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Groovy, baby: The downtown art crowd comes out for a beer at The Lost Leaf.

Up until recently, The Lost Leaf was an eclectic, newish art gallery downtown, located just off of Roosevelt Row. (It's two doors south of MADE Art Boutique, which is on the corner of 5th Street and Roosevelt.)

Now, it's also the area's newest watering hole, serving beer, wine, and sake. Some friends of mine stopped by there recently and said that the bar is up and running. (Since I first visited The Lost Leaf in January, there's been a big sign out front, announcing pending approval from the city.) Now open daily, the gallery will also be showcasing live music.

And on a related note -- i.e. something, anything novel to do over the summer -- I just found out that Zest is open for lunch now. Ever since it opened a few years ago, it's been a dinner-only kind of destination, but now it's well within the reach of the downtown lunch crowd (it's on 16th Street, just north of Indian School). See you there!

High hopes: Chef Michael DeMaria and business partner Brandon Maxwell at the future site of two new restaurants

So it was true after all.

A month ago, I'd gotten word that chef Michael DeMaria would be closing Michael's at the Citadel to make way for a new restaurant venture. When I contacted him about it, though, he told me that lease negotiations were still ongoing and that he had nothing in the works, no plans to close the North Scottsdale eatery he and partners Brandon Maxwell and Harlan Berman opened in 1997.

But according to a press release this morning, today marks the official end of DeMaria's lease there. Now, he and Maxwell will focus on two new developments that will occupy 6,500 square feet of the plaza level at the new Centerpoint Condominiums in Tempe, just off Mill Avenue.

Trattoria M will showcase DeMaria's signature Italian cuisine, and will feature a wine cellar and "wine aficionado room," a lounge bar with casual dining, and a private "chef's table" room, in addition to the main dining room. And right next door, Centro will be a sprawling market and deli, where you'll be able to grab a coffee or some gelato, a bouquet of flowers, or a fresh loaf of bread, along with grocery staples.

Along with his new businesses here, Chef Michael is working on a TV reality show pilot, and is also developing a second Trattoria M, two other restaurant concepts, and a satellite catering business in Park City, Utah.

Trattoria M and Centro are scheduled to open in the spring of 2008.

Krimpets: Best snack ever

After sending a few emails back and forth about hoagies, I found out from a fellow East Coast native that Tastykakes, some of my favorite junk food from back home, are actually available at Corleone's cheesesteak places around here.

Has anybody else spotted them lately? I haven't eaten Tastykakes in years, but I was lying in bed thinking about them last night. In particular, Krimpets are my guilty pleasure of choice -- they're sort of like sponge cake, and my favorites are topped with butterscotch icing or filled with jelly. In high school, I went on a total Krimpet bender, when I ate them for lunch everyday. (Later to be followed by brief obsessions with Starburst, chocolate pudding, and 1-2-3 Jello, that stuff that forms three layers.) Keep in mind, those were the days when I could also eat an entire box of Sara Lee croissants with butter and still look good in a miniskirt.

Anyway, this has me thinking about other regional treats that I haven't had in ages, like white birch beer, shoo-fly pie (this awesome Pennsylvania Dutch molasses cake covered in flour crumbles), and Yuengling Lager , an excellent beer from the oldest brewery in America. Where I'm from, it's cheaper than bottled water.

If you're a transplant like me, what kind of foods and drinks do you miss? Can you find them anywhere in the Valley?

I love how Changing Hands Bookstore has been doing more cookbook and food-related events lately, especially since they feed guests instead of merely making them drool over the pretty pictures.

This week's big event is a reception and dinner with chef Roberto Santibanez, a Mexico City native and culinary director for New York City's Rosa Mexicano restaurant. Santibanez has a new book out, Rosa's New Mexican Table, and it's a beauty, filled with some truly delicious-sounding recipes. (Do you ever read a recipe and just know it'll be good? That's my impression of this book.)

There's a whole section on different varieties of chiles and how to prepare them; a slew of margarita and tequila cocktail recipes; and details on preparing dishes such as turkey-chorizo enchiladas with pecan-prune mole, red snapper veracruz-style, swiss chard with beets, queso Oaxaca and raisins, and rice pudding cheesecake.

Santibanez will be at Windows on the Green, at The Phoenician, this Thursday evening, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. ($80, including a signed copy of the book) and a dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. ($85). Windows' chef de cuisine Roberto Sanchez will prepare a tasting menu using Santibanez' recipes. Call 480-423-2530 for reservations.

I have one copy of the book to give away right now -- email me if you want it. In the meantime, check out this sample recipe from Rosa's New Mexican Table:

Red Snapper Veracruz-style
(Huachinango Estilo Veracruzano)

To serve, scrape the vegetables covering the fish to the sides of the dish. Gently lift up the fillets and transfer them to serving plates. Most likely they will break apart a little; that is fine. Pick out the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs and discard. Mash the remaining ingredients coarsely into the juices with a fork to make a chunky sauce. Check for seasoning, and add salt if necessary. Spoon the sauce over the fillets and scatter some chopped pickled jalapeños over each if you like.

Excerpted from Rosa’s New Mexican Table
Copyright © 2007 Rosa Mexicano
Photographs copyright © 2007 by Christopher Hirsheimer
Used by permission of Artisan, a division of Workman Publishing Co., Inc. New York
All Rights Reserved

It's pretty obvious from my recent review of Pink Taco that a little sexual innuendo goes a long way in the restaurant biz, even when the food's an afterthought.

Now there's a new game in Scottsdale, promising an even ballsier menu (accidental pun, but it works) than Pink Taco. I've never been there, have no idea if it's tasty in the least, and honestly can't quite believe it's for real, but I am laughing out loud over the names of the dishes at Sultry Dogs, a new late-night grub shack in Old Town Scottsdale.

Under "Doggie Styles," there are 11 kinds of hot dogs, from the plain "Bareback" to the bacon/chili/cheesedog known as "Threesome," to a 12-incher called "The Diggler." Meanwhile, the burger half of the menu is called "Between the Buns," with a fish sandwich called "Muff Diver" (I am dead serious!), a somewhat self-explanatory "Jive Turkey Mofo," and -- the kicker at the end -- a meatless burger called the "C-Blocker." (Dare you to order any of those with a straight face...)

No surprise, hot girls loom large on the Sultry Dogs website -- it's a schtick that threatens to one-up Heart Attack Grill, big time -- but what's actually sort of shocking is that none of them are shown eating said wieners. Apparently there's a jukebox under construction, too, and I'll be curious to see what kind of songs end up there. Perhaps a little something by The Dead Boys?

Twenty-five years ago, when Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso published the The Silver Palate Cookbook, they had no idea it would make them famous. But people took to it for both its accessibility as well as its variety of sophisticated dishes made easy. Now a classic, their recipe collection has gained a second wind, thanks to a new paperback anniversary edition.

Tomorrow evening -- Wednesday, the 16th, at 6 p.m. -- Lukins will appear at Duck & Decanter, 1651 E. Camelback, for a special "Dining and Signing" event sponsored by Changing Hands Bookstore.

Listen to Lukins share some culinary wisdom, get your book signed, and schmooze with fellow cooks over hors d'oeuvres. Drinks, nibbles, and a copy of the book are included in the $42 pre-registration price. Call Duck & Decanter at 602-274-5429 to get in on tomorrow's action.

The fish was big, but not this big!

...you see the chef hoist a three-foot-long section of fish onto the counter, still intact! I'm talking skin, fins, tail 'n all.

My friend and I met up for lunch at Hana Sushi, that brand-new place at the NW corner of 7th Ave and Missouri (by Sylvia's La Canasta), and we'd just finished a boatload of sushi (as in, they brought it out on one of those ship-shaped wooden serving platters), when there was suddenly commotion at the sushi bar. That's when we turned around and saw the chef unpack a tuna that had *just* arrived in the latest seafood shipment.

Wow -- the thing was enormous! I've never seen something like that except in photos of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. And wouldn't you know -- of all days! -- I didn't have my camera on me. It would've been an awesome moment to capture, too. Three or four guys seated at the sushi bar were on their feet, gawking and taking cell phone pics, for several minutes. I'm still a little wound up about it.

Johnny Chu's so excited about his upcoming projects that he's gotten me all excited, too.

The chef/owner of Fate, the hip Asian eatery on 4th Street between Garfield and Roosevelt, has had a busy last three months, traveling all over the place for culinary research. And next month, he'll be heading to Vietnam and China.

"I'll stop by Thailand to pick up some Buddhas, too," he said, laughing.

No doubt, he'll put them to good use in the two new restaurants he has in the works.

First up will be an international noodle shop called 4 Sense, offering about ten different kinds of noodles, everything from glass noodles to green tea soba. He's amazed nobody's doing this in central Phoenix, and frankly, I am too.

(Seriously, I was this close to driving to Da Vang for noodle soup, but I didn't have enough time to trek over there. Fate is an old favorite, so I headed there instead -- how fortuitous! I won't even make a "fate" joke here...)

Chu's currently negotiating with the owner of Cafe LaBella, on 7th Street at Virginia, to buy the restaurant and convert it into a noodle place this summer, perhaps as soon as July.

Meanwhile, the construction of Fate's cobblestone patio, which connects it to the building on the corner, is complete, and there's a giant rebar mushroom out front. Chu says he already has permits to turn the mushroom into an outdoor bar -- among other places, patrons will be able to watch the world go by while seated at the metal counter that runs along the low front fence.

That bar will be part of the new restaurant concept Chu will launch next door, an Asian fusion tapas bar with groovy lounge seating, live jazz, DJs, and dancing. Chu said it'll be a lot like the old Lucky Dragon, his original place in Tempe. The front porch will be converted into an open kitchen, so you'll be able to see in from the street. Look for small plates like stir-fried wild mushrooms, cold duck, and lemongrass shrimp. No surprise, he said he wants to name the place Next Door.

"So if you ask where Johnny is, they're gonna say he's Next Door," said Chu.

He's already got the permit for drinking on the patio, but this particular project -- a good year and a half in the works already -- won't launch until November. The bar will likely open in October, the month when everything in Phoenix seems to emerge from summer hibernation.

I love having something to look forward to.

My copies of the Lonely Planet Barcelona and Buenos Aires editions went like hotcakes, but I still have two of the Bangkok guides left. Please write to me if you want one! I keep looking at them and now I can't get "One Night in Bangkok" out of my head.

Courtesy of the James Beard Foundation

Cheers to the winner: Chef Nobuo Fukuda savors the sweet taste of victory.

Yeah, Arizona messed with Texas -- where all of this year's other James Beard "Best Chef -- Southwest" nominees are from -- and came out ahead.

At last night's 2007 James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony, held at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in NYC, Chef Nobuo Fukuda of Sea Saw was awarded the top culinary honor for this region of the country.

“Winning a James Beard Foundation award is like taking home an Olympic gold medal, a Pulitzer or a Grammy," said Foundation president Susan Ungaro, last night.

Fukuda was nominated last year as well, but Mary Elaine's now-departed Chef Bradford Thompson received the 2006 award. In 2003, Fukuda was lauded by Food + Wine magazine as one of America's Best New Chefs.

Foodies have been fawning over Fukuda's "tapanese" creations for years. Dishes like sushi fois gras and octopus with tomato and olive oil give a modern twist to Japanese cuisine, while Sea Saw's exquisite tasting menus are as ever-changing as the seasons.

Sea Saw is located at 7133 E. Stetson Drive in Scottsdale, next to sister eateries Cowboy Ciao and Kazimierz, which are operated by restauranteur Peter Kasperski. Later this year, Sea Saw will be moving across the street to the chic new SouthBridge development, where Fukuda will also open an edgy, desert-mod izakaya called Shell Shock.

Lonely Planet digs up a few hotel gems.

There's no rule that says I can't make a New Year's resolution in May, right? Well, from now on, I'm going to start giving away more free stuff to Chow Bella readers.

I'll make it as easy and painless as possible -- I'll post what I've got, and you email me if you want it. Be fast, dibs it, and I'll mail it to you.

Right now, I have some groovy travel books that the Lonely Planet people sent to promote their new website, Haystack. It's an online booking service featuring unique, off-the-beaten track properties that have been visited and recommended by Lonely Planet writers. A lot of the featured hotels don't even have websites of their own, so booking them through Haystack saves people the trouble of making international phone calls and faxes. (I haven't personally used the site, but I love travel, and half the fun of any trip is in the planning.)

Of course, the first thing I turned to in these travel guides was the "Eating" section. Now I'm hungry for some Thai noodles...

Anyway, I have books on Bangkok, Buenos Aires, and Barcelona. Shoot me an email and tell me which one you want!

This morning, my voicemail box was bursting with messages about The Big Chill, and a lot of the callers wanted to know the same thing: Where is Arlecchino?

(Most people said they liked the piece, but one guy had the nerve to say that my omission of an address was a weakness of being a female writer. "If a man wrote that article, there would've been a box at the end with the address," he said. What a freak.)

Actually, the story did indicate that the shop is at the corner of 40th Street and Campbell, next to La Grande Orange. It's not really our style to spell out an address in a cover story, but in case you're wondering, it's 4410. N. 40th Street in Phoenix. Phone number is 602-955-2448, and website is www.arlecchinogelateria.com.

Bon appetit!

Just got this note from a hungry New Times reader (see below). I can think of a lot of great meat-free Mexican dishes out there, but honestly I haven't paid much attention to who makes truly vegetarian rice and beans. Does anybody have any suggestions? If so, please comment so we can get this gal a good meal on Cinco de Mayo!

Hi, Michelle! I am hoping that you can help me save some time: do you know which local Mexican restaurants include vegetarian rice (no stock) and beans (no lard) and at least one outstanding veggie entree on their menu?

Jan

After wracking my brains to come up with a happy hour destination yesterday -- I ended up at Durant's, happily -- I thought I'd blog 'n bitch about how too many of my central Phoenix favorites are closed on Mondays. Drives me crazy.

But I'll save that one for another time. Today, I have good news to report.

Along with the Monday closure thing, late-night dining -- or should I say, a lack thereof -- has been one of my biggest complaints about restaurants in these parts.

Now, thanks to new hours at Fenix Eatery, I can go for a tasty French meal well after most local places have closed up for the night. The restaurant's late-night bar menu, which includes escargot; steak with crispy shallots, mustard, and fries; and short rib sliders with cream cheese and red wine sauce, will be available nightly from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. (!!!), starting on May 17.

Let's cross our fingers and hope this catches on...