MOUTH BY SOUTHWEST

Do you love going out to eat & drink in the Valley? Become a MXSW Insider

By Jess Harter • Friday, March 8, 2024

Welcome to MXSW! Most posts here are free to read. You also can sign up for MXSW’s free daily newsletter.

MXSW Insiders – subscribers who pay a small monthly fee (less than $5 per month) – get additional access to premium content, including exclusive dining guides and information about upcoming restaurants and bars.

Here are just a few links to popular MXSW Insider content:

Hottest new restaurants & bars in Phoenix metro area

Restaurants opening soon in Phoenix metro area

MXSW guide to every Phoenix metro area brewery

See the full list of MXSW Insider guides here. Or click here to see all recent MXSW Insider posts (you’ll only be able to see the headlines).

🔓 You can learn more about MXSW Insider subscriptions and unlock premium content here.

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Things to Do

This weekend’s top food & drink events in the Valley

By Jess Harter • Friday, April 19, 2024

🥖 It’s 4/20 Day on Saturday, and cannabis-themed Cheba Hut ‘‘Toasted’’ Subs, which has seven Valley locations, will be selling Nugs – its 4-inch subs, normally $6.99-$7.09 – for $4.20. (No actual cannabis is used in the food.) You also can get a free frisbee.

🚜 The Queen Creek Olive Mill’s annual Olive Blossom Festival, which runs 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, features olive oil educational classes, live music, special vendors, and tractor tours. Admission is free.

🍹 The fifth annual You’re Bacon Me Crazy Brunch Crawl takes place 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in downtown Chandler. Tickets ($20-$25) get you a $5 drink, a $6 small bite, or both for $10 at 14 participating restaurants and bars.

🍟 Check out creative french fries at the third annual Fried French Fry & Music Festival from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix. Admission is $16 and sold only online. Any fries are an extra cost.

💐 A celebration of life for Chompies co-founder Renee “Lovey” Borenstein, who died April 4 at age 89, will be held from 3-5 p.m. Sunday at the Chompies on the northwest corner of Cactus and the Piestewa Freeway in Phoenix.

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New Restaurant Alert

Pita Cafe opens takeout & delivery Pita Cafe Express in north Phoenix

By Jess Harter • Friday, April 19, 2024

🥙 Pita Cafe, a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant.in north Scottsdale, has opened Pita Cafe Express – a takeout and delivery location – on the northwest corner of Bell and Seventh Street in north Phoenix.

What’s on the menu?

Diners choose a base (pita, rice bowl, hummus, salad, or fries), a protein (gyro, chicken, steak/lamb, or falafel), vegetables, and sauces. Prices start at $9.99.

You can add a side and drink for an additional $5.99.

If you go

📌 Pita Cafe Express, 430 E. Bell Road, Phoenix, 480-307-8333. Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.

📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.

Food trucks

Flyin’ K BBQ truck celebrates 10-year mark at Ahwatukee Eats today

By Jess Harter • Friday, April 19, 2024

🚚 The Flyin’ K BBQ food truck celebrates its 10-year anniversary at Ahwatukee Eats, the monthly food truck roundup from 5-9 p.m. today in the Desert Dentistry parking lot on the southeast corner of Chandler Boulevard and 46th Street in Ahwatukee.

What’s on the menu?

Flyin’ K BBQ owners and Arizona natives Ken and Heather Davis (pictured) have developed a menu of central Texas-inspired barbecue dishes with an Arizona twist.

Signature items include their Arizona brisket, MOAB (Mother of All Burritos), Mac Daddy (scratch-made mac and cheese topped with brisket), and White Bite sauce (a horseradish-based sauce with smoked paprika and garlic).

The history

After serving in the military, Ken Davis was a member of the Prescott Hotshots firefighters before joining the corporate world.

“I’d bring my barbecue to the office for colleagues to test,’’ he says. ‘‘When people showed up for meetings they didn’t need to attend just because they heard my newest BBQ was up for grabs, I thought I might have something good enough to leave corporate.”

The company

Davis and his wife, a 17-year veteran of the hospitality industry, now run the Flyin’ K Hospitality Group, which includes the food truck, a catering service, and a consulting business.

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For paid subscribers

MXSW Insider: Il Bosco Pizza finally coming to East Valley

By Jess Harter • Thursday, April 18, 2024

Sorry! While most of MouthBySouthwest.com is free to read, MXSW Insider articles are for paid subscribers only.

Learn how to become an MXSW Insider.

New Restaurant Alert

Taste 117 chocolate shop, cafe & tea house opens near downtown Mesa

By Jess Harter • Thursday, April 18, 2024

🍫 Taste 117 – an artisan chocolate shop, cafe, and tea house concept from Provo, Utah – has opened an Arizona location on the northwest corner of Mesa Drive and Second Avenue near downtown Mesa.

What’s on the menu?

Savory options are three sandwiches ($11-$14) and seasonal soups ($8), while sweet choices include chocolate mousse ($8), brownies ($7.50), house-made ice cream ($6), scones (two for $5), and cakes ($6 per slice).

Beverages include hot chocolate ($7), sipping chocolate ($6), iced chocolate ($6), cacao tea ($7), ginger and mint steepers ($4.50-$5), and more.

An afternoon tea experience ($35 per person) comes with an English scone, four savory tea sandwiches or hors d’oeuvres, four desserts, and a choice of drink. Reservations are required.

A fondue experience ($20 per person) includes an imported cheese or artisan chocolate fondue base accompanied by seasonal fruits, veggies, scratch-made bread, and a drink. Reservations required.

Chocolate tastings ($26 per person) include an interactive chocolate-making demonstration, a video tour of Taste 117’s factory, and a guided tasting of nine artisan chocolates, as well as a selection of olive oils and vinegars. Reservations required.

If you go

📌 Taste 117, 144 S. Mesa Drive #A, Mesa, 480-769-9901. Open 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Monday.

📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.

New Restaurant Alert

Fast-casual Mexican concept Quik Burrito launches in north Phoenix

By Jess Harter • Thursday, April 18, 2024

🌯 Quik Burrito, a fast-casual Mexican eatery, has opened at Mountainview Marketplace on the southwest corner of Thunderbird and 32nd Street in north Phoenix.

What’s on the menu?

Burritos ($12.99), burrito bowls ($13.99), flour or corn tacos (two for $13.99), quesadillas ($12.99), papas con carne ($14.99), and desserts ($4-$5).

Protein choices include carnitas, green chile carnitas, pastor, asada, asada ranchero, barbacoa, white chicken, chipotle chicken, shrimp, grilled fish, surf and turf, or vegetable.

No alcohol is available.

If you go

📌 Quik Burrito, 13802 N. 32nd St. #73B, Phoenix, 480-361-3578. Open 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.

Things to Do

Myke’s Pizza in downtown Mesa to host Detroit-style pizza pop-up tonight

By Jess Harter • Wednesday, April 17, 2024

🍕 Myke’s Pizza, the award-winning wood-fired pizzeria inside Cider Corps in downtown Mesa, hosts a Detroit-style pizza pop-up today with Brent Kille of Sonoran Pasta Co.

Fifty percent of the proceeds will be donated to 22 Jumps, a non-profit that works toward veteran suicide prevention and promoting traumatic brain injury research.

What’s on the menu

Three special pizzas will be available from 5 p.m. until sold out:

The Lola: House-made spicy sausage, peppadew pepper, ricotta, red auce, mozzarella, and hot honey ($21).
The Peppi: Cupping pepperoni, pepperoncini, red sauce, and mozzarella ($20).
Classic Cheese: Mozzarella, red sauce, and oregano ($17).

There also will be a special ‘‘Michigan-inspired’’ dessert.

📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.

For paid subscribers

MXSW Insider: Caldwell County BBQ making plans for 3rd Valley location

By Jess Harter • Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Sorry! While most of MouthBySouthwest.com is free to read, MXSW Insider articles are for paid subscribers only.

Learn how to become an MXSW Insider.

Coming soon

The Larder & The Delta to reopen in Binkley’s midtown Phoenix space

By Jess Harter • Tuesday, April 16, 2024

🧑🏿‍🍳 The Larder & The Delta, chef Stephen Jones’ well-regarded Southern restaurant that closed in October, will reopen in the soon-to-be-vacated Binkley’s space near the northwest corner of 24th Street and Osborn in midtown Phoenix.

Binkley’s owners Kevin and Amy Binkley broke the news in a social media post announcing the impending closure of their 22-seat restaurant.

The quote

‘‘In August, we will be turning Binkley’s Restaurant over to the talented Chef Stephen Jones of the larder & the delta,’’ they posted. ‘‘Binkley’s Restaurant is special to us, so we thought carefully about who we would like to see operating in our space. We reached out to him to see if he would consider executing his food as an elevated, multicourse, seasonal tasting menu, and he enthusiastically accepted our offer.’’

The history

Jones opened The Larder & The Delta (originally called Yard Bird & The Larder) in 2015 as a six-seat counter in a shared space at the DeSoto Central Market in downtown Phoenix.

After winning $30,000 on the Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games: Impossible,” he moved into his own space (pictured) on the northwest corner of Central and Portland in 2018.

📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.

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