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This review stemmed from the debacle that was the Arizona Barbecue Festival, the most unorganized mess that I’ve ever seen in my life.

The moment I left that festival, I wanted Barbecue.  I had been looking forward to spending an afternoon there eating barbecue. After being let down by the Arizona Barbecue Festival, I was not going home until I had barbecue in my stomach.

I remembered a few months back that Dickey’s Barbecue Pit was up in North Scottsdale just east of Scottsdale Road and Shea. I haven’t heard anything about it but I’ve been meaning to stop in for some time now. So I headed up there without any pre-conceived notion about what to expect.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I spend a lot of time on the Food Network watching tons of Barbecue related shows. I’ve seen places that serve up huge portions of various Barbecue products like they do at Lucille’s in the Tempe Marketplace. In the back of my mind, I was expecting Lucille’s quality and quantity from Dickey’s.

When I arrived at Dickey’s the first thing that caught my eye was their menu. The list of food on their menu was short and to the point (a good indicator of a quality restaurant): Barbecue sandwiches and barbecue meat platters. The Choices of meat was many and varied.  I had many barbecue items to choose from such as pulled pork, beef brisket, turkey breast, and ham.

I ended up getting the $10 – 2 Meat Plate which came with 2 Home-style sides (which was another great list to choose from), pickles, onion, and a roll.  I chose the Barbecue Beans and the Green Beans with Bacon as my two sides along with the chopped beef brisket and their ‘Fall off the bone’ pork ribs for my two meats.

When my plate arrived, it looked like this:

I was a little underwhelmed by the portions of meat provided (two small pork ribs?) mainly because of the exposure to barbecue on the Food Network and partially because I was REALLY hungry. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a negative against Dickey’s. What Dickey’s ’2 Meat plate’ lacked in portion size they MORE than made up for in the overall quality and taste of the entire meal.

The ‘Fall off the Bone’ port ribs did just that….fall off the bone as they were tender and delicious. The sliced beef brisket came without any sauce and was spectacular with and without the regular and spicy barbecue sauces.

Speaking of barbecue sauces, there were multiple Dickey’s barbecue sauces available at their condiment counter. I picked up some of their original and spicy sauces for my meal. For the first time in a long while of eating at barbecue establishments, a spicy barbecue sauce was actually spicy. Normally when I go to other barbecue places in the area and try their spicy barbecue sauces, it’s anything but spicy.

Regarding the side dishes, the barbecue beans were made perfectly and tasted even better after I mixed some spicy barbecue sauce into it. The green beans with bacon were a perfect accompaniment with my meal. The beans were cooked to the perfect point to where the crispness of the bean was still there but wasn’t overcooked and/or mushy. The only thing I didn’t like about the green beans side was that it was served in the water it was boiled in. Not a fan of that.

If there was a negative about Dickey’s (I wouldn’t even call it a negative) it was the size of the portions. Compared to places like Lucille’s, the portions were pretty puny. However, I noted that families were slowly coming in for dinner and then it dawned on me. In this part of town (North Scottsdale), big portions don’t cut the mustard. The portions have to be made according to who your clientele is. That and if I want to pig out on barbecue, I can head to Lucille’s in the Tempe Marketplace.

Dickey’s is a great family restaurant that serves up very high quality barbecue for a great price. If you’re a barbecue fan or want something new to try, you have to check out Dickey’s. You will not be disappointed by the quality and care they put into their food. They even have Drive-through and catering!

Dickey’s website
http://dickeys.com/

Popularity: 4% [?]

This article was meant to be a review of the Arizona Barbecue Festival. However, instead of a Barbecue festival I witnessed one of the most unorganized messes I’ve ever witnessed.

The Arizona Barbecue festival seemed to be a cooking festival for cash prizes but their website was so poorly constructed and unorganized that it was hard to tell what exactly was going on.

When I arrived at the festival site mid afternoon the entrance was unorganized chaos. There wasn’t a media contact to talk to, there wasn’t any guide, program or map to tell me what was going on and where. I didn’t discover that tickets needed to be purchased to buy food until I visited the first Barbecue booth. As I was walking back through the festival site to purchase tickets, which was located in a dirt field, there people were riding bicycles around people with kids and strollers. How do you allow bicycles into a family festival?!?!

I could go on but I think the point was made as to how poorly run this festival was.

Once I discovered that I needed to buy tickets at the entrance (the ticket purchasing area was buried by the unorganized mass of people clogging the entrance/exit to the festival. The only ATM on site was a portable on located out side the festival gates. Transactions per person took about five minutes each.

By this point I had enough. This was just a horrible experience.

I was hot, dirty, and I wanted Barbecue.

Fortunately I found some after I left this mess of a festival. That will be in my next review.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This past weekend was one of the best food events of the spring as ‘Devoured’ took place at the Phoenix Art Museum.  The great thing about having events such as Devoured during this time of year is that the weather more than likely agrees with the event.  This weekend the weather indeed agreed, save for some wind, and added a great vibe to the overall atmosphere of this great event!

Devoured operates as a non-profit organization to promote not only local businesses but to shine a light on the City of Phoenix as a culinary destination.

After entering the ‘Devoured’ grounds, I had a hard time determining where to begin first.  Instead of going to each booth one by one, I decided what any good foodie would do….throw caution to the wind and let their stomach be their guide.

I then dove into a promising world of what exactly the Phoenix Culinary scene has to offer.

From the Bacon Ice Cream by Sweet Republic, to the Meatballs and Butterscotch pudding (two separate dishes) served up by FnB, to the Apple Pie and Irish Cream ice cream served up by Udder Delights, to shrimp tostadas from Ticoz Resto-bar.  There was a cavalcade of wonderful food offerings that would satisfy the pickiest of eaters.

The best samples from Devoured that stood out in my mind were:

Sweet Republic’s Bacon Ice Cream – Bacon is so difficult to properly leverage as a dessert item yet Sweet Republic does it with such ease.   This recipe allows the bacon flavor to be present without overpowering the rest of the key ingredients while still classifying the concoction as a dessert.

Relish Burger Bistro – The newest addition to the Phoenician Resort offered Kobe Beef Sliders that were an example of perfection in the burger, bun, and the cheese. For the first time in my life, I ate a burger that didn’t need any form of condiments as the Kobe Beef sliders stood on its own as an amazing food offering.  For me and my palate, that’s a strong statement as to how amazing this burger tasted.

Ticoz Resto-Bar – They offered a great shrimp tosdada with an amazing tasting guacamole looking sauce.  Every bite was a perfect compliment to the sunny day at Devoured.

Hana Japanese Eatery – They served up chicken balls dipped in a Teriyaki Glaze that was out of this world.

Wine

One of the great aspects about Devoured was the selection of wines available.  However, many of them did not have any indication of what wineries they represented.

All of the restaurants represented at Devoured had cards in their stalls indicating what establishment they represented. However, not a single winery had an identifying card.  There were a handful of wineries that brought their own informational displays, some of which I recognized from other food festivals around the area.

I tried a good sampling of the wines available especially the wines from Arizona Stronghold.  If you don’t recognize the Arizona Stronghold winery, the owners were the subject of a recent documentary called ‘Blood into Wine’.  Also, one of the owners/winemakers is Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of ‘Tool’.

Even with the notoriety of ‘Arizona Stronghold’, none of the wines at Devoured really stood out to me as a great or important wine.  Furthermore, none of them really complimented the foods available at Devoured.

Chef Demonstrations/Seminars

If there was one aspect of Devoured that really stood out to me, it was the Chef Demonstrations and the Seminars.  The Chef Demonstrations were top notch as many of the area’s top chefs just under an hour demonstrating their crafts.  The demonstrations were outside so they were well attended.  I’m a fan of the Food Network and love to watch just about any food related show so I can soak up recipes, food styles and food theory.

The Seminars, on the other hand, were not so well attended.

I personally didn’t know where the Seminars were until I practically stumbled onto the Tequila demonstration by Agave expert, Tania Oseguera.  Had I known where the seminars were located I probably would have attended most, if not all of them.  The selection of guest speakers that were available at Devoured would have satisfied any food lover.

Finally, one of the drawbacks to Devoured was not related to the food or the beverages, it was the lack of places for people to stand or sit with their newly acquired food/drink samples. Having to juggle camera equipment with food, napkin, and a wine glass wasn’t easy. I ended up dropping my camera near the end of the day because of the lack of available table/arm space. If there were more tables around that would have helped immensely for all who attended.

One of the best and most useful ideas I have seen to help alleviate the lack of arm space was at ‘Uncorked and Unplugged’ this past October.

Check out this below:

This was one of the most original ideas I’ve ever seen and was EXTREMELY useful while checking out all the food and drinks that were offered at ‘Uncorked and Unplugged’.  If the people that put Devoured together can come up with something like this, it would be a great benefit to their cause!

Finally, another thing I would love to see for next year is to expand the selection of restaurants represented here from mostly Central Phoenix establishments to restaurants valley wide.  If this festival is truly going to encompass what all of Phoenix has to offer, I would love to see a festival full of all that Phoenix has to offer.

Popularity: 7% [?]

When it comes to Art Festivals in the greater Phoenix area, I’m extremely hesitant to head to any individual art gallery (or cover it on this site for that matter) as the art scene is completely over-saturated. I’m not against art or artists it’s just that there are WAY too many art galleries around the area to the point that it desensitizes me and my desire to promote art on this site. I see a lot of the same things over and over again in the individual art galleries around the area and after a while it just gets…..boring.

Now the exception to this would be events like First Friday in downtown Phoenix. In the Roosevelt district, for example, you can go to the First Friday events and not see the same thing twice. This is what I LOVE about first Friday. You can never get tired of going month in and month out as everything is different every time you go.

Now when it comes to Art Festivals in the greater phoenix area, I’m on the fence in regards to my opinion of the festivals. I don’t hate them but I am skeptical about going. As I’ve said, I’m not really excited about the local art scene. However, I started this site specifically to shine the light on the cultural aspects of the Phoenix area that area residents should know about.

My opinion changed after I checked out the 40th Annual Scottsdale Arts Festival.

The thing that drew me to investigate this festival was that all the artists at the festival were 1) mostly from outside Arizona and 2) were hand picked to appear at the festival. Based on this alone, my desire to check out this festival was pretty high as there would be a great infusion of new artists to investigate.

Once I got to the festival it was like an artistic breath of fresh air. The amount and types of art at the festival more than kept my interest but it also fed my creative appetite to see how different people view the word around them. The types of art available ranged from photography, paintings, metal work, drawings, glass work, wood work and much more (check out the photos for samples). Just being around the artists and the many works they produced made me want to get out a pen an pad and start drawing myself at the festival.

On top of all this, the Scottsdale Arts Festival had music and some great food to choose from. The selection of music to listen to was as varied as the art available to view at the festival. A perfect match on such a sunny day.

Look, if you get the chance to go the Scottsdale Arts Festival next year, do it. The Scottsdale Arts Festival is one of the truly great area cultural events that makes Scottsdale and Phoenix such an amazing city to live in.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Editors Note:  Photos from the event have been posted to the AZ Vibe Facebook page (click link).

Sunday evening marked the 2009 ‘Uncorked and Unplugged’ fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale.  You couldn’t ask for a better night as the unseasonable 100 degree-ish weather from earlier in the day set the stage for perfect weather by the time the sun went down.

For those of you who have never been to this event, all of the interior public areas of the Desert Ridge Mall were shutdown for this event (except for the Movie theater and the Barnes and Noble book store).

As we entered the event I paused to look up and the gateway and sky (photo above) just set the tone for a wonderful evening.  When we entered we received an extremely well designed sample tray that would hold our wine glass and prevent spillage/breakage of said wine glass.  Attendees were also given a gift bag with many great items such as a corkscrew/wine cork set in a wooden box.  A very nice touch for all who attended the event.

I started on east end of the event at Bill Johnson’s Big Apple and checked out every table until I got to the Blue Martini table at the far end of the venue.  I sampled as much food as possible and a few of the wines.  Can’t really comment on the wines because I needed to stay sober (which I did) for the drive home.

Some of the highlights of the sampling…

Bill Johnson’s Big Apple – Great shredded pork and cole slaw

San Felipe’s – Pork Street Tacos were very tasty but a bit dry for other ingredients (like salsa) Also, there was a Don Julio station inside the San Felipe’s area that were distributing your choice of Tequila shots or a Margarita shot.

Arizona Grand Resort – Gazpacho topped with Avocado Gelato.  This was my favorite…taste.  The Gazpacho was served in a plastic shot glass with a drop of the Avocado Gelato on top.   Here’s a picture before tasting so you can see what I mean. The first taste was amazing as the combination of the Gelato and Gazpacho was one of the most original and delicious culinary experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Ling and Louie’s – Wango Mango Chicken – Very tasty!

Orange Sky – Bacon wrapped prawn in scallop bacon coated in jalapeno sauce.  This sample was my favorite as it was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy along with amazing way bacon wrapped prawns (or anything for that matter) taste.  Having the bacon coated in Jalapeno sauce  Here’s a picture of what it looked like before it was eaten.

Rock Bottom’s Prime rib was especially tasty!

Rubio’s Shrimp and Chicken Tacos – I’m biased towards Rubio’s ever since I had their real lobster burrito for the very first time.  Rubio’s may be a chain restaurant but the main thing they excel in is taste.

If there were any complaints about the evening there would be only one.  The lack of seating for people who got tired while walking around.  There seemed to be lots of people who were sitting in places that wasn’t designed to be sitting places.  An example would be the amount of people who were sitting in the Children’s playground because all the other main seating areas were all being used.

All in all, this was a wonderful night to remember with culinary treats that challenged every part of my palate.  If ever anyone sees this event being advertised next year, do not hesitate as this is one of these events that makes the greater Phoenix area a great place to grow roots and to just have fun.

Pictures from the evening’s festivities have been posted to the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page.  The link to the page is:

http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

Popularity: 7% [?]

I for one, was looking forward to this day.  When I first moved to the Phoenix area a few years ago the last department store in the old east wing was being closed down for good.   I also watched the various stages of demolition of the East Wing over the next few years.  I didn’t really understand the need to demolish the entire east wing of the Scottsdale Fashion Square as I thought it was a very functional mall.

That was until I stepped into the grand opening celebration of the new east wing of the Scottsdale Fashion Square.

WOW!

Now I fully understood that not every store would be open at this grand opening.  The stores that were open were of a pretty amazing variety. Everyone in attendance was treated with a lovely light breakfast with beverages, a band that was playing very Frank Sinatra-ish music, and an overall festive atmosphere.

As I strolled around the new wing I checked out not only the stores but the interior architecture and the exterior improvements. For example, the expansion leverages the natural light from the sun in all their skylights.

The more I poked around the grand opening, the more I understood why the east wing was demolished and rebuilt.  Basically, they’re trying to keep things fresh and to avoid becoming just another mall like many of the others in the Greater Phoenix area.

I explored every one of the new stores that were open during the grand opening celebration and here are some of my thoughts:

Christian Audiger – This is basically the person who took all of famed Tattoo artist Ed Hardy’s designs and put them into one of the most popular fashion lines of the modern era.  I used to do marketing for a vendor of some of the Ed Hardy/Christian Audiger line and this store was what exactly I envisioned this clothing line’s retail store would be.  This even included the sometimes hard to find Hardy/Audiger perfume line.  The only thing I didn’t expect was the store to be so small.  For a retail product line that is pretty popular in this area, I expected more from the overall size of the store.

Banana Republic – The opening of the Banana Republic store in the new east wing also marked the grand opening of the clothing retailer’s new retail concept.   It’s an amazing architectural and fashion feast for the eyes.  Detailed Photos are up on the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page (link below).  This store is a perfect marriage for the Scottsdale Fashion Square and Banana Republic.

True Religion – The brand that is synonymous with high end denim and apparel, opened their first store in Arizona with the opening of the east wing. This store is packed to the rafters with a wide variety of clothing to choose from.  The best way to describe True Religion to those who aren’t familiar with the brand is from their company website.  True Religion is “quality, American-made, authentic, timeless, great fitting, 1970’s inspired jeans, with a trendsetting appeal for today’s consumer.”

Barney’s New York – The department store that is synonymous with the cutting edge of fashion, opened their first store in Arizona.  For those of you who are expecting something new and exciting to add to your wardrobe, Barney’s is the destination for all.  I was truly impressed with the wide array of designers that were represented at Barney’s.

Now the centerpiece of the Grand Opening was the ‘Where Fashion Becomes Art’ exhibit where many local and national artists were each given a  mannequin from there they were allowed to take their mannequins and express what fashion means to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the wide array of mannequins on display for the east wing grand opening.  Mere words couldn’t describe what the artists produced for this art display.  Take a look at the photos and video on the AZ Vibe Facebook fan page (link below) to see a sample of the many mannequins that were on display for the grand opening.

Given all the time and effort put into the re-design of the east wing of the Scottsdale Fashion Square the people at Westcor put considerable time and effort into not only the re-design but into the choices of what stores will be opening in the new east wing.

From what I saw today, the Scottsdale Fashion Square are indeed making sure that the Scottsdale Fashion Square stands on its own from their competitors.

I hope everyone gets out to check the new east wing out for yourself to get a sample of the style and class offerings that makes the Scottsdale Fashion Square a truly unique destination for all.

Photos and Video from the Grand Opening Celebration can be found on the AZ Vibe Facebook Fan Page:

http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

Popularity: 6% [?]

This was my first year at Barrett-Jackson and I can honestly say I didn’t know what to expect.  I had seem some of the past auctions on late night cable over the years. So I had a feel for what the general purpose of the auction was but I didn’t have a clue how big this event was nor did I know how much money changed hands over the course of the entire event.

I entered the massive Barret-Jackson grounds setup at (Westworld in Scottsdale, AZ) and walked through a bunch of Vendors and what I assumed sponsors of the event walking past some of the most expensive or amazing cars I’ve ever seen in my life.  I’ve never been a big car or auto racing fan up to this point in my life but the more I walked into the event the more my curiosity was slowly aroused as I was engrossed by all that the Barrett-Jackson auction had to offer.

Then it happened.

Slowly the smell of burning tires slowly wafted its way to my nose and drew me to its source like a couple of imaginary hands dragging my olfactory senses and curiosity outside.

When I discovered the source of the burning tires, I witnessed one of the few racing events that I absolutely love to watch in person.  Drift Racing.

(If you want to learn about Drift Racing there will be a link at the bottom of the article for the Drift Racing Wikipedia page.)

Ford Motors had a demonstration of Drift Racing where the public could enter their names for a chance to win a ride around the demonstration track.  They had two professional Drift racers take the lucky winners around the demonstration course a few times while the public watched.

I could have stayed and watched the drift racing for HOURS but I had more ground to cover.  I wanted to know why residents of the greater Phoenix Area were drawn to this event.

As I explored the grounds out side the auction house I was blown away by some of the amazing machinery available for sale.  From the early days of the internal combustion engine to a prototype Chevy Camaro to be auctioned off for charity to celebrity owned cars.  After looking over the amazing variety of cars that were to be auctioned off, I would think it would be difficult to find one person there who couldn’t find a car that they didn’t like.

Then it dawned on me.  The Barrett-Jackson auction isn’t just an auction.  The Barrett-Jackson auction is a sporting event.

Now I know what you’re probably thinking.  How can the Barrett-Jackson auction be considered a  sport?  There’s no scores, and there’s no teams.

True.

However, like all spectator sports, watching a given sport on TV isn’t the same as experiencing the event live, upfront and in person.  You have to experience the event in person to fully understand and appreciate the sport on a more personal and emotional level.

Barrett-Jackson auction contains all of the necessary ingredients or characteristics that all other spectator sports have:

1) There are large numbers of fans willing to pay top dollar to attend the event

2) People love the rush of the action of the events.

3) People can sign up for fantasy sports leagues

4) There are people who are very knowledgeable about all aspects of the event.

5) Celebrity Appearances at the event – the Celebrities I saw at the event either live or via video were Goldberg, Yvonne Craig, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Rick Hendrick, and Harrison Ford.

I could go on but you get the idea as both sporting events and the Barrett-Jackson auction share the same characteristics…

Anyways, I now see why people from the greater Phoenix area flocks to the Barrett-Jackson auction as it’s a place to get your sporting ‘fix’ as well as a place to see some great things and to be seen.

Barrett-Jackson Auction - Jan 11-18 2009

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Drift Racing Exhibition

For more information about Drift Racing, please refer to the Wikipedia page on the topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifting_(motorsport)

Popularity: 4% [?]

I found out about this event on Facebook of all places as I was going to go check out Black Carl play a set at this event called the ‘Indian School Block Party’. However, I was intrigued as to what this block party was all about.  Since I moved here from San Diego, you just don’t see Block Parties pop up anywhere in the Greater Phoenix area. After some investigation, I discovered that the purpose of this block party was to help the public know what sorts of businesses and activities the Indian School Corridor (between 32nd and 38th) offers to the residents of the Greater Phoenix Area.

This was something that I could not pass up.

Black Carl in Action at the Block Party

Now, the Block Party organizers didn’t have a map of where everything was in advance so I couldn’t organize a plan of attack. I was basically flying blind.

“No worries”, I told myself.

A sample of some of the great booths at the Block Party

I arrived at the Block party a little over the halfway point of the event and began to make my way down from 38th, all the way down Indian School Road to 32nd street and back again. What I saw in that long walk through the Block Party was probably the most perfect representation of what this neighborhood in Phoenix has to offer the rest of the Greater Phoenix Area.  The sights, the smells, the attitude of the Block Party was that of a fun and festive occasion.

A DJ that was spinning some sick beats

People were demonstrating Massages, there were free group salsa lessons, music, artists selling their works, mini salons were setup, a DJ was spinning some great beats, and LOTS of great food. However, people with home or small businesses were probably represented the most at the Block Party. All of these components absolutely helped make this Block Party a memorable one.

Group Salsa Dancing Lessons

I sincerely hope the organizers put one on next year as the Indian School Block Party has all the components to becoming a lasting cultural event for all the residents of the Greater Phoenix Area.

The aftermath of a slider eating contest

Popularity: 1% [?]

Reviewed November, 29^th.

This was a last minute event as I only found out about it the day of the event. The weekend that the Tempe Fantasy of Lights occurred, there were many, many other of holiday lighting festivals all around town and I wanted to check out one of them. Little did I know this lighting of the….well…lights was probably the best example of a great event that probably no one knows about. I arrived in downtown Tempe with my date and right away the roads around Tempe had all the signs that this festival was going to be a great event:

Parking was horrible all around downtown Tempe.

When we found a suitable parking spot (we made our own spot…I am good at that), we headed towards Mill Ave and noticed that all of Mill Avenue from Rio Salado to University was blocked off to all traffic. The more we headed down Mill Avenue, the more we noticed thousands upon thousands of people and all the lights down Mill were not lit. My date and I stood amongst a group of people and waited for the events to start. In the darkness, I could look down Mill Avenue and notice that not only the sidewalks were packed like sardines with people but the middle islands that divide Mill Avenue were packed with people.

‘A pretty impressive turnout’ I thought to myself.

Not too long after that, the first ‘float’ of the parade made the turn onto Mill Avenue and with that turn, ALL of the Christmas lights down Mill Avenue were lit! Just seeing the lights turned on and the reaction and festive atmosphere of the crowd really started to get me into the Christmas spirit.

One of the best sights at the festival was watching the Mayor of Tempe and members of the Tempe City Council, who were assigned convertible cars to sit and wave to the crowd from. However, none of them sat in their cars. They all were visibly charged by the festive holiday atmosphere and spent their time on the parade route running back and forth from either side of the street waving and handing out candy to the spectators.  Just those moments alone made this festival a special one.

After that a long procession of floats began consisting of anything from kids dressed from everything from Angels to Gingerbread men, to a group of Senior citizens doing a synchronized mop drill routines.

For me, the Fantasy of Lights Festival was the best way to start off the holiday season!  If you could not get in the holiday spirit after attending this event you probably don’t have a pulse.

If you get a chance to go out and experience a holiday event like this, do it! These are the types of events that not only get you ready for the holiday season but they make you feel like you are a real part of the community.

The Fantasy of Lights festival is absolutely a great event and when it comes around next year this is a DO NOT MISS event!!!

I almost forgot!

The Parade ended with an appearance by a VERY special VIP (see below.  Right click the image and view it for a bigger image)!!!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Reviewed October 26th

Well our readers have asked for it and we have delivered.

This evening we visited the Twisted Big Top Haunted House in Glendale and it’s sister Haunted House “Haunt of the Living Dead” at the Mesa Riverview. 

The review for “Haunt of the Living Dead” will be in a separate review to be published later today.

I should note right now that there won’t be any pictures of the interiors or any detailed explanations of the Twisted Big Top as I beleive that this is one of the best Haunted Houses I have been too in over 15 years.  If I tried to explain what exactly goes on inside will not only spoil people’s experiences but I simply cannot (or will not) do the amazing experiences in the Twisted Big Top justice.

Twisted Big Top is located at the corner of Westgate Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard on the North west area of the Westgate City Center.  Since the Twisted Big Top is in the same Complex as the Jobing.com Arena and the University of Phoenix Stadium the wait times to get in may vary depending on the other events going on around the complex.  Fortunately, there were not any other events going on Sunday at the Westgate City Center so wait times were really short.  The Twisted Big Top is visible from the west side of the Westgate City Center and is easy to locate no matter where you park on the Westgate City Center Grounds.  There’s a link below that has a map with the exact location of the Twisted Big Top at the Westgate City Center.

The Picture above is the entrance to the Twisted Big Top and the Ticket office is off to the right of the picture.  If it’s a busy night and the wait is over an hour I will say right now that spending the extra $10 for the VIP ticket is worth the Money.

To maximize the effects of the Twisted Big Top people were ushered in a few at a time.  One awesome thing I will say about the staff at the Twisted Big Top is that they made sure that people didn’t bunch up throughout the entire course of the Twisted Big Top.  I know one of the things I really don’t like about Haunted Houses in general is when groups run into each other.  You don’t have to worry about this at all.  The people at the Twisted Big Top take great care to make sure that your experience is a memorable one.

For those of you who are not familiar with all of the attractions that make up the Twisted Big Top, it is a Circus Clown theme gone horribly wrong.  (Original AZ Vibe Article About the event can be found here)

Once you enter into the Twisted Big Top you are shuttled into an a staging area before entering the first attraction ‘Six Feet Blunder’.

‘Six Feet Blunder’ is a fun opening attraction that serves as the setup for the rest of the haunted house.  Without giving too much away, ‘Six Feet Blunder’ is an attraction that is more reminiscent of the Haunted House at Disneyland than your typical Haunted House with the different animatronics and other cool effects that go on.

After ‘Six Feet Blunder’ has been completed, the next attraction is the ‘Mirror Mayhem’.  Again, without going into any descriptions or ruining anything that goes on, the ‘Mirror Mayhem’ is a maze of mirrors that is the beginning of the path to your final destination…the Twisted Big Top.

Once the ‘Mirror Mayhem’ has been completed, it is now time to enter the Twisted Big Top.  As you make your way to the entrance you are given a set of instructions of Do’s and Do Not’s when inside the Twisted Big Top.  After given your set of instructions, you then wait in front of the sign you see below….

…until it’s your turn to enter the Twisted Big Top. Once you enter…you are on your own. From what the people who work at the Twisted Big Top have told me there have been reports of people freaking out, peeing their pants, crying, and other people who couldn’t make it through the entire Twisted Big Top.  Don’t say we did not warn you.

Once you enter the Twisted Big Top you will be confronted with horrific displays of what once were nice Clowns turning evil and then turning other clowns into evil clowns or…well I’ll leave the rest for the people at the Twisted Big Top to show you what else goes on to clowns who don’t want to turn evil.

The Twisted Big Top is not your typical Haunted House where all they do is try to scare you.  The Twisted Big Top makes an all out attack on all of your senses for the course all three attractions and do a REALLY great job at it.  It’s a fun, memorable time that must be taken before it closes down after Halloween.  Once Halloween is over, so is the Twisted Big Top.

So the big question you are probably asking right now is if the Twisted Big Top is really worth the $25 and the drive to Glendale?

ABSOLUTELY!

Is the Twisted Big Top Arizona’s Scariest Haunted House as they advertise?

ABSOLUTELY!

You will not be disappointed at the special effects, the sheer originality and fun of many of the effects/haunts in the Twisted Big Top.  The creators of the Twisted Big Top took great care and injected great amounts of experience, creativity and originality into making your experience a memorable one.  If you want to go out for the evening and have a great time with a date, friends or your significant other, the Twisted Big Top is a mandatory event for the Halloween Season.

If there were any negatives about the Twisted Big Top it was that some of the lighting was a bit too bright in some spots but the awesome parts of the Twisted Big Top dramatically outweighed any negatives.

Tickets: $25 – $35 for VIP No Wait in line tickets

Parking: Free

Time to go through the Twisted Big Top: Approx. 25-30 minutes – This all depends on how busy the Twisted Big Top is.

For more information, please refer to the Twisted Big Top information page:

http://www.frightened.com/twistedbigtop/information.html

Popularity: 7% [?]

Well, I went to the Temple Bar Sports Grill this afternoon to meet an old buddy from High School who called me up out of the blue one day.

One thing to note is that Temple Bar Sports Grill is REALLY hard to see from Bell when driving away from the Loop 101.  It’s on the left side of the road right before the intersection of East Bell Road and North Thompson Peak Parkway.

Before my buddy arrived at the Temple Bar I got a chance to get a look around the place and the inside is just as big as the outside patio.  There’s lots of TV’s inside and the waitress said they will be installing lots more TV’s on the outside patio.  They also have the ability to play two simultaneous games of Cornhole on the patio as well.  (Don’t know what Cornhole is?  Click Here.)   This place just opened seven months ago and they seem like they are always expanding.  They have a full bar with a great selection of beer/wine/booze.

Their menu is pretty much classic ‘Pub Grub’ with some exceptions.   I didn’t have a full meal but they seem to have some good food that people seemed to enjoy.

Here’s their menu:

http://templebaraz.com/menu.html#menu

All in all, The Temple Bar Sports Grill is a great place to watch Sports, hang out, or eat.  It’s a wee bit off the beaten path but it’s definitely worth the drive.  I’ll have to go back on one of their busier nights to see if the Bar lives up to the hype.

Here’s the list of their specials according to their website:

Happy Hour: Monday – Friday 3p.m. to 7:00p.m.
1/2 off Apps
$3.00 Draft Beers…..
$1.00 off Bottled Beers
½ Price Well Vodka, Gin, & Rum
$5.00 14 Hands Chardonnay, Merlot, & Cabernet

Reverse Happy Hour: Sunday – Wednesday 10p.m. to 1a.m.

Monday Night: ½ Off Bottles of Wine 8p.m. to close.

Thursday Night: Ladies Night ½ off cocktails 8p.m. to close.

Temple Bar Sports Grill
17050 N. Thompson Peak Parkway
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(480) 429-4520

http://templebaraz.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Right now I’m listening to a CD/EP I bought from one of the bands at last night’s showcase, Black Carl.  Great fucking CD by the way.

Ok this was my first local music show in the Phoenix area and man was it an interesting one.  Showcases generally are the absolute best way to check out local music as organizations like the Phoenix New Times filters out all the crap bands and puts up the cream of the crop for the different music genre showcases.  It seems that the New Times is hosting seven different shows over seven different weekends in seven different places.  Last night was a bunch of eclectic artists that shared zero characteristics with one another.  If I haven’t stated it already, I’m always open to listening to new bands.  I should also note that in addition to mainstream music such I’m also into weird shit like this:

(By the way, that’s Mike Patton from Faith No More on vocals)

…and this (The Boredoms)…

So this showcase was perfect for my sometimes weird tastes but it wasn’t for everyone’s tastes, mainly the redneck butt rockers that made up the sound crew.

Now before I begin I want give you some background as to the mental capacity of the sound crew at that event:

Sure Beavis and Butthead could hook up the speakers and make them work, any trained monkey can do that.  The thing is that they didn’t know the difference between their assholes and their elbows when it came to properly mixing the sound.  Now add into the mix that since none of these band resembled Slayer or any other metal band the sound guys hated it and it seemed to me they were simply sabotaging the sound of the entire event.  So keep that in mind…

Anyways, the showcase was, for the most part, OK as eclectic music can mean anything in this day and age.  I wasn’t a fan of the headliners as they didn’t offer any sort of variety in their set and seemed to play the same kind of thing over and over again.  People left in droves after the third song of the same kind of thing playing over and over again.  They were like a violin version of Morphine but without the chohones.

<Now I’m listening to the music off of Yourchestra’s MySpace Page>

The Two bands that were really fun to watch was Black Carl and Yourchestra even though Beavis and Butthead behind the soundboards really, really fucked up their sound. Both offer fresh new looks at music and present their sound with ease.  One other thing I noted is that both bands are having fun just being up there and playing which reflects on the overall crowd mood as well.

The rest of the bands on the bill didn’t convince me of their sound or message at ll as they could not fully deliver vocally or musically (mostly vocally) their image.  It’s not really worth it to go into the band as they all needed polishing of some part of their shows.  All the bands had some great aspects to their music but they all (with the exception of Black Carl and Yourchestra) need to go back and work on their live performances.

<back to listening to Black Carl’s CD>

So the verdict…

The Showcase overall…meh

Black Carl and Yourchesrta…Thunderbitchin’ -- Anytime you see either of these two names around town…go see them!

Black Carl’s MySpace Page:

http://www.myspace.com/iamblackcarl

Yourchestra’s MySpace Page:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&amp;friendID=80000039

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ok this is the first of my reviews of Gluten Free places to eat around the Valley.  If you have read the ‘How it works’ page on this site you will have noticed that I am not going to do restauraunt reviews as I’m allergic to the majority of the places (95% ++) in the Greater Phoenix Area.  The only exception to this rule will be Gluten-Free places to eat.  The first place I’m going to review that offers Gluten-Free food is the Gelato Spot (or the G-Spot).  The Gelato Spot is probably the closest version of true European Gelato you’re going to find on the West Coast (trust me on this).

So what is Gelato?  According to the Gelato Wikipedia page:

Gelato, or the plural Gelati, is Italian ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The gelato ingredients (after an optional pasteurization) are frozen while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Like high-end ice cream, gelato generally has less than 35% air, resulting in a denser and more flavorful product.

So basically you’re getting great tasting, quality ice cream with great ingredients.

Ok enough with the lesson.

The Gelato Spot is probably the best place not only to get a great snack but it’s a great place to take a date or just to hang out to do work.  According to the Gelato Spot website they have been voted ‘Best Ice Cream’ and ‘Best Place to be Seen in Arizona’.  They have free wi-fi so those of you with those mobile computer type thingys can get some work done.

The Gelato Spot offers 36 different flavors per day and have 150 total flavors that are rotated in and out at various intervals.  You can get gelato for two for under $10 but sometimes it may go over $10.  Once you see all the flavors they have you’ll see why it’s often commonplace to spend over $10 for two people…there’s just too many killer flavors to choose from.

Now if you are someone who has to eat Gluten Free food make sure you ask the Manager which flavors are gluten free as the Gelato Spot is not 100% gluten free (More like 90-97% Gluten-Free).

For those of you who can eat gluten don’t get turned off by this review.  A sign of a Gluten Free restaurant is that they more often than not will serve as close to 100% natural foods as possible.  So if you want something that is sinful, delicious, and (for the most part) good for you, check out the Gelato Spot.  You won’t be disappointed.

For more information, locations, hours, and things like that check out the Gelato Spot website:

http://www.gelatospot.com/

Popularity: 15% [?]

(Paradise Valley Location reviewed)

When I first go there The Sandbar was visually a pretty cool place.  It reminded me of some great Bars in the Gaslamp district and in Pacific Beach (San Diego).  Great laid back atmosphere with sand all over the place (outside).

I got there after the competition started.  (By the way, this contest is just a friendly competition that goes on every week.) The Sandbar had a couple of guitars and a Rock Band Drumset from what I could see (didn’t see the whole setup).    When it was your turn to go up, you got to play on a big screen TV in front of everyone.  After choosing the song your group played you started jamming.  There were a few rounds so people got multiple chances to win the grand prize of the evening.

The prize that evening was a $30 gift certificate to the Sandbar or any of their sister companies (Axis, Radius, Myst, and Suede).

Ok the thing to keep in mind is that if you want to compete you will need at least two people to perform so either bring a friend or find someone at the bar to go up with you.

Basically, this is a great place to spend a Wednesday night if you just want to get out, chill and play some video games or just hang out in a festive but relaxed atmosphere.

Popularity: 3% [?]

I decided on this event for the sheer amazing originality by the organizer as well as an opportunity to meet new people.  So in my infinite wisdom I decided to ride roughly seven miles to the event with four water bottles (during the non-summer months I barely use one water bottle to travel roughly the same distance) attached to my bike.  By the way the temperature was over 100+ degrees when I left my pad.  So like the dumbass I can sometime be ( I told myself “I can do this no problem.  I did a Sprint Triathlon in 95 degree heat! This is nothing”) I rode approximately 7 miles in 100+ degree heat down to the Tempe Marketplace.

I got to Tempe right when the event started….drenched in sweat, three 1/2 water bottles emptied, and a wee bit exhausted from getting the crap kicked out of me by the Desert sun.  Fortunately, I wasn’t a complete dumbass and brought an extra shirt to change into and a towel to dry off all that sweat.

As the title says, the event was the Pedal Pushing Booze Cruise and Poker Run.  Basically, we started out at San Felipe’s in the New Tempe Marketplace and at each of the six stops around Tempe we got a card. We had to make the best poker hand at the end of the night.

Anyways, the event in the Calender summed up what the event was about…socializing and meeting new people.  I made it a point to try to meet as many people as possible (there were over 30 people).  Everyone was in a great mood throughout the entire event (I got home at 2:00 AM) Everyone I met were really cool people that came from all over the valley for this event.

Well, off to bed.  I’m still a bit worn out from that asswhoopin’ I got by the sun and my calves are STILL cramping up…even after pounding the water and Sports Drinks all day long today.

Until next time!

Popularity: 1% [?]