By Jess Harter
By Jess Harter
By Jess Harter
Please support the businesses that support MXSW:
Back East Bagels
Bar/Restaurant Insurance
Brooklyn V’s Pizza
Craft 64
Creative Strategies
Cuisine & Wine Bistro
Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta
La Ristra New Mexican
Laurshan Construction
Sal’s Gilbert Pizza
Serrano’s Restaurants
Sun Devil Hoods
Taqueria Factory
The Hart Experience
The Restaurant Brokers
Tott’s Asian Diner
Venezia’s Pizza
We Sell Restaurants
🌮 Frutilandia and Taqueria Factory are giving away a free 12-ounce mango or tamarind raspado and two free carne asada or chicken tacos per person from 3-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the ‘‘grand opening’’ of their first dual-concept restaurant (which actually opened
🌮 Taco Boys, a Sonoran-style taqueria launched in downtown Phoenix in 2019, has opened its fifth Valley location in a former CIrcle K building on the northeast corner of Thomas and 32nd Street in Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Tacos,
🏨 Théa Mediterranean Rooftop, the fifth and final restaurant to debut at Sam Fox’s new food-first luxury hotel The Global Ambassador, opens today on the northwest corner of Camelback and 44th Street in east Phoenix. What’s on the menu? 🐟
🍔 Badlands Bar & Grill, an American elevated comfort food restaurant, has closed after two years on the north end of the Hilton Garden Inn on the west side of the Loop 101 between Guadalupe and Elliot. The announcement ‘‘We
🍋 Happy Lemon, a Taiwan-based bubble tea concept with more than 350 locations in the U.S., has opened at the 99 Ranch Market plaza on the northeast corner of Chandler and Dobson in Chandler. What’s on the menu? More than
🍔 Wayback Burgers, a Connecticut-based fast-casual chain, has made its Arizona debut next to Orangetheory Fitness and Chipotle at Gilbert Town Square on Gilbert Road between Warner and Ray. What’s on the menu? Originally called Jake’s Hamburgers, its menu features
🍝 Since opening Dec. 12 at Mesa Riverview, Fazoli’s has been smashing records – including biggest first-day and first-week sales – for the 36-year-old fast-casual chain that has more than 200 locations nationwide. What’s next? It’s the Valley’s first free-standing
🇻🇳 La Sen Vietnamese Cuisine opens today in the former modern American gastropub Double Dutch Kitchen & Cocktails space on the northeast corner of Dobson and Germann in south Chandler. The building’s original occupant was Thai restaurant Chao from 2013-14,
Thundercat Lounge, a 1980s- and ’90s-inspired dance club from the creators of the Thunderbird Lounge, opens today on the southeast corner of Van Buren and Ninth Avenue in downtown Phoenix. What clubgoers will find in the refurbished Art Deco building
☕️ Oregon-based Black Rock Coffee Bar will open its second Queen Creek location at 5 a.m. Friday on the northeast corner of Signal Butte and Ocotillo. Per the chain’s tradition, the new location will offer $2 medium drinks all day Friday,
🍷 The Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix hosts Festivin 2024 – its fourth annual celebration of wine and food featuring classes, demonstrations, dinners, and more – Thursday through Sunday. The highlight of the weekend is the Grand Tasting from 3-7 p.m.
🍔 Ohio-based White Castle announced it will build its third Arizona restaurant on the northwest corner of I-10 and Bullard in Goodyear. The iconic fast-food chain made its Arizona debut in Scottsdale in 2019 and added a south Tempe location
🍺 The third annual Copper State Beer Festival will feature ales from more than 70 breweries from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Riverview Park in northwest Mesa. Beside beers, there will be ciders, meads, seltzers, wines, and spirits. Other attractions: Two
I’m sorry to be the bearer of sad news for the second morning in a row. Romeo Taus, longtime East Valley chef and owner of Romeo’s Euro Cafe in downtown Gilbert, died Monday after a brief battle with brain cancer.
🔪 Valley chefs Matt Jordan and Gio Osso will face off tonight on the Food Network’s “SuperChef Grudge Match” with the winner getting the loser’s favorite knife and $10,000. Jordan (left) is a corporate chef for Nestle Professional. Osso (right)
🍹 Aaron and Jared Pool, the founders of Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, have launched a new concept in downtown Phoenix. Hugo’s, an Ibiza-inspired cantina, has soft-opened in the 1930s-era building formerly home to Sin Muerte, which closed in August, on
Jai Thai has opened in the former King Red Crawfish & Pho space on the southeast corner of Bell and 99th Avenue in Sun City. Signature dishes include Seafood Crispy Noodle, Massaman Stew Beef, and Choo Chee Salmon Curry. (Pictured:
I’m sad to report the Valley’s food and beverage community has lost another beloved member. Jared Flowers, a restaurant consultant from Gilbert, unexpectedly died in his sleep Thursday night. He was just 45. A former chef and general manager, Flowers
• Copper State Beer Festival: Jan. 13 at Riverview Park in Mesa. • A Taste of AZ Festival: Jan. 27 at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. • Southwest Cajun Festival: Feb. 3 at Dr. AJ Chandler Park in Chandler. •
🍕 Gio’s Chicago Pizza, a strip-mall eatery specializing in a variety of Windy City favorites, has opened on the northwest corner of Peoria and 43rd Avenue in Glendale. Tavern-style pizzas come in 14- and 16-inch sizes and include the Gio’s
