Subject: Lauren Gilger

• For the Love of...P.F. Chang's?

  Lauren GilgerAdam Aponte enjoying lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's in Scottsdale. Adam Aponte loves P.F. Chang's. A lot. In fact, he and a friend took off Thursday night on a cross-country road trip to eat their way through seven different P.F. Chang's China Bistro's, in seven different cities from Phoenix to Boston, over the next two weeks. "And I plan on hitting five more on the way," he said Thursday night at the send-off soiree the Phoenix-founded restaurant chain threw for him and his family

  June 12, 2009

• Paolo Soleri Turns 90, Builds First Bridge

  Lauren GilgerThe design for the Soleri Bridge and Plaza on the Scottsdale Waterfront, overlooking the spot where it will be built.It is a testament to his dedication and personal grandeur that Paolo Soleri isn't running around today telling the world, "I told you so." It was, after all, nearly 40 years ago that the Italian architect began construction on Arcosanti, his alternative, experimental community near Cordes Junction in the middle of the desert north of Phoenix, introducing to a skeptic

  June 22, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Dave Johnson at Sol y Sombra

  Lauren Gilger Dave Johnson behind the bar at Sol y Sombra.In case you were wondering: Gin was the first flavored vodka; the word "sommelier" originally meant "keeper of pack animals;" and organic spirits will be the next big wave in designer drinks. Oh, and Grey Goose is not any better than any other vodka -- it's all marketing. That is the word, according to Dave Johnson. But the slow-talking, laid-back sommelier of Scottsdale's Sol y Sombra seems anything but a wine snob. A guy wh

  June 24, 2009

• Behind the Bar: The Red Wax & Sand at Sol y Sombra

  Lauren Gilger A Red Wax & Sand on the bar at Sol y Sombra. "It's not just about vodka and Red Bull" any more, according to Dave Johnson, sommelier at Sol y Sombra. The emergent cocktail culture that's dominating the bar scene today, he says, goes back beyond Prohibition, to the Gilded and Edwardian Ages (the "flowering zenith" of the Cocktail Age, as he puts it). "And it's really being done by young bartenders," he says.So when he offered up a signature cocktail recipe for summer, Jo

  June 26, 2009

• Local Wine Wins at Whole Foods

  Lauren GilgerVoters tasting the local wines on Saturday at the Arizona Wine Consumer Choice Awards at Whole Foods Market in Chandler.Move over, Napa. Arizona's young wine industry is currently undergoing a growth-spurt akin to a 12 year-old basketball player. For proof, see Michele Laudig's cover story from last year, all about former Tool frontman and owner of Stronghold Vineyards in the Verde Valley. More evidence was available this past Saturday at Whole Foods Market in Chandler, where the s

  June 29, 2009

• Chef Talk: Jacques Qualin, J&G Steakhouse

  Lauren GilgerChef de Cuisine Jacques Qualin at J&G Steakhouse.In a world teeming with celebrity chefs, Jacques Qualin isn't particularly well-known. The J in J&G Steakhouse -- the newish, top-of-the-bill restaurant at The Phoenician -- stands not for Jacques, but for Jean-George, as in J&G's creator, namesake, head chef and owner - Jean-Georges Vongerichten. But if you're lucky enough to dine at this particular J&G -- Vongerichten's first venture in the Valley, but just one in a long line of

  June 30, 2009

• Macrobiotics and Local Farms at Valley Forward Lunch

  Lauren GilgerMembers of the Valley Forward Association eat their cheesecake and listen to the panel of speakers slated for the event: Robert McClendon of McClendon Farms, Leslie Curry of Whole Foods Markets and Michael Stebner of True Food Kitchen.Forty years ago, Leslie Curry changed her diet. She stopped eating processed foods and started eating the kinds of foods Madonna would famously advocate 3 decades later. It was macrobiotic, and it was, to put it kindly, out of the ordinary. Today, h

  July 1, 2009

• Tonight: Glendale's Twilight Farmer's Market

  Lauren GilgerShopping as the sun goes down at the Twilight Farmer's Market in Glendale.The Twilight Farmer's Market in Glendale is the least farmer-y Farmer's Market we've ever come across. When you may be expecting summer sun, gravel beneath your feet and cowboy hats abounding, Glendale has put together a chic outdoor gathering of vendors selling everything from your usual local veggies and fruits -- to cupcakes, olive oils and wines. And, in a season when Valley-ites flee to cooler climates an

  July 1, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Mike Bunker, The Mission

  Lauren GilgerMike Bunker, adding the rum to his Strawberry-Coconut Mojito at The Mission in Old Town.When a girl came up to Mike Bunker, asking the question he most dreads when he's behind the bar, he gave her a drink he called "A Punch in the Head." Funny, from a bartender who minored in Religious Studies in college. The girl told him: "Make me whatever you want. Something strong but fruity." So Butler made one up. His drink, he said, tastes like fruit punch and it's so strong he has to limi

  July 1, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Strawberry-Coconut Mojito at The Mission

  Lauren Gilger Mike Bunker's Strawberry-Coconut Mojito at The Mission in Old Town Scottsdale. Mike Bunker's concoctions at The Mission in Old Town are often sweet, often strong, and almost always delivered with a touch of flair. "I feel like I have a good palate for cocktails," he says. "And I like to drink, so it just fits." The self-proclaimed mixologist and well-seasoned bartender offered up this Strawberry-Coconut Mojito recipe as the perfect summer cocktail. Bottoms up! 1. Muddle at

  July 3, 2009

• College Depot Opens Downtown, Waits for Students

  Lauren GilgerDirector Judy Reno in the new College Depot center at the Burton Barr Central Library.July may not seem like the time to start the ever-daunting college application process. But College Depot is waiting for you anyway. Calling all students, their families, the out-of-work and the starting-over: The Depot serves as a college counselor, computer network, bilingual information hub/hangout and support system for anyone looking to go to college. For free. And it is just about empty --

  July 6, 2009

• Chef Talk: Silvana Salcido Esparza, Barrio Cafe

  Lauren Gilger Silvana Salcido Esparza behind the bar at Barrio Cafe. When she was 19, Silvana Salcido Esparza left her family's Mexican bakery in Merced, California, and moved to downtown Miami to work in international banking. "Columbians would come into my office with paper bags full of $100,000 in each bag," she says. It was a far cry from the life she left back home in California, and just as far from the life she leads now. As it turns out, the food business runs in her veins. Espa

  July 7, 2009

• Recipe: Enchiladas del Mar from Barrio Cafe

  Lauren GilgerEnchiladas del mar from Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza at Barrio Cafe.Don't go serving Silvana Salcido Esparza some over-worked, over-wrought, over-thought dish that sits in a nice little design in the very center of the plate. "I don't like my food to be puréed, recongealed, molded and then sliced, and they only give me this much," she says, holding her thumb and pointer finger up, with about an inch of space left in between. For Esparza, stick to the basics. "I think food should

  July 8, 2009

• Chef Talk: Josh Hebert, Posh

  Lauren Gilger Chef Josh Hebert in his restaurant Posh, in Scottsdale.If you understand the concept behind Posh -- a first-of-its-kind, "improvisational" kitchen in Scottsdale -- then you understand its chef and owner, Josh Hebert. "I can be a little frenetic sometimes, yeah," he admits. Creative is more like it. A more traditional chef might call what Herbert does at his sleek, interactive restaurant madness. He calls it fun. Talking to Hebert is more like talking to your high school bu

  July 14, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Josh Parry, SideBar

  Lauren GilgerJosh Parry behind the bar at SideBar in downtown Phoenix.Josh Parry is serious about drinks. He will not allow his bartenders to free-pour the sweet and sour in one of their signature cocktails, a Cucumint Martini. It must be measured with a jigger. "It's that exact," he says. "If you pour it perfectly, it will taste perfect." He insists on juices squeezed fresh daily, a housemade sweet and sour ("I wouldn't go near a bottle of sweet and sour with a 10-foot pole," he says) and

  July 16, 2009

• Recipe: the CenPhopolitan from SideBar

  Lauren GilgerThe CenPhopolitan at SideBar in downtown Phoenix.There are 57 vodkas, two shelves of tequila and 50 different kinds of beers taking up the limited shelf space of SideBar in downtown Phoenix. For a bar that's about the size of a college dorm room, that's not too shabby. OK, a college suite. With house-made flavors and fresh-squeezed everything, owner Josh Parry has kept his cocktail options open for his bartenders to experiment, play and come up with a drink even better than the o

  July 17, 2009

• Smeeks Candy Shop Opens Downtown

  Lauren GilgerA taste of the goodies at Smeeks in downtown Phoenix.It's nice to see a price tag on anything that reads 5 cents. It calls to mind a time way back (a time few among us can remember, but perhaps have read of in books) when gas cost 20 cents a gallon and kids said, "Shucks!" But that's what you'll find at Smeeks, the newest edition to the CenPho cute shop roster. (To be fair, you'll also find a $2 AbbaZabba, but it's seriously worth it for the cute factor the place is steeped in.)

  July 17, 2009

• Chef Talk: Deborah Knight, Mosaic

  Lauren GilgerChef Deborah Knight in the entrance to Mosaic in North Scottsdale.Deborah Knight would simply not make it on Fox's Hell's Kitchen. It's not that she's not good enough. She's just too nice. She teaches rather than barking orders, which may be why her employees call her "Mom." And they tend to stick around for five or six years -- an absolute anomaly in the restaurant world. The chef and owner of Scottsdale's Mosaic has been cooking since her grandparents -- who were institutiona

  July 21, 2009

• Recipe: Vietnamese Pepper Pot from Mosaic

  Lauren GilgerChef Deborah Knight in the kitchen of Mosaic.The travels of Deborah Knight are documented in her recipes. She's visited almost every continent (Australia and Antarctica seem to be the only two left off her list) and she's getting ready to head off again, when her restaurant, Mosaic closes for two months on August 1st. The chef, who was an Anthropology and Religious Studies major in college, approaches her cuisine with a distinctively academic eye. "I get very interested in cert

  July 22, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Barry Solomon, Merc Bar

  Lauren Gilger Barry Solomon behind the bar at Merc Bar in Phoenix.Barry Solomon is a lot like the bar he works behind: Cool. Merc Bar is so cool, in fact, there's barely a sign marking its existence outside the door. "It's sort of -- you either know we're here or you don't," Solomon says. That message of exclusivity resonates inside as well: all dark lighting, sleek furniture and even sleeker clientele. But Solomon has a rough edge that makes him even cooler than his customers -- if ev

  July 23, 2009

• Recipe: The Dragon Berry Mojito from Merc Bar

  Lauren Gilger Barry Solomon with the Dragon Berry Mojito at Merc Bar.When Barry Solomon was 12 years old, he got a job in a restaurant. Apparently, they let you do things a little prematurely in small towns like the one he came from in northern California.  "I didn't want to be a shop rat the rest of my life," he says, referring to his Dad's job working on diesel trucks all day.  Solomon is a long way from that town and that shop -- in more ways than one. These days, he can us

  July 24, 2009

• Chef Talk: Brian Ferguson, 98 South

  Lauren GilgerChef Brian Ferguson outside of 98 South in downtown Chandler.​Brian Ferguson runs the most organized, least serious army platoon in town. It's also the tastiest. Those are his words, by the way, "army platoon." He describes his team as "a very tight, cohesive unit. You don't have to have a lot of explanation or talking; the guys know exactly what to do. "Heads down and focused," he says. Of course, his platoon of four young men wear chef's whites instead of camouflage, and they

  July 28, 2009

• Coming Soon to Midtown: Thai E-San

  ​Pete (or, in Thai, Tossapis) Pholtosa is working around the clock in the former Big Wong location, on 6th Ave. and Indian School, painting, tiling, decorating, and all around renovating the restaurant he is making his own: Thai E-San. When we walked in, he was grouting the floor. The name, in Thai, means Northeastern Thai -- i.e. the region of Thailand from which Pholtosa hails -- and the food will reflect the same. His menu will include regional specialties like a papaya salad with crab

  July 29, 2009

• Recipe: Seared Scallops with Sweet Corn and Vanilla Bean Sauce from 98 South

  Lauren GilgerSeared Scallops with Sweet Corn and Vanilla Bean Sauce from 98 South.​When one of Chef Brian Ferguson's young cooks wanted to leave his restaurant, 98 South in downtown Chandler, to move out of Arizona for the first time in his life and cook in Oregon, Ferguson said, "Take-off young man, go see the world!" "That's what the guys that brought me up taught me," he says. He's referring to three different chefs -- two in Virginia who mentored him when he was first out of culinar

  July 29, 2009

• Behind the Bar: J.K. Grence at Trader Vic's

  Lauren Gilger J.K. Grence, behind the bar at Trader Vic's.​J.K. Grence has big dreams. He's planned out the ideal bar -- the one he would like to open one day in the distant, fuzzy future. "I'd want it to be some tropical hideaway," he says. "You just sink into the atmosphere of it and have nice people bring you fantastic drinks, and, for a little while, all is just perfect with the world." Sounds like paradise -- or something you'd find in Vegas. (Don't worry, he promises to open his

  July 30, 2009

• Recipe: Mai Tai from Trader Vic's

  Lauren GilgerThe Mai Tai at Trader Vic's.​When J.K. Grence is working behind the bar at Trader Vic's at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, he imagines himself to be playing Penn to the other bartender's Teller. "I'm standing there talking constantly," he laughs, "while he's just standing there silently making drinks." He's busy telling you stories about the drinks behind the bar -- the real way to make a martini (with vermouth), the history of the tiki bar's classic, tropical drinks.

  July 31, 2009

• Chef Talk: Matt Taylor, Metro Brasserie

  Lauren Gilger Executive Chef Matt Taylor in Metro Brasserie in Old Town Scottsdale.​A traditionalist and an up-and-comer at once, 25-year-old Matt Taylor is probably the youngest executive chef around, and he's one of the most well known. Taylor is a curious combination of discipline and ease, both a risk-taker and a culinary purist. Maybe that's how he got to be the head honcho at one of Scottsdale's most promising young restaurants, Old Town's Metro Brasserie & Bar, after less th

  August 4, 2009

• Recipe: Chilled Cucumber Buttermilk Soup with Blue Crab and Dill Salad from Metro Brasserie

  Lauren GilgerChilled Cucumber Buttermilk Soup with Blue Crab and Dill Salad at Metro Brasserie.​It's all about doing things right for Matt Taylor. In the kitchen of Metro Brasserie & Bar in Old Town Scottsdale, his staff of 12 guys is loose and laid-back during the day. But, in the kitchen, things change. "When we're actually cooking, there's a set way we do things," he says. But, unlike a lot of chefs you'll find in French restaurants, "there's not too much yelling and screaming," he

  August 5, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Gillian Tervet at The Parlor

  Lauren Gilger Bartender Gillian Tervet pouring a cocktail behind the bar at The Parlor.​Gillian Tervet is one of those girls who's cool because she's not trying to be. A bartender-on-the-rise who's barely old enough to drink her own cocktails (she just turned 21), Tervet has her own style behind the bar. This is a girl from Georgia whose parents don't drink at all, who spends most of her time experimenting, mixing, and learning about the intricacies of a martini versus a mojito at The

  August 6, 2009

• Recipe: Basil Gimlet from The Parlor

  Lauren GilgerBartender Gillian Tervet behind the bar at The Parlor on Camelback Road.​Where she grew up in small-town Georgia, Gillian Tervet says, "by middle school, we were drinking whiskey." "That's just the way it is in the South." Next month, when she heads off to Australia for a few months to try her hand at another culture, she's hoping to land a job bartending at some beach joint. Lauren GilgerThe Basil Gimlet, on the bar at The Parlor.​There, we're sure she'll come up wi

  August 7, 2009

• Chef Talk: Bryan Dooley, Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue

  Lauren Gilger Chef Bryan Dooley.​It says something when a chef names his restaurant after himself. In our opinion, it says something good. After Bryan Dooley spent 15 years as a chef at the luxurious Fairmont Scottsdale, he opened Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue in downtown Cave Creek. Yep, that's right, barbecue -- not chilled soups or seared scallops or reduced sake. Just straightforward, impeccably executed, good-old American meat. "I wanted to do something a little more my style, a

  August 11, 2009

• Recipe: 'The Chicken from Hell,' from Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue

  Lauren Gilger The Firebird, or The Chicken from Hell, at Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue in Cave Creek. Chef Bryan Dooley all about the red, white, and blue, from his food to his music, to his sense of humor. Same goes with the food he serves at Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue. "I love American food," he says, "and I just seem to always be drawn to that -- like I'm drawn to blues music, like I'm drawn to country music, I'm drawn to the same, original foods." But, fro

  August 12, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Chase Crain at Bar Smith

  Lauren Gilger Chase Crain flairtending at Bar Smith in downtown Phoenix.​Flairtending occupies a realm of its own in the bartending world -- there's fire, alcohol, flips, spinning and juggling. Chase Crain has spent a good part of the last two years learning the craft. "It makes people wanna know your name" he says. "'Using attitude,' I like to call it." The 24-year-old bartender and bar manager puts on a show every weekend at Bar Smith, the downtown bar and restaurant that turns

  August 13, 2009

• Recipe: The "Small Child" from Bar Smith

  Lauren Gilger The "Small Child" on the bar at Bar Smith in downtown Phoenix.​Chase Crain is not a bartender who messes around much with garnishes or puréed fruits or little umbrellas. He's more about throwing a great party. When Crain is behind the highly-stocked bar of Bar Smith downtown, his showmanship comes through in a different way -- with fire, flips, tricks and spins. That's right, with flair. So, it only makes sense that a drink recipe from this bartender could very likely be

  August 14, 2009

• Foie Gras Steak-Out at Christopher's/Crush Lounge

  Saturday night, a group of thirty or so animal activists led by Dani Thumma -- with the help of the California-based Animal Protection and Rescue League and In Defense of Animals -- pounced on the Biltmore in East Phoenix to protest the serving of foie gras at Christopher's Restaurant and Crush Lounge.  Not the best turnout, but pretty good considering 1. it was the group's first protest 2. it was a sweat-enducing 105 degrees out there and 3. the low visibility

  August 17, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Trudy Thomas, Camelback Inn

  Lauren Gilger Director of Beverage Trudy Thomas in BLT Steak at the Camelback Inn.​There are bartenders. And then there are bartenders. Trudy Thomas is the latter. By bartenders (emphasis on the art), we mean those who take their jobs a lot more seriously than the rest - those who discuss bartending in terms of dedication and passion; those who treat their craft with the kind of reverence that is normally reserved for a piece of artwork or the great American novel. "It really is a pass

  August 20, 2009

• The Michael Jackson Cupcake at Let Them Eat Cake

  Lauren Gilger The Michael Jackson cupcake at Let Them Eat Cake bakery.​Michael Jackson is back -- in cupcake form. Barbara Gardner, owner of the Arcadia bakery Let Them Eat Cake regularly features a "guest star" on her lengthy menu of baked goodies. Last month, it was an Elvis-inspired confection, but this week's hit a particularly interesting note. Lauren Gilger The vanilla cake and fudge filling of the Michael Jackson cupcake at Let Them Eat Cake.​The Michael Jackson c

  August 20, 2009

• Recipe: Clover Club and Blood Orange Pisco Sour from BLT Steak

  Lauren Gilger The Clover Club and the Blood Orange Pisco Sour at the Camelback Inn.​Trudy Thomas spent her childhood in the bourbon distilleries of Kentucky. She spent her a good part of her twenties working under Wolfgang Puck in Chicago, and now she's spreading the mixology gospel in the Valley. The Director of Beverage at the Camelback Inn, the co-founder and vice-chairman of the Arizona chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild, the president of her own consulting business and

  August 21, 2009

• Geek-Friendly Hip-hop Artist Maja Featured on FOX-10

  ​ Things just keep on rollin' for Vince Payne (a.k.a. Maja). If you didn't catch Lauren Gilger's recent post on Chow Bella, the local geek-friendly hip-hop lyricist (who I wrote about back in 2007) was tapped by McDonald's to spit some rhymes for some TV and radio ads touting their summertime drink deals.  Payne was also interviewed by FOX-10's Yetta Gibson earlier this week about not only the commercials, but also his penchant for rapping about gaming, anime, and other nerdy topics.

  August 21, 2009