For Max Scherzer, it was about time. The second-year pitcher had pitched well enough to win several games this season, but the Arizona Diamondbacks’ anemic offense let him down each time. On Saturday, in a 12-0 laugher against the Atlanta Braves in Hotlanta, Scherzer finally got his first “W,” shutting…
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a wonderful Creole/Caribbean restaurant on Broadway Road in south Phoenix. I remarked that the eatery, Second Line, was one of a few hidden gems on this busy but sparsely populated stretch of road. Irie, a purveyor of Jamaican cuisine, west of Second Line,…
Welcome to the big leagues, Gerardo Parra and Bryan Augenstein. After an exciting first inning, in which the two call-ups from Double-A Mobile looked like future superstars, it was all downhill for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 10-3 loss Wednesday night to the upstart CIncinnati Reds. The loss finished up…
Some of the restaurants I write about in Budget Beat are old faves, some are recommendations from readers or friends, some are just sitting there on the side of the road, begging to be tried. One of the fun things about doing this weekly blog is being surprised by a…
If you’re an Arizona Diamondbacks fan, you’re looking to the future already, drooling perhaps at the notion of Justin “The Franchise” Upton becoming a perennial All-Star, hitting 40 homers, stealing 30 bases, hitting .315. It can happen. Until that day arrives, you’ll have to reside in Fantasyland, because this year’s…
The good people behind TexAZ must be feeling a bit of schadenfreude during the economic downturn, and now they’ve got a deal that lets you, the hungry but budget-minded diner, join in the fun. The popular Texas-themed steak-ribs-and-burger joint on the northeast corner of Bethany Home Road and 16th Street has…
Sports fans, particularly baseball fans, love to play “What If?” So, what if Brandon Webb were not stuck on the disabled list for the first month (and, perhaps, two months) of the season? What if? Would the D-Backs be keeping pace with the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers as we…
After a couple of truly dismal games on Friday and Saturday, the Arizona Diamondbacks showed Sunday why we can’t quite write them off and why there’s still reason to believe (though they’ll probably continue to drive us crazy all season long) in a team loaded with some of the best young talent…
There’s a wonderful new restaurant sitting inconspicuously on an otherwise dreary stretch of Broadway Road in south Phoenix. Open since late January in a tiny building that used to house Irie Jamaican Restaurant a couple of years ago, this gem is worth the trip to south Phoenix if you live…
It appeared as if it would be more of the same Wednesday as the weak-hitting Arizona Diamondbacks failed to help out their de facto ace, Dan “Hard Luck” Haren. The righty (whose 1.89 ERA entering the game was ninth-best in baseball among starters) was dealing for six innings, keeping the…
I’ve gone on record as saying that it’s not hard to find good Middle Eastern food in the Valley. Choosing among all the great places has become the difficult part. Now, I’ll have to add Persian Garden is at 15th Avenue and Thomas Road in a busy little complex that…
After a dramatic extra-inning win on Tuesday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks came out swinging on Wednesday afternoon in the series finale and homestand-closing game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, for every bit of goodwill the D-Backs generated Wednesday, they took a step back in a 12-7 loss to the Cards…
During stressful times, what’s more comforting than home-style cooking? Not much, if you ask me. When I lived in the same town as my parents, I loved heading over to their house after work or the weekends to eat some of my mom’s cooking. I’m sure many of you feel the…
Listening to Cuba-born, New York-based musician Voltaire may evoke a night aboard an 18th-century frigate, complete with freely flowing wine and bawdy, drunken sing-alongs. For others, his music, with its organic instrumentation (clarinet, trumpet, accordion, cello), might call to mind a dark Berlin cabaret, full of gothic theatricality – sorta…
Boos from a two-thirds-empty Chase Field rained down upon the once-beloved Eric Byrnes as he walked to the plate in the fourth inning Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game and series finale 9-2 loss against the Colorado Rockies. Byrnes, who wowed Arizona fans in 2007 after becoming one of only…
“Life is like a sandwich. The more you add to it, the better it becomes.” I have no idea what genius offered that pearl — Shakespeare? Thoreau? Charles Schulz? — and, frankly, I don’t care to take the time to look it up, because I’m too busy planning my next…
Jimi Hendrix is that rare artist whose songs are nearly impossible to cover and still do them justice. His immeasurable talent and singular style leave little room for a re-interpretation that doesn’t sound silly or, worse, inconsequential. But leave it to Angélique Kidjo, an export from the tiny West African…
Comedian Charlie Murphy will forever be remembered as the man whose “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories” sketch on Chappelle’s Show colored the world with that immortal catchphrase, “I’m Rick James, bitch!” It seemed damn near impossible, back in 2004, to avoid hearing one of your co-workers or friends spout the…
In a haunting scene from the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a bluesman serenades a trio of escaped convicts with Skip James’ “Hard Times Killin’ Floor Blues” along the way to selling his soul to the devil in exchange for guitar immortality. Credit filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen…
In the tradition of Ed Wood comes the latest opus by local filmmaker/artist Larry LoPresti, Dr. Trimrose’s Cannibalistic Sex-Crazed Blood Island of the Tiki-Bot, an homage to the low-budget shlockfests of the ’50s. “But this is a sexploitation film that actually delivers what the poster promises,” LoPresti says. With great…
Sometimes, happy hour is meant to be enjoyed at a run-of-the-mill bar, passing the time with cheap beer and chicken wings or nachos. But sometimes you want to see how the other half drinks after work. That’s when you belly up to the bar at a joint like Steamers. The…
Confessions of a Shopaholic? Puh-leeze. New in Town? Yuck. Bride Wars? Excuse us while we vomit. “Chick flicks” must make a buttload of money for somebody (including their female leads), but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking they do much to advance the role of women in film. Thankfully, Lunafest…
