The Blog
These are our favorite blogs & reviews about eating out in Phoenix:
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What the Jester Had For Dinner
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The Phoenix Restaurants Online Blog
Last Chance To Use Gift Cards at Chloe's Corner
If you received a gift card for Chloe's Corner this holiday, you'll want to use it pretty soon. The Fox Restaurant Concepts eatery at Kierland Commons has been sold.
In a friendly touch, however, Fox will honor all cards through March 31.
The eatery was purchased by former Chloe employee Ashly Young, who says she will continue the overall theme of the diner, though adding new touches to reflect her "personality and style."
Young joined Fox five years ago, working in the full-service bakery within Olive & Ivy during its opening. Expect the chef to add some flair to the casual breakfast, lunch and early dinner offerings such as a hot roast beef sandwich, homemade soup and chopped salad.
Chloe's Corner
15215 N. Kierland Blvd.
(in Kierland Commons),
Scottsdale, AZ
480-998-0202
chloescorneraz.com
Rachael Ray Picks the Best Pizza in America
Arizona pizza just got a little bit of respect. While most people would pick either the cities Chicago or New York as having the best pizza, Rachael Ray Magazine's March 2010 issue has crowned a Phoenix, Arizona pizza restaurant as best in the whole USA.
The magazine enlisted Adam Kuban and Ed Levine from the website SeriousEats.com to find the best pie in the 50 states. Kuban and Levine flew around America scouting for the best pizza in the country. They divided the country into regions and picked 64 pizzerias to try. Pizzeria Bianco won the top slot.
Co-owner and chef of Pizzeria Bianco, Chris Bianco, is no stranger to accolades. He won the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southwest in 2003 (the Oscar of the restaurant industry). This is not the first time writer Ed Levine has eaten at Pizzeria Bianco. He wrote about it in the New York Times and for his book "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven."
Why Bianco? "Pizza is all about balance, texture, skill and taste," Levine says. He adds that Bianco "isn't trying to replicate Neapolitan pizza," but that "he's bringing his own artistry and craftsmanship." "You can taste how much he cares," says Levine.
Chris Bianco hasn't just leant his name to the sign on the building. For over 20 years he has overseen every pizza that came out of his wood-fired pizza. Unfortunately asthma has gotten the better of him and he has had to step away from the oven.
Along with Phoenix pizza, here is the line up of top pizzerias in America according to Levine and Kuban:
Pizzeria Bianco - Phoenix, Arizona
Great Lake Chicago, Illinois
Motorino - New York, New York
Pizzeria Mozza - Los Angeles, California
Verasano's Pizzeria - Atlanta, Georgia
Dough Pizzeria Napoletana - San Antonio, Texas
Antico Pizza Napoletana - Atlanta, Georgia
Russo's NY Coal-Fired Pizza - Houston, Texas
Kai Receives Two 5-diamond ratings!
Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa has been awarded the Mobil Travel Guide's 5-Star Rating as well as AAA's 5-diamond rating.
Phoenix has got the only 5-star rated restaurant in Arizona and one of only four in the United States.
www.wildhorsepass.com/kai-restaurant
8 Arizona Chefs Nominated for
James Beard Awards
So who is James Beard and what’s the deal with his award.
James Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 21, 1985) is the father of the American gourmet cooking movement who brought French cooking to the U.S. He wrote twenty books and starred in the first cooking show on American TV “I Love to Eat” on NBC. (Julia Childs’ show was on the BBC.)
According to the James Beard Foundation website: "In 1955, he established The James Beard Cooking School. He continued to teach cooking to men and women for the next 30 years, both at his own schools (in New York City and Seaside, Oregon), and around the country at women's clubs, other cooking schools, and civic groups. He was a tireless traveler, bringing his message of good food, honestly prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage."
The James Beard Foundation was set up in Beard's honor to provide scholarships to aspiring food professionals and to champion the American culinary tradition — which Beard helped create. Since 2001 the Beard Foundation has awarded over $2.2 million in scholarships and tuition waivers to young culinarians and career changers pursuing culinary studies.
The annual James Beard Foundation Awards (often called "The Oscars of Food") are given at the industry's biggest party, part of a fortnight of activities that celebrate fine cuisine and Beard's birthday. Held on the first Monday in May, the Awards ceremony honors the finest chefs, restaurants, journalists, cookbook authors, restaurant designers, and electronic media professionals in the country. It culminates in a reception featuring a tasting of the signature dishes of more than 30 of the James Beard Foundation's very best chefs.
Now the preliminary nominations just came out for this year's James Beard Awards and eight Phoenix and Scottsdale restaurateurs, restaurants and chefs are on the lists.
Best Chef - Southwest ballot:
Kevin Binkley of Binkley's in Cave Creek
Beau MacMillan of Elements in Paradise Valley
Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Café in Phoenix
Outstanding Chef:
Janos Wilder of Janos Restaurant in Tucson
Outstanding Restaurant:
Vincent On Camelback, Phoenix
Best New Restaurant:
St Francis, Phoenix
Outstanding Wine Service:
Tarbell's, Phoenix
Outstanding Restaurateur:
Sam Fox
The nominees are culled from 21,000 entries by a panel of 400 judges. The preliminary ballots contain 20 entries in each category, which will be trimmed to five finalists. They will be announced March 22. The awards ceremony takes place in New York on May 3.
Devoured Culinary Festival
When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., March 13-14.
Where: Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix.
Price: $90 for both days, $75 at the door per day, $65 in advance each day.
Organizers have already lined up an impressive list of 35 participants, and promise more to come.
Confirmed are Barrio Café, Bernie Kantak, Caffe Boa, Chelsea's Kitchen, Cheuvront Wine & Cheese Cafe, Christopher's, Cibo, Coronado Café, Cowboy Ciao, Crudo, Different Pointe of View, District, Estate House, Fez, FnB, Green, Hana Sushi, Il Terrazzo, Kai, Mabel's on Main, Maizie's, Modern Steak, Nine 05, Olive & Ivy, Parlor, Phoenix Public Market, Prado, Petite Maison, Postino, St. Francis, Switch, Talavera, Ticoz, True Food Kitchen and Udder Delights.
Some restaurants will be participating both days; others, only one. (The final schedule has not yet been worked out.) Meanwhile, five chef demonstrations have also been announced: James Porter (Petite Maison), Aaron May (Mabel's on Main), Christopher Gross (Christopher's), Payton Curry (Caffe Boa) and Gio Osso (Estate House). At least one more chef is soon expected to be added to the list.
There will be an extensive wine, beer and spirits program at the festival as well, including many Arizona producers. Raymond Sokolov, the "Wall Street Journal's" restaurant and wine writer, will be giving a one-hour seminar each day.
Advance tickets can be purchased online at protix.com, or by calling Protix at 1-866-977-6849. Single-day tickets cost $79.50 ($74.50 until Feb. 1); the two-day pass is $111.00.
You can also purchase single-day tickets in person at the Phoenix Art Museum for $57 (a considerable savings over Protix). However, the museum does not sell two-day passes. One-day tickets at the door will be $75.
All ticket prices include a $2 per-day contribution to Cox Charities.
Although the details are not yet finalized, other festival events will include a light-rail lunch crawl and two dinner crawls.
6 Fun Days of Wine, Food & Music
Scottsdale Culinary Festival
April 13th – 18th
As the longest running festival of its kind in the United States, the Scottsdale Culinary Festival draws more than 40,000 visitors looking to enjoy fabulous food, fun and festivities (not to mention idyllic weather!)
This year's festival will feature a host of events from cooking demonstrations by some the nation's top chefs to a one of a kind James Beard out of the house dinner. No matter what kind of culinary experience you crave, the Scottsdale Culinary Festival has something for everyone!
www.scottsdaleculinaryfestival.org
LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
Tuesday Farmers Markets
• Phoenix: St. Mary's / Westside Food Bank
4211 N. 43rd Ave.
Season: April - September 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
623-848-1234
• Scottsdale: Desert Canyon Center Farmers Market
10405 McDowell Mountain Rd.
Season: October through May 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
480-585-8639
Wednesday Farmers Markets
• Phoenix: Downtown Phoenix Public Market
721 N. Central
Season: Ongoing 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
602-493-5231
• Phoenix: Town & Country Market
2021 E. Camelback Rd.
Season: Ongoing 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
602-955-6850
• Phoenix: Mountain Park - Baseline Market
635 E. Baseline Rd.
Season: April – September 9 a.m. - Noon
623-848-1234
Thursday Farmers Markets
• Chandler: Chandler Farmers Market
Boston and Arizona Avenue at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park
Season: ongoing 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
480-782-3047
• Surprise: Clinica Adelante
Tidwell Family Clinic, 16560 N. Dysart Rd.
Season: April – July 8:30 a.m. to Noon
623-848-1234
Friday Farmers Markets
• Casa Grande: Casa Grande Farmers’ Market
1510 N. Casa Grande Ave.
Season: March – June 8 a.m. to Noon
520-866-7313
• Mesa: Mesa Community Farmers' Market
263 N. Center Street
Season: Ongoing 9 a.m. to noon
623-848-1234
• Carefree: Carefree Farmers Market
Easy Street and Ho Hum Way in Downtown Carefree
Season: October through Mid-May 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
623-848-1234
Saturday Farmers Markets
• Anthem: Outlets of Anthem Farmers Market
I-17 Exit #229 at Entrance to the Food Court
Season: October through April, first Saturday of every month
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
480-585-8639
• Phoenix: Roadrunner Park Farmers Market
3502 E. Cactus Rd.
Season: Ongoing
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. October – May; 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. June - September
623-848-1234
• Phoenix: Downtown Phoenix Public Market
721 N. Central
Season: Ongoing
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. October - April; 8 a.m. - Noon May - September
602-493-5231
• Phoenix: Farm at South Mountain
6102 S. 32nd Street
Season: October through May, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
480-236-7097
• Phoenix: Phoenix Camelback Market
3930 E. Camelback
Season: October through May, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
602-224-0225
• Cave Creek: Cave Creek Framers and Craft Market
Hammerhead Jack's, 6900 E. Cave Creek Road
Season: October through May 9 a.m. to noon
480-585-8639
• Glendale: Westgate Farmers Market
Westgate City Center Fountain Park
Season: October to May 8 a.m. to noon
480-585-8639
• Goodyear: Estrella Lakeside Market
Estrella Mountain Ranch, Estrella Pkwy. south of Elliot
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., third Saturday of the month
Season: October through May
480-585-8639
• Scottsdale: Scottsdale Downtown's Old Town Farmers’ Market
Brown and 1st Street
8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Season: November through May
623-848-1234
• Scottsdale: Market at DC Ranch
Pima & Thompson Peak Parkway
Seasonal 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
480-563-0019
Sunday Farmers Markets
• Phoenix: Ahwatukee Farmers Market
4700 E. Warner
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. October – May; 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. June - September
Season: Ongoing
623-848-1234
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