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Sime Kosta as Frank N. Furter | Photo by Reg Madison Photography   Sime Kosta is no stranger to the spotlight. The actor and singer participated in national music competitions and put out three albums in his native Croatia before he turned 13. He moved to Arizona when he was 16 and discovered musical theater, going on to study it at Arizona State University. After he graduated, he went to New York and performed in...

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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...

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Photo by Nikki Buchanan   Burratina, Prosciutto and Focaccia at Pa’La Downtown My beau and I put away course after delicious course at Pa’La Downtown recently, where executive chef and partner Jason Alford (a Roka Akor alum) turns out Japanese-inspired or Middle Eastern-inflected seafood dishes as well as the Italian classics for which chef and co-owner Claudio Urciuoli is best known. This is just one of many favorites, a simple dish that has Urciuoli written...

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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....

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For Roy J. DuPrez, founder and owner of Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery, getting and staying clean and sober is all about accountability. He ought to know. A self-described recovering alcoholic and survivor of the Venice Beach party scene, DuPrez credits his 1993 move to Flagstaff to attend Northern Arizona University as instrumental in turning his life around. “As a young guy back in California, I saw gangs and a culture of substance abuse as just...

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Elements at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain | Architectural Photography by Michael Baxter, Baxter Imaging LLC   Thanksgiving is this Thursday, November 25 and we have beautiful autumn weather and good food to be thankful for in the Valley. Local restaurants are offering Thanksgiving meals to eliminate the stress of having to cook and allow you to focus on the good stuff – food and family. 24 Carrots Thanksgiving typically evokes thoughts of a traditional holiday feast,...

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Jake Shimabukuro | Photo by Van Fletcher   Every week, we present a curated list of live music in a wide range of genres all around the Valley. Multiple virtuosos play the Valley this week, including classical guitarist Esteban and ukulele sensation Jake Shimabukuro. Superstition Jazz Orchestra Wednesday, November 24 at The Nash Led by multi-instrumentalist Mike Crotty, the Superstition Jazz Orchestra will perform classic jazz standards as well as modern music. The set includes...

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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...

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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.

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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...

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Celebrate the Legends of Rock ’n Roll The Men’s Council of Phoenix Art Museum presents Lost Negatives of Rock & Roll, an exhibit of rare and casual photos taken of legendary artists of the 1960s, including Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, The Band, Kris Kristofferson, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield and more. Taken by former manager and music producer Michael Friedman, the black-and-white photos were stored in Friedman’s attic and forgotten for more than 50 years....

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Curt Mattson knows horses better than the back of his clay-dusted hands. His distinctive sculptures of the animals are a testament to his childhood growing up on ranches along the West Coast. Mattson realized in his late 20s that life on the range would soon render him broke – or broken – and turned to art as another expression of his investment in the life of cowboys. His clay sculptures dig beyond the flesh of...

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There’s much more to Tijuana than cheap tacos and cervezas. Restaurateur Michael Babcock say’s it’s a bona fide foodie destination. “The food scene is really vibrant. It has a mix of deeply rooted traditional northern Mexican food meets [the] San Diego progressive restaurant scene,” he says. After serving as culinary director for Welcome Diner for seven years, Babcock started Instrumental Hospitality Group two years ago and launched Belly, a Japanese- and Southwest Asian- inflected restaurant...