Susan and Clay Caldwell discuss barbecue philosophy on the latest episode.
Things To DoFebruary Festivals, Events & Things To Do
Editorial StaffFebruary 1, 2022
Get your fill of festivals and fun times with this month-by-month look at the Valley’s high season.
Desert DigestFood & DrinkHappy Hour: Streets of New York
Leah LeMoineJanuary 31, 2022
THE SCENE As I get older, I find myself ruminating about how so often we are the products of our time and place. For example, I grew up in the West Valley in the 1990s and early 2000s. In my sprawling slices of suburbia (I lived in Peoria, Glendale, Surprise and Avondale at various times), there weren’t a lot of independently owned and operated places – restaurants nor retail. I came of age with birthday...
The PHiXBilbo Sportswear Creates Custom Garments for Fitness Competitors
Angel GonzalezJanuary 31, 2022
Despite her Tolkienesque last name, Norma Bilbo creates garments not for hobbits, but for fitness competitors. Three decades ago, she combined her passions for athletics and design to create Bilbo Sportswear, a brand offering custom competition suits designed to dazzle. “I’ve always been athletic [and] into sports, and I love sewing,” Bilbo says. “My mom taught me that when I was a little girl.” Each piece demonstrates her master craftsmanship and attention to detail in...
The PHiXRead It: Send a Runner
Leah LeMoineJanuary 31, 2022
The Diné people of the Navajo Nation make up the largest indigenous tribe in the United States. Their number would be even greater if they hadn’t lost more than one-third of their population in 1864 during the Long Walk of the Navajo, a forced relocation and attempted ethnic cleansing by the United States government. In 2018, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Dinés’ return to their homeland, Navajo champion runner Edison Eskeets and his...
Trail HeadVerde Valley Wheel Fun Promotes Kids’ Interest in Mountain Biking
Mare CzinarJanuary 31, 2022
“It gets them off their cell phones,” Kevin Adams, co-founder of Verde Valley Wheel Fun, says of the kids in his program. Based in the Sedona-Oak Creek area, it’s a multi-faceted project for students in grades three through 12 that promotes interest and involvement in all aspects of mountain bicycling. Established in 2019, the Arizona Qualified Charitable Organization oversees the program, which provides bikes, helmets, hydration packs and training at no charge to participating students....
SportsFashion Guide to the 2022 WMPO
Lisa Van LooJanuary 31, 2022
From corporate-polo schmoozers to the Instagram-selfie set, dress the part with this guide to the season’s nattiest fairway threads.
Coley Arnold and Lindsey Holt met 14 years ago and bonded over their shared love of all things vintage. They were both repurposing old furniture and selling it online, often talking about the desire for a physical place to sell their wares and showcase other makers. When they couldn’t find it, they created it. “We put together a little backyard market. We had 22 vendors and they were all friends who we had met through...
New craft brews to seek out the weekend of January 28-30.
2022 is here, and it’s fitting to reflect as we commence another year. Back in 2004, while driving south on Napa Valley’s Silverado Trail after helping at Neyers Vineyards with my friend Tadeo Borchardt, I whispered to myself that one day I would be involved in the world of making wine. Was I mollifying my own existential anxiety over the future by dreaming the impossible? Perhaps. “Be careful what you wish for,” the saying goes....
The PHiXDan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems Specializes in State-of-the-Art Amplifiers
Jason KeilJanuary 27, 2022
Audio industry pioneer Dan D’Agostino built a cult-like audiophile following when he co-founded the high-end audio company Krell in the early ’80s. He says after investors forced him and his family out of the company in 2009, he plotted his comeback in Cave Creek with Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems, which specializes in small and mighty (expensive) amplifiers. “We thought we could bring some sound quality to the market that wasn’t there,” says company president...
The PHiX3 New Places to Visit in Superior
Angel GonzalezJanuary 27, 2022
If you’re looking for a dose of small-town charm in the new year, take a road trip to Superior. The former mining town, with its budding food-and-beverage scene, is about an hour’s drive from Phoenix. Bruzzi Vineyard The Young, Arizona-based winery’s Superior tasting room opened in October 2020, housed in the same historical building as La Paloma Fine Art gallery so guests can drink wine while enjoying the art on display. Wine tasting reservations are...
In October 2021, John “Dr. B” Badolato and his family made a meaningful pilgrimage to Southern Italy. The team dentist for the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks capped a tour of the bottom of the boot with a visit to Badolato, the town his grandparents left when they immigrated to the United States and their family’s namesake. “We started in Rome and went all the way through Sicily over the span of two weeks,” Badolato...
The PHiXMike Watkiss Hosts True Crime Series on YouTube
Leah LeMoineJanuary 26, 2022
Former 3TV journalist and actor Mike Watkiss has joined the YouTube fray with Story Hustler, a true-crime channel inspired by his 2020 book of the same name. His co-host? His daughter, fellow journalist and former PHOENIX intern Dylan Chryst Watkiss. Their family chemistry is palpable, and their stories are fascinating.
Desert DigestFood & DrinkFirst Dish: Buddha’s Ritual
Nikki BuchananJanuary 26, 2022
At 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon, Buddha’s Ritual in North Scottsdale entertains a small, relaxed crowd — six or seven jeans-clad guys in their 30s having a beer-y business lunch and three pairs of 20-something women nibbling light bites and sipping cocktails. The garage doors are open, and a breeze blows across the bar, riffling the napkins as two equally young barkeeps make photogenic herb-laden cocktails for a photo shoot that will announce Buddha’s soon-to-launch...