Many will agree: Mixology is an art. For Sam Fox, owning millions of restaurants is a lucrative business. Bring the two together and you have the first ever Cocktail Competition this Sunday at Culinary Dropout from 2-4 p.m. If 10 Fox Restaurant bartenders competing for the ultimate crown of master mixologist doesn’t sound like a good Sunday Funday activity, maybe the drink specials will rope you in. From 4 p.m. to close, there will be Holy Stoli drink specials and 25% off snacks and liquor in the bar. As for the entertainment, the bartenders will submit their concoctions to a blind tasting to panel of esteemed judges and the top three will advance to the next round. Friendly competition and lots of booze? This sounds like his best business plan yet. Cheers!

Fall is slowly but surely coming to the desert and the days of summertime-fresh berries are numbered. All the more reason to head to Fleming’s for their first gin-based low-calorie cocktail, The Stiletto, featuring muddled blackberries and Hendrick’s Gin. The Stiletto is featured on Fleming’s “5 for $6 ‘til 7” bar menu during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During that span, 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this drink will be donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.

Ingredients
1.25 oz            Hendrick’s Gin
5                       Fresh Blackberries
1 oz.                 Monin Sugar Free
.5 oz.               Lime Juice
As needed      Top with Diet Ginger Ale

Preparation
Muddle Blackberries with Monin Sugar Free.  Add Hendrick’s. Shake. Strain and Pour into martini glass. Top with diet ginger ale. Garnish with 2 blackberries on a black bar pick.

Indulge yourself in your favorite baked goodies and help a great cause at the same time at the 2nd Annual Cupcake Love-In, Sunday, October 30 at the Hotel Valley Ho.

The Love-In features a Kids Corner decorating station, a cupcake eating contest for the young-at-heart grown ups, a host of raffle prizes, photo booth and a cupcake competition judged by a panel of celebrity bloggers and beloved local foodies. Bakeries include Butter & Me, All Caked Up!, Tammy Coe Cakes, Urban Cookies and more.

100% of all ticket sales, along with all raffle ticket sales donated directly to the charity, will benefit Central Arizona Shelter Services, the largest provider of shelter and supportive services for homeless individuals in Arizona.

Sunday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.,VIP hour from 10 – 11 a.m.
$20 for adults, $50 for VIP entry and $5 for children ages 10 and under

Image via Urban Cookies

Today is the first installment of 120 Seconds, a new regular post that you will see here on DLT. It’s quite simple, we grab one of our local tastemakers and fire a bunch of questions at them for two minutes.  What follows below is the result of just that with chef/restauranteur Mark Tarbell.

Are you ready? YES

»READ MORE

Fear of commitment is natural when it comes to the big stuff. Relationships, a new apartment, a feather hair extension, these things require lots of thought before taking the plunge. That is why we are all about the idea of a feather necklace or earrings as a way to embrace the trend, but have it all up in our hair at all times. Here’s a video from The Coveted on how to make them yourself! Or, if you aren’t in to the whole “arts and crafts” thing, head on into to Free People Fashion Square today and pick up a handmade version with every purchase of $200 or more.

Downtown Phoenix will be getting a temporary touch of art with the Phoenix Design Museum‘s limited-engagement exhibitions, opening at the historic Phoenix Seed & Feed Capitol Warehouse.

The museum’s pop-up exhibitions, which have a focus on design excellence with curated collections from around the world, will be on display starting October 1 and will run for a month. Inaugural exhibitions include AIGA 365, a design effectiveness competition; Creativity 40, an international awards show; Design For Good, socially beneficial design solutions; and work from the Ken White collection in the museum’s permanent archives. There will also be an opening reception at the Phoenix Design Museum Thursday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. as part of Phoenix Design Week. Showings are held Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Phoenix Design Museum | 411 S. 2^nd St. | Phoenix, AZ 85004 | www.phxdm.com

Read more about the historic See & Feed building after the jump.

»READ MORE

If there’s one thing that lets us know that fall is here, it’s the State Fair. And TEXAZ Grill is ringing in the season with their new “TEXAZ State Fare” menu.

Dig into Lone Star state classics like Frito Pie and Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dog. If you really want to get in the State Fair spirit, top off your meal with some Blue Bell Cotton Candy Ice Cream. But you better hurry because the Fare doesn’t last forever. The new menu will be offered September 30^th – October 23^rd, 2011; 11am to 4pm.

So come get a taste of TEXAZ at 6003 N. 16^th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016.

The Limited opens its doors to a new look at its newest location at Arrowhead Towne Center this weekend. The store will open Friday, September 30th with a 10:00 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony with company President and CEO Linda Heasley and City of Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs. The event, honoring National Domestic Violence Awareness Month for October, kicks-off a 3-day 40% off store sale with partial proceeds to benefit Glendale’s “From the Heart” program and a “gently-loved” clothes-drive fundraisers to benefit New Life Center, and emergency housing facility for domestic violence victims in Goodyear.

Bring in a gently-loved outfit for someone in need. Get something, win something including gift cards and totes from the new, fresh concept The Limited store at an amazing deal.

Image via The Limited 

Star print sparkled and shined in the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011 collection. Appearing in blouses and gowns, pencil skirts and skinny pants, this patriotic print never looked so chic. To get the look on your own, try picking up this belted dress with star print, $82.33 at asos.com. Similar print and same color palette, but a fraction of the cost.

Dare to go bare at the new, locally owned Urban Wax in Arcadia. The sleek, urban waxing studio at the corner of 40th Street and Camelback Road, offers full-body waxing and air-brush tanning services for women and men.

We ambushed the studio this morning with our bushy brows and left perfectly waxed and shaped after a quick 15 minute session with Nicole at their “Brow Bar.” The Brow Bar serves as the first-stop for first-timers, with a full brow shaping consultation, waxing with hard or soft wax and finishing with studio-grade brow pigments with Senna Cosmetics. Nicole’s quick tip for us to keep our pesky stray brow hairs in place is to use Senna’s Brow Definer Pomade to set the pigment and condition the brows. So far, so amazing!

Beyond brows, Urban Wax offers discounted waxing packages when combining services, a $5 referral credit when you refer a friend and even a free, and well deserved, pair of cute panties with each time you brave a Brazilian.

Urban Wax is offering one free wax service for new, local resident customers for a limited time. Call for more information on this and other sweet deals from the waxing studio.

Urban Wax – A Waxing Studio | 3941 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ  85018 | 602-449-1919

Feeling hot, hot, hot? That’s because no one sent the season change memo to the bureau of Mother Nature that controls this particular desert. Might as well look as hot as you feel in this seasons red hot trend, bright red bottoms. Pants, shorts, jeans, skirts….we don’t care, as long as you’ve got something covering your underwear in this super trendy shade. The best part? This applies to both men and women (well, maybe not the skirts) and we’ve got options galore after the jump.  »READ MORE

Somewhere over the rainbow lies a pot of gold filled with $3.8 million dollars. If you love shoes and the Wizard of Oz, with that kind of dough, you just may be able to purchase the original ruby red slippers Judy Garland wore in the classic 1939 film. While we thought these pivotal pieces of American pop culture history were all nestled in National Museum of American History , Born Rich is reporting that the ultra famous shoes will go on the block December 16th at Profiles in History’s three day “Icons of Hollywood” auction. Sure, there’s no place like home, but at the expected price, you could just buy several and call it a day. Oh the nerve.

Sample fine opera, along with delicious cuisine at Arizona Opera’s “Dine by Design” event, Saturday, October 15. Intended to give first time opera-goers, young professionals and culture-loving foodies a taste of operatic arias and duets in the unique setting of Scottsdale’s interior designer firm Palavela Home, the evening brings together beautiful music, interiors and gourmet food from J&G Steakhouse, Petite Maison, Taggia at Firesky Resort, Malee’s Thai Bistro and Wildfish Seafood Grille.

The evening begins with a 30-minute performance by Arizona Opera’s distinguished resident artists at the downtown Scottsdale interior design firm, owned by former Olympic Skater Ryan O’Meara. After the concert, Dine by Design-goers will choose their meal from the fabulous participating gourmet restaurants.

Tickets are $95 for singles and $180 for couples. Purchase tickets by calling 602.218.7334 or events@azopera.org.

“Dine by Design” at Palavela Home | 6939 E. 1st Avenue, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85251

Arizona Opera’s 2011-2012 Season:

Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci”
Phoenix: October 7 & 8 (7:30 p.m.) & 9 (2 p.m.)
Gounod’s “Faust”
Phoenix: November 11, 12 (7:30 p.m.) & 13 (2 p.m.)
Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”
Phoenix: January 27, 28 (7:30 p.m.) & 29 (2 p.m.)
Verdi’s “Aida”
Phoenix: March 9, 10 (7:30 p.m.) & 11 (2 p.m.)
Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice”
Phoenix: April 13, 14 (7:30 p.m.) & 15 (2 p.m.)

Additional showtimes in Tucson are available. Click here for Tuscon schedule.

“Madama Butterfly” Image via Arizona Opera

Beginning October 7, the Biltmore Fashion Park returns with its free Movies in the Park series. Grab your blankets and head for the Center Lawn every Friday for a classic American Film. Showtimes starts at 7:30 p.m. This year’s films include:

Oct. 7          Rainman
Oct. 14        Guys and Dolls
Oct. 21        Raising Arizona – honoring AZ Centennial
Oct. 28       Beetlejuice
Nov. 4         Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Nov. 11        Say Anything
Nov. 18       Annie
Nov. 25       No Movie
Dec. 2          Christmas Vacation
Dec. 9          It’s a Wonderful Life

Biltmore Fashion Park Center Lawn | Northeast corner of 24^th Street & Camelback Road

Do you and your spouse need a night off? Then leave the kids at home with a sitter and have a date night at the Taste of SanTan on October 7, from 6:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m at SanTan Village in Gilbert.

Come dance and dine of some of the most delicious food in the valley, provided by fabulous East Valley restaurants such as Brio, Caketini, Kona Grill, The Keg, and many more with proceeds to benefit Save the Family.

Second Shift will provide the tunes to keep you grooving all night long, Gordon Biersch will be brewing the beer and Alliance Beverage will be pouring fabulous wines.

Get your tickets and come have a taste!

Yes. Restaurant Week is over and it kind of sucks. The fun times with friends, the special date nights, the great food for cheap, it was all great. But it’s over. No use wallowing in the past. We are here to remind you to pick up your sagging stomach (from all the good food, of course) and look around at the endless edible options here in the valley of the succulent. Here’s a redux of this week’s happenings in our favorite food blogs:

There is only one way to eat a fry and that is nice and French. We like to think of it as eating our vegetables (potatoes are vegetables, right?) and it’s a good thing Chow Bella knows exactly where to get the best. This week, the master blog of all countdowns counted down the Top Six French Fry Fixes in Metro Phoenix. Joe’s Farm Grill’s Baked Potato Fries, Green’s Thyme Fries, the poutine fries at Beaver Choice (thanks, Canadians), the beer battered fries at Four Peaks Brewery, the classic fries at Delux and McDonald’s crispy little nuggets all made the list. Read the descriptions (if you dare) here.  »READ MORE

Show me a person who doesn’t like butter and I’ll show you the person in question is indeed a robot. From health freaks to the lactose intolerant, butter is like bacon. Everyone loves it no matter how much they convince themselves otherwise. With this idea in mind, Jennifer Van Inwegen launched Creative Butters in 2009.

Using compound butter flavors from Van Inwegen’s culinary adventures early in her marriage, the mother of two quit her corporate job to start selling her sinful creations at the Arizona Farmer’s Market. Now, you can find her classic combinations like honey cinnamon (pictured), garlic herb and sundried tomato on the shelves of AJ’s and Whole Foods along with the seasonal, funky flavors of jalepeno honey, strawberry and maple brown sugar which are coming soon.

Her website also shares recipes, making it easy to use the butter on more than just toast. Check out this mouthwatering recipe for Honey Cinnamon Banana Muffins directly from her site. »READ MORE

The boys at EAZ posted up a great video today produced by one of our favorite fast-casual spots, Chipolte. The message is spot on.

Introducing our Resident Wino, Damien Kanser, fine wine specialist at Action Wine. Each month, Damien spills it to us on what bottle to pop and why.

“Salute, Prost, Na zdorovje, Salud , L’Chaim, and Cheers.”  Please everyone lift a glass in a toast!

This great melting pot we all live in now ranks first in total wine consumption in the world. We as a country consumed around 330 million cases of wine in 2010, 10 million more cases than France. This, however, only moves us up to around number 50 on the per capita consumption, somewhere between Estonia and Canada.

America has always been known as a beer and whiskey-consuming nation, but our time is now. »READ MORE

Any ol’ bartender can shake, stir or serve up any standard-issue cosmo, rum-n-coke or martini with their eyes closed. At the new The Casablanca Lounge, opening October 1 at the Scottsdale Waterfront, here’s drinking to you, kid with cocktails tailored to your tastes.

Owner Amar Patel has sourced over 360 different spirits for Casablanca, the most of any bar in Scottsdale, and will let the bartending duo of Rich Heider II (J&G Steakhouse, BLT Steak) and Tyson Buhler (Jade Bar, Mabel’s on Main) work their mixology magic. The “casually timeless destination for cocktails and conversation” will focus on one-on-one interaction with bar guests to provide patrons with a cocktail “designed for you at that specific time, in that moment,” says Patel.

Heider and Buhler will have an alcoholic arsenal at their disposal, including cocktail aging barrels, hand-chiseled ice, homemade cordials, grenadines, infusions and the appropriate glass for virtually every drink. Casablanca will also be partnering with their downstairs neighbor The Herb Box to provide a menu of small plates in the range of $8-14.

Round up your usual suspects this weekend for the opening of The Casablanca Lounge, Saturday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m. with no cover.

The Casablanca Lounge, 7134 East Stetson Drive – 3rd Floor of SouthBridge, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, Hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 4 p.m. – 2 a.m.

So claims the author of new “The Brisket Book: A Love Story with Recipes” by Stephanie Pierson. The food writer and cookbook author is so bonkers for brisket that she contends, “Some foods will improve your meal, your mood, your day, your buttered noodles. Brisket will improve your life.”

The brisket bible “includes something for everyone.” Really – is there a magical recipe for veggie brisket? Pierson’s recipes include: “Beef Brisket with Fresh Tangy Peaches, Scandinavian Aquavit Brisket, Sweet-and-Sour Brisket, Barbecued Brisket Sandwiches with Firecracker Sauce, a Seitan Brisket (yes, there is a magical meatless brisket for veggie-lovers), and a 100% Foolproof Bride’s Brisket.”

Pierson’s brisket beliefs and flavors are both bold. Get cooking with the new book on October 4.

AZ Restaurant Week has come and gone but you can continue to indulge your foodie cravings while escaping the near-record heat with dineLA, October 2-7 and 9-14.

Like AZ’s version of the face-stuffing festivities, there are over 300 restaurants participating in the LA area with specialty priced three coursed meals ranging from $16-28 for lunch and $26-44 for dinner. Their website also has a handy list of hotel options for those ready to head to the coast.

What participating LA hot spot would you check out? Check out the video below and check out dineLA here for participating restaurant videos.

Say goodbye to the classic (and slightly overdone) Where’s Waldo costume this Halloween and say hello to the Charlie Brown Beanie by Neff. For just $30, you can be a good man all around town. Pull the flap down over your ears to suddenly transform everyone’s voices into the soothing wah-wah-wahs of an adult in the Peanuts world. It’s the perfect pick me up for any prematurely depressed five-year-old, no psychiatric help needed.

From futuristic concept cars to one-of-a-kind $8 million rides, we’ve told you about some pretty cool whips since we started Are You My Ride? several weeks ago. Now, we’re going back in time for a much less luxurious, but still cool ride this week.

A historic 1884 de Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout, the world’s oldest running car, will be hitting the auction block next month. Since it’s steam powered, you can save on gas money, but be prepared to put in some serious elbow grease for your weekly trip to the store. The car takes half an hour to prepare to drive and you’ll have to water it every 20 miles. Needless to say, power steering is not included.

It’s expected to go for around $2 million at the RM Auctions event October 6-7 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Image via gizmag

Florence + The Machine – Shake it Out by Artur Cunha