Check, Please! fest serves up food, wine, beer

If you haven’t caught a weekly episode of KAET Ch. 8’s Check, Please!, you don’t know the great tastes you’ve been missing on this local restaurant reviews show hosted by Chef Robert McGrath. Whether you have or haven’t, don’t miss Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Festival at CityScape on Sunday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At the festival you can meet the Valley’s best chefs and sample their top dishes from 36 restaurants featured on the TV show. There also will be wine and beer tastings from participating wineries and breweries. All this is included in the ticket prices.

General admission is $60 and VIP tickets are $100. Tickets include food, wine and beer samplings. VIP ticketholders will enjoy the James Beard Award-winners private chef seminar, exclusive wine tastings, early entry to the festival 30 minutes before general admission, and VIP valet parking.

The Valley’s top chefs who will be there include Joe Hernandez, Christopher Gross, Mark Tarbell, Eddie Matney, and many others. The restaurants that will have food there are Tarbell’s, Petite Maison, Tuck Shop, Phoenix City Grille, Vogue Bistro, Coup Des Tartes, Eddie’s House, Mac Alpines, Lon’s at the Hermosa, Flancer’s, Pittsburgh Willy’s, AZ Bread Co., Havana Café, America’s Taco Shop, Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Café, Pomegranate Café, Thee Pitts Again, and Haus Murphy’s German restaurant, among others.

Chef Gross will join other James Beard Award winners such as Chef McGrath for a panel discussion about Phoenix emerging as a culinary destination, each chef’s unique culinary journey, and the experience of receiving the James Beard honor.

Cityscape is located at 1 E. Washington in downtown Phoenix. For tickets visit http://www.azpbs.org/checkplease/festival/