Nearly six years ago, Joey Robert Parks came up with an idea: What if he paired writers and photographers to make an exhibit about Phoenix? Not just the major landmarks, but the inner city, the nooks and crannies, the regular buildings and side streets and open lots. “I had the…
If you want to see what 300,000 books look like, you have only to visit the Friends of the Phoenix Library warehouse. The moment you step into the building, you find a mountain of cardboard boxes filled with books. Wheeled carts are packed with books. Books are piled on every…
When Tony Ortega was an intern at New Times, his editor approached him and said, “You need to put some meat on the table.” It was 1995, and Ortega was a rookie reporter. He had written a couple of warm-up articles, but in his search for more ambitious stories, Ortega ended…
When Jeff Alworth was growing up in Idaho, he wasn’t sure where his life would take him. Alworth was the first in his family to attend college, and he picked an unlikely major – religious studies, with a focus on Buddhism. During his post-college years in Portland, Alworth worked for…
A few years ago, you might hear the name Herbal Risings Cannabis College and picture students in beanies and tie-dye T-shirts fighting over the last bag of Doritos. A class called “Budtending 101” might get a few wisecracks. How quickly things change: When Chad Olshavsky moved to Arizona with his…
For cyclists, Tempe is a mythical place. With its 175 miles of bikeways and thousands of bike commuters, the sunbaked college town has won global attention for its pedaling population. The website TravelPulse even named Tempe one of the seven most bike-friendly cities in the world. And unlike cyclists in…
It sounds so sublime: The sun sets over the rooftops, farmers hand out samples from their stalls, and local beer pours from taps. Phoenix Public Market fans arrive from all over the city, hand-picking vegetables and handmade jewelry. Not bad for a Thursday night. But wait – doesn’t the downtown…
When I moved to Phoenix two months ago, I looked forward to a lot of things: dry heat, Mexican cuisine, and bicycling around town – but mostly the bicycling. Coming from the northeast, I had never lived in a flat city, much less a flat city with year-round sun and a…
If the best things come to those who wait, then chef Chris Paciora is the perfect example. The Phoenix native stayed home to raise two kids before officially opening her food truck, Spice It Up, in 2012. From a distance, her mobile eatery looks like a UPS delivery truck with…
The bicycle is one of the world’s great inventions: You can use it for transport, exercise, entertainment, and work. And thanks to the silver screen, the bicycle serves yet another purpose – as a character. Bicycles make frequent cameos in Hollywood pictures, saving the day, changing the hero’s life, or propelling…
Ethiopian food is among the most unique in the world. Platters are shared on a round plate, and each mixture is poured onto a bed of spongy injera bread. Instead of forks, diners tear off pieces of injera and wipe the meat and vegetables off the platter, using the sour pancake as an edible…
When Sheri Geiss describes her cafe, she imagines a place with good coffee and fine art. The cafe will sell local artists’ work, and musicians might play intimate concerts. Located somewhere in downtown Phoenix, the cafe will draw an eclectic mix of people. “The place will have a cozy, homey…
A place that serves coffee and is also filled with felines, that is a “cat cafe” in a nutshell. They’re all the rage in Japan. They’re gaining popularity in the United States. And by January 2016, Melissa Pruitt will have established the first official cat cafe in the Valley. “People love cats,” Pruitt…
When it comes to sausage-making, Brian Hines got a late start. He taught himself to cook in his mid-30s, and it was only a year ago that he started the Proper Beast Charcuterie. But Hines is happy with his progress. He sells his handcrafted meats at local farmers markets. Everything…
A girl whose name tag reads Lauren draws a large letter “A” on a piece of red fabric. The lines are straight and angular. At the top of the big letter, she draws a rectangular face and affixes two googly eyes. Lauren confirms that the face is a robot. Why…
Not long ago, Justin Bush took a trip to Flagstaff to ride his bike. An Indiana native, Bush is an avid cyclist, and he loved Flagstaff’s breathtaking landscape and ample trails. When he visited a local restaurant, Bush struck up conversation with another customer – Jason Boles, an insurance salesman…
If Tomo Osawa hadn’t fallen in love with cooking, she might still be working a nine-to-five office job in Tokyo. Instead, she moved to Seattle in 2005 to study culinary arts and became obsessed with baking. This passion for pastries has since led Osawa on an extraordinary journey. She worked…
The pole is candy-striped — red, white, gold, and baby blue. It’s fastened to the wall, right in the middle of the shop. It’s the same pole you’d see in any vintage barbershop in the country. For hundreds of years, that pole has told passersby: We cut hair. Come on…
There are plenty of places for wood-fired pizza in the Valley, but the newly opened Forno 301 in downtown Phoenix is distinct. Owners Roberto Dadone and Luca Dagliano grew up in Sanremo, a Mediterranean city in northwestern Italy, where they trained in traditional cuisine. Lively, passionate, and good-humored, the two…
When Mother Bunch Brewing opened last September, craft beer fans and downtown residents were excited to try their robust selection of craft beers. But thanks to head chef Holly Arguello, Mother Bunch has become popular among food enthusiasts as well, by serving upscale pub food such as homemade pork rinds,…
The location isn’t glamorous. 8-Bit Brewery is located in an office park in Avondale, where the buildings are broad and the walls consist of steel frames and plate glass. “Is there really a brewery out here?” you may ask yourself. But 8-Bit isn’t meant to be glamorous — it’s meant to…
Alex Steiner is tall, toned, and moves like a dancer. He is easy to spot, not just because he rises above most of the 50-or-so riders, but because he’s leading the charge. He pedals fluidly down the back streets of Tempe, guiding his flock past parked cars and through intersections…
