THE SCENE In life, we often write off whole categories of experiences when they don’t jibe with our personalities. Afraid of heights? You’re probably passing on roller-coasters at every theme park you visit. Nut allergy? No pecan pie, trail mix or turtle candies for you. Hate exercising in front of strangers? Gyms aren’t your jam, and likely never will be. There’s something refreshing and clarifying about knowing yourself well enough to know what suits you...
All the news that’s fit to nosh. Egging Us On: Another high-profile athlete has joined the plant-based fray. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray recently announced a partnership with JUST Egg, the popular vegan egg alternative. In addition to billboards trumpeting the plant-based brand on the 101 near Westgate Entertainment District, Murray’s ambassadorial role includes a collaboration with Westgate restaurants The Lola and McFadden’s and Downtown Phoenix’s The Ainsworth on The Kyler sandwich. The JUST Egg...
Looking to take a healthy hiatus from fast food? Find your picks for the Valley’s finest specimens of fiber-packed, heart-healthy grain bowls.
The new year brings an exciting new beer event to the Valley’s winter-spring festival season. Copper State Beer Festival makes its debut in January with craft breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries, as well as a fleet of food trucks and an artisan market featuring Valley makers. It’s poised to be the Valley’s go-to beverage festival in a month that traditionally lacks for such diversions . 12-5 p.m. $20-$80. Riverview Park, 2100 W. Rio Salado Pkwy.,...
THE SCENE Is there a more played-out cocktail-bar trope than the “speakeasy”? I use quotation marks because so few of these purported speakeasies possess any of the qualities of their historical namesake. Even pre-COVID claustrophobia, the whole cramped, underground bar scene wasn’t my vibe. Give me an open-air space with a fresh breeze and elbow room any day – or night. Finally, a trend seems to be aligning with my selectively social soul: Rooftop bars...
Hansel + Gretel | Photo by Tim Fuchs All the news that’s fit to nosh. The Schnitz: While there are a handful of great German restaurants in the Valley – Edelweiss Biergarten and Haus Murphy’s, to name a couple – there aren’t nearly enough for those of us who delight in sausage, schnitzel and spaetzle. To the rescue: Hansel + Gretel, a new German food delivery service based out of a cloud kitchen in...
Valley dwellers test the waters of teetotaling with the national trend of “sober-curiosity.”
Photo courtesy ADERO Scottsdale All the news that’s fit to nosh. Globe-al Dining: We may not get snow in the Valley (except for the odd desert flurry that makes us all lose our minds), but you can see what it’s like to be inside a snow globe with ADERO Scottsdale’s new holiday offering. From December 16-January 23, the resort’s on-site restaurant The Village at SkyTop will host four-course dinners in ethereal globe structures set outside against a stunning desert backdrop. Menu highlights include roasted...
Who hasn’t enjoyed the freewheeling fun of careening through a tiled kitchen in sock feet? Experience that on a grander scale this winter as Children’s Museum of Phoenix expands its popular Sock Skating event into the museum’s interior spaces. Adults and children can bring a clean pair of socks and glide around on white, slippery tiles. It’s like ice skating, but without the frosty fingers and fear of blades. Sock Skating runs from December 18-February...
All the news that’s fit to nosh. Rock Lobstah: Tony and Roushan Christofellis – the genius couple behind the Valley’s favorite healthy fast-food joint, Salad and Go – have a new drive-thru darling. Angie’s Lobster opens today, November 30, at 835 W. Baseline Rd. in Tempe. Tony Christofellis was inspired by his mother, Angie, who had a career in seafood restaurants culminating in owning her own eatery, Angie’s Seafood, just outside of Boston. Angie’s Lobster will offer lobster finger or lobster roll meals – wild-caught Maine and Canadian crustaceans only – with fries, a...
Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers | Photo courtesy J. Martin Harris Photography All the news that’s fit to nosh. Burgerversary: Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers is celebrating a decade of frosty brews and juicy burgers this month. To mark its milestone anniversary, the local chain – with 12 locations Valleywide and a 13th set to open in Maricopa later this year – will be offering a $10 Burger & Beer deal from 3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday throughout the month of November. “After 10 years...
Phoenix author Kalani Pickhart’s debut novel is a fascinating, genre-bending ride through the 2013 protests in Ukraine that led to a deadly winter and, ultimately, the Ukrainian Revolution. I Will Die in a Foreign Land (Two Dollar Radio, $25) is a fictionalized account of those days, told through dispatches from iconic sites, traditional songs, news articles and illustrative quotations. Pickhart, who is of Slavic descent, wrote the book through research fellowships from the Virginia G....
Photo by Leah LeMoine THE SCENE While our highs are still depressingly in the 80s – so disheartening for this part of November, no? – the evenings have been getting a little cooler lately. The other night was chilly, dare I say. What better place to while away a few crisp afternoon and evening hours at a media happy hour than the famously pretty patio of Chelsea’s Kitchen? The Arcadia classic is just as charming as ever. Shade trees provide a verdant...
Learning about issues on the news is great, but to truly understand, you have to listen to the real people behind the sound bites. Sharing local stories is the raison d’être of Hear Arizona, a grant-funded podcast that covers topics like aging, accessibility and housing, and offers solutions and resources.
Valley saloons are long in the tooth – in a good way. Rusty Spur Saloon Scottsdale’s oldest bar celebrates 70 years in 2021. Built in 1921 as the Farmer’s Bank of Scottsdale, it was converted to a saloon in 1951. These days, the vaults are full of booze. Harold’s Cave Creek Corral This rowdy institution opened as the Corral Bar in 1935. When Harold Gavagan purchased it in 1950, he christened it Harold’s Cave Creek...
