Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Festival continues for a third straight year of pleasing fans of local, independent eateries once again, Sun., March 22, 2015, 11am-3pm at CityScape in downtown Phoenix. Eight will again transform CityScape into a haven for food adventurists, a one-stop exploration of Arizona’s independent restaurant collective that ranges from every-day hamburger haunts to five-star gourmet establishments.
In its third year, the event is crowned with a gathering of Arizona’s James Beard Foundation award-winners, among them, Emmy Award-winning host of Eight’s Check, Please! Arizona Robert McGrath, plus Christopher Gross, Chris Bianco, and Nobuo Fukuda.
In addition, as Arizona’s culinary scene continues to advance in global sophistication, the 2015 version of the event will also showcase overlays by Arizona’s chef talent, including a second panel of top Valley chefs, in addition to a lineup of cooking demonstrations by local chefs on two stages, provided by SubZero/Wolf, and a tour of favorite wines by Chef Christopher Gross, including tastings and tips for food pairings.
The festival also will be adding several new restaurants to the lineup this year from Check, Please! Arizona’s five seasons on-air, as well as featuring many returning favorites, to date including:
Switch Restaurant & Wine Bar
The Wild Thaiger
Salerno’s
Haus Murphy’s
Frasher’s Steakhouse & Lounge
The Salt Cellar
Flavors of Louisiana
Rancho Pinot
Cowboy Ciao
Jewel of the Crown
Cucina Tagliani
Tarbell’s
San Tan Brewing Company
Thee Pitts “Again”
Hob Nob
Phoenix City Grille
Red, White and Brew
Betty’s Nosh
Avanti Restaurant
MacAlpine’s Restaurant & Soda Fountain
TEXAZ Grill
TICKETS. Tickets are available at www.azpbs.org/checkplease/festival. General admission in advance is $79; at the door tickets are $89. Tickets include food, wine and beer sampling as well as panel discussions, cooking demonstrations and guest lectures.