Simon Rohrich stands in his laboratory in east Mesa, talking about his latest invention: a 700-pound, 27-inch-wide blue aluminum box with blinking lights called the S.P.E.A.R. He's excited. Rohrich walks around the machine, opening and closing panels to show the features — here's the hookup for cellular phones, here are...
Is it over yet? Can we look? Don't know about y'all, but we're more than ready to put the titanic clusterfuck that was 2008 behind us. Frankly, we're hoping to forget the past 365-odd days (with the exception of November 4, natch) and welcome 2009 with open arms and more...
Is it over yet? Can we look? Don't know about y'all, but we're more than ready to put the titanic clusterfuck that was 2008 behind us. Frankly, we're hoping to forget the past 365-odd days (with the exception of November 4, natch) and welcome 2009 with open arms and more...
By Andrea Custer It sounded like a crowded Irish pub at the Irish Cultural Center in downtown Phoenix; a sound that would make James Joyce, or at least his fans, quite proud. The Great Hall was packed with brewers and beer enthusiasts for the 2nd Annual Bloomin’ Beerfest on Saturday...
Life's been pretty damn scary lately. Between the double-fisted drama of the über-contentious race for the White House and the roller coaster stock market, we've been hoping this is all just some titanically bad nightmare everyone's gonna wake up from. Needless to say, some letting loose is most definitely in...
Call me a shopaholic. I didn't realize I had a thing for grocery stores until I sat down to write this column, reflecting on how strolling the aisles of brightly lit supermarkets has been such a relaxing pastime over the years. As a kid, I had fun shopping with my...
If you're gonna strike a pose, it'll more likely be in Scottsdale, not Surprise. But hey, Scottsdale can't have all the style. Vogue Bistro and Bar, a new chef-owned eatery that debuts soon, will give West Siders a new dining destination. Chef-owner Aurore de Beauduy, the former executive chef at...
If you've through downtown Tempe in the past several months, you've likely noticed the street-level storefront a couple doors over from Borders in the Brickhouse on Mill, where papered-over windows promised a new pizzeria "coming soon." The sign seemed to be hanging there forever. But how soon is now? Uh,...
Tomorrow and Sunday afternoon, the Great Arizona Beer Festival is serving up 176 different beers from dozens of micro and craft breweries. The cost of admission ($40 per day) entitles you to up to 24 three-ounce tastes, which equals one hell of a buzz. Thankfully, they're selling designated driver tickets...
Tight-Shirt Guy says, “Dude, the AZ Strong Beer Festival is February 16. Whoa, paaar-tay.” As Beer Purist Guy pontificates about 6.5 percent alcohol content and exotic hops and barleys, Tight-Shirt Guy shrugs and says, “Hey, we’re gonna meet chicks, right?” Jerry Gantt, executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild...
Well, I managed to survive another fun and frantic SxSW festival. While I'm laid up at home recovering, I thought I'd bring you some of the highlights from this year's fest.
The most intriguing new restaurant in Scottsdale is a refreshing alternative to the city's clichés. Of course, you'll have to dress up a little, and spend a few bucks while you're there, but at least you won't feel like you've stumbled onto the set of Real Housewives of Maricopa County...
The word on the street is that Phoenix is gonna be going green, but it's got nothing to do with Al Gore. It's because the groovy Gaelic get-down known as St. Patrick's Day is about to strike the PHX, with everyone in Apache Junction to Avondale getting their Irish on...
The word on the street is that Phoenix is gonna be going green, but it's got nothing to do with Al Gore. It's because the groovy Gaelic get-down known as St. Patrick's Day is about to strike the PHX, with everyone in Apache Junction to Avondale getting their Irish on...
If there's one celebration that P-Town knows how to do with style, it's Cinco de Mayo. Nearly everyone in the Valley's gonna be living la vida loca and feting Latino culture nonstop from Thursday, May 1, until Monday, May 5. Myriad Mexican-themed parties are on tap around the PHX, offering...
Yes! in my backyard. That's the message behind the third annual Certified Local! Fall Festival, an activist fair highlighting local entrepreneurs who are doing it for themselves. So what's in store? Stacy Bertinelli of the event's organizer, Local First Arizona, says: "You can get a jump on your holiday shopping...
The Orange TableMost of the time, we can behave ourselves at restaurants, politely munching on an appetizer that we’d rather inhale, or discreetly digging into an entree that we feel like shoveling into our mouth. Not when it comes to burgers, though. When we get our hands around a good one, all attempts at civility fall by […]
This past Friday night, the streets and sidewalks of Old Town Scottsdale were absolutely overflowing (as they usually are on the weekends) with nightcrawlers in the midst of kicking off their weekly routine of drinking, debauchery, and debasement. But while the usual crowd of Fembots, douchebags, and $30k millionaires were bound for more ostentatious joints like Next and Dirty Pretty Rockbar, the cooler cats were chillaxing at the Venue of Scottsdale, where renowned Valley recording engineer and producer Larry Elyea was feting the 15th anniversary of his studio, Mind’s Eye Digital.
The Roosevelt TavernWhat we love about the food at this cool downtown tavern is how quirky and unexpected it is. (It’s not unlike the watering hole itself, which resides in a restored, century-old house, where indie rock blares from the sound system and craft brews flow from the taps.) If your idea of bar food is fries, […]
With Halloween just around the corner, time is running out for urbanites of the PHX to conjure up a killer costume for the annual celebration of everything thrilling and chilling. So whatcha gonna be? Better come up with something good, ace, and not just because you're running out of bedsheets...
This sounds like fun: On Saturday night, from 5 to 10 p.m., the Irish Cultural Center will host the Bloomin' Beerfest, a Bloomsday party with beer tastings from Sonoran Brewing, Oak Creek Brewing, Rock Bottom Breweries, Copper Canyon Grill & Brewpub, and other members of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild...
With Halloween just around the corner, time is running out for urbanites of the PHX to conjure up a killer costume for the annual celebration of everything thrilling and chilling. So whatcha gonna be? Better come up with something good, ace, and not just because you're running out of bedsheets...
