January 2018

Frustrated with reading glasses? Learn how to improve near vision without them.

In a swift two years, activist Shayna Stevens converted to Islam and rose to prominence in the Council on American-Islamic Relations Arizona. Is it tokenism, or something more?

African dance classes teach rhythm and community.

Photographer William LeGoullon immortalizes found objects that have been shot in the desert

Mindy Tarquini’s The Infinite Now entrances with a young-adult heroine.

Our top picks for January’s best arts events

Leonard Bernstein at 100

Moss Points North macramé artist Amy Guerrero weaves custom fiber art

The Phoenix Open’s shhhhaman has quieted crowds for more than 20 years

The fifth annual Phoenix Rock Lottery returns to Crescent Ballroom on Saturday, Jan. 27. Twenty-five local artists will come together bright and early in the morning to form five bands. Then, they get less than 24 hours to write three songs and learn one cover to perform that night.

Stephen Chilton started the event in 2014 to provide a challenge to some of the local talent and a unique show concertgoers won’t find elsewhere. All proceeds will go to Rosie’s House, a nonprofit that brings music education to underserved youth.

This year’s artists includes Scott Hessel of the Gin Blossoms, Tom Linton of Jimmy Eat World, Mark Glick of AJJ, Nicole Laurenne of The Darts/The Love Me Nots and more. PHOENIX magazine got the chance to catch up with Chilton, Hessel and Laurenne about tomorrow’s show.

We visited the legendary high-country hamlet to seek out its less-obvious charms.

The son of a Scottsdale culinary cowboy makes his own mark with a creative, well-executed Asian menu that reaches far beyond the norms of neighborhood sushi.

Chef Doug Robson resurrects his beloved Downtown cantina, answers the prayers of taco lovers everywhere.

A roundup of interesting new neighborhood spots for your 2018 dining plans.

Up your levels of good gut bacteria with creamy raw-milk kefir from Casa Grande’s Fond du Lac Farms

Chef Danielle Leoni coaxes caramel sweetness out of the roasted plantains at The Breadfruit & Rum Bar.

Another year, another glorious eruption of must-try restaurants, visionary chefs, hot food trends and celebrity recommendations. Find them all here, in our top o’ the year salute to Valley dining.

Savory, stew-like shakshuka brings a touch of the tribe to Valley brunch menus

Tie on an after-work glass of vino at these no-hassle neighborhood wine bars.

Warm yourself with Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails’ Black Pepper Pink Melon.

Pound for pound, the greatest Arizona dining town is… Flagstaff? Led by a cadre of motivated restaurateurs, the mountain hamlet of 70,000 is scoring hit after restaurant hit.

It’s almost hard to find a breakfast menu these days that doesn’t have avocado toast on it. Some are simple – plain avocado smeared on toast – while others are more elaborate. Ryan Mead, co-owner of The Place in DC Ranch, says avocado toast isn’t on his regular menu, but he offers a special seasonal version. Currently, he’s whipping up winter avocado toast topped with roasted butternut squash laced with maple syrup.

If you’ve ever thought about making scones, but you’re not an avid baker, Michelle Donovan of the café inside the historic Nile Theater in downtown Mesa has a “pretty simple recipe” for you. “It’s really hard to mess it up,” she says.

Donovan offers a pair of tips for making the scones: If you don’t want to use vegan butter, use vegetable shortening instead; and make sure the dough isn’t too wet or the dough will fall flat and the scones will be “ugly.” But to be fair, even when scones are ugly, they’re still delicious.

Have you ever wondered what’s in a falafel? For the uninitiated, falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern food made from garbanzo beans and spices, rolled into a ball and fried in oil until they become crunchy and golden brown. Typically, they’re stuffed in pita or served with hummus.

Yariv Elazar, owner of Chick-In, a popular student eatery located on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, makes about 200 servings of authentic Israeli falafel from scratch every day. He’s sharing the recipe for his vegan and gluten-free falafel, but cautions that aside from the garbanzo beans, most everything else will depend on your taste buds. If you like garlic, add more garlic; and if you swoon for cilantro, double down. What really matters? “The freshness of the ingredients is the key to a good falafel,” he says.

It’s hard to imagine going to a Super Bowl party that didn’t include a sizeable bowl of chunky guacamole surrounded by crisp, salty tortilla chips. If you’re a guacamole devotee, you’ve probably got your own special recipe that you trot out for parties. But if you want to try something different, the folks at True Food Kitchen have provided a recipe to help you take your guacamole game up a notch and even make it a little healthier by adding kale.

Avocado and kale are both superfoods loaded with vitamins and cancer-fighting elements, says Brad Brunin, manager of culinary standards at True Food Kitchen. In other words, this guacamole is good for you times two.

“It’s simple, but it has the extra wow factor,” Brunin says. “It’s a great accompaniment to vegetables and you can use it as a dipping sauce, put it in sandwiches… or you can eat it with a spoon.”