McDonald’s restaurants throughout the Valley and northern Arizona will host “backpack Saturday” 8 a.m. July 28, giving away 20,000 backpacks and helping thousands of children prepare for school.

An armed gunman got away with cash Monday from a Mesa fast-food restaurant.

The economic downturn is having an up-down, ping-pong effect on the restaurant industry in the Valley and the nation.

Police are looking for two men in connection with a string of robberies at Tempe fast food restaurants.

Once upon a time there was a Chinese family in Colorado Springs with the last name of Louie. It was 1954, and the family opened a restaurant, The Golden Dragon.

These are the worst East Valley offenders from restaurant health inspections reviewed July 21-27. For more details, or to search for any restaurant in Maricopa County, click here.

These are the worst East Valley offenders from restaurant health inspections reviewed July 21-27. For more details, or to search for any restaurant in Maricopa County, click here.

A man who pleaded guilty to several robberies of fast-food restaurants around the Phoenix metropolitan area has been sentenced to four years in prison.

By now, we all know that fast food is bad for us. We have books, movies and news reports telling us this almost every day. Most fast food is loaded with calories, saturated fats, sodium and just about anything else our bodies could use less of. Why do some chain restaurants avoid the negative press even though many of their meals are just as high in calories, fat, and sodium?

Five Kahala brand restaurants will give away free food items this week to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Arizona:

July 6, 2004

Italian music greets customers before they even get to the door. Once inside, the smell of pizza assaults the senses. It’s a little slice of Naples, where old world meets new world on an unlikely corner of east Mesa.

Fusion Restaurant & Lounge, Matt and JenLyn Long's eclectic comfort food establishment in Old Town Scottsdale, has closed.

PARADISE VALLEY

BLD (1920 W. Germann Road, Chandler [480] 779-8646). Short for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, BLD serves up chef-crafted comfort foods in a casual neighborhood environment, with a healthy disregard for when you’re “supposed” to crave dishes like bacon-studded waffles paired with fried chicken. (Breakfast is available until 2 p.m. daily.) A drive-thru window serves barista-made coffees, specialty drinks and meals on-the-go when you’re in a hurry — but a couple of bites always convince us these are meals best lingered over with good friends, good drinks (also available) and good conversation. $$

QUEEN CREEK

GILBERT

Byblos (3332 South Mill Ave., Tempe [480] 894-1945). Middle Eastern cuisine doesn’t get much better in the Valley. The Mirza family’s signature tomato soup is a must-have item and their stuffed grape leaves are nearly as good. You can’t go wrong with the chicken Mediterranean or any of the kebabs. $$