegrown bakery/cafe, Wildflower?   Then my friend Elaina started working with Picazzo’s. She told me it was locally owned...

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Rancho Pinot staff | Photo by Nikki Buchanan   What if your favorite restaurant — your pre-pandemic go-to and home-away-from-home, the place where you celebrated birthdays, had a preferred seat at the bar, knew the servers by name and often received a hug when you came and went — was closing? You’d be heartbroken, right? Well, that’s me. Heartbroken. Because chef-owner Chrysa Robertson has decided it’s time to close her beloved, our beloved, Rancho Pinot....

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Last time I wrote about Los Milics Winery was back in September of 2020 – after the hurricane known as “harvest.” Construction on our winery in the Southern Arizona town of Elgin was completed and my wife, Carla (pictured), and I processed 36 tons of fruit by ourselves. From our vineyard a few miles away in Elfrida we got some beautiful Graciano, Grenache and Mourvèdre. However, the Tempranillo from that site was not yielding the...

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Photo courtesy Morning Squeeze    Egg lovers, this one’s for you: Friday, April 16, is National Eggs Benedict Day. Classic eggs Benedict is a splurge-worthy dish on its own merit – poached eggs and ham smothered in hollandaise sauce layered on a toasted or grilled English muffin. Tradition aside, there are many interpretations of this dish, which is said to have been invented in 1894 by a Wall Street broker named Lemuel Benedict at New...

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Hard to believe it’s been nearly 25 years since Phoenix City Grille brought its brand of casual-but-sophisticated urban dining to North-Central Phoenix. One constant through it all: the restaurant’s now-iconic signature pasta dish, which isn’t so hard to whip up at home. 1 1/2 cups penne pasta, cooked 2 tbsp. olive oil 6 oz. raw chicken breast, diced 1/4 cup Chardonnay or other white wine 1/4 cup chicken stock 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 tbsp. roasted...

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Food trucks morphing into brick-and-mortar operations is becoming more and more popular. Just ask the team behind Aioli Gourmet Burgers, which started six years ago as a restaurant on wheels. Now, the award-winning burger joint has three stationary eateries across the Valley, including inside Fry’s Marketplace in Litchfield Park. Its sister company and fellow mobile culinarian, Modern Tortilla, is now following in its footsteps. The Aioli team’s second food truck concept is now setting up...

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Photo courtesy Red Havas    All the news that’s fit to nosh.   Tucson Takeover: After years of anticipation, Tucson fast-food icon eegee’s is opening its first Valley location. The eatery, which specializes in subs, grinders, specialty french fries, soft pretzels and its signature eegee frozen fruit drink, will open this summer at the southwest corner of Baseline Road and Val Vista Drive in Gilbert. “We’re very fortunate that there’s already so much anticipation around our expansion,” says eegee’s CEO Ron Petty. “Our brand affinity in Tucson...