By Michele Laudig
If you've ever seen the kooky headlines I come up with for my restaurant reviews, you know I appreciate a little wordplay once in awhile.
So I'm loving the name of Local First Arizona's annual celebration of groovy local businesses: Independents Week, which runs June 30 through July 6. I imagine they started with Independents Day as a July 4th tie-in, then figured, "Hey, why not a whole week?" They even got Governor Napolitano's stamp of approval.
As extra incentive for you to shop and eat locally, nearly 50 local businesses are joining a special promotion that gets you a 20 percent discount. All you need to do is print out a Golden Ticket from the Local First website, then take it to one of the participating places.
In the way of food and food-related options, that includes Tapino, Fusion, Spinato's, La Torretta, Souvia Tea, The Art of Soup, Uncorked Wine Bar, Duck & Decanter, Pop the Soda Shop, Plate It Up!, Farrelli's Cinema Supper Club, Superstition Farm, Urban Cookies, Cowboy Ciao, and Digestif.