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Good news for Michigan natives whose lunch hours won’t accommodate a trip to Sunshine’s Motor City Cafe in south Tempe. The lunch-only eatery now will be open Saturdays starting this weekend. Al and Michelle (aka “Sunshine”) Taylor, owners of Special Moments

After a hiatus of nearly five years, Howard Seftel is blogging again. The Arizona Republic’s venerable dining critic is one of several “insiders” authoring a flurry of new blogs on AZ Central. The Republic has a spotty history with blogging.

“Check, Please! Arizona,” a TV show of local restaurant reviews, kicks off its third season at 7 tonight on Eight (Channel 8). Each week, the 30-minute show, hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef Robert McGrath, features a trio of Valley

Pittsburgh Willy’s in Chandler has debuted a new menu item: the spicy Wing Ding Willy Dog ($5.75). It’s a Polish hot link topped with bacon, crumbled blue cheese, creamy blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce on a sesame seed bun. Celery

I’m back! Those of you who follow me on Facebook already know the story behind my absence for the past week or so. For those who don’t… Turns out some lightheadedness I was having was caused by an irregular heartbeat.

Add a couple more names to the growing list of restaurants coming soon to Gilbert. SoCal Fish Taco Company, an offshoot of the Seafood Market & Restaurant at Mesa’s Dana Park, is moving into a former real estate office on the east side

Liberty Market has the second-best bathrooms in the country, according to the 11th annual Cintas America’s Best Bathroom Contest. The Gilbert restaurant features a communal vanity and sinks, but offers four private rooms, each decorated in a different theme by a

Please welcome MXSW’s newest supporter: Brooklyn Eddie’s Subs. This eatery is fairly new, having opened on the northwest corner of Cooper and Elliot in Gilbert at the end of August. The Brooklyn-style deli serves hot and cold subs, as well

Hold off on the hoarding. Despite an onslaught of media reports about the demise of Twinkies, the iconic spongecakes almost certainly will continue to be made, including right here in the Valley. According to numerous reports, Bimbo, the world’s largest

Chandler fine-dining restaurant Cork changes its menu seasonally, and the winter 2012 version was rolled out over the weekend. Topping the menu is a surprise from chef Brian Peterson: Foie gras on a Chicago char dog (pictured) with relish, pickle,

Please welcome MXSW’s newest supporter: Iguana Mack’s in Chandler. Longtime residents know this roadhouse, on Alma School between Warner and Ray, has been around for years, but if you haven’t check it out lately you haven’t seen its new look

Fat Boys New York Pizza, which just opened in Chandler earlier this year, has closed – at least temporarily. A recording says the pizzeria, located on the southwest corner of Arizona Avenue and Ocotillo, will be closed four or five

November is World Vegan Month, and NYPD Pizza has debuted the Veganizza, a vegan pizza made with Daiya dairy-free cheese and topped with spinach, garlic, Roma tomatoes and fresh basil. Daiya cheese also is now available for all pizzas on NYPD’s

The expansion of Flancer’s in Gilbert is in it final stages, and the restaurant will be closed the next four days to complete the job. It will reopen Friday. For the past couple of weeks, the restaurant has managed to

Ron Lynch, the Tempe businessman who franchised Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery in 2006, will appear on the Nov. 9 episode of the CBS series “Undercover Boss.” The Emmy-winning series features corporation owners or executives going undercover as an entry-level employee in

There weren’t a lot of East Valley restaurants competing in last weekend’s Arizona Taco Festival in Scottsdale, but El Palacio more than made up for it. The Chandler Mexican restaurant came home with 12 awards. On Saturday (there was separate

Potentially a big change for Yelp today: The user-generated review site announces it will warn users about restaurants and other businesses caught paying for reviews. According to Yelp’s announcement: “Starting today, when we’ve determined that there have been significant attempts

Last week, we told you Chandler artisanal bakery Bread Connection was about to launch Saturday hours. Well, they start this weekend. The bakery, which includes a retail store and sandwich shop, opened on the northwest corner of Alma School and

Liberty Market is offering a pair of breakfast specials Friday: Chilaquiles with roasted pork and tomatillo sauce and fried sunny-side-up eggs, or an eggs Benedict frittata with crispy potatoes. But there’s a catch – they’re only available after 5 p.m. The Gilbert

Enjoy traditional German fare – such as pulled pork, nachos, pizza, french fries, and wok-fried noodles – at this weekend’s three-day Oktoberfest at Tempe Town Lake. OK, maybe not-so-traditional German fare. At least there will be bratwurst, too. And while

Farfalle Pesce (pictured) will be among the five dishes featured at this week’s “Taste of Romeo’s Euro Cafe” dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Farfalle Pesce features crabmeat, bay shrimp, asparagus, garlic, capers and mushrooms sautéed in wine cream sauce with bow tie pasta.

Baked orzo pasta with organic butternut squash and organic zucchini in a light basil cream sauce (served with a salad) at Essence Bakery Cafe.

Irish Republic in downtown Chandler is offering a couple beer-and-food Groupons: For $11, get a beer tasting for two, which includes three 5-ounce servings of premium drafts per person, plus one appetizer (up to a $21.99 value). For $23, get a beer

The Keg Steakhouse picked up top honors from attendees of Saturday’s Taste culinary fest in Chandler for its prime rib slider with fizzled onions and Caeser salad (pictured). … Other Taste vote winners Best booth décor:  American: The Keg Asian: Shimogamo Casual café: Pittsburgh

If you were at the Taste Chandler culinary fest Saturday (see photos), you might have noticed newcomer The Devil’s Kitchen was one of this year’s participants. If you liked what you tried – or have yet to try them out

The seasonal Pumpkin Paleta is back at Paletas Betty.

Kai executive chef Michael O’Dowd is leaving the acclaimed restaurant at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa in Chandler to take a similar position at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel. O’Dowd has spent 10 years at Kai, one of

The annual Taste Chandler culinary festival took place Saturday evening in downtown’s A.J. Chandler Park. About 1,000 people attended the sold-out event. Pittsburgh Willy’s owner Randy Walters handed out free hot dog samples. Latitude Eight Thai Grill owner David Fliger

This weekend’s special at Crackers & Co. Cafe: Two fluffy pumpkin pancakes layered with creamy cheesecake filling and topped off with sugared pecans and powdered sugar. Served with two eggs and two slices of bacon.

The non-profit Save the Family Foundation of Arizona will host the fifth annual Taste of SanTan from 6-9 p.m. today at SanTan Village in Gilbert. The outdoor event will feature food samples from a dozen restaurants from SanTan Village and

The East Valley’s first mobile food court will get a “soft launch” when a half-dozen food trucks congregate in downtown Gilbert from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Starting next weekend, the food court will take place 5-9 p.m. Fridays, as well

Cadillac Ranch is combining National Pork Month and Oktoberfest into a special, month-long beer-and-pork menu – dubbed “Porktoberfest” – that launches today. Porktoberfest menu Appetizers: Green Chile Pork Nachos, Bacon Won Tons, Pulled Pork Quesadilla Sandwiches: Locally Made Beer Brat, Maple Bacon Porkwich, Pulled

Ahwatukee’s Pomegranate Cafe will host a free discussion “Recipes for living: How do we sustain our language, cultue, memories, and food?” from 6-8 p.m. Saturday. Special guests will include renowned ASU poet Alberto Rios, urban farmer Maya Dailey, master gardener

Queen Creek Olive Mill hosts its version of an Italian Oktoberfest from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. In addition to its regular menu, the mill will be grilling sweet and spicy Italian sausages in the grove and serving them with gourmet

Anzio Landing, which has been serving Italian food for 23 years at Mesa’s Falcon Field Airport, has moved two miles east to the Village at Las Sendas. It takes over the former Zocalo Kitchen space next to Breadsmith. Owner Rich

Ahwatukee restaurant Secreto is running a Groupon. Get $35 worth of Southwestern food for just $18. The coupon is good for 90 days from date of purchase. Buy it here.

La Fonda, the longtime Tempe Mexican restaurant that moved into new digs three months ago, holds a belated grand-opening party Friday and Saturday. All-day specials will include $2 Dos Equis drafts, $3 house margaritas, $2 Jose Cuervo shots, and half-priced appetizers.

Today’s slice special: Buffalo chicken with 24-ounce fountain drink for $3.25 at Carmine’s Pizza in Gilbert.

Pumpkin gingersnap cookies at Slickables Ice Cream Sandwich in Tempe. Recommended ice cream pairings: pumpkin, chocolate or dulce de leche.

If you’ve been looking for a deal on tickets for the third annual Arizona Taco Festival, here it is: Voice Daily Deals is offering a pair of tickets, normally $24, for just $12. The fest is Oct. 20-21 at Salt

More than 30 East Valley restaurants will provide food samples for Taste, the annual downtown Chandler culinary festival that will take place 5-10 p.m. Saturday in A.J. Chandler Park. Sampling of food samples AJ’s Café: Filet mignon, grilled filet of

Last month, I wrote about the FarmTable brunch on Sunday, Oct. 14, sponsored by the Edible Exchange and featuring three of the Valley’s top chefs. Well, the menu was just released. FarmTable brunch menu Chef Matt Carter: Crab & ham

If you haven’t driven by Flancer’s Gilbert location in the past week, here’s a look at how their dining room expansion is proceeding. Earlier Flancer’s: Pardon our expansion dust

Since Bread Connection opened in March, the Chandler artisanal bakery’s strategy has been to grow slowly but surely. So far, so good. In the past few months, it’s made believers of some of the Valley’s top restaurants, including Cork in Chander and Tarbell’s

I’ve never heard of Signpost, but the Groupon-like company is offering an online coupon for $20 worth of food at the Landmark Restaurant in Mesa for just $10. The deal is good for dinner only (after 3 p.m.) and must

Pork Molise, one of my favorite menu items, will be among the five dishes featured at this week’s “Taste of Romeo’s Euro Cafe” dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Pork Molise (pictured) is a grilled pork tenderloin, wrapped in bacon, with

5 Star BBQ & Grill, which recently opened near downtown Mesa, has announced some daily specials. Daily specials Mondays: $1 off all grill menu items Tuesdays: $1 off pulled pork with side Wednesdays: $1 off brisket with side Thursdays: $1

The Arizona Cardinals’ overtime victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday means the Cards’ special at Pittsburgh Willy’s is available again today. As long as the team remains undefeated, the Chandler hot dog shop is offering a $5 special for any

Two hours before headliners Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers took the stage, the Bad Cactus Brass Band drew a crowd with its German polkas at A.J. Chandler Park in downtown Chandler on Saturday. Besides all the beer, host SanTan Brewing also

SanTan Brewing, which celebrated its fifth anniversary this month, hosts its annual Oktoberfest from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday. The highlight of his year’s fest, which takes place just outside the downtown Chandler brewery in A.J. Chandler Park, is a

Tempe sports bar Lucky Break kicks off a week-long Oktoberfest celebration Saturday. Through next Saturday, Oct. 6, Lucky Break will offer five German beers: Paulaner Hefe Weiss, Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Spaten Oktoberfest, Spaten Dunkel, and Weihenstephan Kristall (all $4). German food specials will be

There’s a lot going on at this weekend’s A Taste of Greece festival in Chandler. Live music. Folk dancing. Arts and crafts. Shopping. Kid’s activities. But let’s face it: The biggest draw is the food. We’re talking about dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed

Big Sky Brewing will celebrate a special release of its Big Sky Double IPA from 6-8 p.m. Friday at Flanny’s in Tempe. The limited-release beer (7.8% ABV) – billed as “an extravaganza of hops and malts” – is hopped with

The Chandler Farmers Market returns from its summer hiatus today with a new location and a new focus. Open 3-7 p.m. Thursdays, the market now will be set up in the recently remodeled ramada space on the east side of Arizona

Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill at Tempe Marketplace added several new fall items to its menus today. New food items include beer-steamed shellfish, arugula & beet salad, BBQ pork pizza, grilled shrimp & butternut squash risotto, blackened Cajun burger, black cherry

Boulders on Broadway will host a Sierra Nevada tap takeover at 7 p.m. Thursday. The featured beers will include standards (Pale Ale, Kellerweiss, Torpedo IPA), seasonals (Summerfest, Tumbler) and limited releases (South Hemisphere Harvest). Other highlights: Foam Pilsner, which the Chico, Calif., brewery

Monsterland, the horror-themed restaurant and museum in downtown museum, doesn’t scare off Phoenix Mag dining critic Geri Koeppel: From the animatronic Grim Reaper peeking over your shoulder as you slurp soup to the illuminated eyeball pendants that watch you knock

Good news for Chicago Bears and Cubs fans: Goose Island beers are coming to the Valley. The well-known Chicago brewery has been selling a few of its limited-release beers in bottles in western states for the past couple years. Now,

Arizona Wilderness Brewing, Gilbert’s first brewery, signed its lease agreement this week and took over its planned space on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and Guadalupe Road. As you can see above, the space is littered with the remnants

Tempe’s award-winning Indian restaurant, The Dhaba, is offering a Voice Daily Deal. Get $30 worth of Indian cuisine – including vegan, gluten-free, Halal, and vegetarian – for $15. The coupon will be available through the weekend and must be used by March

The last Sunday of each month, Cork offers a four-course, prix-fixe dinner menu focused on a different theme. This Sunday’s – “Taste of Native America” – looks amazing. The opening courses are Cherokee pepper pot soup with venison, followed by

Nando’s Mexican Cafe is taking over the short-lived Rancho de Tia Rosa’s location in Chandler. Tia Rosa’s, a popular east Mesa restaurant, opened the newly constructed building on the northeast corner of Dobson and Germann in April 2011 during an

Baked Bleu Tomatoes will be one of the five featured menu items at this week’s “Taste of Romeo’s Euro Cafe” dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. It’s layers of fresh tomatoes and crumbled bleu cheese – baked and served with an Italian roll.

My Wine Cellar in Ahwatukee will host a four-course wine dinner featuring Oregon’s Domaine Drouhin Vineyards on Thursday, Oct. 11. The reception starts at 6:30 p.m., with dinner at 7. Cost is $65 ++ per person. RSVP: 480-598-9463. Menu Reception: Rully (white)

Huge news for Mexican food fans in the East Valley: Los Reyes de la Torta, the Valley’s acclaimed tortas (Mexican sandwiches) shop, is expanding to Tempe. The original Seventh Street location has received national acclaim from numerous TV shows and

Great news for fans of Flancer’s longtime Gilbert location: The tiny eatery is expanding its dining area. Construction work begins today on enclosing the restaurant’s patio and removing the wall between the current dining room and patio. Roll-up, garage-door-style windows

Wendy’s is officially on the Arizona Cardinals’ bandwagon. In celebration of the NFL team’s surprising 3-0 start, the fast-food chain is offering fans a free Asiago Chicken Ranch Club sandwich. The deal requires customers to buy fries and a drink.

In the wake of the Arizona Cardinals’ 27-6 thrashing of the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Willy’s is offering Cardinals fans a special deal. Wear a Cardinals jersey into the Chandler eatery today and you’ll get any specialty dog (normally $4.75-$6.50), chips

Hopheads, gird your loins! Hopageddon, billed as “final battle for your taste buds,” takes place Saturday at Papago Brewing. We’re talking about a massive 32 IPAs on tap, as well as at least one firkin. The second annual event, which

See a very rare TV appearance by yours truly today on the new ABC15 show “The List.” That’s right. The camera caught up to me at the most opportune moment – after a couple pints of ApriQuat Ale – and

Calling all pancake lovers! Boulders on Broadway in Tempe hosts its annual PBR Pancake Eating Contest at noon Saturday. This contest is all about speed, not quantity. The first person to eat one pancake wins. The catch? The pancake is kinda

Left Hand Brewing will be the featured subject of this week’s Friday Beer Class at Whole Foods Chandler. Local rep Beer Kristine will be on hand with samples of the Longmont, Colo., brewery’s rarer beers, including Chainsaw, Fade To Black,

You don’t have to be an ASU or MCC student to cash in on back-to-school drink specials. Tempe sports bar Lucky Break, which caters to a slightly older, neighborhood crowd, is hosting a Back to School Bash for everyone on

The Hungry Monk in Chandler taps Arizona’s last keg of ApriQuat ale at 3 p.m. today during a Sierra Nevada tap takeover. The pale ale, flavored with apricots and kumquats, was brewed at one of Sierra Nevada’s “Beer Camps” by Hungry

One of the East Valley’s top vegan restaurants – Pomegranate Cafe in Ahwatukee – is offering a Voice Daily Deal. Get $15 worth of healthy, organic, locally sourced food at the mother-and-daughter-run eatery and juice bar for just $7. (Pictured: Anasazi

SanTan Brewing, which has been tapping a special cask ale created by its brewers every Thursday, is moving the weekly event to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Today’s cask will be “Falco-Cent Devil’s,” a version of the downtown Chandler brewery’s flagship Devil’s

Handlebar & Grill, the latest concept from Mill Avenue restaurateur Julian Wright, officially opens its doors at 3 p.m. today. Located on the west side of Mill, between Sixth and Seventh street, Handlebar is modeled after a German beer garden

Bourbon Jacks Bar & Grill, the newest addition in downtown Chandler, opens its door today with grand-opening ceremonies from 4:30-5:30 p.m. The self-proclaimed “urban country” restaurant and bar is located on Boston Street, just west of Arizona Avenue. As of this

Flanny’s in Tempe hosts its monthly tap takeover Thursday. The featured brewery will be Firestone Walker. Of the 2,000+ breweries in the U.S., Firestone Walker is one of my favorites. And it’s super rare to find so many of their

Sherry Cranberry Pork (pictured) will be one of the five featured menu items at this week’s “Taste of Romeo’s Euro Cafe” dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. It’s a pork tenderloin with cranberries, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted red pepper, green onions and rosemary. The

Don’t know how I missed this, but Coal Burger quietly closed its Chandler location over the summer. The eco-friendly burger bar was located next to corporate its sibling, Grimaldi’s Pizza, at 56th Street and Ray. From what I can tell, the

You have about a month to enter your favorite homemade dessert in Flancer’s fourth annual Dessert Showdown. To enter, just bring a sample of the dessert and a copy of the recipe into either Flancer’s location – Gilbert or Mesa

Reminder: Tonight is the third round of Chef Off!, a friendly culinary competition between East Valley chefs. DownUnder Wines in Gilbert hosts a showdown between its chef, Jared Lupin, and Romeo’s Euro Cafe chef/owner Romeo Taus. Each will prepare three

TQLA, a tequila-centric restaurant and bar, opens today on Val Vista, just south of U.S. 60, in Mesa. The Dana Park venue is a spinoff of the original in Houston. It offers the same Mexican and Southwestern dishes as the

The Watering Hole at Whole Foods Chandler and Papago Brewing in Scottsdale are among 50 U.S. bars hoping to be named a Great American Beer Bar by CraftBeer.com. The website whittled down its list of 3,300 nominees to just 10

On Saturday, Ahwatukee’s Wedge & Bottle will be showcasing Spanish cheeses and sangria. Enjoy a plate of four Spanish cheeses (Garrotxa, Manchego el Trigal, Mahon, and Cabrales), quince paste, marcona almonds, and crackers for $12 all day. You can add jamon

A reminder: Tickets now are available for Taste, the annual culinary festival in downtown Chandler. There are two big changes for this year’s fest, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 6. First, it will shift back to evening hours, starting

If you’ve seen Flancer’s owner Jeff Flancer in the past year, you can’t help but notice his leaner physique, which he credits to healthier eating and working out. Now his quest to eat better is evident at his popular Gilbert

Saturday is Mexican Independence Day, and El Palacio in Chandler is celebrating with a festival in its parking lot from 2-8 p.m. Food and beer specials are still being finalized, but restaurant owner Anthony Serrano promises four different kinds of

Tonight is the grand opening of Boss Hogg’s Saloon, the newest venture by the group of guys behind Humble Pie, The Living Room, and The Sushi Room. And while their previous restaurant concepts skew toward older, laid-back, upper-end demos, Boss

This week’s Friday Beer Class at Whole Foods Chandler will feature eight Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers on tap, including SanTan Oktoberfest, Bell’s Oktoberfest, Left Hand Oktoberfest, Breckenridge Autumn, and Grand Canyon Pumpkin Springs Porter. There’ll also be a stein-holding contest.

Update 9/14/12: Someburros has decided to extend its Verde Days for an entire week through Friday, Sept. 21. On Friday, local fast-casual Mexican chain Someburros will celebrate recent “green” initiatives at its five restaurants. “Verde Day” specials will include $3 green chile

It’s a great time to be an East Valley BBQ fan. At least five new BBQ joints have opened in the last five months. The latest is 5 Star BBQ & Grill, which took over the longtime Taco Bell building

Arizona ranks just 31st among the 50 states in a Portland alt-weekly’s blind “taste off” of the country’s flagship craft beers. Willamette Week, which collected what it considered the “flagship” craft beers from all 50 states and put together a

Mesa police and firefighters will square off in a pizza-eating contest Saturday at Organ Stop Pizza, which will host an outdoor Safety Fair from 2-5 p.m. The free, family-friendly event also will feature fire and bicycle safety demonstrations, prize giveaways, and

It’s a great time to be an East Valley BBQ fan. At least five new BBQ joints have opened in the last five months. The latest is 5 Star BBQ & Grill, which took over the longtime Taco Bell building

MXSW is happy to announce the newest addition to its roster of supporters: Lucky Break in Tempe. The sports bar took over the former Dick’s Hideaway spot on the southeast corner of McClintock and Baseline eight months ago. Lucky Break has

Honey Bear’s BBQ, a Valley fixture for more than 25 years, has closed its south Tempe restaurant, although it will continue to use the space for delivery and catering. The Tennessee-style BBQ joint opened at Priest and Elliot in 2004.

Arizona’s twice-a-year Restaurant Week kicks off again Saturday, and once again East Valley participation is minimal. More than 200 restaurants in the Phoenix and Tucson areas are taking part, but just 17 in the East Valley. Through Sept. 23, each

Cheesecake brownies (pictured) will be one of the five featured menu items at this week’s “Taste of Romeo’s Euro Cafe” dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The other items: Greka, Antipasto Salad, Salmon de Provance, and Garlic Chicken Pesto The weekly dinner,