Aioli Burger, a veritable mobile empire in the Valley's food truck scene, has followed through on plans to put down roots with the opening of its brick-and-mortar location in North Phoenix last week. The new restaurant occupies a space formerly home to a gyro restaurant and hookah bar in a strip mall on the northeast corner of 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard, in the neighborhood where head chef Tom D'Ambrosio and his business partners grew up. For D'Ambrosio and Kyle Hollenbeck, who handles the

To the untrained eye, Waamo and Al Aruba may seem like Ethiopian restaurants. Both offer Ethiopian cuisine's trademark flatbread and lots of stewed meats and vegetables, but these two eateries actually specialize in Somali cuisine, which differs from Ethiopian fare in a few subtle but key ways. The two nations, Ethiopia and Somalia, despite being right next to each other, have quite a few differences that have an immense impact on their cuisines. For one, Somalia, unlike Ethiopia, is a Muslim m

We've already explored some of North and West Phoenix's best Eastern European markets and restaurants. Now, we put another neighborhood's culinary culture under the microscope: the stretch of Ethiopian restaurants, cafes, and markets in Central Phoenix between Indian School and McDowell roads. Here are our three favorites: The Setting: A T Oasis, named for the owner, Aisha, is different from our the other spots on this list in that it's more a cafe than a restaurant. As such, it's smaller and

Couscous Express owner Abdul Chaara closes his restaurant early by most restaurant standards. At 6 p.m. every Monday through Saturday, Chaara's supposed to make the day's last round of date shakes, say goodbye to remaining guests, and begin the process of closing shop. Why so early? Because after a long day as the restaurant's cook, waiter, and host, Chaara is tired. "I only have about five years of hard labor left in me before I burn out," he says. But if he's as committed to retiring — or a

You might think that in Phoenix, it would be hard for a new taco truck to get its footing. But the ubiquity of the taco in metro Phoenix has not deterred Modern Tortilla food-truck owner and head chef Tom D'Ambrosio from achieving success. Some may recognize D'Ambrosio as the owner of the award-winning Aioli Burger truck. He opened the second mobile eatery, Modern Tortilla, with partner Kyle Hollenbeck back in January. "There are a lot of taco trucks in Arizona, but we wanted to do something d

The aptly named Caveman Burgers opened recently on the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Bell Road. The heart of the restaurant is its attention to the origin — and chemical makeup — of its ingredients, according to owner Jeff Bobby. This means ingredients are produced without additives and anything that can be locally sourced, is — hence the name and reference to the paleo diet. "It started with a love of burgers," Bobby says. "Then I started thinking about how we could be different. Then

Donald Trump supporter Marco Gutierrez  may be terrified of the idea of having "taco trucks on every corner," but around these parts, we happen to be big fans of low-price, high-quality food. In case you missed it, Gutierrez, the founder of the group Latinos for Trump, recently warned that the prevalence of Hispanic culture might lead to taco trucks, like, everywhere — to which we say, "Yes, please!" And while we've already shared some of our favorite brick-and-mortar spots for a cheap taco fix

Chef Tom D'Ambrosio made a name for Aioli Burger throughout the Valley as a food truck powerhouse, over the years growing the business to three trucks and a sister concept called Modern Tortilla. Now, D'Ambrosio and his two business partners are putting down roots, with plans for a brick-and-mortar Aioli Burger location to open by the end of October. The restaurant will be located in an 1,800-square foot space on the northwest corner of 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard, in the north Phoenix neigh