Marilyn Hawkes

Scottsdale

Contributing Writer at Phoenix Magazine

Contributing Writer at Freelance

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Articles

April 2025 Restaurant Openings and Closings

1 week ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Arizona Pizza CompanyThis local pizzeria has opened a third location. Look for specialty pizzas, salads, wings and hot and cold sub sandwiches. 16955 N. 75th Ave., Peoria, azpizzacopeoria.comBackstage KitchenAir Guitar convenience store in Gilbert has opened a kitchen featuring sandwiches, salads and smoothies, masterminded by Craig and Kris DeMarco (Postino). 1566 S.
Picazzo’s Pours Fresh Flavor Into Summer with New Mocktail Menu

1 week ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Mocktails have grown in popularity during the last few years as consumers continue to seek out healthier lifestyles. We recently talked with Chris Disney, managing partner of Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen, about the restaurant’s new mocktail offerings, which include Blueberry Thyme, Blue Elderflower, Ginger Immune Boost and Tropical Punch. He gave us the recipe for Tropical Punch and offered some great advice about how to make a mocktail shine. What’s the secret to making a good mocktail?
3 Local Products to Try this Spring

2 weeks ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Bean and Cheese BurritosIn 2013, Phoenix native Hank Murphy was leading a kayaking trip in Alaska when he got a “ferocious craving” for a bean and cheese burrito, kicking off a decade-long obsession with cooking beans at home. Last year, he started selling burritos to friends and acquaintances. The demand increased every month, so he quit his job as director of energy transformation for Walmart and dove headfirst into the burrito business with his wife, Sam.
Eat Beat Interrogation with Amber Kovarik of George & Gather

2 weeks ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Amber Kovarik, a 20-year mortgage industry veteran, always wanted to open a restaurant. In 2023, after her husband Mike bought an old building in downtown Chandler (a pink autobody shop wrapped in barbed wire), he encouraged her to design and open her dream eatery: an all-day spot with a scratch kitchen that produces clean food without seed oils. The indoor/outdoor restaurant, which also has a grab-and-go market with specialty coffees and pastries, opened in mid-March.
3 Spots in the Valley Perfecting the Cacio e Pepe Italian Dish

2 weeks ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Ubiquitous but notoriously tricky to master, cacio e pepe is the double Axel of Italian cooking. Traditional cacio e pepe has four unfussy ingredients: spaghetti, pecorino Romano, freshly cracked black pepper and a bit of starchy pasta water reserved from cooking. Simple, right? Not really. Currently enjoying a massive revival on Italian restaurant menus, the dish requires mad technical skills to do right.
March 2025 Restaurant Openings & Closings

1 month ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Bad Jimmy’sScottsdale is fortunate to have scored the second location of Bad Jimmy’s, a smash burger joint extraordinaire that fashions burgers with K4 Ranch premium Arizona beef. In the former Starlite BBQ & Whiskey Bar. 7620 E. Indian School Rd., Scottsdale, badjimmys.comCaffenioThe first U.S. location for this Mexican coffee company that serves hot and cold coffee drinks along with a small food menu. 1252 W.
Dish Fest 2025 Q&A: Lucas Gonzales of Salsa Bites

2 months ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Before Lucas Gonzales launched his Salsa Bites food truck, he worked as a case manager in behavioral health. The former Kearny-area resident made the transition to food truck owner because he enjoyed cooking family recipes with his mother and grandmother. “I never thought cooking was something I could do for a living until I got the food truck,” he says. Using his family’s recipes, Gonzales has built a successful business steeped in tradition and authenticity.
Three Bites: Seoul Food

2 months ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Touted for gut health benefits, fermented foods have achieved new prominence in the American diet. In addition to classic standbys such as yogurt, cheese and sauerkraut, grocery stores now reliably carry new-look fermented goods like kombucha, kefir (fermented milk) and, of course, kimchi, that zesty, fermented cabbage that serves as Asia’s answer to sauerkraut.
Eat Beat Interrogation with Scott Holmes of Little Miss BBQ

2 months ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

Several years before opening Little Miss BBQ in 2014, Scott Holmes learned about the world of Texas barbecue when he and his future wife, Bekke, went to visit her parents in Austin. They hit some legendary barbecue spots, and Holmes “became obsessed,” he says. Back home in Phoenix, he bought a smoker, started cooking for friends and competed in barbecue contests for close to five years before going pro as a pitmaster and launching the beloved restaurant.
Dish Fest 2025 Q&A: Kyle Hollenbeck of AZ Lemonade Stand

2 months ago | phoenixmag.com | Marilyn Hawkes

AZ Lemonade Stand is just one of several companies started by middle school friends Kyle Hollenbeck and Tom D’Ambrosio, an impressive roster that includes Aioli Gourmet Burgers, Modern Tortilla and Oakwood Fired Pizza. The duo started AZ Lemonade Stand in 2021 and have grown the brand to 15 flavors, including mango, cranberry and peach. We recently dished with Hollenbeck about his growing business and what he has in store for Dish Fest on March 9. What will you be serving at Dish Fest this year?