By Wynter Holden Could there have been a better weekend to have lunch outdoors in the beautiful, serene park-like oasis that is The Farm at South Mountain? I think not. The temperature was perfect, the setting lovely and the food amazingly fresh and tasty, as always. If you’re on a…
By Wynter Holden We’ve always seen Mac’s Broiler and Tap, the popular little bar with the awesome patio tucked between Tempe’s beloved Changing Hands Bookstore and the newly-opened Hoodlums music shop, but we never popped in for a drink. Lucky for us we did, because there we met 24-year-old Torey…
Know anyone who’s a pathological optimist, the kind who always sees the glass half full? Maybe you envy them. Or maybe, like us, you secretly hope they’ll “accidentally” fall down a flight of stairs. In writer/director Mike Leigh’s latest film HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, Poppy is a sunny optimist whose positive-thinking ways falter…
By Wynter Holden So there I was, in the brand new Sign of the Whale restaurant at 1706 E. Warner in Tempe (in the old Voodoo Daddy’s spot), when I was faced with a whale of a problem: guzzle down the high-calorie house special chowder and the fish & chips…
Bartender Carson Quinn of Roka Akor in Scottsdale is the kind of guy women — and some men — are intimidated by. He’s attractive, well-traveled and intelligent, with a very European outlook and the slight drink snobbery that comes with being a good bartender (Three Olives Grape instead of fresh…
Ever been to one of those upscale art exhibits where you look at a Pollock-style splatter painting and think to yourself, “I coulda done that in, like, five minutes?”, but you’re too afraid to say it lest the throng of wine-sipping art snobs blacklists you forever? Artist Randy Slack offers…
Pop quiz: Which iconic image best represents Phoenix — Camelback Mountain or a strip mall? If you said No. 2, you’re a winner. Rather than dissing the popular building style, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art invited architects to submit proposals for transforming ugly-ass strips into exotic gathering spaces of the…
It’s difficult to enter “Lowriders and Tattoos” at Mesa Contemporary Arts without preconceptions. Let’s be honest: Both cultural phenomena carry a negative stigma, even in a country where Hispanic culture is blossoming and, according to exhibit curator Patty Haberman, nearly half the population is inked. My fondness for body modification…
There aren’t many places in town worse for dieters than the Indoor Swapmart near 27th Ave. & Camelback. Well, there’s the state fair. Or the Heart Attack Grill. But a recent costume-hunting excursion to the ‘Mart (don’t even ask…you’d guffaw like a schoolyard bully at my geekiness) had me prowling…
By Wynter Holden 27-year-old barista Joseph Boos comes off as an innocent Virgo-type, but there’s a Gemini duality brewing under the skin. His Jekyll side sings cheesy ‘80s pop tunes with his co-workers while dishing up lattes at Coffee Rush in Chandler, and speaks fluent “Starbuckanese” – though he gently…
Author Steve Almond has made a mint satisfying his oral fixations, and he didn’t even need kneepads to do it. A self-proclaimed chocoholic, Almond dove into the luscious, chocolate-coated underbelly of the sweets industry in his nonfiction book Candyfreak, satisfying his love for language with several witty collections that border…
After filmmaker Cynthia Weber saw the post-9/11 spin ads featuring citizens of various races declaring their patriotism, she created her own ad and video series documenting the experiences of “forgotten” Americans — including political refugee Phil McDowell, Hurricane Katrina evacuees, an undocumented immigrant, and Minutemen founder Chris Simcox. Weber will…
Oscar Mastrantuono, owner of Bomberos in Sunnyslope, has an unshakable confidence that would make his hot-blooded South American ancestors proud. Though he was raised in New York, the Uruguayan-born entrepreneur carries himself with the same Latino swagger that helped his father immigrate to this country and then run a successful…
Corporate VP Rick Provenzano is the quintessential red-blooded American male. He loves sports, works in the family business, and lives in the ‘burbs with his wife and their 2.5 kids (the youngest is still a baby, so we’ll take the liberty). But there’s one part of his life that breaks…
Jeffrey Hattrick is a real-life Mad Hatter, minus the shaggy gray sideburns and cartoonish purple getup. Most days, you can find this self-proclaimed “tea guy” in a top hat and tails, pouring fragrant oolongs into delicate porcelain cups for little Alices and their moms in the Ritz-Carlton’s tea room. (See…
There are only two things restaurateur Peter “Kaz” Kasperski can’t live without: work and good food. For him, the two are so deeply intertwined that the thought of losing either blows his mind. And that’s meant a windfall for Valley diners. Kaz began his torrid love affair with the restaurant…
Dieters, beware! I’m about to reveal the greatest lie in dieting history. It’s bigger than the DaVinci code. More annoying than Palin’s “Troopergate” fiasco. Worse than imagined weapons of mass destruction. Are you ready? Here goes. Salads are often the most fattening items on a restaurant’s menu, especially when it’s…
By Wynter Holden This week, we’re hunting for the elusive creature known as “The Good Guy” — a grown man who doesn’t drink, party or leer at women even when they’re half-dressed. The kind of guy you can bring home to mom. Some say he’s just a myth, but, with…
Yes, it’s visually stunning. Yes, we agree that trained dancers have leg muscles even the fiercest bodybuilder would envy. But unless you’re light in the loafers or you pee sitting down, chances are you’d rather have a spinal tap than sit through two hours of Swan Lake. Ballet Arizona hopes…
Yes, it’s visually stunning. Yes, we agree that trained dancers have leg muscles even the fiercest bodybuilder would envy. But unless you’re light in the loafers or you pee sitting down, chances are you’d rather have a spinal tap than sit through two hours of Swan Lake. Ballet Arizona hopes…
Yes, it’s visually stunning. Yes, we agree that trained dancers have leg muscles even the fiercest bodybuilder would envy. But unless you’re light in the loafers or you pee sitting down, chances are you’d rather have a spinal tap than sit through two hours of Swan Lake. Ballet Arizona hopes…
Yes, it’s visually stunning. Yes, we agree that trained dancers have leg muscles even the fiercest bodybuilder would envy. But unless you’re light in the loafers or you pee sitting down, chances are you’d rather have a spinal tap than sit through two hours of Swan Lake. Ballet Arizona hopes…
