Lifestyle and Entertainment

Remember when your family used to pile in the car for a Sunday afternoon drive? You might feel like resurrecting that quaint custom once you've seen Joe's, whose modern design and signage recalls the burger stands of the '50s and '60s. It's a retro-cool building (owner Joe Johnston's childhood home), boasting a butterfly roof and an open breezeway, the better to enjoy our mostly great Arizona weather. Surrounded by giant shade trees, it's the perfect place to bring the kids and let them run off a little steam. They'll love the food, too - ultra-fresh, top-quality renditions of burgers, hot dogs, fries (in a half-dozen yummy permutations), shakes and pizzas, as well as a few trendy selections such as a beet salad and an ahi tuna sandwich. 3000 E. Ray Road, Gilbert, 480-563-4745, joesfarmgrill.com.

 

Hats off to John Kunst, who bought The Stetson bar across from Phoenix Baptist Hospital in 1984 and cleverly renamed it The Recovery Room. The watering hole is home of the 99-cent quarter-pound burger for lunch and flavor-of-the-month martinis. "Up until last year we had a 25-cent second-drink hospital worker special," says Manager Shannon Kunst. "But people started making their own hospital badges on the Internet so we had to stop." She adds this little known fact: The Recovery Room was the original Kentucky Fried Chicken in Phoenix. 2027 W. Bethany Home Road, Phoenix, 602-246-6456, therecoveryroom.org.

 

Some say there are two languages that are nearly universal: English and soccer. For the price of a pint, you can worship "football" with other Valley fans at ye old watering hole, a.k.a., George & Dragon. The pub, near Central Avenue and Indian School Road, features dartboards, English fare and multiple "telly" screens that stay tuned to soccer for Premier League and World Cup matches. The friendly atmosphere is the best place to immerse yourself in the world's most-watched sport. 4240 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, 602-241-0018, myspace.com/george&dragon.

 

Jacob and Emily may have been the hottest baby names nationwide in 2006, but when it came to the Valley, no baby names were hotter than Nash & Raja, the newest members of Wildlife World Zoo's white tiger family. Born December 30, the tiny tigers were named for Phoenix Suns stars Steve Nash and Raja Bell during a ceremony at US Airways Center in February, and since then, visitors have descended in droves on Litchfield Park's Wildlife World Zoo to visit them. The famous felines have even appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and Good Morning America - proof positive that what's in a name makes for great news and even better photos. Awww! 16501 W. Northern Ave., Litchfield Park, 623-935-9453, wildlifeworld.com.

 

More than 450,000 people visited the Arizona Science Center over a period of four months to view Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds 3: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies. The exhibit, which had people lining up at all hours of the night during its final weekend, included more than 200 real human specimens and allowed visitors to see what really happens inside their bodies. The bodies were plastinated, a process that replaces the body's natural fluids with a self-hardening polymer, thus allowing them to be viewed without the use of glass barriers or formaldehyde. Basically, Body Worlds was an exhibit without boundaries. And although some community groups, including local Native Americans, took issue with such an unabashed display of the human body, we say, hey, anything that prompts children and adults alike to become interested in science is a good thing. 600 E. Washington St., Phoenix, 602-716-2000, azscience.org.

 

Pound for pound, Celebrity Fight Night is one of the Valley's most respected fundraisers, having solicited more than $45 million in funds to benefit the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute during its 12-year history. What's more, the annual event draws countless celebrities to the Valley - from Reba McEntire, Celine Dion and Diana Ross to Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Jim Carrey. We're proud that the Valley is home to both BNI and the Greatest of All Time, so any cause celî¶re that pairs celebs with local heroes like Ali and Fight Night founder Jimmy Walker is A-OK in our book.

 

Now that the Smoke-Free Arizona act prohibits smoking in indoor restaurants and bars, patrons can let fried foods and huge portions kill them instead of second-hand smoke. Seriously, though, the indoor smoking ban is a good thing and long overdue. Other than the knucklehead bar owner, Alfonso Larriva, who tried to skirt the ban by replacing a window with a vent to create an "open-air" establishment, reports of serious violations have been few, says Will Humble, assistant director for health preparedness at Arizona Department of Health Services. And we're all breathing much easier.

 

There are field trips that kids tolerate because it beats another day of long division, and there are field trips that kids look forward to all year. The Hall of Flame is the greater of two goods. Possibly the largest museum in the world devoted to firefighting history, the Hall of Flame also boasts the best jungle gym in town: a classic '50s fire truck where kids can act out their hero fantasies in style. But from May through October, the real fun takes place outdoors, with the Junior Firefighters Workshop (ages 7 and up) and the Wet 'n' Wild Storytime (ages 5-7). It's the most fun you can have with a fire hose. 6101 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix, 602-275-3473, hallofflame.org.

 

Smack in the middle of Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe, Mill Cue Club is a natural place to see and be seen - if that's what you're looking for. But if you're just wanting to chill with friends, retreat to the pool tables in the back, where the play ranges from casual to cutthroat. Bonus: The good-looking staff is unflaggingly friendly, even when your buddies have had, er, one too many cold ones. 607 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, 480-858-9017, millcueclub.com.

 

Since it opened in 2005, the Downtown Phoenix Public Market has pursued the twin goals of social change and perfect tomatoes - and it's succeeding on both counts. Eventually, the market hopes to be one of the permanent attractions that defines Downtown; in the meantime, it's a community resource as valuable to single moms on food stamps as it is to the developers driving gentrification. Plus, it sells great tomatoes. 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, 721 N. Central Ave. (southeast corner of Central and McKinley), Phoenix, downtownphoenixpublicmarket.com.

 

Thanks to sports superstars like the Suns' Steve Nash and the Cardinals' Matt Leinart, the Valley's "cool" factor has been raised ever so slightly, but we're still a bit behind on our A-lister game, boasting few, if any, celebrity sightings. The hip, new Mondrian Scottsdale is out to change that, however, acting as a honing beacon to celebs like Halle Berry, Eva Mendez, Jessica Alba, Jesse Metcalf, Alan Cumming, Nick Lachey and Jeremy Piven, who were all spotted kicking back at one of the hotel's sexy bars, Red Bar or Sky Bar, or noshing at the resort's resident restaurant, Asia de Cuba, earlier this spring. We're still no Hollywood, but at least there's one place in town we can get star-struck. Mondrian Scottsdale, 7353 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale, 480-308-1131, mondrianscottsdale.com.

 

Between the Valley's light pollution and hovering "brown cloud," stargazing has nearly been impossible. Enter the Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory, which opened late last year at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch. The observatory offers weekend stargazing from sundown to two hours after twilight (about 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in August). And at just $3 a person, it's a much cheaper date than trying to spot the stars at Valley nightclubs. 2757 E. Guadalupe Road, Gilbert, east-valleyastronomy.org/grco/obs.asp.

 

When the heat finally calms down, there's no better way to enjoy some live tunes than with a night sky overhead and grass under foot, and the best place to do that is Mesa Amphitheatre. Large enough to attract big-name performers like Incubus and Rise Against, Mesa Amp is still small and intimate enough to make concert-going a pleasurable experience, rather than the headache it's become at larger venues. And with its elevated rows of seating, there's not a bad view in the place. 201 N. Center St., Mesa, 480-644-2178, mesaamp.com.

 

Whether you're dining on the patio for brunch, meeting friends at the bar, or gathering in one of two private dining rooms, the new, Mediterranean-inspired Olive & Ivy at the Scottsdale Waterfront offers the perfect ambience to people watch, flirt and snag a first date. Crowds of all ages fill the expansive dining area, especially on Friday nights, affording plenty of ogling opportunities for everyone, from cougars to kittens, sugar daddies to potential baby-daddies. 7135 E. Camelback Road, Ste. 195, Scottsdale, 480-751-2200, foxrestaurantconcepts.com.

 

Jazzercise is like a sorority. You pay your dues, hang out with friends and dance. Even though men are welcome, the majority of the 2,300 Jazzercise customers and 125 Jazzercise instructors in the Valley are women. Make no mistake, this never-fading fitness regiment is not what your mom did 30 years ago. Today's Jazzercisers are college students, young professionals, moms and grandmas (and, occasionally, dad and grandpa) who shake their hips, throw jabs, squat and lift weights to the hottest music. If you're in the mood for some intense cardio and a little hooting and hollering, get to a Jazzercise center as soon as possible, and yes, leotards and leg-warmers are still welcome. Visit jazzercise.com for locations and information.