If there’s one thing living during a pandemic has taught us, it’s the importance of hand hygiene. Scottsdale inventor Mike Rafko, a former Honeywell executive, spent the past two years developing what he believes is the first automatic self-sanitizing door handle. The VitaTouch dispenses quick-drying, non-sticky hand sanitizer and is designed for high-traffic public areas like restaurants, event venues, schools and commercial businesses. vita-touch.com
In May, LDV Winery co-owner Peggy Fiandaca hit the digital airwaves with her new podcast, Wine Time with Peggy, through Big Blend Radio & TV. In her monthly wine-centric dispatch, Fiandaca discusses everything from wine and food pairings to the art and science of maintaining a vineyard. The podcast drops on the first Wednesday of every month. Stream on podcast platforms or at bigblendradio.com.
Whether you like traditional or funky, there’s a local frank for you to celebrate National Hot Dog Month this July. Sonoran Dog Embrace the Southwest with this bacon-wrapped hot dog ($8) at Diego Pops, topped with pinto beans, grilled onions, mayo, avocado crema and cotija. diegopops.com Chili Cheese Dog No bells and whistles at Dazzo’s Dog House, just old-school treats done right. This classic ($5.05) is smothered with chili, cheese and diced white onions. dazzosdoghouse.com...
With gas prices surging, resorts are getting crafty, enticing road-weary travelers with everything from discounts to gas reimbursements. At Snow King Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Ready, Set, Road Trip package (starting at $179/night) runs through October 31 with optional add-ons like a road trip adventure box mailed to guests’ homes prior to their departure. “Jackson has been a year-round destination over the years that attracts both outdoor enthusiasts and families wanting to enjoy...
Chef Jeremy Pacheco gives us an edifying glimpse into his home fridge.
Pretzel with mustard and beer cheese | Photo by Leah LeMoine THE SCENE There’s a palpable “neighborhood hangout” vibe at Huss Brewing Co.’s Uptown Taproom + Kitchen. It’s not just the picnic tables on the patio packed with friends catching up after work, or the couples stealing away for early date nights at the low-top tables inside. There are kids squirming in their seats and running back and forth to the adjacent lawn, frolicking...
“Grief is itself a medicine,” wrote 18th-century English poet William Cowper. Phoenix psychotherapist – and fellow poet – Gigi Veasey knows this deeply. As a counselor and grief consultant, she has spent years shepherding countless clients through the loss of parents, siblings, children, friends and pets. Her experiences led her to develop her own therapeutic processes, which she shares with readers in Me After You: Surviving the Loss of a Loved One (Hopes Road Publishing,...
Burned by one too many Facebook Marketplace transactions gone awry? Download Oana, the “pay-it-forward marketplace” developed by Phoenix friends Maggie Fearnow and Tom Hutchison to create an easier, friendlier way to buy and sell goods online. You can even barter or offer goods and services for free or at a deep discount. The free app is available on Apple and Android devices.
“Sustainable” and “plant-based” aren’t just buzzy menu descriptors anymore. With Phoenix company DYPER, even baby tushes are getting the eco-treatment. It offers subscriptions to unscented bamboo diapers (also available: cloth diapers) sans alcohol, chlorine, latex and lotions. “I started the company to solve three problems: never running out of diapers, treating my daughter’s bum with no harmful chemicals and leaving a better planet behind for my three children,” owner Sergio Radovcic says. The company’s REDYPER...
“The party is here on the west side,” quoth hip-hop poet Montell Jordan. With the April debut of Heritage at Sportsman’s Park, that lyric is ringing true. The tri-level, 10,000-square-foot venue on the Great Lawn adjacent to State Farm Stadium in Glendale boasts a garden patio and chef-driven kitchen. “Heritage has so much to offer the West Valley,” says general manager and executive chef Marshall Reichert, who will run it as a restaurant open to...
Photo courtesy Tía Carmen All the news that’s fit to nosh. Felicidades: Tía Carmen is now open! The hotly anticipated restaurant from Top Chef alum Angelo Sosa made its debut early this month at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. The contemporary Southwestern eatery boasts globally inflected Southwestern/Mexican dishes including tuna crudo with chilled corn-coconut broth; Southwestern-style Wagyu tri-tip kebabs; lamb ragù with mesquite noodles; and the restaurant’s signature dish, chicken guisado, a...
Expand your Cinco de Mayo horizons with these unorthodox margaritas. Lychee Margarita Agave migrates to Southeast Asia with this Sake Haus original ($10), which introduces blanco tequila and lime to ginger liqueur and lychee. sakehaus.net Marijuarita There’s no booze in this marg from Sweet Dreams Vineyard, but there is some THC. Mellow out with this citrusy sipper (10-100 mg.; $14-$18). sweetdreamsvineyard.com Barbary Fig Margarita Some say Barbary fig. Here in the desert, we call it...
As temperatures rise, room rates drop at Valley resorts – and the staycation deals just keep getting sweeter.
All the news that’s fit to nosh. Genuinely Exciting: The Genuine, the long-awaited restaurant from Genuine Concepts (The VIG, Ladera Taverna y Cocina, Campo Italian Bistro & Bar, et al) opens this Thursday, April 28, on 16th Street north of Bethany Home Road, in the former The VIG Uptown space. Chef Jeremy Pacheco will helm the restaurant, with menu highlights including wood-oven-roasted mussels with orange blossom ale and Schreiner’s sausage, roasted chicken, pastas...
THE SCENE “Hidden gem” is one of the most cliché phrases in a food writer’s tattered toolkit, but in S. Maranto’s case, it is literally true. The bright little bistro, a modern spin on a classic Italian American joint, is downright difficult to find in the sprawling Scottsdale 101 shopping plaza at Mayo Boulevard and the 101 – technically in Phoenix, though it’s literal steps from Scottsdale city limits. It’s smack-dab in a sea of...
