Prescott Bluegrass festival

Two day festival. Just went up for the day on Saturday. On the way up met some friends at Rock Springs cafe in Black Canyon city for breakfast. Other than the waitress forgetting to enter an order and the hash browns sucking it was pretty good. Parking was not a problem as we were willing to pay the $5 to park in the garage. 3 of the 4 groups were pretty good. The emcee told the same old dry jokes he did the last time I went two years ago. The second group in the rotation was sort of OK musically but their overall presentation was so full of dead jokes that I was not impressed. I would have left as they started their second set but I was guarding the stuff for my friends and it would not have been cool to just disappear. They came back from shopping about 15 minutes later and they were ready to go too. I managed to get sunburned, it may not be a smart thing to take a nap in full sunlight in the middle of the day. All of the shady spots were taken when we got there so we chose a spot that would be in afternoon shade and took possession. When I get back from vacation I may post some pictures.

I need a nap

I went over Old Town Scottsdale this morning to grab a bite to eat and go again to the Farmers Market which has moved underground. Good thing they are only having it downstairs for 5 weeks, it's a total bust. Only one farmer with tired looking produce. plenty of arts and crafts stuff, tamales, hummus, jellies. Carolyn was working the Scottsdale museum booth and I chatted with her a bit before heading off to work.

The reason I need the nap is what I had for breakfast. I walked over to Bacon to try it out. Bacon is a breakfast/lunch place until 3 and then reopens as a bar for the rest of the day. $9.50 for their big meal; 3 eggs, 3 bacon, 3 sausages, ham, potatoes with brown gravy, baked beans with some more bacon, toast and a cup of diced fresh fruit. I did not finish it all and was glad I had a mile walk to get back to the car.

Fire

So here I am eating breakfast and reading an article in an industry mag and towards the end of my meal I think maybe I smell some smoke. No biggy, I think possibly I didn't get a cigarette fully out in the ashtray and some butts caught on fire. I finish up my bacon, cheesy scrambled eggs and sourdough toast and take my plate in the kitchen and notice the apartment is really smoky as the light filtered in trough the blinds. Nothing smoldering in the ashtray. the smell had a sort of electrical scent to it so I go check to see if there was something wrong with the motor in the air cleaner, nothing wrong there. I go back in the kitchen and happen to glance at the stove. Sure enough there is smoke. Forgetting to turn off the burner the eggs were cooked on is something I probably do once a month, being normally the last item to hit the plate, and isn't that big of a deal. This time the large slabs of sourdough from Arizona bakery didn't work well in the toaster so I used the toaster oven and had set the pot holder off to the side that I had used to get the toast tray out of the oven. The combination of the two created a bit of a fire. It was still smoldering pretty good when I took the pictures. I have (had) two identical pot holders, one has a hole in it created by the original packaging staple and the other was in one piece. Take a guess which one I burned up?

Yelp Rocks - Martini Ranch

Once a year Yelp throws a party for all Yelpers in addition to the Elite members. This year the party was huge. We took over Martini Ranch for 3 full hours on Thursday evening. Elite, and their guests had the place to themselves for the first hour and then the rest of them came in. We had what was arguably the top 6 local bands, one every hour (The last 3 hours were open to the public and there was a $5 cover). The three I heard were all good. Mostly cover bands. The bands were actually donating their time to Ear Candy which is a group that gives instruments and lessons to kids who would not otherwise have them. I donated, with his OK, the trumpet that Daniel used in grade school. Ear candy also got the $5 cover charge for the non Yelp people and those Yelpers who stayed after 10PM. Being an old guy with an hours drive to get home I left about 9:30.

Martini Ranch is a big bar encompassing a large main area with a stage and a dance floor that had 3 bars, a downstairs open area with a bar, an upstairs open area and an upstairs lounge with it's own bar. We filled the place up with probably 200 people. We each had 2 drink tickets which I used for beers, a pale ale and a lager which tasted almost identical. Martini Ranch does not serve food but plenty of vendors were there to give out samples to Yelpers for this event. I got a couple of shots of the food tables. The first pic has a pile of pizza boxes and they were also serving meatballs and lasagna. To the right of Mamma Mias was a chocolate fountain which is hidden behind a person but you can see the mound of strawberries. Over on the other side of the room I got a pic of some little tarts provided by Wildflower bread co. None of us went hungry

Pepe's Taco Villa

2108 W Camelback Rd., Phoenix

This is where I did my Friday lunch thing this week. I am not sure I want to go there after dark but it was a pretty good lunch.

Oh yeah, the Yelp review

Fez Foodies

3815 N Central Ave., Phoenix

This is the name Thomas, the GM, has bestowed upon folks who come on 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month to try new items on the menu at Fez. Every so often he hosts a special event just for Yelpers and their friends/family. Yesterday from 4-6 was the time for this event. As usual he went all out again. I am guessing just under 30 folks total showed up. Thomas provided door prizes, happy hour drink pricing, and all the wonderful hummus and fry fread we could consume. We had a choice of ordering off the menu or trying a couple of special items, I chose the special items; a spinach/raspberry salad with walnuts and blue cheese and a flat iron steak with mashed red skinned potatoes and asparagus. And then finished off with a piece of cheesecake. Really good stuff. I would say roughly half of the party had the special. I have no clue why I did not take any food pictures until dessert arrived. Got to meet some new folks and chat with some Yelpers I already knew. With a beer and gratuity I dropped $40 so this is not a bargain place. But the food and prep are not bargain place type stuff either. A good time was had and I thought I was going to need assistance to my car.

Mamma Mia!

2008, Musical, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan

I have missed out on seeing the stage production. Every time it has been in town I have either not had the money, the time or a date or a combination of them. I still want to see it and hope the screenplay has not ruined it for me. It was an excellent movie in my opinion.

Pinto bean hummus

A couple of weeks ago a Yelp friend had commented on a black bean hummus she had at Cafe Carumba. That spawned a discussion on how Hummus has come to commonly describe bean dips other than the basic Mediterranean fare made with garbanzo beans. Much the same way Tapenade is used for almost any spread containing olives in addition to the original recipe from Provencal, France. So I had some pinto beans in the cupboard and tossed in some stuff to make some dip.

1 cup pinto beans, soaked, cooked
Tahini
Sesame oil
small minced onion
minced garlic
olive oil
small can crushed olives
chili powder
kosher salt
lime juice

Notice I did not mention measurements in many cases. I just sort of tossed stuff in and in a few cases added some more after tasting. I bought real Tahini for this one and am not sure it worked any better than plain sesame oil which I normally have, by itself it tastes awful. I'll see how I like it with a more traditional hummus before I decide whether it is worth having around. I used some really hot chili powder in it and it gives a pleasant after burn but little up front taste, I think I would have been better served using Sriracha. Like many mixed things it improved setting in the fridge. I don't care what fancy name you give it, it's still bean dip. :-)

Normally stuff like this is prepared in a food processor. As you can see by the picture the 1-1/2 cup model I have is not really up to the task. Food processors are not that expensive but I am out of room in my little apartment for cooking toys. Last time I made hummus I used my blender and was not pleased because I would have had to thin it out more than I would have liked to make it really work well. So I stepped back about 4 decades and used a hand held electric mixer. It worked great!

Wet stuff

It is rather rare for us to get spring rains. A week ago we were in the 100s and this morning it was down to 68°. Yesterday it was threatening all day with no output and before my driver went home I remarked that it would only rain when I was leaving Costco. Should have kept my mouth shut! it started raining on the way there, was raining heavy as I left and shortly after I got my purchases inside it stopped for the night. It was sprinkling this morning again as I sat on the balcony with my coffee and I had to put on my rain gear to go to breakfast at Crazy Otto's. Three egg Denver omelet, a pile of potatoes and a piece of dry sour dough toast covered in country gravy.

Arizona rain gear

Wheels

No, I really couldn't afford a new car but the divorce agreement was written in better economic times. And I need a vehicle to deliver saw blades with. No cash out of pocket, 0% interest for 60 months. With the back seats down there is quite a bit of room back there. I can even put in 8' lumber by folding the RF seat back down. It even has it's own phone number.

OOPs

Over the weekend one of the lights above the vanity burned out. So I picked up a new one at Wal-Mart last night. Got home and removed the old one and lost control of it and it came crashing down. One of the rules dealing with sharp objects all day is if you lose it back away rather than trying to save the situation. As I did so I blinked and heard the shattering glass sound. Visions of shattered light bulb filled my head. As I looked upon the damage I saw a complete light bulb. Do you think that the used up bulb had broken? Of course not, the bulb was fine. What had shattered was the ceramic toothbrush holder. So I started a new Wal-Mart list as leaving the toothbrushes on the counter is not the most sanitary way of storage.

Facebook

OK, I finally bowed under pressure. I got tired of many of my Yelp friends telling me of albums they had on facebook. Already found out one of the people I knew in High School lives and works in the west valley. If somebody knows me well enough to know my full name I am not hard to find.

Gallo Blanco

401 W. Clarendon Ave., Phoenix, inside the Clarendon Hotel

website

My neighbor and I went there last night for PFN (Phoenix Friday Nights). Most of the folks there were Yelpers. We ate , drank and mingled by the pool for a few hours. Both of us had the little mini tacos. She spent many years in Mexico and assures me that is the way soft tacos get served down there. She also had grilled corn on the cob which comes slathered with Parmesan cheese and I think mayo. Good food, good drink (I had Hefeweizen and she had margaritas) and reasonable pricing.

The simple life of Noah Dearborn

1999, Sidney Poitier

A made for tv movie about a 91 year carpenter who is fighting to save his land from a developer. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Chicken cabinet cleaning casserole

Most of the cooking I did this weekend was with the intention of replenishing my supply of frozen leftovers for lunch. While the chicken, noodles and vegetables part of the menu did not vary the sauce certainly did. My intention was to make a thin chicken gravy with white sauce and chicken stock and then firm it up a bit with some eggs. The further through the bottle of wine I got the less I felt like that much effort.

This is what I ended up with:

2 chicken breasts
8oz noodles or pasta cooked to directions
16oz package of frozen veggies
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of celery (or brocolli) soup
garlic, I used ground
Italian seasoning
bread crumbs, optional
Not used, but I wish I had some bacon to crumble in.

Cook chicken in microwave 8-10 minutes, until done. Set aside to cool.
Thaw veggies on counter about an hour. I used mixed but you could use almost anything.
In large mixing bowl combine soups, garlic, seasoning and stir.
Cook pasta. This time I used an old fashioned noodle which is a little thicker and not crinkly.
Cube chicken and add to bowl with pasta and veggies.
Fold into 3 qt baking dish.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake in pre heated 325° oven for 45 minutes.

It turned out better than I thought it would, and really did not take much effort. Now I have to replenish my stock of cooking soups, I do not recall using that many in any one month before.

Well Duh!

If all you do is plug the crock pot in and do not turn it on your dinner will not be ready when you get home. For some reason I remembered plugging it in but not turning it on (I think better in the past tense) around mid day so I went home for lunch and turned it on. There was no meat in it so there was no harm done. I suppose you are all just dying to read what I cooked. :-)

Simple crock pot beans

I seldom cook the same way twice.

I cup pinto beans. Soaked over night and rinsed
1 large can enchilada sauce, whatever heat you prefer. I used green medium.
2 medium onions, diced, less what I reserved for that morning's omelet.
1 heaping tablespoon ground garlic. Garlic makes everything good!
1/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar. I have used pure maple syrup too but be careful and only use a couple of tablespoons.
2 pinches very hot chili powder.

Turn on crock pot! Go to work, come home, eat. Hot from the oven cornbread goes really well with this.

Restaurant 28

5025 W. Olive Ave., Glendale

Website

This is where I had lunch on Friday. If you go to the website, it has not been updated to reflect the smaller location without room for the piano.

Yelp review:
"Almost couldn't find it. A few months ago I had seen the sign as I was driving by and after researching it I added it to the list of places I wanted to try for lunch. In that time they moved back to their old location next door and the sign moved with them and is harder to spot from the street. There is a large difference in size between the two suites and after a year of dealing with an economy that is poor they gave in and moved back. That leaves them with only 4 small tables. As I was the only customer at the time that wasn't a problem.

I had never been in there before and was greeted like an old friend by everybody. The whole atmosphere of the place feels like everybody enjoys being there.

I had the Friday special of beef tips, beans, potato salad, and I upgraded the roll to corn bread. To drink I had an unsweetened iced tea. Total was $12.39 including tax for a big pile of food. When the waitress asked if I had saved room for desert all I could do was laugh. Several of the sides seem to be purchased and something served me was warmed in the microwave. What their specialty is is the meat. Tender but still just a touch chewy, the way I like my Q. Sauce does not get added until it is served. I am sure the cornbread was baked there and I liked it because it is not very sweet. For a small place they have a large menu. So far, and I will try some other menu items, this is the best Q I have found this far West and the only decent one I can get to during a lunch.

The parking lot is a little hard to navigate with a full size truck if it is close to full. That contributed to a 3 instead of a 4 along with the purchased sides."

La Bocca - Urban pizzaria +wine bar

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.

Siam Thai Cuisine

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."

Baseball - Coach and Willies

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.