Excuse us while we toot our own horn, but little old DLT just made it all the way to the bright lights of NYC. Yes, our exclusive expose on H&M’s Scottsdale’s Lanvin fashion fiasco was just reprinted on the national style site, Racked.com. Deets after the jump.

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Meet the man who’s putting a sophisticated French-Asian twist on the classic American chophouse. As the Chef de Cuisine at J&G Steakhouse in Scottsdale, Jacques Qualin oversees one of the Valley’s finest dining spaces, a posh penthouse perched atop The Phoenician Resort. A native of the Franche-Comté region of France, Qualin was hand-picked to run J&G by his friend and fellow French native, Jean-Georges Vongerichten (aka the internationally renowned chef/author). Here in Scottsdale, Qualin has won high marks for his insistence on making everything in-house and from-scratch, including the ice cream, ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, mayonnaise, steak sauces …

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Do you love Champagne and quick-witted conversations? Of course you do. What a silly question. What we meant was, do you love Champagne, snarky satire and are you single? Well then, have we got a fun fête for you. Hosted at the super-stylish Narcisse Champagne Lounge & Tea House inside the Scottsdale Quarter, we’re holding our first-ever speed dating event this Thursday, April 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. And not only is it free to attend, but we’re going to help get the conversations rolling with a free glass of bubbly for every dater.

But wait, there’s more.

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So say you’re an enterprising pot dealer on the AZ-Mexico border, and you’re not sure what to do with your marijuana now that the cops discovered your sneaky parking space drug tunnel? Why not build a giant catapult and launch bundles of pot right across the border? Well, surprise sursprise, that’s exactly what happened in Naco, some 80 miles southeast of Tucson.

See the oddly hilarious video after the jump:

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Ever wonder what it’s like to ride a real-deal racehorse as it flies around the around the mile-long track at Phoenix’s Turf Paradise at some 40 miles per hour? (You know, without all the actual talent, risk and crazy crash dieting it takes to be a professional jockey.) Check out this wild first-person footage taken from a camera strapped to the jockey’s helmet. Named EquiSight, this new technology was developed by a couple of University of Arizona students, and will worn by all jockeys this Saturday, April 30 during the Turf Paradise’s Arizona Breeders’ Day races, where the winning jockeys’ footage will be replayed on the big screen.

Calling all gossip girls and dirty laundry-loving dudes, it’s DLT’s column dedicated to the Valley’s juiciest rumors, spottings and innuendos. Check in regularly for the latest (unconfirmable), but too-good-to-not-be true tidbits.

Here’s a tasty little nugget. Word is a famed local chef is elbowing into the Valley’s most competitive culinary corner. Yes, this former French wunderkind, who’s lately been known to cook some badass tacos, is taking over the old Zen 32 space at 32nd Street and Camelback.

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Pioneering Social Media Site Friendster is Deadster [Gawker]

Ninfa’s Mexican Kitchen in Glendale Closes [AZ Central]

Beckett’s Table Celebrates Half-Year Birthday With Half-Off Specials [Phx New Times]

If you’ve never made it to Blissful Yoga Studio in Glendale, don’t worry, they’re coming to you. Yes, this sleek sanctuary in the northwest Valley’s Arrowhead neighborhood has already expanded to north Phoenix and (eventually) Scottsdale.

So, what makes Blissful different from other yoga studios, and what’s with the upside-down ladies pictured above? First of all, Blissful offers nearly 20 different types of classes, including both traditional and hot room yoga available in two separate rooms of the studio. Each new studio will also be built with bamboo floors, low emission paint, energy efficient lighting and heating/cooling, and plenty of natural light. Finally, all locations will house the only wall of its kind in Arizona, the Great Yoga Wall. This specialty apparatus, complete with straps and bars, “is used to deepen and engage yoga postures as well as provide a therapeutic support that allows students to open deeper, invert easier and create more space within their bodies.”

It’s no wonder why the famed St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix has partnered with Blissful to create a private studio inside the medical complex, where employees will be able to relax and unwind by using the hospital’s exclusive studio during a variety of classes that will be offered throughout the day.

Quick: what’s the world’s most-used Microsoft Windows application? Word, Excel, Outlook, that obnoxious paper clip thingie? Nope it’s Solitaire, aka the biggest computer game of all time.

Even weirder, the classic version of the workplace time-waster (pictured) was designed by Anne Kane, best known for creating Apple’s original Mac computer icons. Plus, the game was originally programmed to have a “boss key” that would flip to an image of important-looking docs with the press of a button, but those stiff suits at Microsoft shot it down.

[Kotaku]

New Report Shows Phoenix Leads Nation in Annual Home Price Declines [Phx Biz Journal]

LJ’s Pizza Buffet Closing After 38 Years in Mesa [EV Trib]

Your Wedding vs. the Royal Wedding [MSNBC]

In a town awash with cookie cutter sprawl, it’s fun to take a spin through the Valley’s sprinkling of historic home districts. From Tempe’s two-story bungalows lining the train tracks south of Mill, to the compact-yet-charming four-squares that make Downtown Glendale a walkable shopper’s paradise, these well-preserved neighborhoods tell more about how the Valley evolved than any museum. That said, no city has done more to preserve it’s historic core than Phoenix, where entire neighborhoods such as Willo and Encanto-Palmcroft brim with handsomely-restored homes hidden down grass-lined and palm-tree dotted lanes.

But all that homey charm is worth nothing if you have to drive across town just to grab a good bite to eat. Which is why we were excited to hear about a hip new shopping/dining hotspot blossoming at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Thomas Road. OK, so hip might not be the right word to describe classic haunts such as The Original Hamburger Works and McGurkee’s Sandwich Shop, both of which have been around for nearly four decades.

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Located in the Biltmore neighborhood just steps away from the Arizona Biltmore Resort, this contemporary stunner was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. So naturally, while planning a remodel, the new homeowners wanted to maintain the home’s original look and feel while also bringing this ‘Modern’ home into the 21st century. Furthermore, the owners tasked the Scottsdale-based interior design fim, Est Est, with transforming the home into a an indoor-outdoor showcase for their amazing Modern art collection.

So how did it turn out? See the results for yourself in the picture gallery below.
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If there’s just one thing that’s absolutely de rigueur for any in-home theatre, it’s vintage movie posters. What’s that you say? You don’t have a private screening room tucked in between your home’s music conservatory and supplementary shoe closet? Our bad. Good thing these classic movie posters from Cinemasterpieces in North Scottsdale would look great anywhere.

Check out more killer posters (including the Big Lebowski in Italian) in our gallery after the jump.

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In case you missed Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at this weekend’s Railroad Revival Tour, (pictured) have no fear! They will be back in town for an encore of sorts at the Seventh Annual McDowell Mountain Music Festival giving you plenty of time to purchase some button-front pajamas and/or an accordion in preparation. The three day festival kicks off April 29 with acts like Black Joe & The Honeybears, Xavier Rudd, Tempe locals, The Paper Snowmen, and many more obscure (but probably not half bad) bands playing throughout the weekend. View the full line-up here. Oh, and 100% of the proceeds will benefit local charities such as Ear Candy, a non-profit organization providing music education to youth, so you can rest easy (on a blanket or lawn chair) knowing that your musical enjoyment is not entirely selfish. Tickets range from $20-$100 and can be purchased here.

Ex-Police Chief Harris Talks Politics, Work [AZ Central]

Mega-Chains in the Making: Smashburger, Elevation Burger, and Mooyah Burger [Eater]

McDonald’s Fries vs. Wendy’s Fries: FRY FIGHT! [Phx New Times]

Two companies, two plays, one theater and one playwright. The folks at The Herberger Theater are apparently big fans of the prolific yet mysterious, Rich Orloff (pictured), because they are producing two of his plays on one stage, back to back throughout May and June. Orloff, who has written more than two dozen one acts and 60 short plays, has been produced more than 600 times by theater companies around the world and is known for his humor and critical acclaim.

You can catch Funny As A Crutch (May 3-12) and It’s…Nothing Serious (May 17-Jun 20)at  the Herberger’s Lunch Time Theater series. Bring your lunch or order a boxed one provided by the theater for the 12:10 shows. Tickets are only $6 and you can get them here.

Frat Cultures Woman Problems [Daily Beast]

Five Veggie Dishes We’d Give Up Meat For [Phx New Times]

Day in Photos [Washington Post]

How green is your garden? Provided you actually have a garden in this sand and gravel ridden state of ours, wouldn’t it be lovely if you knew exactly which pot held which fresh and delicious home grown herb? Sure, paper labels exist, but they aren’t permanent and they kill trees and stuff.  Put a rest to such environmental blasphemy and make these charming (and lasting) clay garden labels courtesy of Whit & Whistle. Get supplies and directions after the jump and be well on your way to turning that boring flesh-colored thumb to your desired shade of green.  »READ MORE

In the least shocking news story of the year, the hilariously-outrageous food blogger, Eric Eats Out, was tossed from the set of News Channel 12′s fancy new studio in Downtown Phoenix late last week. So what outrageous on-air f-bomb did he drop to get himself escorted off the property?

He joked that he was going to earn the station an FCC fine, in a Tweet, the day before his appearance, and added the hashtag #wardrobemalfunction. Which was enough, apparently, to draw the ire of the corporate suits up on the ninth floor, who sent a producer down to personally yank him out of the pre-show green room (pictured), and have security hustle him out of the building.

Way to not overreact, News Channel 12 producers. That’s the sort of forward thinking that led your parent company to mothball your longtime HQ, cram you into the bottom floor of the AZ Republic building, and try to spin it as ‘creating corporate synergy.’

But why would we try to tell this surreal tale, when we can just let Eric get on his soapbox? And be warned, we did not edit one filthy-funny word.

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This past weekend, a standing-room-only crowd of 8,000 music lovers turned out to dance, drink and and sing along with their favorite bands at the Railroad Revival Tour in Tempe. (Some even watched from nearby rooftops.) All three acts, Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Mumford and Sons gave incredible performances, and the night oozed of 1930′s nostalgia.

Although it was held in a parking lot, the show was a smash hit overflowing with a surprisingly electric and intimate energy. Whether whistling along to “Home” or clapping hands and stomping feet to the finale where all three bands played an extended version of  ”This Train was Bound For Glory,” the night was filled with great people and great music.

Click through the a full slideshow featuring breathtaking photos of the evening’s performances, after the jump

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WikiLeaks Publishes Guantanamo Docs [CNN]

Study: Sitting Too Much Can Kill You [Gawker]

Elderly Couple Accidently Acquires 10k in Pot [AZ Central]

Call it the house that classified ads (and Sheriff Joe bashing) built. Yes, sources tell us that the owner of this sleek-yet-woodsy abode featuring million dollar views of the Phoenix skyline is none other than Michael Lacey, the famously hard-nosed editor/co-owner of the Phoenix New Times.

Perched on a rocky rise straddling the Paradise Valley-Phoenix border, this custom manse appears to be at least a $1-2M project. Which, crazy as it sounds, is just a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately $22M in fines Lacey and his Village Voice Media just paid out following a bitter court battle with a rival paper in San Francisco, in what media pundits are calling the Last Great Newspaper War.

After the jump, take in a full slideshow of what 40 years of sticking it to the man will buy you. Plus, learn a little more about how Lacey, an ASU dropout and self-described ‘foul-mouthed son of a sailor,‘ transformed a single newspaper into the nation’s largest chain of ‘alt-weeklies’ once valued at $400M. All while giving away his products away for free.

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Recently, we finally got around to trying a little pizza shop that people have been raving to us about. And wouldn’t you know it, it was all that and a bag of chips (er, stone ground flour). However, as we sat on the charming, tree-lined patio soaking in another gorgeous spring day, we couldn’t help but notice another popular pizzeria beckoning us from across the street. Yes folks, we’ve got ourselves a doughy donnybrook, a tomato throwdown, a forgetaboutit fooforaw (stop us before we alliterate again).

In one corner we’ve got Pomo Pizzeria (pictured at left and below right), an up-and-coming foodie fav located inside the Borgata of Scottsdale. And in the the opposite corner, we’ve got Humble Pie, a handsome and critically-acclaimed pizzeria with locations in North Phoenix and just across Scottsdale Road from Pomo inside the Hilton Village shopping center.

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Meet chef Meliton ‘Mel’ Mecinas, the Oaxaca, Mexico-born maestro behind the Four Seasons Scottsdale’s signature Talavera restaurant. Formerly a super-formal steakhouse, chef Mecinas has transformed this sumptuous space, featuring to-die-for views of Pinnacle Peak, into a more casual fish and chop house with a bold-yet-balanced menu. But after talking to chef Mecinas, we’re more interested in crashing his next family dinner.

Lady Gaga Fan Dies at Nashville Concert, Recovers [AZ Central]

Maricopa County Sixth in Nation in Personal Wealth [Phx Biz Journal]

In London, the Royal Wedding Haters Have Had Enough [Washington Post]