Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Festival Adds Artistic Element to Downtown Phoenix

Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Festival returns to CityScape for its second year, adding a demonstration by renowned celebrity Chef Nobuo Fukuda.  In addition, the feast doesn’t end at the taste buds, but continues with an art exhibit entitled Feast Your Eyes, presented by Artlink Inc. 

Feast Your Eyes showcases an array of tantalizing work from local artists in a group exhibition. The pop-up gallery set against the backdrop of Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Festival at CityScape will celebrate the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and, most importantly here, taste!) that make for a spectacular meal. The art displayed in Feast Your Eyes will be available for purchase by festival patrons.

Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Festival is Sun., March 30, 2014, 11am-3pm; the event will transform CityScape into an exploration of the restaurants Arizonans have nominated as their favorites in past Check, Please! Arizona shows. This rare collection of independent restaurants, from fine-dining establishments to tucked-away cafés, closes Central Avenue in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The streets will be filled with art, fine food, savory wine and craft beer in addition to a collection of trees sprinkled throughout the street, provided by Whitfill Nursery.

Tickets are $69 in advance, $79 at the doors; available online at www.azpbs.org/CheckPlease. 

The event once again offers the highly anticipated discussion panel by Arizona’s James Beard Award winners featuring Chef Robert McGrath, Chef Christopher Gross and Chef Nobuo Fukuda. Plus, guests will enjoy wine seminars and cooking demonstrations, including an exclusive cooking demo by Fukuda. Chef Nobuo Fukuda, known for his Japanese-inspired cuisine, has earned national acclaim for his unique dishes and exotic culinary insight and cooking style.

In addition, Chef McGrath shares his unmistakable charm and culinary insight in a cooking demonstration and Chef Christopher Gross delivers a wine seminar, sharing more than 40 years of experience in the wine and food world.

Three stages will set the scene: the SubZero/Wolf Chef Demonstration Stage, the Safeway Grill Master Stage and the Chow Bella Stage.

SubZero/Wolf Chef Demonstration Stage

• 11:15am: Chef Lester Gonzalez of Cowboy Ciao
• 12:00pm: Chef Nobuo Fukuda of Nobuo at Teeter House (James Beard Award winner)
• 1:45pm: Chef Eric Osburn of Centurion

Safeway Grill Master Stage

• 11:30am: Chef Robert McGrath, host of Check, Please! Arizona (and James Beard Award winner)
• 1:30pm: Chef George Frasher of Frasher’s Steakhouse & Lounge
• 2:15pm: Chef Ramon Rice of D’Vine Bistro

Chow Bella Stage

• 12:30pm: Chef Christopher Gross of Christopher’s Crush (James Beard Award winner) presenting a wine seminar
• 1:00pm: James Beard Award Winner Panel Discussion Hosted by Robert McGrath featuring Christopher Gross and Nobuo Fukuda

In addition to celebrity chefs offering a number of unprecedented insights, more than 30 of Arizona’s favorite independent dining spots are set to dish out their specialties; and offerings from global wineries and unique craft breweries will be available to imbibe as well.  

Restaurant Lineup to Date. Among participating restaurants in this second year are:

• Citizen Public House
• Vogue Bistro
• Rancho Pinot
• Tasty Thai
• America’s Taco Shop
• Bertha’s Café
• The Wild Thaiger
• Betty’s Nosh
• Centurion
• Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe
• Cowboy Ciao
• Durant’s
• D’Vine Bistro & Wine Bar
• Flancer’s
• Havana Café
• Cucina Tagliani
• Hob Nobs
• Lon’s at Hermosa Inn
• MacAlpine’s Soda Fountain
• Phoenix City Grille
• Red, White and Brew
• Frasher’s Steakhouse and Lounge
• Salerno’s Restaurant & Pizzeria
• Flavors of Louisiana
• Salt Cellar Restaurant
• Tarbell’s
• Thee Pitts “Again”
• The Vig Uptown
• Yupha’s Thai Kitchen