Passover, or Pesach, is the Jewish festival commemorating the emancipation of Israelite slaves in Egypt. As with most holidays, there’s a special place for food within the celebration. Whether you’re looking for a place to dine out this Passover or want to host a family dinner this year but can’t…
Last night’s Spring Preview of Phoenix Fashion Week at the W Scottsdale introduced us to “model time,” the unspoken law that makes it acceptable to start a thirty minute long event over two hours after its scheduled time. Way to milk guests for more $5 bottles of water and $12 cocktails, W hotel! The party…
The last time I received an Easter basket, I was listening to Flock of Seagulls and teasing my hair with Aqua Net. EEEk. Egg decorating and pre-made baskets may be geared towards kids, but that doesn’t mean adults have to miss out. Here are a few suggestions to make a sweet holiday basket…
In the 1950s, there were over 4,000 drive-in movie theaters in America. Since the glory days of outdoor cinema, that number has dwindled to about 400, most of which are falling apart. Local photographer William LeGoullon explored the natural passage of time at drive-in movie theaters in Glendale, Scottsdale, Tucson,…
The life of a political cartoonist isn’t always easy. Swedish satirist Lars Vilks had a price on his head after publishing his infamous Mohammed-as-dog cartoon. Blogger Mark Fiore is receiving death threats from right-wing protesters over his humorous 90-second cartoon “How to Speak Tea Bag.” Thank goodness La Cucaracha artist…
Every teenage girl dreams of being a groupie, whether her fantasies involve mopping sweat off of a Jonas Brother’s brow or having a drunken tryst in the back of a B-rate metal band’s van. Local photographer and music-studio manager Laina McWhorter was once a Grateful Dead groupie; she traveled the…
I love a good challenge. So when a friend recently declared that “only seafood restaurants have good crab cakes” I was determined to prove her wrong. Armed with only a camera and the pipe dream of finding fresh fish in the desert, I headed out to two neighborhood restaurants in search…
Host Beau MacMillan was in fine spirits — or shall we say, in the fine spirits — last night at the inaugural WestSide Throwdown culinary challenge at Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria. The event was bizarre. Attendance was spotty, and everyone (even the host) seemed to have tapped into the free…
While thumbing through the pages of the latest Food Network Magazine, I came across one of the strangest suggestions for an Easter gift I’ve ever seen. Chocolate bunnies? Too bourgeois. Baskets of faux grass and jelly beans? Yawn. Even this year’s chocolate-covered Peeps aren’t exactly hitting the mark. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/ / CC…
A while ago I blogged about Groupon, the cool website that has daily discounts on everything from dinner at The Dhaba to trapeze lessons to yoga. The downside, as discovered after a friend purchased a “$40 of food for $20” Groupon special, is that you have to use your entire Groupon at one sitting. With The Dhaba’s very…
A decade or so ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find one decent show in downtown Phoenix. Now there are so many cultural events on any given day that painters, poets, and performers have to fight for attention, er, the attention of the paltry five percent of locals who…
Local artist Brian Boner gets the urge to paint a self-portrait once every few years, but only when he grows a beard. “It’s a little like looking at myself with a mask on,” he quips. Meet Boner and view his latest works during the closing reception for “The Old, New…
When you hear the word “pudding,” you likely think of a creamy, milk-based dessert. Over in the British Isles they have different meanings for the same word, some of which aren’t quite as pleasant. There’s blood pudding, a sausage made with congealed animal blood. Black and white pudding is blood sausage paired with a pork fat sausage…
Spring Training is well underway, and so far our home team is kicking butt down in Tucson. After yesterday’s Arizona Diamondbacks 13-5 mega-victory over the Mariners, hopefully you’re stoked for this week’s Cactus League games in Phoenix. Today, the Rangers take on the Cubs at HoHoKam Park. Later in the week…
Let’s not pretend that tomorrow is about shamrocks and pots o’ gold. In America, St. Patrick’s Day is nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse to get sloshed on green beer. Unfortunately, it’s less fun when you start start feeling green two songs into Blackwood’s Celtic pub song set. We tracked down a…
If you’ve been to the Arizona Renaissance Festival before, you know how the shows work. Most are wholesome, family-friendly entertainment: comedic storytellers, singing nuns, a prankster hypnotist. Then there are the shows labeled LC for “Loose Cannon” — i.e. bring the kiddies at the risk of having to explain umpteen penis jokes…
FnB’s butterscotch pudding. Maybe it was the calming influence of arts maven turned Devour Phoenix spokesperson Kimber Lanning, or some new Zen-like mojo brought on by the event’s name change, but today’s installment of the Devoured Culinary Classic went on without a hitch. No fist fights (don’t laugh — I’ve actually seen them twice…
A good cookbook can save your skin at a dinner party or family gathering, especially if you’re the type who can’t boil an egg or make packaged mac n’ cheese without setting off the smoke alarm. Unfortunately, the need for culinary instruction has given would-be chefs free license to put out crappy cookbooks. The worst range from…
Ever notice how the best culinary events are all in the East Valley or downtown Phoenix? Scottsdale Culinary Festival, Devoured, Taste…I could go on and on. For years, foodies on the forgotten side of town have been wondering when they’ll finally get their turn. Enter The WestSide Throwdown, from 4:30-9 p.m. on Monday,…
Every year, half a million people journey to Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval, a four-day festival of decadence and debauchery. In other words, it’s the Brazilian version of Mardi Gras, complete with Vegas-style glitz that would make Liberace look like a Plain Jane. Get a taste of this Latin American…
It’s amazing what we can do with garbage. Roads are paved with rubber from discarded tires. Boutiques sell purses crafted from gum wrappers. Even this year’s Olympic medals were partially made from electronic waste. Amazing. Check out clothing made entirely from trash in the free public exhibit “Recycle Runway: Reclaimed…
No, this is not an epic battle of prairie oysters! (That’s a whole ‘nother blog.) Growing up, my parents were friends with an Italian family who would hold potlucks for every holiday meal. Long, folding tables would be stuffed with lasagna, rollatini, eggplant parmigiana and homemade veal meatballs coated in thick,…
