Right: courtesy of FnB

"The Sharon" at FnB

The countdown to Best of Phoenix is on. Mark your calendar: This year's issue will be on newsstands September 26. What better way to warm up than by asking some local "experts" to list their own personal bests? And who better to begin with than writer and dietitian Sharon Salomon? After all, how many of us can say we have a fried chicken dish named in our honor?

What do I know about fried chicken? I'm just a girl from Brooklyn who grew up eating what my Brooklyn-born mother called "Southern fried chicken." I can assure you that the closest my mother ever got to the South was a trip to the southern tip of Manhattan. She prepared her fried chicken by dredging it in seasoned matzoh meal and deep-frying it in corn oil. My culinary knowledge tells me that's not even close to "Southern." Nonetheless, my mother's fried chicken was gloriously crunchy and tasty even though it lacked a Southern pedigree.

See also:
- Results of the Fried Chicken Showdown Between Noca and FnB
- Sharon Salomon Asks: Is Barrio Cafe's Take on Mexican Food Authentic? And Does It Matter?

More »

Courtesy of Chris Gross

Chris and Paola back in the day

The horror of -- and fascination with -- the Amy and Samy Show may have been seeing people's obvious dysfunction laid bare. That's why we love reality TV. It lets us feel superior. And boy did we ever, watching that train wreck. Here were two people who seemed to love each other but obviously had no business 1. operating a restaurant and 2. operating a restaurant together.

See also:
-- Chasing Amy: Overcooked Reality and the Decline of Western Civility
Amy's Baking Company: The Complete History

So it got us thinking about the local couples who do a fabulous job of running a restaurant together. Here are eleven of of our favorites. Please, someone, give one of these couples their own reality show -- not Amy and Samy.

More »

Photo by Nikki Buchanan

Torta Ahogada at Tortas Paquime

Every week, there's a cornucopia of Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you're like most people, you probably just don't have the time to get to all of it. So, here's a recap of some of the top stories from the week that you may have missed.

9 Favorite Tortas in Metro Phoenix

When it comes to making a great sandwich, served on fresh bread and piled high with ingredients, the United States (famous for its subs, muffaletas and Philly cheese steaks) has got absolutely nothing on Mexico. Mexican tortas -- sometimes made on a bolillo (a torpedo-shaped variation on the crusty French baguette) but most often made with pan telera (a flatter, softer, rounder-shaped roll with two indentations on the top) can be filled and garnished with just about anything: a variety of meats, cheese (often mozzarella or panela), refried beans, avocado, pickled jalapeño, onion, tomato, cilantro, lettuce and more.

So who makes a good torta in this town? Here are nine of our favorites.

--Nikki Buchanan

More »

Buchanan

Torta Ahogada at Tortas Paquime

When it comes to making a great sandwich, served on fresh bread and piled high with ingredients, the United States (famous for its subs, muffaletas and Philly cheese steaks) has got absolutely nothing on Mexico. Mexican tortas -- sometimes made on a bolillo (a torpedo-shaped variation on the crusty French baguette) but most often made with pan telera (a flatter, softer, rounder-shaped roll with two indentations on the top) can be filled and garnished with just about anything: a variety of meats, cheese (often mozzarella or panela), refried beans, avocado, pickled jalapeño, onion, tomato, cilantro, lettuce and more.

See also:
-- 10 Best Burritos in Metro Phoenix
-- 16 Favorite Places in Metro Phoenix to Eat at the Bar

So who makes a good torta in this town? Here are nine of our favorites.

More »

Village Voice

Mamoun's has been a favorite cheap meal of New Yorkers for more than 40 years.

Arizona has an up-and-coming food scene, and there's a lot to be proud of, for sure. But when Chow Bella published a list of things that make Phoenix a better food town than New York City, I just had to laugh. The difference in size alone makes the two incomparable. Since moving back to New York six months ago, I've come to miss the food at Phoenix haunts like Short Leash Hot Dogs, La Tolteca, St. Francis, and -- quite obviously -- dessert at top restaurants like Cowboy Ciao. But, by comparison, I still miss a lot more from the food scene in Portland, Oregon, where I lived for four years. So for me, Phoenix is small potatoes, but to give the Valley something to shoot for, here are 10 food favorites New Yorkers take for granted that Phoenix will likely never see.

See also:
- 9 Things That Make Phoenix a Better Food (and Drink) Town than New York City
- Cobbler on Quack at Cowboy Ciao

Cheap Food After Midnight (that's not greasy Mexican fare)
When I first lived in NYC in 2004, this was one of the attributes that hooked me on the city. If you want off-hours food in Phoenix, you'd better be in the mood for a burrito, quesadilla, or a few tacos. The salsa bars at these late-night hubs for greasy Mexican food can be surprisingly good, but overall, the options in the Valley are really lacking after regular dinner hours. Not so in New York. Near Washington Square Park, the original Mamoun's -- first opened in 1971 -- sells $3 falafel and $6 shawarma until 5 a.m., a college kid's dream come true. Even where I live now, in a residential part of Bushwick, there's a cheap restaurant on the corner, OMG Pizza, selling staples like falafel, salads, and burgers until 3 a.m.

More »

Are you excited for the "grand re-opening" of Amy's Baking Company? We're thinking it could go one of three ways: anti-climactic, shit show, or surprisingly well.

While we're waiting anxiously for tomorrow's events, check out our most-read Amy's Baking Company stories from last week. If you're one of the lucky people who got in to eat at the restaurant tomorrow, let us know about your experience by emailing us, posting in the comments section, or tagging us on Twitter @phoenixnewtimes.

See Also:
Amy's Baking Company - A History of Kitchen Nightmares

More »

Buchanan

The bar at Windsor

Restaurant bars stopped being strictly bars years ago. Nowadays, many people consider them the best seats in the house for a casual dinner that doesn't require reservations, waiting, or a deep reservoir of patience. Because most of them operate on a first-come, first-served basis, customers are free to grab a stool and get the party started -- no pomp, no circumstance, and just a linen napkin to serve as a place mat.

See also:
-- Summer Mixology Classed with Travis Nass at the Last Drop Bar, Starting May 19
-- Top Ten "Reviews" of Amy's Baking Company on Yelp

Here are 16 great places to belly up to the bar for a full-blown meal.

More »

"Crazy" Amy Bouzaglo of Amy's Baking Company

We were there with front-row seats when all the drama began back in 2010. Since that time, when a local business owner totally flipped her shit over a negative Yelp review, the Amy's Baking Company drama has combusted and set off a national media firestorm.

See also:
- Amy's Baking Company - A History of Kitchen Nightmares

And as with all human train wrecks that garner such large-scale attention, people have taken to the Internet to put their own spin on things. So now we present: seven Amy's Baking Company parodies in various social media and multimedia forms -- and unless you're allowed to drop f-bombs and make death threats at your place of employment, this is definitely not suitable for work.

More »

Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale.

The Amy's Baking Company meltdown continues. What began as a Yelp smackdown three years ago, has blown up into a national firestorm after the Scottsdale-based restaurant appeared on the season finale of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. If you haven't seen the show, you have to check it out.

Gordon Ramsay

Well, after the show aired, the Internet imploded on the restaurant's Yelp and Facebook pages, and Reddit (of course) jumped in the mix, too.

To take it back to where it all began, here are the top 10 comments on ABC's Yelp page. Not surprisingly, the restaurant gets only a one-star review. (Note: Reviews are posted as is, so sorry for any typos).

See Also:
- See the Complete Amy's Baking Company History Here
- Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale Is the Season Finale of Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay, Natch
- Screaming, Expletives, and, Eventually, Police: All in the First Night of Kitchen Nightmares Taping at Amy's Baking Company
- Name-Calling Restaurant Owner Back in Spotlight: Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale Targeted for Upcoming Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay
- Ouch! Today's Hard Lesson on Yelp
- Why Wait for Tomorrow When You Can Watch the Amy's Baking Company Sh*t Show Finale of Kitchen Nightmares Today?

More »

Courtesy of Noca

Burrida -- Mediterranean seafood stew at Noca

Arizona Restaurant Week -- the Spring 2013 Edition -- begins Saturday, May 18 and ends Monday, May 27 (which is Memorial Day, when most of us will be grilling burgers and drinking beer at home . . . but never mind). By the end of this week, ARW officially will be upon us: a 10-day eating extravaganza of bargain-priced restaurant food and a last hurrah for local restaurants who already have begun to feel the slowdown that comes with our long, hot summers.

See also:
-- Does Arizona Really Need a Second Restaurant Week?
-- Grab Your Favorite Dining Buddy: Arizona Spring Restaurant Week Is Almost Here

I've studied Arizona Restaurant Week's website extensively and found five places I'd not only love to visit but also consider a legit bargain. See what you think.

P.S. This list is based on what can be found on the ARW website as of this writing, and frankly, the pickin's are slim, which doesn't diminish the five noteworthy selections here.

More »