The local chain — started by Long Island brothers Scott and Greg Ziegler — has opened its fifth Valley location at 9845 S. Priest Drive, Tempe. NYPD also has restaurants in Chandler, Scottsdale and Phoenix.

The Big Apple-style pizzeria serves up a variety of thin-crust pies such as the NYPD Blue ($13.50-$17.50) topped with ricotta cheese, eggplant and roasted peppers, and the Mott Street Meat Lover ($14.25-$17.50) with pepperoni, sausage and meatballs. Calzones, pasta, sandwiches and salads round out the menu.

The Tempe location is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

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The Coffee Bean offers 40-cent coffee, tea

Celebrate The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s 40th anniversary with a 40-cent cup of coffee or tea through Aug. 24. (Sorry, the L.A.-based coffeehouse’s signature Ice Blendeds aren’t part of the deal.)

Patrons can also pick up a bag of the limited-edition 40th Anniversary Blend coffee, which has a bittersweet flavor with a hint of spice and a velvety, dark chocolate-like finish. The beans retail for $11.95 for a 12-ounce bag.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has several East Valley locations.

Info: www.coffeebean.com.

Spice up your weekend at chili cookoff

Enjoy some shopping and a cup of chili Saturday as the Casa Paloma shopping plaza (southeast corner of Ray Road and 54th Street in Chandler) hosts a cookoff between the Chandler police and fire departments.

The event — which runs from noon to 2 p.m. in front of Sur La Table — will also feature free appetizers from Z Tejas, ice cream samples from Cold Stone Creamery, free bottled water and music from the Maria Woodard Spicy Salsa Band.

Admission to the event is a nonperishable food item to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank.

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Sinbad hosts dinner to benefit Child Crisis Center

Enjoy pita bread, kebabs and hummus for a worthy cause at 6:30 p.m. Friday, as Middle Eastern eatery Sinbad hosts a buffet dinner to benefit Mesa’s Child Crisis Center.

The evening will feature an all-you-can-eat buffet for $14.95, with $5 from every meal being donated to the center. Alimah, a belly dance troupe, will provide the entertainment beginning at 7:30 p.m., with all of the dancers’ tips also being donated to the Child Crisis Center, which provides aid to more than 10,000 abused and neglected children each year.

Located at 5004 S. Price Road, Tempe, Sinbad is family-owned and operated; the restaurant also offers an authentic Bedouin tent for those who prefer to dine on the floor (on luxurious cushions, of course).

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— by Adrienne Frank, Get Out

Venezia's pizza joint opens Chandler location

Venezia's New York Style Pizzeria is now dishing out homemade meatballs and marinara in a restaurant-light section of the East Valley.

Owner Domenick Montanile opened his second Arizona pizzeria July 2 at the northeast corner of Pecos and McQueen roads in Chandler (1080 E. Pecos Road, Suite 23). Venezia's on Mill Avenue has been tempting Tempeans for five years with its made-from-scratch meals. If you enjoy a good Greek salad, Montanile says his version is the hottest seller at the 2-month-old Chandler location.

Montanile’s mom, who opened the original Venezia's in New Mexico 25 years ago, makes everything by hand — from the lasagna to the popular salad dressings — and uses fresh-from-the- garden basil.

The Albuquerque-born pizzeria offers New York-style ($7.25-$18.25) and Sicilian-style ($11-$19.50) pies, subs made with Boar's Head meats and cheeses ($5.99-$6.79), wings ($5.75 for 12), a variety of salads ($2.95-$5.59), pasta ($5.99-$7.50) and calzones ($5.50). Both locations offer daily deals (for example, $4 off the giant 22-inch party pizza on Wednesdays) and free delivery.

Both East Valley locations are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

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— by Crystal Petrocelli, Get Out