After April’s dearth of new restaurant openings, May brings more than 20 new local eateries, featuring everything from upscale Asian to tacos to Indian pizza. May also marked the closing of six restaurants, including one that had been a Valley mainstay for 34 years. OPENING 212° Shabu Shabu From the folks at Three Thirty Three, an elevated dining experience showcasing shabu shabu, a design-your-own combo of broth, meats, seafood, vegetables and noodles cooked...
From chefs to restaurants to cocktails, a dozen in Arizona are up for food's biggest awards.
Over Easy isn’t just a way to cook eggs, it’s a local breakfast cafe serving up tasty dishes and good vibes. There are 10 locations of this local chain throughout the Valley with three new locations opening this year, but I recently visited the Surprise location to check out the seasonal menu. Upon entering, I was greeted by bright yellow and blue hues and a happy atmosphere that could help anyone start their day on...
I’m a picky eater. I have the palate of a 5-year-old and I often opt for chicken tenders and fries no matter what kind of restaurant I go to. Because of my juvenile tastes, it’s hard for me to get out of my comfort zone and try new foods. Korean seafood restaurant Zu & Pocha, which opened in Tempe nearly a year ago, was definitely out of my comfort zone. While I was a little...
As the coronavirus pandemic passes the one-year mark, many Valley restaurants are still struggling to keep the doors open due to reduced capacity, high rents and beleaguered employees stretched to their limits. According to the Arizona Restaurant Association, 12 percent of Arizona’s restaurants have closed in the past year. To help Arizona’s ailing hospitality industry, Arizona State House Representative Jeff Weninger (R, Dist. 17), recently introduced HB 2773, that if passed, will allow restaurants and...
Once known for its lumberjack college kids, good skiing and decent drinkin' scene, Flagstaff is quickly making a name for itself as a foodie town (and we're not just talking about the phenomenal pizza). To explore the burgeoning culinary scene up north, we're running a series of Q&As with the personalities behind the chef hats behind the town's restaurant renaissance we're calling the "Flag Food Boom."
Today we're chatting with:
Chef Derek Christensen
Tinderbox Kitchen
34 S. San Francisco St., Flagstaff
928-226-8400, tinderboxkitchen.com
When Tinderbox Kitchen opened almost eight years ago on South San Francisco Street, the surrounding businesses included a strip club, a tattoo parlor and a dance club. At the time, Flagstaff didn’t have much in the way of fine dining restaurants, according to Tinderbox’s head chef Derek Christensen. The cuisine was centered on upscale comfort food – meat loaf, macaroni and cheese and Salisbury steak – but Christensen says the focus is now on a seasonally changing menu. He also oversees the kitchens of the adjacent Annex Cocktail Lounge and Tourist Home, a breakfast and lunch restaurant that also features to-go specialty items.
