Food ReviewsDining Review: Tipsy Chicken
Nikki BuchananMarch 3, 2023
Asian libations, K-pop and rambunctious, Seoul-inspired street food make for a fine time in west Mesa.
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Food ReviewsDining Review: Miel de Agave
Nikki BuchananMarch 3, 2023
Temper your expectations at thus slickly appointed modern Mexican restaurant in RoRo.
Food ReviewsDining Review: Fire at Will
Nikki BuchananMarch 3, 2023
Hush maestro Dom Ruggiero reloads with this sexy and stylish gastropub on the Phoenix/Scottsdale border.
Señor Al Pastor burger with onion strings | Photo by Nikki Buchanan You’ve surely heard of Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, the Arizona-based chain of neighborhood burger joints/sports bars dedicated to — you guessed it — cold beers and cheeseburgers. Well, Terry and Randy Bortin, brothers who have long been in the restaurant biz here in Phoenix, have put a fun Mexican spin on that simple, straightforward concept, opening Hamburguesas y Cervezas on First Avenue just...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Source
Nikki BuchananFebruary 21, 2023
PHOTO BY NIKKI BUCHANAN For a week or two there, it seemed as if every food-friend I spoke to had recently been to Source — Claudio Urciuoli’s new restaurant in Epicenter at Agritopia — and to a person, they raved about it. Many of the superlatives zeroed in on the bread, some declaring that Urciuoli’s bread-baking chops have reached an all-time high, others gushing more specifically, as in, “Oh my God! You’ve gotta try the...
This small, modern restaurant with an open patio and stunning panoramic views sits two stories above the gentle hustle and bustle of downtown Gilbert. Named after a North American spirit derived from a Chihuahuan Desert shrub called the sotol plant, this hotspot is introducing Gilbert to a creative cocktail menu, but it’s a lot more than a thirst-quenching cantina. The menu is also filled with imaginative dishes that not only tickled my taste buds but...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Fire at Will
Nikki BuchananJanuary 6, 2023
Dom Ruggiero has two superpowers. One is cooking; the other is sniffing out dodgy restaurant neighborhoods and making them cool. Case in point: his first restaurant, Hush Public House, set in a nondescript strip mall on Scottsdale Road near Thunderbird. Before Ruggiero showed up, who headed to that intersection for a fantastic, creative meal? Ever? Precisely no one. Now, customers haul butt to get to Hush when it opens at 5 p.m. to snag a...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Vegan & Vine
Lisa PatelNovember 15, 2022
Berry Pancakes | Photo by Lisa Patel Vegan & Vine, a family-owned vegan café/wine bar/market, opened in the Moon Valley area last May. I had been hearing about this newest addition to the Phoenix vegan scene for a couple months and was quite delighted when my editor asked me to check it out. Vegan & Vine, easily spotted off the main road as you drive down East Thunderbird Road near North Seventh Street, is the...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Paco’s Tacos & Sip
Nikki BuchananNovember 15, 2022
Paco’s Taco’s trio | Photo by Nikki Buchanan I’m always on the lookout for quick, inexpensive Mexican restaurants turning out great food. In a perfect world, they’re located within five minutes of my house, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. I’ve found a great one that checks most of the boxes, but alas, it takes me nearly 20 minutes to get there. Still, it’s going in the mental Rolodex for a couple of...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkNew Restaurant Alert: Dom Ruggiero’s Fire at Will Set to Open This Fall
Nikki BuchananAugust 1, 2022
Dom Ruggiero, the chef-owner of wildly popular Hush Public House in North Scottsdale, has a knack for figuring out where the market is under-served, and a good restaurant is needed. Case in point: North Scottsdale was a dining desert until Ruggiero opened Hush and resolved the problem in 2019. From day one, the place was packed with customers who loved Hush’s laidback vibe and Ruggiero’s sophisticated version of comfort food. Now, he and his wife...
Scottsdale Quarter is now home to Etta, a picturesque neighborhood restaurant serving up tasty wood-fired eats and serious Italian getaway vibes that will blend seamlessly into your perfectly curated Instagram aesthetic. As I pull open the fashionably oversized wooden door that guards Etta’s idyllic entryway and step out of Arizona’s grueling summer heat, I am greeted by a cool gush of air and the smile of a friendly hostess who offers to show my...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkSix Questions with Tía Carmen Executive Chef Angelo Sosa
Marilyn HawkesJune 6, 2022
Accompanied by a lot of local buzz, executive chef Angelo Sosa and restaurant operator Mark Stone opened Tía Carmen at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in May. Sosa, who appeared on three seasons of Top Chef, opened the restaurant in tribute to his aunt, Carmen. The restaurant specializes in contemporary Southwest cuisine with special emphasis on wood-fire grilling. Here’s what Sosa has to say about his new venture. What does it meant...
How many of us would love to go back to that carefree feeling of frolicking around the playground as a child? Indeed, it would be pretty cool to relive those memories as an adult – perhaps even with a cocktail in hand. Good news for the young at heart: Recreo, a new playground-themed restaurant in downtown Chandler, is serving up inventive eats and playful cocktails with a serious side of nostalgia. The expansive patio and...
When my friend and I wander into Far Away Wine and Provisions, we consider the cozy living room set-up — couch, chairs, coffee table — near the entrance but settle instead for a couple of stools at the tiny bar. We know we want to eat something and hunching over a coffee table is never a fun way to go about it. Besides, the bar seems to be where the action is. At 5:30, there...
After making waves in late 2020 with their debut restaurant, Southeast Asian-influenced Belly Kitchen & Bar (named one of our Best New Restaurants in 2021), Phoenix restaurant veterans and longtime friends Robert Cissel, Paul Waxman and Michael Babcock are back at it. This summer, the Instrumental Hospitality partners will launch a second Belly at Epicenter in Gilbert. Then they’ll head back to Downtown Phoenix to open Sin Muerte, a vegetarian restaurant set to debut...