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
🍖 The 71st annual Laveen BBQ Festival, the community’s largest event, takes place 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Caesar Chavez Park (map). Besides a variety of smoked meats, there will be live entertainment, games and activities, and more than 100 vendors. Admission
🍕 Pizza Factory, a California-based chain with Arizona locations in Williams, Payson, and Show Low, has opened a Valley location on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Southern in Mesa. The menu features hand-tossed pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches. An all-you-can-eat buffet
🐴 Desert Pony Tavern, a Southwest-inspired gastropub with open-air seating and views of the McDowell Mountains, has opened at the Hilton North on the northwest corner of Hayden and the 101 in north Scottsdale. A $25 breakfast buffet is offered from
🍷 The good news: A la carte menu options now are available exclusively at the bar on a first-come first-served basis at acclaimed Virtù Honest Craft, which specializes in three-course meals, in Old Town Scottsdale. The bad news: Reservations are not
🍽 The Arizona Restaurant Association has announced the dates for its Spring Arizona Restaurant Week: May 19-28. Participating restaurants will offer special three-course prix-fixe menus for $33, $44, or $55 per person. A complete list of participating restaurants and their ARW
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. Username Password Remember Me Forgot Password
🍳 Matt’s Big Breakfast, a downtown Phoenix institution since 2004, has opened its fifth Valley location (not counting a concession at Sky Harbor Airport) at Epicenter on the northwest corner of Higley and Ray in Gilbert. The no-frills menu features cage-free
🍕 It turns out Dave Portnoy visited more than Pizzeria Bianco and Craft 64 for his famous One Bite Pizza Reviews while the Barstool Sports founder was here for the Super Bowl. Check out his videos of Sal’s Gilbert Pizza, Brooklyn V’s Pizza, Venezia’s Pizzeria, Spinato’s
🍷 Cuisine & Wine Bistro, a family-run French restaurant and wine bar in south Chandler, was awarded places in multiple categories on OpenTable’s exclusive Diner’s Choice list for the second straight year. Cuisine & Wine was voted best in Phoenix/Arizona region
💪 One of the funnest events of Arizona Beer Week – the Pink Boots Arm Wrestling Throwdown – takes place at 6 p.m. tonight at QuartHaus in downtown Chandler. The top women in Arizona’s beer industry will compete for this year’s championship belt. There
🍕 Crust Brothers Pizza, a 2-year-old independent pizzeria in central Scottsdale, has opened a second location on the northwest corner of Baseline and McClintock in south Tempe. Ohio natives Eddie and Mark Miller make what they call ‘‘Midwest-style’’ square-cut pies that
🥞 Country Griddle, a family-run brunch restaurant, has opened in the former Samurai Asian Bistro space on the northwest corner of Van Buren and Dysart in Goodyear. The menu includes several Hawaiian breakfast faves, such as banana pancakes, loco moco
🌮 Mexican restaurant Los Sombreros announced it will close its uptown Phoenix location at Camelback and Third Street on Wednesday. The space formerly was home to SunUp Brewing’s kitchen and bar before Los Sombreros took over in 2019. Los Sombreros’ Scottsdale
🍺 Arizona Wilderness Brewing released its seasonal American Presidential Stout, one of the best imperial stouts made in Arizona, on Presidents Day. Brewed with Nicaraguan cacao nibs from Zak’s Chocolate and Arizona-grown chiltepin peppers, the beer is available on tap and in cans
The Parlay Kitchen & Cocktails, which debuted in Chandler in 2019, will hold a hiring fair from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday at its new Scottsdale location on the southwest corner of the 101 and Via de Ventura. The grand opening
Pedal Haus Brewery will host a Mardi Gras celebration from 2 p.m.-midnight Saturday on the rooftop of its downtown Phoenix location. Festivities will include spicy jambalaya, shrimp po’boys, and Hurricane drink specials, as well as live music and, of course, plenty
Nearly 150 breweries will participate in the 22nd annual Arizona Strong Beer Festival 🍺, the state’s premier craft beer event, Saturday at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. General admission is $70 and includes 28 3-ounce samples from 1-5 p.m. VIP tickets are
Good news: Arizona’s first Black-owned wine bar 🍷 will reopen at 5 p.m. today, according to Chic Chef 77 owner/chef Nic Fields. The Tempe venue closed last Saturday after an alleged drunk driver ran through its patio and window at 2:25 a.m. The business
The Palms Mediterranean Kitchen, a fast-casual restaurant that makes its own pita in-house, has opened on the southeast corner of Northern and 12th Street in north central Phoenix. The menu offers the typical favorites like gyros 🥙, shawarma, falafel, and
Dominic Armato, who critiqued restaurants for the Arizona Republic and AZCentral.com from 2015-2020 before resigning to take a much-needed break from the business, has hooked up with the alt-weekly Phoenix New Times, where he will write one monthly review on
