Dinner and live music in metro Phoenix: 15 restaurants to try azcentral.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from azcentral.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hassler, who grew up in the Valley, had a similar shift in thinking about food and how to eat it after studying abroad in the 90s.
“In America, life was all about go go go, but in France and Italy, your life is about dinner,” she believes. “What you will eat, who you will eat with, where you will eat, the conversation you have once you get there. That experience changed me.”
“I say it’s country French and American comfort food.”
Lauren Cusimano
A mostly self-taught chef, Hassler worked for a caterer in Italy, settling there and marrying. When she and her husband returned to Phoenix, she brought back memories of dining and cooking abroad.
11 Stories Celebrating Women in the Phoenix Food and Drink World phoenixnewtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phoenixnewtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jackie Mercandetti Photo
Anhelo 628 East Adams Street One of the more romantic-looking spots in town is the 1900-built Silva House, home to Anhelo. Ivan Jacobo is the executive chef at this contemporary restaurant at Heritage Square, and he seems to have a keen sense for the ol Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra. As we reported after our first visit, “Rather than junking old wine, he uses it for braising. He trades carefully managed kitchen compost to Grace Farms in Chandler and gets microgreens in return. In a warming world, this is the kind of mindset a young chef needs to have. The menu also supports local and organic farming and uses Arizona-based Alaskan Pride Seafoods. You’ll also want to take a gander at that cocktail menu. Anhelo’s tequila drinks are incredible.