Drink ThisDrink This: Pineapple Express
Leah LeMoineSeptember 21, 2020
If COVID-19 cheated you out of a tropical vacation this year, Rusconi’s American Kitchen has a simple solution: Hop aboard the Pineapple Express.
Leah LeMoine, Author at PHOENIX magazine
TravelDay Trip: Main Street Mesa
Leah LeMoineSeptember 17, 2020
Main Street seems poised to lead Mesa’s cultural renaissance.
The PHiXFashion: Naked Rebellion
Leah LeMoineSeptember 16, 2020
One size doesn’t fit all, and one tone doesn’t fit all when it comes to “nude” bras and underwear. That’s why Phoenix-based costume designer Jessica McPhaul and her husband, Jay, created Naked Rebellion, a line of undergarments in hues that reflect the diversity of the women wearing them: almond, crème, honey, mocha, caramel, walnut, espresso, cappuccino and black. “Our sincere belief is that our product should be designed to benefit every woman on earth,” Jessica...
Valley NewsBusiness Buzz: Café Bebida Brews Homegrown Coffee
Leah LeMoineSeptember 16, 2020
Café Bebida joins an exclusive club of Valley shops brewing coffee grown on their own farms.
Desert DigestRecipes#HatchatHome Dirty Rice Recipe
Leah LeMoineSeptember 11, 2020
It’s that special, spicy, fragrant, tortuously fleeting time of year again: Hatch chile season! Your local grocers are likely overflowing with Hatch, New Mexico’s iconic peppers, the earthy, deeply savory green chiles we all love turning into rellenos, enchiladas, burger toppers, mac and cheese mix-ins, cornbread boosters and more. This year, Bashas’ sent us a media packet and asked us to take part in its #HatchatHome challenge, which encourages Arizona home cooks to post their favorite Hatch chile dishes on their...
The PHiXFashion: Holy Voids
Leah LeMoineSeptember 2, 2020
Phoenix natives Ariel Fan and Kamal Lanier recently returned home after a stint in Portland, Oregon. “We missed the desert too much,” Fan says. The designer/maker duo brought back Holy Voids, the “slow fashion” (translation: the opposite of mass-produced, disposable “fast fashion”) brand they started in 2018. “We really wanted to make clothing with a minimalist ethos and a dark undertone,” Fan says of their pieces, which reflect the spirituality that inspired the label’s name....
The PHiXRead It: Gravity & Spectacle
Leah LeMoineSeptember 1, 2020
An oversize cactus face mask – a discarded prop from a punk-rock skateboarding video – was the inspiration for Gravity & Spectacle (Tolsun Books, $20), poet Shawnte Orion and photographer Jia Oak Baker’s “love letter to a fireplace.” The fireplace, in this case, is Phoenix, which the collaborators bring to crackling life with Orion’s sardonic yet loving lyricism and Oak Baker’s stunning desert and urban portraiture. So much of this Southwestern snapshot will resonate with...
The PHiXTech Corner: The Family Core
Leah LeMoineAugust 31, 2020
Juggling schedules is challenging enough for a small nuclear family. For blended and extended families, where several adults are responsible for care, it can seem impossible. That’s why Scottsdale couple James and Ginger Dellaripa started The Family Core, a scheduling platform that parents, guardians, caregivers and older siblings can access to streamline calendar communication. There’s also a place to store documents, like vaccination forms and school reports. Access to the website and app starts at...
The PHiXTrending: E-Bikes
Leah LeMoineAugust 31, 2020
Pre-pandemic, electric bikes were largely viewed as a novelty, a curious midpoint between a regular bicycle and a street-legal scooter. Mid-pandemic, they’ve become essential for many urbanites who fear the close quarters of public transportation but can’t or don’t want to purchase a car. Phoenix’s Lectric Bikes created high-performing e-bikes that can rev up to 28 mph and travel as far as 50 miles. It’s a local microcosm of an industry that, according to Allied...
The PHiXARRIVE Phoenix Set to Open September 4
Leah LeMoineAugust 28, 2020
The highly anticipated ARRIVE Phoenix hotel is set to open September 4 at Camelback Road and Third Avenue. Opening a hospitality imprint during a pandemic is a challenge, but ARRIVE Hotels COO Noah Ellis says they’ve taken every precaution. “From contactless check-in and touchless on-site payments, to sanitized and pre-bagged linens and bathrobes, every aspect of the guest experience has been thoughtfully redesigned for today’s hospitality world.” Look forward to: The Pop Stand Check-in stand...
TravelHarvest Hosts in Arizona
Leah LeMoineAugust 27, 2020
Yet another silver lining of the pandemic: a boom in RV travel. Harvest Hosts, a nationwide network of caravan hosts, has dozens of Arizona spots to enrich your road trips.
Two oenophile sisters bring wine to new audiences and showcase black winemakers.
The PHiXCosanti Originals Release New Rain Chains
Leah LeMoineAugust 27, 2020
Let other parts of the country tell rain to go away – in the desert, we welcome it like a dear friend. Cosanti Originals has made our passion for precipitation even more artful with its new rain chains, strands of mosaic-like dalle de verre glass pieces, crystal geodes and fossils, each finished with one of the art colony’s signature bronze windbells. “They have become a sought-after item by our patrons from the first day we...
Desert Digest6 Local To-Go Family Meals
Leah LeMoineAugust 27, 2020
Postino Food for the Crew takeout platters serve four to six ($22-$40). Our favorites: antipasti, panini and chicken and petite filet skewers with Sicilian garlic yogurt. postinowinecafe.com Phoenix City Grille Save on macaroni and cheese ($22) or splurge on 16th Street beef short rib with mashed potatoes, broccolini and red wine reduction ($55). Both serve four. phoenixcitygrille.com Chompie’s Indulge in brunch for four ($59.99) or eight ($109), with options including scrambled eggs, bacon, ham steak,...
Desert DigestHappy Hour: Bitter & Twisted To Go
Leah LeMoineAugust 21, 2020
I haven’t sat down in a restaurant or bar since my birthday dinner at Angry Crab Shack on March 10. Who knew my seafood boil and hurricanes would be my last tastes of restaurant life for five months and counting? To me, it still doesn’t feel safe – for me or the employees of restaurants – and I’m listening to my intuition and not feeling bad about that. I’ve still been spending a ton on takeout to support local throughout this mess, but we all know it’s...