THE SCENE Oh, I forgot how wonderful it is to visit a new restaurant. To sit down at the bar and really drink the place in. To try a smattering of dishes to truly get a sense of the chef’s headspace. To actually feel the vibe, not just observe it from the takeout counter before rushing home. I rediscovered this pleasure this week at a media happy hour at the week-old Campo Italian Bistro and Bar, the newest incarnation of James Beard Award-winning chef Alex Stratta’s space in The Village at...
All the news that’s fit to nosh. Seeing Green: Things are getting minty fresh at ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho. The restaurant’s monthly “Show Stopper” Shake is The Jolly Green Mintser, a vanilla-mint shake crowned with a stack of cream cheese brownies, milk crumb, mint ganache, Andes mints and fresh mint leaves. Order the over-the-top treat from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. at ZuZu. It costs $20 but can easily be shared by multiple people. Plus, $1 from each shake sold in June will benefit Desert Botanical...
THE SCENE Is anyone else having crowd anxiety as we return to restaurants? I can’t be the only one. It’s simply natural to be a little jittery around gaggles of people after the past year and a half of social distancing, quarantining and fearing the physical proximity of others, lest we infect each other with a horrific virus. It’s challenging to rewire your brain and body to accept closeness – especially for someone like me, a social introvert who thrives in small groups but is easily...
Photo courtesy Arizona Biltmore All the news that’s fit to nosh. Happy Pride: Today marks the start of Pride month, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, and the Arizona Biltmore has some fun stuff planned. Every night in June, from 9-10 p.m., a five-minute rainbow light show will start every 15 minutes at the resort’s new Spire Bar. Iconic Love, In Color will display from the 30-foot Spire Art Installation, trellis and water fountains. Colorful food and drink specials include the Love Makes the World Go Round cocktail...
THE SCENE Photo by Leah LeMoine This week, I returned to the office for my first full workday there in a long time (nearly all pandemic, though I did come in for a few days here and there). It was nice to see my colleagues, to be in their presence and to share my baking experiments with them again (my pampushki, aka Ukrainian buttermilk rolls, were a hit). It was also nice to revisit the part of town our office is in – the fringes of Arcadia, close to Old...
For Jennifer Caraway, food isn’t merely sustenance – it’s compassion. In 2011, Caraway founded The Joy Bus, a nonprofit that delivers healthy, chef-inspired meals to homebound cancer patients. She was inspired to take action after losing her best friend, Joy, to the disease. A decade into Caraway’s mission, she has self-published More Than a Meal: The Joy Bus Community of Chefs ($25, thejoybus.org), a cookbook boasting recipes from Valley chefs including Tracy Dempsey, Charleen Badman,...
These restaurants-within-restaurants are tailor-made for takeout and delivery – only. And they’re popping up all around the Valley. NOBANA Healthy pan-Asian cuisine is the focus of Wildflower’s ghost concept, which operates out of its North Scottsdale location. Think noodle and broth bowls, wraps and salads. eatnobana.com Ghost Street Asian Taqueria Fusion cuisine reigns supreme at this “virtual restaurant” based out of Ling & Louie’s in Scottsdale. Look for taquito dumplings, Asian nachos and carne asada...
About 12 people die each year within Grand Canyon National Park. Avoid being one of them during your summer adventures with How Not to Die at Grand Canyon, a first-aid pocket guide written by Thomas M. Myers, M.D., and published by Grand Canyon Conservancy ($6.95). Myers has been a physician at Grand Canyon Clinic since 1990 and outlines prevention and first-aid tips for the natural wonder’s top 12 hazards, from heat illness to rattlesnake bites....
All the news that’s fit to nosh. Going Underground: After vaunted subterranean tiki bar UnderTow relocated to the building that houses its sister bar, Platform 18 at Century Grand, Valley cocktail fans had a lot of questions. Chief among them: What was to become of UnderTow’s awesome original underground space below Sip Coffee & Beer Garage in Arcadia? At last, we have an answer. Sip owners Josh Katz and Maurice “Moe” Murillo have teamed up with Becky hard seltzer owner and mixologist Sheldon Wiley to open 36 Below, a “fully immersive cocktail lounge.” Where UnderTow let guests virtually...
If you’ve wondered what your preteen is doing on TikTok or worried about the impact of Instagram on your teen’s psyche, you’re not alone. Phoenix entrepreneurs Jeff Gottfurcht and Derek Jackson created Cyber Dive to monitor their own children’s social media. “It helps keep them safe – and keeps you in the know about what your child is being exposed to and exploring,” Gottfurcht says. Cyber Dive is free and works on any device. cyberdive.co
THE SCENE It’s a blessing and a curse when you specialize in something and do it so well that people struggle to think of you doing anything else. Nobody knows that better than Daily Dose Kitchen & Bar owners Matt and JenLyn Long, who have been killing it at the breakfast and lunch game so long that most people don’t realize they now offer dinner at their Midtown location. And not just dinner – a traditional happy hour (3-6 p.m.), as opposed to their Mid-Day Happy Hour I wrote about last year. I...
There’s a little local love in some big-box retailers lately. Phoenix pet food startup Red, White & Chew’s dog treats – made with chicken, brown rice, sweet potatoes and beets – are available in Walmarts nationwide and on Amazon. The patriotic moniker is a nod to the company’s goal of returning jobs to the U.S. and to its charitable partner, the Gary Sinise Foundation, which serves veterans and first responders. redwhiteandchews.com
For his annual Christmas trip with friends, Cesar Cramton had planned a South African safari in 2020. When COVID-19 hit, they moved to Plan B. “Costa Rica was a country that we could go to,” says Cramton, operations manager for restaurant group Genuine Concepts (The Vig, Ladera Taverna y Cocina, et al.). “Their precautions for COVID were very in line… We felt safe on that front.” Cramton shares highlights from his trip, planned by travel...
Spring is melting into summer, and we all know what that means: pool season. Prep your extremities with a mani/pedi using Dazzle Dry, a “clean” nail lacquer line developed by Chandler bio-organic chemist Dr. Vivian B. Valenty. “It is the only nail polish system that truly dries in five minutes without chemically reactive ingredients or the use of UV, LED or sunlight,” Valenty says. It provides chip-free wear like a gel manicure, but can be...
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