Author: Jess Harter

Naked Pizza, a New Orleans-based chain known for its all-natural pizza, will open its first Arizona franchise this month at Elliot and 48th Street in Ahwatukee. Naked Pizza features crust made with 10 grains and seeds, sauce void of added sugar or

Struggling like many other restaurants during the recession, Culinary Solutions Cafe in Tempe came up with a unique way to renovate. Taking a customer’s suggestion, it turned to social media and other local businesses: Customers helped with the demolition of

One year after Matt McLinn and his partners launched The Grind burger eatery in east Phoenix, the chef has left the restaurant. McLinn is going to work at one of Joel Robuchon’s restaurants in Las Vegas for a while, but says

Urban Picnic, which offers sandwiches and salads, has taken over the former Jersey Girl Café in downtown Mesa. Breakfast options include frittatas ($6.50), breakfast burritos ($7) and Nutella French toast ($5). Among the lunch sandwiches: prosciutto and fig ($8), grilled

Betty’s Nosh, a restaurant and wine bar that opened April 21 in Glendale, is offering the Valley’s first mushroom bar. Diners can choose from 22 different delicacies stuffed into mushrooms as an appetizer or even a full meal. Betty’s Nosh

Cave Creek Coffee Company – a coffeehouse, wine bar, restaurant and live-music venue – has reopened after renovations to expand the lounge area. CCCC also has introduced new Southwest-themed menus for breakfast and lunch, as well as the bar. Cave

A health-conscious Mediterranean grill called Bowl of Greens will open in July on the bottom floor of ASU’s Walter Cronkite School in downtown Phoenix. Owner Jay Krishan, a New Jersey transplant, promises: (Bowl of Greens) is a fine salad company where you

ThaiPan, a well-regarded Thai restaurant in north Scottsdale, has closed after nearly nine years and been replaced by Thai Basil Scottsdale & Sushi Bar. Thai Basil already has locations in Tempe, Ahwatukee and Phoenix, and plans to open another in

Stone & Vine Urban Italian, described by chef chef Martin Kucera as a “small, East Coast-style eatery,” will open next month at 92nd Street and Shea in Scottsdale. Owner Joe Popo and Kucera both worked previously at Sapporo in Scottsdale. Stone & Vine

Saber Rouin, a fixture at Valley farmers markets as his commercial alter ego Doctor Hummus, is opening a restaurant in Tempe. Wild Flavors will be located on the southeast corner of Broadway and McClintock. Rouin hopes to open by the end

Looks like the Valley will have one less all-you-can-eat option: LJ’s Pizza, the 38-year-old Mesa pizzeria best-known for its lunch buffet, will close next month. Owner Clay Moser says the number of pizzas served during the lunch buffet has dropped

Big Earl’s BBQ contributing chef Tony Morales (pictured on left) and New Times critic Martin Cizmar (right) mixed it up on Twitter over the weekend. At issue: Cizmar’s mostly negative Big Earl’s review, which was published last week. Cizmar, the

Postino founder Craig DeMarco’s two newest concepts – a neighborhood restaurant and bar called Windsor and an ice cream parlor called Churn – open today in midtown Phoenix. The side-by-side businesses are housed in a restored 1940s-era building on Central

With National BBQ Month just around the corner, the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort has converted its Hole-in-the-Wall – a 1940s ranch house that offered Western-themed fare like rattlesnake and chicken-fried elk – into a BBQ restaurant. Taking advantage of a vintage outdoor

Tio Oso’s, the Mexican restaurant that took over the former Uncle Bear’s location on Power Road south of Pecos in Queen Creek last July, has been converted into the Thirsty Cactus Cantina. The new owners are Mark Setterington, who ran Margaritaville

Zaytoon Kabob Bistro, which offers a large menu of Mediterranean and Persian food, has opened a second Valley location at 48th Street and Chandler Boulevard in Ahwatukee. A number of kabobs – beef tenderloin (pictured), ground beef, lamb, chicken, shrimp

Young’s Farm, the defunct farm and produce stand near Dewey famous for its sweet corn for 60 years, is back in business. The 300-acre Yavapai County farm closed five years ago to make way for a housing development, plans for

Postino founder Craig DeMarco is scheduled to open his new concepts – Windsor and Churn – Monday, April 25, on Central Avenue just north of Camelback in Phoenix. Windsor is a restaurant with a menu of what DeMarco calls “glorified

The Strand, a fast-casual Italian eatery, is scheduled to open in July at CityScape in downtown Phoenix. Ernest Vega, a former regional manager for fast-casual Italian pioneer Pasta Pomodoro, and Jimmy Carlin are behind the concept. The pair also have a

Carmel’s Coffee & Bakery has opened in the former Chestnut Lane Café space on the southwest corner of Camelback and 44th Street. Carmel’s uses coffee from Phoenix’s boutique Cartel Coffee Lab. Baked goods include muffins, pie and scones.