The men behind MercBar revive the moribund Esplanade dining scene with a trio of top-flight eateries.
The PHiXFriday Flicks: There Will Be Blood (and Plenty of It) in Mortal Kombat II
M.V. MoorheadMay 8, 2026
Debuting as a video game in the early ’90s, Mortal Kombat became both popular and notorious for its violent and gory death scenes. This renown led to feature films in 1995 and 1997; onward to TV shows, both animated and live-action; comic books and other incarnations; to a 2021 movie reboot; and now to a sequel, Mortal Kombat II. Not being a video game guy, I was unfamiliar with the franchise when I saw the reboot. Having no...
Food ReviewsDining Review: Society Swan
Nikki BuchananMarch 1, 2026
Sam Fox continues his Franco-American hot streak with this winning Scottsdale brasserie.
The PHiXMovie Reviews: ‘One of Them Days’ and ‘Dog Man’
M.V. MoorheadJanuary 31, 2025
The title character in Dog Man is a man with a dog’s head. The product of improvised emergency surgery after a bomb squad mishap, he serves as a police officer in a generic city called “OK City.” Dog Man’s nemesis is a villainous cat named Petey; their ongoing relationship consists of Dog Man repeatedly capturing Petey, and Petey repeatedly escaping from jail. This goes on agreeably enough until Petey decides to up the ante by cloning himself,...
Food & DrinkWhat to Eat at Chase Field
M.V. MoorheadJune 20, 2019
Thanks to Chase Field’s ambitious culinary program, eating at a D-backs game is more than just peanuts.
Food & DrinkThe Farish House
Nikki BuchananJune 20, 2019
A historical home in Roosevelt Row roars back to life as a pan-European bistro.
Food & DrinkWright’s Feels a Little Wrong
Nikki BuchananJune 20, 2019
Arizona Biltmore’s flagship restaurant is decidedly less than the sum of its parts lately.
Form admirably meets function in North Scottsdale, where two local restaurant vets have stealthily opened the Valley’s best new restaurant of 2019 – so far.
Performing ArtsFor Corny Fun, Check Out Arizona Opera’s “Hercules vs. Vampires”
M.V. MoorheadOctober 20, 2017
The season opener for Arizona Opera, Hercules vs. Vampires, demonstrates just how fine the line between highbrow and lowbrow can be. The mythological Greek hero Hercules ventures into the underworld to fetch a cure for a princess who, thanks to an evil king, has lost her memory. Sure... OK.
There’s nothing about this story that wouldn’t have been taken seriously by generations of grand opera composers. Indeed, it’s arguably a more straightforward narrative than that of many operas.
MusicU2 Ponders What’s Changed Since 1987 as Joshua Tree Anniversary Tour Comes to Phoenix
Nikole TowerSeptember 20, 2017
Last night's highly anticipated U2 concert at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale ushered in the official start of fall in the Valley. The roof, gleefully, was open, framing a few stars and washing the packed crowd with blessed late-September breezes. Bono and the band delighted, playing hits spanning their 41-year career – from “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to “Beautiful Day,” along with every song from the beloved Joshua Tree album.
Near the beginning of Pamela Tom’s documentary Tyrus, the painter Tyrus Wong, who died last year at the age of 106, explains that his Chinese name, Gen Yo, translates to something like “Buena Vista” in Spanish. The view from his eyes seems, indeed, to have been beautiful.
As I took a bite of Chef Jeff Smedstad’s "pay de queso" (Mexican cheesecake), my mind took me back to my childhood’s kitchen. I pictured my mom baking pays for the holidays and a younger me eager to eat. This is the real deal I told Smedstad. The chef and owner of the reknowned Elote Cafe in Sedona says he was influenced by a trip to Veracruz where he learned about the craft of homemade Mexican cheesecake sort of a lighter, less sweet, less dense version of our beloved New York cheesecake. He put a spin on the traditional Mexican dessert with goat cheese from Fossil Creek Goat Farm in Strawberry, Arizona, near Payson. The result is absolutely exquisite.
Performing ArtsQ&A with Adam Langdon of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”
Lauren LoftusJune 19, 2017
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" runs Tuesday, June 20, through Saturday, June 25, at ASU Gammage.
Performing ArtsReview: Ballet Arizona Presents “Topia” at Desert Botanical Garden
Isabella CastilloJune 7, 2017
Topia, a Ballet Arizona performance that runs through Sunday, is back-dropped by the prickly landscape of Desert Botanical Garden and Papago Park beyond. And it has as many peaks and valleys as the hills beyond the stage.