Michele Laudig is a writer, artist and editor eating up New York City’s deliciously diverse food scene. Currently senior editor at Zagat in Manhattan, she was the staff restaurant critic and food blogger at Phoenix New Times since 2006, where she wrote cover stories, a weekly column and daily blog posts. Michele co-authored 100 Years, 100 Chefs, 100 Recipes, an Arizona Centennial Legacy Project published in February 2012, and has also written for Phoenix Magazine, Edible Phoenix, The Arizona Republic, Sommelier Journal and Hemispheres.
In previous lives, she served as New Times’ music editor, styled fashion shoots, toured with a rock ‘n roll band and lived in Tokyo. She has a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Columbia.
Or should I say, "again." After spending the Aughts in Arizona, eating my way around Phoenix as New Times' restaurant critic and resident food blogger, I've packed up my life and moved back to New York City, where I spent the better part of the Nineties. The last few months have been a roller coaster -- a frenzy of work on various projects, punctuated with weekend getaways to L.A. ...
Fashion addict Corbin Chamberlin asked me to spill the contents of my bag for his latest Arizona Foothills Magazine Q&A. I'm used to being the interviewer, not the interviewee, but boy, was it fun to gab about the goodies I happened to be schlepping around one day. Read the full piece here.
I finally, finally made it to Elote Cafe. Ever since chef Jeff Smedstad left the Valley to open his upscale Mexican eatery in Sedona, I'd been hearing about the place as a total foodnik destination. It's been given lots of media love (most recently by Travel + Leisure, where former Noca chef Chris Curtiss name-dropped it as a fave), and I've discovered that you can't mention a jaunt to Sedona ...
Sweet Republic Alton Brown How cool is this? For those of you who missed it, here's what aired last Friday on our local ice cream savants at Sweet Republic. Food Network's Alton Brown couldn't say enough good things about the Toffee Banofi Sundae!
Parc Central barely cleared the six-month mark, and then swiftly closed its doors last week. It debuted at the Scottsdale Quarter back in January amid a flurry of new openings that also included Tanzy, TK's Urban Tavern, and Narcisse. Last week, there was a sign posted on its door that it was closed for "mechanical problems" and to check back over the weekend. Now, the sign is gone, the ...
Barrio Tequileria in Gilbert is a no-go. Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza, owner of Central Phoenix's award-winning Barrio Cafe, decided to back away from the downtown Gilbert location after signing a letter of intent six months ago. Lease negotiations with the landlord were dragging on, since he took issue with the restaurant name -- he wanted her to call it Barrio Gilbert, and thought "Tequileria" sounded too much like a bar ...
Cycle is speeding up to the finish line. For its final month of weekend-long chef residencies, the temporary restaurant at the Lexington Hotel is bringing out the big guns. Hope you've been saving your nickles, foodniks, because the lineup is good and it's going to sell out. Before I forget, here's the number for a reso: 602-252-2100. Now look at this: Payton Curry follows his recent Welcome Diner pop-up ...
It can't be easy juggling a barbecue sauce biz, catering biz, and full-time job as pitmaster at Big Earl's BBQ, so it doesn't come as a total surprise that Tony Morales just stepped down from his position at chef James Porter's Scottsdale barbecue joint. He's been there nearly six months. According to Porter's wife and Big Earl's PR gal Wendy, Morales has "definitely been a big asset" and he'll continue ...
Even as my life is going more digital by the day (hello, Google Plus!), I'm embracing analog. Sure, I really do covet an iPad, but there's no gadget in the world that could replace the heady feeling of getting a beautiful new magazine. I love the smell of the paper, the texture of the pages, the colorful layouts, and just the printed word in general. This obsession goes back to ...
[gallery] This vintage bag at Golyester in L.A. pretty much says it all.I don't need New Year's to make a resolution. After last weekend's quick but highly entertaining jaunt to Los Angeles, I've decided that regular visits are in order. Yeah, that might be dangerous for my wallet because the urge to spend strikes a lot harder at that city's unusual ...