Phoenix Food Blog

Sloane Burwell

Chef Wiley relaxes in the Cafe Zuzu dining room.

Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale is a fabulous merging of original, sophisticated mid-century design, punched up with modern, eye popping, colorific flair. That's a perfect match for the food served at the hotel restaurant, Café Zuzu (6850 E. Main Street Scottsdale,480.248.2000) - as interpreted by Executive Chef Charles Wiley. This James Beard Award nominee is a regular fixture on local news and lifestyle shows. But wait - there's more. His watchful eye has overseen several major hotel and restaurant renovations, from the conversion of John Gardner's Tennis Ranch to the Sanctuary Resort, and The Ramada Inn renovation that returned Hotel Valley Ho to its atomic-era roots. His monthly Chef's Table program at Café Zuzu helps bring seasonal, local, and unique ingredients to Valley diners.

Chow Bella: The Valley Ho is beautiful; does it inspire your food?
Charles Wiley: Aside from the architecture and interior design, this hotel is built on "good ground" and I can just feel it. I've been to some places and I don't feel it there. I feel like this was here for a reason. Like El Charro. Someone walked up and down Paradise Valley and found the perfect spot; it could be windy but El Charro is just calm. I'm inspired in that way about this property. Everyone is inspired by their surroundings. I'm inspired by our purveyors. Pat Duncan (from Duncan Farms) brings in beautiful things and I'm inspired to just go for it.

Sloane Burwell

Despite its modernist tendencies, Royal Coffee Bar's building was actually constructed in 1890.

Hayes McNeil has hidden powers. If he's not at Royal Coffee Bar (www.royalcoffeebar.com, 209 W. Jackson, 602-374-8044), the modernist java joint in downtown Phoenix he co-owns with brother-in-law Vincent Huizar, he can be found on a job site, rocking the blueprints as a registered architect and partner in Plus Minus Studio (www.plusminusstudio.com). McNeil and his design firm have set the bar pretty high for clean, modern, stylish restaurants with a client list that includes some of the movers and shakers in the dining biz: Postino (Arcadia and Downtown), My Florist Café, and Zoe's. It's not all sizzle and no steak, since McNeil makes sure his own spot can still deliver the goods. His cold-processed Toddy style iced coffee is smooth as velvet, and has none of the acidic burn that taints lesser coffee, and Royal will soon begin roasting their own beans for his current location as well as a new one in the permanent structure that will house the Downtown Phoenix Public Market.

Chow Bella: Where did the name Plus Minus Studio come from?
Hayes McNeil: It's part of the concept of adding and subtracting things until they are right. It became a running joke when we were working with a contractor on a project. What are the dimensions? They are 10 by 12, plus or minus.

CB: What is it like to design a space that will be used as a restaurant?
HM: It's about organizing space, first and foremost. For Postino's first location we envisioned the way the space would be used. It used to be a post office, so part of the design is based on that. The stacks of wine are organized where you would have found mail and packages to be sorted. Their second location, on Central, we went with a lot of period materials. We play a lot with what was there before. The past use history really informs our design.

Sloane Burwell

Justina Duong welcomes you to Cyclo.

Cyclo, a bright Vietnamese spot (www.cycloaz.com, 1919 W. Chandler Blvd, 480- 963-4490) in Chandler, delivers food with a fiery punch. This should come as no surprise, since the bistro's owner, Justina Duong, is one fiery number herself. Known for her sharp wit, killer fashion sense and eye for design, she's dishing up a modern take on traditional Southeast Asian fare. Named after the three-wheeled pedicabs found in Viet Nam, Cyclo's food is a take on favorites you might find elsewhere -- but here they're turned up a notch. Duong serves tamarind glazed ribs, black pepper shrimp on sliced baguette, and jasmine tea crème brulee, in addition to classics like pho and mango sticky rice. Packed for lunch and dinner Tuesday thru Saturday, Justina's fans, and fans of her food, are lined up and ready for some piquant global cuisine, served with a side of sass.

Chow Bella: How long has Cyclo been here?
Justina Duong: Seven years, if you can believe it. We remodeled last July to change things up.

CB: How do you pronounce it, is it See-klo?
JD: No, actually it's pronounced Sick-lo.

Sloane Burwell

Delicious poke on chips - the perfect "hello" from Hana Japanese Eatery.

Hana Japanese Eatery (5524 N 7th Ave Phoenix, 602-973-1238) is a family place. From the five members of the Hashimoto clan who work there and the well-loved staff who tend to your every whim, you'll feel like a long lost cousin after your first visit. And there will be more than one visit. Hana's uber-fresh fish is practically wriggling when it arrives. Their regular noon deliveries of gigantic tuna fresh from Japan stir up the requisite ooohs, ahhs, and phone pic snapping and ensuing Tweets. It looks so good you'll swear it swam there.

Sushi fans adore Chef Koji-san, and for good reason. Every day but Monday, he'll customize a meal experience based on your favorites and what's fresh that day. His mother and stepfather are in the kitchen as well, with impeccable credentials and over 50 years of experience. Try the hamachi kama (the collar, between the gills and the neck of the fish), feather-light tempura, oysters that taste like the ocean, or any number of noodle dishes. Complimentary fresh poke served on chips will appear when you sit down. Light, refreshing, and with the perfect hit of spice, this Japanese take on ceviche sets the tone for what is bound to be a most memorable meal. Act like a regular and ask for the real wasabi - you'll never eat the green paste again.

Chow Bella: What does 'Hana' mean?
Koji Hashimoto: It is Japanese for 'Flower'

CB: Your sushi always looks so beautiful - it's like art!
KH: Thank you. We work very hard on it. It's important that it is displayed just so, it's not supposed to look cluttered.

Sloane Burwell

Eytan Zias demonstrates his hand sharpening skills.

Eytan Zias is a culinary samurai. After compiling an impressive resume working in famous kitchens in New York City and all over the Valley, he decided to return to an earlier love: knives. He sold off parts of his impressive collection to finance his current venture, Phoenix Knife House (www.phoenixknifehouse.com, 480- 946-2758 7607 E. McDowell Rd.). This brightly colored shop (it's in Scottsdale, actually, not Phoenix) features some of the most impressive and sought after Japanese-centric blades in the business. You'll also find other chefly accoutrements like jackets, clogs, books, and knife rolls.

But the big draw is Zias' knives, and he's amassed a serious collection of 12 rare and specialty lines. We're told one brand of blades in particular, Sugimoto, can't be found anywhere else outside of Japan. These special tools need care, and Eytan's shop is one of the few places around town that will sharpen knives by hand. Just kitchen knives, though. He may be a warrior, but he's keeping that in the kitchen.

Chow Bella: How did you get your start in the restaurant business?
Eytan Zias: I'm originally from Israel, and when I came to stay with my sister she was working at an Italian restaurant and I got a job as a bus boy. Then I took a second job as a bus boy and they needed a chef so I volunteered. I went to Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 1999, and graduated in 2000 and then I moved to New York City to work at Aureole.

CB: Fancy! That's a pretty famous restaurant.
EZ: (laughter) It is, it's Charlie Palmer's restaurant. I also worked at Craft for Tom Colicchio [the host of Bravo TV's Top Chef], La Cote Basque and then Fiamma. I actually came out here to work for Fiamma when they opened in Scottsdale.

CB: Back up a little, tell me about Tom Colicchio. You must have some hot gossip and great stories.
EZ: Yes, I do (laughter). But I need to be tactful.

Sloane Burwell

Angela Hernadez (left) and Josephine Quinonez manage the third generation of the Carolina's family business empire.

There are a few things that are certain in Phoenix: Summers will be hot, politics will be messy, and Carolina's tortillas are delicious. For 40 years, this family restaurant has been making enchilada sauce so luscious you can drink it, machacha so silky it melts in your mouth, and tortillas so fresh it seems like a team of nana's nanas is in the kitchen making them just for you, breakfast, lunch and dinner, six days a week. In a sense, they are. The third generation of this family now runs this South Phoenix institution, and Angela Hernandez, Josephine Quinonez, along with sister Jennifer Hernandez, still use their grandmothers super secret recipe to delight the hundreds of people who line up every day for her handmade tortillas.

Chow Bella: How did Carolina's start?
Josephine Quinonez: Well, our grandma started making tortillas and things and selling them at different places around town, and at offices, and people loved it and they told her 'you should have a restaurant.'

CB: Your tortillas are amazing. Is it your grandmother's recipe?
Angela HHernandez: Yes, it is. And it's a secret. (Laughter)

CB: Really? How many people know the recipe?
AH: Maybe four? Barely a handful.

The Meat Shop (202 E Buckeye Road, 602-258-5075‎) is all about family. From raising the Yorkshire/Duroc piglets themselves to butchering the bacon to bringing it to their store and Valley farmers markets (Tonopah and Downtown Phoenix), the Wilson family does it together.

Famous for their three types of bacon ('regular', Irish, and guanciale) and generous pork chops, The Meat Shop's pork has found its way to some darn good Valley restaurants, including The Mission and Pasta Bar. And, amazingly enough, they've done this in under a year!

Open since July 2008, family matriarch Beth Wilson and butcher Paul Randolph (he married into the clan), and other family members work to keep their tidy store open six days a week, from 8 to 5. They're even on hand at various farmers markets around town with unique cuts and preparations of pork you just won't find anywhere else. As the Spanish say, they use every part of the pig except the oink.

Chow Bella: How did you start The Meat Shop?

Beth Wilson: We started raising calves for dairies, and it didn't really work very well. My daughter and husband did a joint venture with pigs. They got some sows (a female pig), a gilt (a female pig who hasn't given birth), and a boar - six in total. So that's how we started, the pigs just kept on going. We built a temporary barn until we could move into our new farm about a year and a half ago, and that's where we raise the hogs today.

Paul Randolph: They like to reproduce rapidly (laughter).

Sloane Burwell

From a quiet corner near McDonald Drive and Pima Road in Scottsdale, Voltaire Restaurant (8340 East McDonald Drive, 480- 948-1005) has been delighting fans of classical French Cuisine six nights a week for many years. From Coquille St Jacques to tableside flambes of Cherries Jubilee, the charm of owner Martin Antonelli and his staff, which includes his chef-son, invokes the warm, expansive culinary spirit of Julia Child. Truly, she'd have loved this place as much as we do.

And while we're summoning the spirits of great artists, let's not forget the man for which this restaurant is named. Perhaps it's apropos, then, that Voltaire's owner is a thinking man himself. The French enlightenment philospher, essayist, and bon vivant would love Martin's e-mail alerts and updates for his restaurant. Sure, you'll find out about their new soft-shell crab entrée, but this is not your average read-it-and-delete-it e-mail blast. You'll find Martin's poetry, thoughts, family recipes, or what ever is on his mind at the moment. Perhaps it might be true, then, that great minds eat alike.

Chow Bella: How long has Voltaire been open?
Martin Antonelli: The restaurant has been in this location for 32 years. The neighborhood has grown up around it. We're off the beaten path so we're more of a destination restaurant. There have been three owners. The first two were a French-Canadian couple, they owned it for 18 years. They picked the name, Voltaire, after the philosopher and writer. He was a bit of a gadfly. After that an Italian husband and wife bought it and were here seven years. Eight years ago I bought it, but my son has been here as chef for thirteen years so he predates me.

Sloane Burwell

If you're looking for a little slice of Italy -- or even Little Italy -- in the middle of the desert, find your way to Sunnyslope. Tucked into a strip mall on the corner of 7th street and Dunlap is Tony's Italian Delicatessen (536 E Dunlap Ave # 1, Phoenix,602-944-5952). Started by Anthony Abramo, the family patriarch, in 1968, and passed to his son, Vincent, Tony's continues to stock a dizzying array of traditional Italian staples, from capers to semolina, spices to salt-packed anchovies -- and just about everything in between.

Not so much of a cook? Never fear, the Abramo family'll do it for you. Sausage, roast beef, pasta salad, cannolli. It's all fresh, and made by hand. And check the freezer section before you go. You'll find homemade marinara, lasagna, Italian ice, spumoni, and more, just waiting for you to pass it off as your own.

Still too much work? Grab a sandwich. With prices that hover around $2 for a small, you'll have enough left over to add a fresh pizzelle, the traditional Italian waffle cookie. Or two. When it's this good, and affordable, who's counting?

Chow Bella: How did your family end up in Phoenix?
Vincent Abramo: Our family is from New York. My father had been in construction. He developed arthritis and couldn't do it any more. We moved here and he opened up this deli in 1968 and here we are, 40 years later.

CB: Forty years! I'm sure it looked much different back then.
VA: There have been lots of changes, businesses have come and gone, the economy has shifted several times. There used to be a small post office across the street from us, and there were farms here. North of us was all desert. My dad used to go hunting on Bell Road.

Sloane Burwell

Pablo Perez makes the kind of hot dogs people dream about. For the last seven years, he's been introducing Phoenicians to the magic of the Sonoran Style Hot Dog, served out of a cheerful hot dog stand called Nogales Hot Dog #2.

You'll find Perez and his assistant seven nights a week from 6 PM to midnight, in the parking lot of Guitar and Keyboard City near 20th Street and Indian School in Central Phoenix. His south of the border spin on a hot dog wraps the meat in bacon, adds a generous dollop of beans and smothers it in mayonnaise and chopped tomatoes. The toppings bar includes guacamole, grated cotija cheese, cheddar cheese, fresh salsa verde, mushrooms and pickled jalapenos.

Act like a regular and ask for freshly grilled onions and peppers on the side, sip a Mexican Coke (made with cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup), then sit back and relax at one of the sparkling clean tables, catch a tela novella on the little TV, and marvel at the fruits of Pablo's labor.

Chow Bella: How did the whole Nogales hot dog thing start? When did the bacon happen?
Pablo Perez: In Nogales, Mexico, my uncle started selling them with bacon. He's been doing that for 20 years. Nine years ago my brother-in-law started and then seven years ago I started right here.

Sloane Burwell

Ana Borrajo is a free-spirited, globetrottin' foodie. Her first foray into the local food scene was via Sapna's Chillout Café at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market. Every Saturday lines of people four deep would wait patiently for the Grenada, Spain native's exotic juices, Spanish regional favorites like potato and tomato Andalusian stews and fresh salads. After an entire year toiling in construction, and local government's tangled building permit and inspection system, Ana's new spot, Sapna's Café (1301 NW Grand Avenue, 602-254-6726) finally opened in the historic Bragg's Pie Factory Building.

Back are the fresh citrus juices, lassis (a tangy fruit and yogurt drink), and Moroccan mint teas that made her a market favorite. Add to that a whole slew of new favorites, like the Calcutta Egg Roll, an Indian breakfast burrito-like creation, or spicy baked eggs, and you'll be hooked. With a menu laid out like a backpacker's itinerary, Ana's food is a nod to street food found the world over. Bring your laptop and use the free wifi; the brie quesadilla with onion marmalade will inspire you to hit the road, and there's no time like the present to plan your trip.

Chow Bella: What does Sapna mean?
Ana Borrajo: I was living in India, and it was a nickname that they gave to me. It means 'dream'.

Sloane Burwell

Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp have pretty sweet lives. First, they were savvy enough to open the super stylish Sweet Republic (9160 E. Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, 480-248-6979, www.sweetrepublic.com), where ingenious ice cream flavors like Salted Butter Caramel Swirl are the order of the day. Second, they were smart enough to escape the stuffy, buttoned-down world of investment banking and finance well before the market tanked. Surely, handcrafting marshmallows for an exquisite brownie sundae or perfecting the blend of bacon and caramel in Sweet Republic's most famous ice cream flavor must be infinitely more enjoyable than number crunching profit & loss statements.

Yung and Wichayanuparp have put the same attention to mind-numbing details into their new vocation. Sweet Republic's design utilizes sustainable and green design principles, from the low emissions fabric on the cushions to the kiln-fired glass to the locally sourced milk and cream used to create their artisan ice cream. Still can't get enough? No worries, you can follow Sweet Republic on Twitter so there's no chance of missing any new flavors.

Chow Bella: There are such creative and funky flavors happening here. How do you come up with them?
Helen Yung: Sometimes people request things or talk to us about something. They'll ask, 'Have you guys thought about this flavor?' We watch a lot of Top Chef (Bravo TV's cooking challenge reality show). Richard Blais from last season did bacon ice cream a couple of times, so we wanted to try it, and it turned out really well. We really like things that are salty and sweet, too. Salted butter caramel? That was a no brainer. The bleu cheese and date ice cream, we tested that one on friends first.

Sloane Burwell

Once upon a time, many neighborhoods in Phoenix were served by a local butcher. These days, the only butcher some people can recollect is Sam the Butcher, Alice's main squeeze on The Brady Bunch. For fans of prime, hand cut meat, trimmed to order, Hobe Meats on 16th Street and Bethany Home in Central Phoenix (6044 N 16th St., (602) 604-2333) has been slicing and dicing since 1962.

Now operated by Eric Fritschen, who bought the place seven years ago, Hobe's is still bringing custom cuts of choice and prime meat to a coterie of carnivorous connoisseurs. Like your rib eye with a bit of fat? No problem. Prefer your New York Strip sliced extra thick? Got that, too. Tempted by tri-tip? It's in the bag. Sweetbreads, veal, homemade sausage, bacon, and every part of the cow but the moo, it's all here. Sam would be proud.

Chow Bella: How did you end up owning Hobe Meats?
Eric Fritschen: I was working at AJ's at the time, and there was a rumor that Hobe's was going to close, so I sunk my life savings into it and bought it.

CB: Hobe has always been a family business. Is there a second generation to take over for you when you retire?
EF: No, I'm a lone soldier. I'm not worried. There will always be someone around who loves meat and who wants to work 12 hour days, 6 days a week (laughter).

Chef Beau MacMillan, Beau Mac to his friends, is down to earth. Which is actually no small feat, since as of late, he's had his share of face time on TV. Best known for his stint on the Food Network's Iron Chef America, Battle Kobe Beef, where he made quick work of Iron Chef Bobby Flay, he's still retained his humble charm and warm, endearing laugh. Where other chefs might be bolting to the Next Big Thing, Beau's still here in town at Paradise Valley's Elements, turning out artisanal, seasonal and farm fresh creations. (And working on the next big thing....)

He's still in the trenches, working long hours in the kitchen on a menu that changes regularly and a teaching series held at his restaurant. Stay tuned this fall, as Beau's on TV again, this time in a new series on FoodTV. While the details are as secret as the mystery ingredient on Iron Chef's battles, one thing is for sure, in the words that pay homage to his Massachusetts-based upbringing - it'll be wicked good.

Chow Bella: Paradise Valley is beautiful. How do your surroundings inspire your food?

Beau McMillan: I was somewhat seduced by natural beauty that is Paradise Valley. I arrived to interview back in '98. I remember arriving in the evening, and driving up McDonald Drive towards Camelback, just the light on the mountain was amazing, it has a drawing magnetic like quality. Although it doesn't happen enough, I also love being in the restaurant right as the sun comes up. If Scottsdale had an ocean it would be called Mecca! I take the same approach to the food, let the ingredients work for themselves, appreciate their natural beauty and don't over work them!

Sloane Burwell

Ben Hershberger

Ben Hershberger, master baker at The Phoenician, has spent 25 years traveling, perfecting his craft, and picking up a trick or two, like his super-secret 200-year-old yeast culture. When he's not enticing diners with exotic and artisinal bread at one of The Phoenician's fancy pants eateries, he's turning out an intoxicating dessert-like bread that has created an army of chocolate bread addict: chocolate cherry sourdough bread. 

Thanks to Dee Logan and the Arizona Community Farmers Markets, these days you can add 'local' and 'pesticide free' to the list of coveted labels found in tony downtown Scottsdale. But in this case, the designers are farmers, growers, producers, and local chefs who supply fresh, healthy food.

After several attempts to sustain a farmer's market in Scottsdale, this new endeavor has managed to lay down some roots in a relatively short time. Since their mid-November opening in a parking lot near 1st Street and Brown Avenue in Old Town, the Scottsdale market's already a regular stop for well-heeled foodies, and if you're paying attention, you might find a local chef stocking up for that night's dinner special.

From Maya's Farm to McClendon Select, the produce selection is top-notch. You'll find fresh, hand pulled mozzarella from Digestif, gorgeous focaccia sandwiches from Rancho Pinot, locally produced wines, breads, desserts, local honey and more. It's all beautiful, natch. This is Scottsdale, after all.

Chow Bella: Why Scottsdale? That's not exactly the first place people might think when you say 'Farmer's Market'.
Dee Logan: We had a market in 2006 on 5th Avenue. When the South Bridge project started we got bumped. We tried for three years there, and we worked with the downtown liaison for a space with an uninterrupted market. We started here in November and it's just taken off. We had a ton of chefs who wanted to showcase what they were doing. We asked them to pair with growers, and really, they were doing that anyway. It's been a great time for growers that are getting started and for chefs.

Takamatsu has been dishing out Korean barbecue, sushi, and noodle dishes to Arizonans for more than a decade, with restaurants in Phoenix, Tucson, Chandler and Litchfield Park. Their delicious barbecue has garnered the respect of sports stars, too, like Chan Ho Park, the pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, whose signed jersey hangs on the wall to greet other athletes who make it a point to visit whenever they are in town.

It's easy to see what protein-starved athletes and Atkins enthusiasts love this place. Takamatsu's barbecue is a meat lovers' paradise. Piles of tender meat, like kalbi (short ribs) or bulgogi (sliced beef), wait for diners to cook them to perfection in the center table grill. Don't worry if you're a newbie -- Takamatsu's manager, John Park, and his staff are there to help and make you feel comfortable. Before long, you'll be asking to sign your own jersey for their wall.

Chow Bella: What does Takamatsu mean?
John Park: It's a big pine tree. Taka means huge, matsu means pine tree. The Korean word is gosong. The name is also the last name of our founder, Mr. Koga, and his wife.

Fuggetabouit! If you're hungry for a neighborhood Italian deli, the kind where Tony Soprano got his cannoli and mortadella fix, look no further than Niccoli's Deli (www.niccolisdeli.com). Joe and Peppy Niccoli run this small but stellar spot on 16th Street, north of Bethany Home in Phoenix.

The business has been in the family since the 1950's. Every day the Niccolis turn out handmade pizzas, sausages, breads and baked goods, the likes of which you'd be hard pressed to find outside of large cities with ample Italian populations.

The deli's sub sandwiches -- the four meat Italian in particular -- have a near cult following. And so do both Peppy and Joe, as warm and charming as their food. And while family-run gems like this are a throw-back to an earlier era, the Niccolis are embracing the future with Joe's new blog, blog.niccolisdeli.com.

Chow Bella: How long have you been here, in this location?
Peppy Niccoli: It will be 14 years in May. This is our smallest deli, though. Joe has been doing this for 40 years. My husband's parents started the business with two uncles and an aunt in 1954. He brought me in as a manager in the 60's. We bought the business from his uncle and have been running Niccoli's Deli since 1970.

You can call Jeff Grenfell cheesy, and he won't mind a bit. The Arizona native can be found at Cheuvront's Restaurant on Central Avenue, where he is not just sommelier, but also "fromagier" - reportedly the only one in town. Can't tell your Camembert from your triple crème brie? Never heard of a washed rind? Not a problem. It's all in a day's work for Greenfell. He'll help you curate a cheese plate faster than you can say Gorgonzola Cremificato.

Chow Bella: People say cheese is alive - why is that?
Jeff Greenfell: It's like wine - they reflect the health and happiness of their animal (the milk), they're seasonal. And it gets ripe, like wine and fruit.

CB: How can you tell when it's ripe?
JG: G: You just smell and taste it. Cheese is also like a rose. It smells the best when it's ripe and blooming. When a cheese is young, it can be chalky. When it's ripe, it should be clean and fresh.

CB: Is there a cheese that is great right now?
JG: The Spanish Goat cheeses are fantastic. Or when it's cold, the bleu cheeses are creamy and they just come alive. Cheese is seasonal just like fruit.

Sunnyslope has seen its fair share of changes in the last decade. But what hasn't changed is dessert - namely, from Karl's Quality Bakery. Stefanie and Karl Boerner have managed this family-owned sweet spot on the corner of 7th Avenue and Dunlap for the last 15 years. Specializing in German and Swiss treats, Karl's freshly made confections include streudels, croissants, chocolate-dipped gingerbread, marzipan-filled pastries, Danish, petit fours, and their best selling Alligator Coffee Cake. With Stefanie at the front of house, you're always guaranteed a sample. Holidays are made all the more festive by their stollen, yule logs, and dreydel-shaped iced sugar cookies. Karl's Quality Bakery has weathered many neighborhood storms, and when changes threatened the shop's lease this summer, the people of Sunnyslope rallied with an e-mail campaign that got the city council's attention and saved Karl's. Talk about just desserts.

Chow Bella: How long have you been in Phoenix?
Stefanie Boerner: Since 1994. I married into the bakery. We had a bakery for many years in Seal Beach, California.

CB: What made you move to Phoenix?
SB: Los Angeles. (Laughter.) I didn't want to live there. Our kids were small and I wanted to move. Karl had a job offer here so we came, and within eight months we opened our bakery.

 

David Johnson has wine on the brain. Why not? It runs in the family. He can trace his familial roots in the wine and spirits business back to 17th century Jacobite revolutionaries. As a sommelier in training, he spent years in Europe, honing both his palate and his craft. Now back in Arizona, he is the sommelier that never sleeps. Or at least it seems that way, since he's put his oenophilic, overachieving pedigree to work on a wide range of wine-loving endeavors. Most nights, he can be found at Sol y Sombra in Scottsdale, where he's the Wine Director, overseeing an innovative all-Spanish wine list. He is also a successful wine broker, co-leader of the local Slow Food Convivia, and acting Wine Director for Phoenix's West of Western Food Festival.

Chow Bella: How is sommelier actually pronounced, is it some-all-yay or so-mall-e-yay?
David Johnson: It's some-all-yay.

In less than five years, Matt's Big Breakfast has become a downtown Phoenix institution. Every day but Sunday, the diner cooks up dozens of pieces of thick peppered bacon and pounds of olive-oil crisped potatoes in a kitchen smaller than an ASU dorm room. The teeny restaurant's signature day-glow citrus counters are matched only by the warm-hearted goodness of Erenia Pool, Mrs. Matt herself. Her terminal cheerfulness can overcome even the most ardent anti-morning doldrums. Sure, her big-hearted and talented husband may get the lion's share of the exposure from the fans from Food TV's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. But Mrs. Pool isn't just standing behind her man, she's his partner in the whole shebang (and not just Matt's; the couple own The Roosevelt, a bar not far from the diner. Even so, Erenia insists her flexible schedule gives her time for their 7-year-old son). It's her charm, in addition to the lighter-than-air golden pancakes and fresh-squeezed juice from local organic oranges, that make the two hour Saturday morning wait for a table feel like mere minutes. Folks who wouldn't be caught waiting in line for some shiny nightclub gladly line the streets, just waiting for Erenia to say those magic words, "Your table's ready!"

Chow Bella: What's your favorite thing on the menu?
Erenia Pool: The daily specials are really great but if I had to pick just one, it would be the pork chop and eggs or maybe the bacon and eggs because I can't get enough of that bacon!

By Sloane Burwell

Jeff Fischer isn’t your ordinary barista. After 20 years in the hospitality industry, he and his wife took ownership of Lux Coffee Bar, so that his wife could pursue her life’s dream of owning a coffee shop. Under his watchful eye and warm smile, Lux has emerged as more than a spot to quell your caffeine jones. It’s true – Lux is ground zero for downtown movers, shakers, hipsters, ne’er do wells, a Mayor and city council member or three. But it’s also a second living room and steady meet-up spot for an ever expanding and diverse group of folks who come here simply because if they didn’t – they would miss it. Jeff’s freshly roasted beans and tasty confections, turned out daily, are a labor of love. He’s a man with a mission, and the mission statement to prove it.

Chow Bella: Your roaster is a thing of beauty.
Jeff Fischer: It is. It’s the Victoria Lido from Italy.

By Sloane Burwell

It’s easy to see why Rancho Pinot has been wowing Valley diners for a decade and a half. Under the watchful eye of talented Chef Chrysa Robertson, they’ve nailed the restaurant trifecta – amazing food, impressive wine list, and impeccable service. Its quirky interior is the obvious reflection of her love of Phoenix. Charming and kitschy Southwestern ephemera dot the interior, where she displays part of her collection of antique western furniture. She’s been an ardent supporter of locally sourced ingredients before the term 'locavore' was part of the culinary lexicon, and helped start the Phoenix Slow Food Convivia with good friend, Chris Bianco. She’s still stirring the pot, so to speak, and this time she’s making fresh mozzarella.

Chow Bella: So how did you end up in Phoenix?
Chrysa Robertson: My parents moved out in the late '50s from Michigan. My grandfather came in the early '50s and bought some property and built three houses on it – for my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and my family.

By Sloane Burwell

Scottsdale’s Digestif is a sassy charmer. Its Cal-ital-inspired menu, the bricked chic interior, the swoon-worthy wine list and inventive cocktails are more than enough to make me move my CenPho-centric self on over for some of their crave-inducing charcuterie. Charcuterie -- that’s French for unctuous, buttery, salted and cured, pork-derived nirvana. These meaty treats are the creation of Zac Scott, whose impressive resume includes a two-year stint at the venerable Rancho Pinot. Sure, he’s busting the all-star moves in the kitchen, where he can be found breaking down entire porcine specimens (be still, my beating heart), but the man’s no slouch in the chemistry department, either. He’s turning old oils that might otherwise end up in a landfill into bio-diesel fuel.

Chow Bella: How did you start making charcuterie?
Zac Scott: I started way back – my parents had a hunting and fishing lodge in Colorado, and we made ham. It was holiday food – for Thanksgiving and Christmas we’d make ham and bacon.

CB: Do you hunt?
ZS: I’m going deer hunting in November in Colorado. There’s lots of sage in the lower country and they -- the mule deer -- get nice and fat so everything tastes good.