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It's official: The opening date for chef Eddie Matney's new enterprise, Eddie's House, will be three weeks from today, on May 21.

The menu will be a mix of his signature Mediterranean-inspired dishes, as well as new creations. For a lighter meal, customers will have the option of ordering entrees as small plates.

Originally, the restaurant was expected to open in mid-March, but let's face it -- renovating a space can take more time than expected. In the case of Eddie's House, it's the location of the former Cook 'n Jack's (7042 E. Indian School), which has gotten a homey makeover, complete with an exhibition kitchen, a living room-style dining room, and a swanky patio.

Eddie's House is already accepting reservations (dinner hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday). For more info, call 480-946-1622.

Update: Please read the comment that Chatham Kitz wrote in response to this post, about a change in plans for the event . . .

Leave it to the Valley's most fanatical chocolate purveyor -- Chatham's Fine Chocolates -- to host the most mouthwatering events I've heard about in ages. It's two wine and chocolate tastings with renowned chocolatiers Fritz Knipschildt of Knipschildt Chocolatier, and Jeff Shepherd of Lillie Belle Farms.

Perhaps you've sampled some of their exotic creations on a visit to Chatham's. Knipschildt does truffles named after women, which gets me wondering about the stories behind them. (Like, what kind of feisty gal was Patricia, whose namesake chocolate is filled with red chile and tangerine buttercream?)

And then there's Lillie Belle's far-out combinations, which have a crack-like effect when you eat them. Take the ridiculously good Smokey Blue, an organic milk chocolate truffle made with toasted almonds and Rogue Creamery's Smokey Blue Cheese. Yeah, it's as delicious as it is unusual.

Anyway, these two guys will be in town for the wine and chocolate tastings, special Mother's Day events co-hosted by Morton's Steakhouse, with wines by Gloria Ferrer and hors d'oeuvres from Morton's. Tickets are $100 apiece, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Junior League of Phoenix.

The event on Friday, May 9, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., will be held at the Morton's at Kierland Commons. Call 480-951-4440 for reservations.

On Saturday, May 10, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., the tasting will be held at Morton's on Camelback Road. Call 602-955-9577 for reservations.

Attention, Martha fans: America's favorite domestic goddess is launching her own limited-edition line of wines, called Martha Stewart Vintage. She's teamed up with E & J Gallo Winery to create a 2006 Sonoma County Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cab. And lucky us, we're one of only half a dozen U.S. metropolitan markets where the wine will be available.

I'm eager to find out if drinking enough of this stuff will make me start acting like her -- if so, that could be a good thing after my next party, when I'm staggering around, trying to collect empty beer bottles before passing out for the night.

Look at what Chompie's is baking during the playoffs!

Looking for some food for thought?

This Thursday, May 1, author and activist Mark Winne will discuss his new book, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty, which considers how to make local, organic food available to everyone, and how family farms can partner with impoverished communities.

The event starts at 7 p.m. at Burton Barr Library, and will include a reception and book signing. Please RSVP to cgentry@foodconnect.org

Okay, so this has little to do with food except that it's at Duck & Decanter (16th St. and Camelback). Still, I know a few of you would dig this kind of thing.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you to check out the April issue of Metropolis (the design magazine). There's a cool feature about how Alice Waters, Grant Achatz, Dan Barber, and Wylie Dufresne have designed their kitchens -- and there are a lot of interesting photos to go with it.

I'm one of those people who loves getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse of things and seeing how people go about their daily lives, so it was interesting to see snapshots of these culinary masters in action.

Phoenicians really like to spice things up, and that's not limited to Mexican food.

Witness our insatiable craving for Thai food. Even Gourmet House of Hong Kong, the long-standing Chinese restaurant on McDowell, is pimping the Thai flavors on its menu these days.

Now you can add another Thai Basil to the CenPho mix. The burgeoning local chain -- which has locations in Tempe, Ahwatukee, Chandler, and downtown (if you count Thai Elephant, which is owned by the same family) -- just added another spot, at Park Central Mall, 3110 N. Central Ave.

Open a month now, the restaurant serves lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday. Business hours are 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (til 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday).

Wow, 'tis the season for food and wine events...

Tonight's VinArte, The Art of Wine, a wine tasting and sale to be held in the Phoenix Art Museum's Sculpture Garden from 6:30 to 10 p.m., will benefit the museum's PhxArtKids Interactive Gallery. So nibble on food from Arcadia Farms, sample more than 60 international wines, and bid on dinners, hotel stays, trips, art, and jewelry -- it all goes to nurture fledgling art lovers.

Then tomorrow, from 4 to 6:30 p.m., check out Wine, Women, & Jazz, featuring hors d'oeuvres, desserts, wines, a silent auction, and live performances by Margo Reed, Delphine Cortez, and Blaise Lantana. Hosted by Arizona Culinary Institute, the event will benefit selected charities of the non-profit Arizona Women's Partnership. Click here to register; the event code is wine.

Here's another opportunity to eat for charity: 100% of the ticket proceeds from Taste of the Nation will benefit the non-profit Share Our Strength, whose mission is ending childhood hunger in the U.S.

Yeah, the tickets are $150 apiece ($300 for VIP tix), but the event, to be held Friday, April 25, at The Phoenician, will feature food and wine tastings, live and silent auctions, live entertainment, and the chance to schmooze (maybe) with Phil Gordon, Mary Manross, or honorary chair Janet Napolitano.

And get a load of who's participating: Arizona Kitchen, chef Bradford Thompson, Capital Grille, Cheuvront, Elements, Latitude 30, Lon's at the Hermosa, Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse, Mastro's Ocean Club, Methode Bistro, MJ Bakery, Roka Akor, Roy's, Skye, Sol y Sombra, T. Cook's, Taggia, Talavera, Tammie Coe Cakes, Tapino, Tarbell's, The Terrace, Trattoria M (chef Michael DeMaria's new place, under construction at Tempe's Centerpoint Condominiums), Windows on the Green, and Zinc Bistro.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dining/articles/2008/04/23/20080423buchanan.html

I know I don't need to twist your arm to go out to dinner, but just in case you needed another excuse to hit up our fair city's restaurants, here's the best one I've found in a long while: doing so will directly support HIV/AIDS services provided by Body Positive and Northland Cares.

The event's called Dining Out For Life, and this year's takes place on Thursday, April 24th.

It's super easy to get involved. Just dine at one of the participating restaurants, and a portion of your bill -- or all of it, depending on the place -- will go toward the $200,000 fundraising goal.

This year's restaurant list is pretty impressive, with so many great new spots as well as old favorites, including Bomberos Cafe and Wine Bar, Carly's Bistro, Trente-Cinq 35, Greekfest, and Coup des Tartes. All the details are online here, including specifics on who's participating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and what percentage of the bill will be donated.

You could practically plan your whole day around it, because there's also a number of non-culinary businesses, such as Los Olivos Hand Car Wash, and Changing Hands Bookstore.

My sweetie's mom hasn't come to visit in *years* and we're finally getting a chance to show her around town, so that means we've spent the last few days giving her the grand tour. That includes hitting up some familiar haunts around town.

Before her flight was scheduled to arrive, we did a whirlwind housecleaning session with the new Black Keys album turned up really loudly. It was a good way to work up an appetite, but by the time we were finished, it was already time to get cleaned up and head to the airport.

After picking her up, we finally snagged super-late lunch (at like 3 p.m.?) at Postino. It was a lovely day for hanging out there -- the doors were open, the food hit the spot, and we lucked out on $5 glasses of wine (a special they offer everyday before 4). Also, at that time of day, we managed to find a parking spot without too trouble.

Later that night, we heard that the band MGMT was playing for free at Tempe Marketplace, so we met up with some friends over there to check it out. We wound up at Cadillac Ranch Bar & Grill for a drink, and although we didn't hang out for a bite, we did make note of the mechanical bull in one of the rooms. Might make for an entertaining way to have burgers and beers sometime. And speaking of beer, we got a nightcap at The Roosevelt. By then we were hungry again, so we split a Honeymooner (the fried bologna and cheddar sandwich), a pretzel, and the chips 'n dip. I think I ate my potato chip quota for the next three months.

The next day we waited 50 minutes for a table at Matt's Big Breakfast, but the in-laws didn't complain. (We'd warned them ahead of time that Matt's has been mobbed ever since that Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode aired on the Food Network.) Once our plates of pancakes and hot links/peppers/cheddar scramble showed up, everyone was happy -- and they already want to go back.

Anyway, it's a good thing we stuffed ourselves silly, because we drove all the way out to Tortilla Flat after that. The prickly pear ice cream was refreshing, but I still have to wonder -- what the heck does it really taste like? I can't figure it out. It didn't taste like a particular fruit, but it did remind me of a mild version of that tangy fro-yo I had recently.

That night we went to see the D-Backs whip the Padres, and the highlight (as always) was the giant cups of beer (not the $10 price tag, though). I went to Ribbies to get garlic fries, and almost freaked out when they weren't on the menu -- and their BBQ fries don't appeal to me. Luckily, they sent me over to Gordon Biersch, where I did find garlic fries. They're not even close to the ballpark garlic fries you can get in San Francisco, but they weren't bad -- these had tons of garlic and parsley and salt and pepper on them. Definitely better than last year's versions at Ribbies, anyway.

The next day was more laid-back -- a chill early breakfast at Palatte, and a burgers on the grill at home for dinner. The coffee at Palatte is much better -- i.e. stronger -- than the stuff they served when they opened last year, and I think the kitchen has finally figured out how to cook those sweet potato pancakes right.

More eating and sightseeing is in the works for the rest of the week -- wish me luck!

This just in:

FOOD NETWORK IS LOOKING FOR AMAZING STORIES FOR A GROUNDBREAKING NEW SERIES!!!

Casting is underway, so Email a brief description of your story with your contact information and picture of yourself ASAP to michaelraptis@alroker.com or call 646.723.9848 to be considered for the show.