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699 S Mill Ave., Tempe
La Bocca web site
Only in Arizona can you show up to an upscale wine bar in jeans and nobody even gives you a glance. The most recent Yelp Elite event descended on this place Sunday from 6-8PM. I had read the reviews and had on a pair of slacks and a pressed shirt and most of the men were also business casual and many of the women were dressed up for an evening. But there were plenty of jeans in the group too. We had roughly half the restaurant and the wine was all you could drink and pizzas and Bruschetta were coming out constantly but as a group we devoured it faster than they could make it. The wine was ok, well actually the Merlot sucked, but the Pinot Noir was pretty good. The pizzas were interesting combinations with a very thin crust, which I like, and good taste. I did get one piece of bruschetta with diced Queen Creek olives and ricotta, very yummy!
This is sort of an upscale place for being on the fringe of the ASU campus. I did finally find out where to park for free Near the Mill Avenue district without much of a walk. You cannot walk five feet in any direction without being panhandled. Nice for a date with a light meal. A bit on the pricey side for me in general. I noticed the had Peroni on tap.
It was a well attended and fun mixer. I chatted with several folks I knew and met some others I only knew by their screen names. I went the long way around to avoid the traffic from the baseball getting out and still got there in an hour and the trip straight home was only about 45 minutes. Sunday evenings are usually spent getting ready for the week but I am glad I made the time to go.
5008 W Northern Ave., Glendale
This is where I chose to have lunch last Friday. For those who do not know, Siam is the name Thailand was known by until 1939 and again from 1940 - 1945.
Copy of Yelp review:
"I bet this place should be a 4. But staring, alone, at the dragon on the wall for a good half an hour plus before food arrived sorted of tainted my out look. I was tempted to start wandering around asking my fellow diners what they were eating, how did they like it and "could I have a sample?". For sure, every thing looked really good.
Then I got my food! This wonderful pile of goodness. I got stir fry silver noodle with chicken ($9.25) and a Thai ice tea ($2.00). Not knowing, I was surprised by no sauce, either on the food or with it. Just the seasoning. The mound of food I got was huge and served on a family style platter with a covered bowl of steamed rice. Manners to the side I just used the serving platter as my plate. I managed to finish it all but it was more than I needed, or should have eaten. I am thinking maybe a curry dish next time to try something different.
My delay in getting fed was a run of circumstances. I arrived a few minutes after one to avoid the lunch rush. When I arrived there were six tables in use and only two of them had food. The other four still had not ordered yet as evidenced by the menus being read. That makes me fifth on the list for the one waitress/server/bus person. And that is the order in which the orders were taken and the food served. But food seemed to be coming out in fairly rapid fire order. About 15 minutes after the folks just ahead of me got their entrees the waitress came over and said there had been a mess up in the kitchen and it would be a while yet, Ya Think? As the restaurant was starting to clear my food arrived and I Hoovered (word from Donald S) it down and got back to work. I was in there a full hour and eating for 20 minutes or less, hard to accommodate on a work schedule.
The dining room itself is very cozy. I found it hard to get into my seat as the tables are the style with the four legs at the corners, but I am not as limber as I used to be. I will go back again just because I like the food."
Was given tickets to the Diamondback/Giants game for this past Saturday. I had four but on short notice was only able to use two of them. Short version: the game sucked (translation - we lost). Met a friend who came in from the East Valley on light rail about 4:15. I had not had a problem getting into the parking garage at all for a couple of reasons. It is estimated about 6,000 people take the train in on Saturdays for a game and there were about 10,000 empty seats. The public parking garage is now up to $12 to park but I can retrieve my vehicle up to like 2:30 AM unlike some of the private garages that lock the place down 30 minutes after the game. They opened the roof just before first pitch (5:10). That put the sun right in our eyes but it wasn't too bad and we knew it would drop below the edge of the roof soon. Soon came too soon, with the breeze blowing the temperature dropped like a rock about the 3rd inning. I was wearing shorts and a baseball jersey and I was actually shivering in my seat the last two innings.
After the game we walked a couple of blocks to Coach and Willies. A sort of sports bar. They had Fat Tire on tap. I had a steak sandwich and fries and she had a 1/2 order of nachos. Service was pretty good, especially as we got there with the after game crowd. The food was just mediocre, but edible. Neither of us was compelled to eat past the no longer hungry point.
2009, A documentary by Anat Baron about craft breweries and their struggle to gain market share against the big breweries. It was shown only once, Thursday April 16, as an event, live to 440 theaters nationwide except in the West where it was tape delayed in it's entirety including the pre screening credits and the panel discussion afterward.
What better way to get prepared for a movie about craft beers than to have some. Several of us Yelpers met up at the Scottsdale location of Four Peaks Brewery for beer and appetizers before walking across the parking lot to view the screening. I had two glasses of Kiltlifter, very good! I also had a very good spinach artichoke dip which came with warm flat bread and totillas that was recommended by one of the folks I knew. My first thought was at $9 it was expensive for an appetizer but it was enough food for dinner for two people.
All in all it was a very fun evening even though it was on the far side of the valley on a weeknight.
Here is the synopsis of the movie
"In America, size matters. The bigger you are, the more power you have, especially in the business world.
Director Anat Baron takes you on a no holds barred exploration of the U.S. beer industry that ultimately reveals the truth behind the label of your favorite beer. Told from an insider’s perspective, the film goes behind the scenes of the daily battles and all out wars that dominate one of America’s favorite industries.
Beer Wars begins as the corporate behemoths are being challenged by small, independent brewers who are shunning the status quo and creating innovative new beers. The story is told through 2 of these entrepreneurs - Sam and Rhonda - battling the might and tactics of Corporate America. We witness their struggle to achieve their American Dream in an industry dominated by powerful corporations unwilling to cede an inch.
This contemporary David and Goliath story is ultimately about keeping your integrity (and your family’s home) in the face of temptation. Beer Wars is a revealing and entertaining journey that provides unexpected and surprising turns and promises to change the world’s opinion on those infamous 99 bottles of beer on the wall."
Saturday, April 18th, 6-10 PM
Sunnyslope is a neighborhood region of the city of Phoenix. Twice a year they host a gathering of artists and craft people in roughly the center of the area. They said there were 100 of them and I am not sure I saw that many. Not being much of an arts and crafts person I walked the tour but was mainly there to hear the bands and eat. There were several Yelpers there and the woman in charge of the event is a Yelper. I got to see a cover band that is losing it's bass player (Amber) that was pretty good. There was also a pretty good jazz band and some others. There were 4 music venues spread out so you could wander along and and listen to whatever you wanted. Try Me Bicycle left before I got a chance to get down and see them. No beer tent but folks that were interested could get some at many of the stores and restaurants. The restaurants were all open so I tried papusas from one place and a hot dog and garlic fries from another. The weather was just perfect!
Prince Caspian: The return to Narnia released in May 2008, released in book form in 1951
This is the film version of the second in a series of 7 books in release order. In chronological order it would be number 4.
I enjoyed the movie. I think the movie stands better on it's own rather than the sequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. That may be the 3 years in between my watching the two and forgetting some of the first movie.
742 E Glendale Ave., Phoenix
There are several locations of this chain, owned by PF Changs, around the valley. This just happens to be the closest one to work and it is what I decided to have for lunch Friday. By close I mean I still had to drive 8 miles each way into the downtown Phoenix area. There is one closer to home at 67th Ave. and the 101. This is one of the busier strip malls I have been in lately and I only saw a couple of vacant store fronts. The mall seems to be either fairly new or recently remodeled. Arriving at 1PM I figured the lunch crowd would be almost gone. It was actually packed still although by the time I was done it was starting to clear some.
The food wasn't too bad. I had the limited time offering of Thai mango chicken with white rice. With a soft drink and tax it was $10.29. Most Asian sauces have a hot component and a sweet one. The heat was mild, as I expected, and there were options at the service counter to raise the heat factor. I thought the sweet component was too syrupy. Overall it wasn't bad and it seemed the quality and price were both slightly higher than Panda Express. The dining experience was a little nicer too, although it seemed quite loud. Just by myself I wouldn't drive that far again but I wouldn't rule the place out if somebody else suggested it. I did cheat towards the end, I had a small pile of rice at one end and some remaining sauce at the other and swapped the chopsticks for a fork to finish up. :-)
I knew there was rain in the overnight forecast. This time of year it hardly ever amounts to much. Early this morning there was an exception, a thunderstorm rolled though about 5:30. Cool!
Then I went to go to work about 8:30 and realized my truck was as wet on the inside as it was out. On the way home yesterday I was battling a pesky fly in the cabin and had the passenger window down about an inch. Neglected to close when I got home and now the passenger seat is soaked. That part is just funny and it will eventually dry.
I got to work and the wind driven rain had breached the store front and soaked some saw blade boxes. I have the boxes drying now but the blades will most likely become solid rust and need to be sold at discount. Also it came into the shop around the base of the cooler but that just created a slick spot I have to be careful around.
3502 W Greenway Rd., Phoenix
Another Yelper found this place near me and reviewed it a while back and based on the review I bookmarked it at the time. This morning I decided to forgo making my own breakfast and give it a try. Breakfast out is a hard choice for me as I like going out for breakfast but I also enjoy cooking my own.
the review:
"Don't order the pancakes! Well, unless you are going to share. They are bigger than a dinner plate. Otto himself was waiting on me and when I ordered the pancakes with scrambled and bacon he took a look at my aging self and recommended I get the kids portion which only comes with one pancake instead of 3. I still didn't finish it. Most of the omelets are available in a smaller size too.
There is nothing fancy or pretentious about the food, the service or the atmosphere. Just basic and well done. Outside dining is folding chairs and tables. This is not a place you go to be alone with yourself or others in your party. All the tables are in the open and you end up talking to your neighbors and pretty soon you start to feel like one of the family. As an example of basic the check has a list of what was ordered and a total,no line item pricing no break out of tax, just a total. It works and it fits the atmosphere. I got there just before 7 on a Saturday morning and was only the second occupied table at that time. By the time I left at 7:30 it was starting to pick up. They also do take out."
7016 N. 57th Ave., Glendale
This is where I chose this week for my Friday lunch.
Yelp review:
"I have tried 5 different Vietnamese restaurants in the recent past. This one stands out in my mind as the best of them. And none of them had any reason not to go back. For one thing the setting in the old house is great. And it has a shaded patio out front. I had a chicken dish with rice which came to my table still at a full boil. I would have liked to try the egg rolls but 6 in an order would have been a full meal in itself. The party next to me had an order of spring rolls and egg rolls and their comments were good. I went in the middle of lunch on a Friday and it was almost at capacity but I was seated right away and there was some delay (maybe 5 minutes) in taking my order but the food came out in a normal time. As in many Asian restaurants it is a family operation with the son of the owners being my waiter. Being just over a mile from work I will be back again.
Parking in downtown Glendale can be a hassle at times, less than a block away on the NE corner of 57th Ave. and Glenn Dr is a lot that only gets full during special events. In fact the downtown area is small enough I would park there to go almost anywhere in the area, but I don't mind walking."
8801 N Central, Phoenix
This is where the party was that I made the chocolate covered strawberries for last week.
Yelp review:
"Really 3.5 stars rounded up.
I was there on a Friday evening for a birthday party. We had a space reserved near the fire pit outside and other than using the restroom just inside the door I never saw the inside of the place. The patio was large enough there were two parties going on and still several tables left, which being a beautiful evening most were in use. We had brought a cake and they were nice enough to provide a knife and plates/forks for us. Our waiter is where the 4th star was earned. He never wrote anything down, I did not hear that he screwed up any orders for our party of 15 or so. He was very familiar with every item on the food and drink menu. In addition to a couple of beers I had a fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil panini ($10) which was very good and came with a bowl of chips. .When it came time for us to go he already had the checks split. Because of our party size there was a gratuity already added and I am willing to bet I wasn't the only one that added some more.
Two things that cost them 1/2 star. They were out of the only dark beer on the list. That didn't bother me as I wanted a Pilsner anyway but there were at least 2 in our party that wanted the dark beer and had to settle for something else. The parking sucks. There are like 9 parking spots for a bar that could have close to 100 people including employees. The parking spilled over into the business next door and down the side streets and behind another restaurant down the street. I would hate to own a house close to here."
Herberger, April 2-19, $30-63
Published description:
"Sheena is a somebody who wants to be a nobody. Loli is a nobody desperate to be a somebody. In this hilarious world premiere comedy about Hollywood, fame and the TMZ, renowned playwright Jane Martin takes dead aim at our culture of celebrity. So you think you want to be famous? So did teen idol and “shark-movie” star Sheena Keener, the darling of the press, the obsession of the paparazzi, and the goddess of the E! Channel. But now she can’t stand to be looked at anymore and her Godzilla of an agent is on the warpath. When Sheena ends up on the doorstep of naïve newcomer Loli, a recent arrival from Flatt, Kansas, it’s a wild ride on the road to fame. Somebody/Nobody is a laugh-out-loud look at modern life and our unending quest for fifteen minutes of fame"
This is an original production. I got to see it on opening night in Phoenix after it debuted in Tucson. The whole thing is rather silly really and seems a bit disjointed until you realize you just spent two hours laughing and giggling.
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