Andrew Junker
The lead singer of local band Kinch plays at the band's third annual Kinchmas party at the Rhythm Room on Thursday, December 23. Proceeds benefit Ozanam Manor, a homeless/transitional shelter in downtown Phoenix. The band says they try to make the night more like a party and less like a traditional concert, with lots of covers and guest appearances among the bands: Rajiv Patel, Yellow Minute and Ladylike, as well as Kinch.What'd you eat for dinner last night? A cup of clam chowder and French fries from my wife's plate. We went to McCormick and Schmick's happy hour because we are trying to live on a budget. Really living on an appropriate budget for us would probably entail buying rice and beans in bulk and just eating that, but we're bad at living on a budget. Happy hours are the compromise. We are getting to be pros at finding good happy hours.
Favorite food: Basically anything noodle-based.
Least favorite food: Probably Subway. We toured a lot this past year, and oftentimes the gas station Subway is the only food option. It gets pretty gross, pretty quick, and you get so sick of the one thing that you always order, that you start branching out into the sort of peripheral Subway sandwiches--the ones that that feature a "sauce" as one of their main ingredients--and that's always a bad idea.
Favorite dessert: Coffee ice cream.
Favorite local restaurant and meal to order there: Either the red chili at the TeePee or the margherita pizza at Pizzeria Bianco.
Favorite local bar and cocktail to order there: There's a ridiculously cheap and pretty good Jim Beam based cocktail at the Cafe ZuZu happy hour. I think it's only like $3 and tastes good, but I'm still trying to determine just how strong it is, so I can't really judge how great of a deal it is. I guess that's my favorite for now...I feel like Carl Weathers in Arrested Development obsessing on happy hour deals.
Favorite thing to cook at home: Roasting a chicken is pretty easy and great-tasting. We also roast a lot of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.
Favorite memory involving food: A friend used to work at Vincent Guerithault's restaurant on Camelback, and got a free dinner for two as a Christmas bonus or something. He didn't have any romantic prospects at the time, so he took me. We were trying to eat and drink like Christopher Hitchens, I think, so there were lots of cocktails and wine and cigarette breaks between courses. It was awesome. My little sister had to pick us up because we were both slizzard. She made so much fun of us.
Recipe or food tip to share: I'm not much of a cook, but one thing I've learned is not to obsessively check whatever you're cooking. It tends to ruin it. Also, don't freak out when you're cooking. It tends to make you unpleasant to be around and it often makes the kitchen really dirty.
