FOLLOW US
As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories of ALL TIME aka last week, just in case you missed them.
Housed in a natural adobe building originally built in the 1930′s, Lon’s at the Hermosa is the embodiment of classic southwest architecture, stunning desert vistas and amazing cuisine.
While a drink on the patio at sunset, like the Lon’s “Folly” for founder Lon Megargee, one is left to behold the the beautiful colors of the Arizona sky and some of the best panoramic views of the Valley. If you are enjoying the open air ambiance and a hand crafted cocktail outside, why not stay for dinner and have some real cowboy grub? Every Sunday, Lon’s hosts a Chuckwagon BBQ that features a whole Berkshire suckling pig cooked over the ‘Cowboy Cauldron’ that doubles as a fire place and a conversation piece. Or why not wander innside… »READ MORE
This is hilarious and NSFW.
It’s a little late to get this baby shipped over to the house for the Super Bowl but for you grilling experts this here beauty might be your next purchase. The Bob Grillson BBQ uses traditional power to burn up wooden pellets that give your steaks a unique flavor. It also sports an oiled bamboo tray for chopping, prepping, and beer-holding, a sleek modern design, golf caddy wheels, cast-iron, porcelain enameled grates, an electronic temperature control, and an integrated thermometer.
Housed in a natural adobe building originally built in the 1930′s, Lon’s at the Hermosa is the embodiment of classic southwest architecture, stunning desert vistas and amazing cuisine.
While a drink on the patio at sunset, like the Lon’s “Folly” for founder Lon Megargee, one is left to behold the the beautiful colors of the Arizona sky and some of the best panoramic views of the Valley. If you are enjoying the open air ambiance and a hand crafted cocktail outside, why not stay for dinner and have some real cowboy grub? Every Sunday, Lon’s hosts a Chuckwagon BBQ that features a whole Berkshire suckling pig cooked over the ‘Cowboy Cauldron’ that doubles as a fire place and a conversation piece. Or why not wander innside… »READ MORE
As chosen by you, here are the top stories of ALL TIME aka last week, just in case you missed them.
Nathan’s back, our resident womanizing snarkster, with some solid advice for the singletons this month. Check out this Rule of Nathan #48 and don’t miss his column next month for more of his musings.
Rule of Nathan #48: Never date or try to date a stripper. By never, I mean almost never, and by stripper I mean stripper you meet at the strip club. Strippers aren’t strippers outside of work any more than Hugh Laurie is a doctor, Nathan Fillion is a space cowboy, Nickelback are musicians or Lou Diamond Phillips is Richie Valens. OK, scratch that last one. LDP is totally La Bamba. So, you know, if you meet her because she sits next to you in your law school class, go for it.
In that vein, coffee shops are the new strip clubs and baristas are the new strippers. Bear with me on this one. When your barista smiled at you and she “was totally flirting, man,” remember she has a tip jar. Her job is to be nice to you and make you coffee. I get it. My dream woman would be nice to me and make me coffee too, but remember that’s the baristas job. »READ MORE
zBe Mine Designz
Alessi’s “Big Love” Ice Cream bowl and spoon, $56, alessi.com; “Hugs” Salt & Pepper Set $29.99, nova68.com; Dci Heart Measuring Spoons (pack of 4), $10.49, overstock.com; Heart Keychain Bottle Opener, $8, urbanoutfitters.com.
PLYprints Love Heart, Deisgned by Alexander Girard, $95, modernfurnitureshop.net; Diamond Ring Red Acrylic, Designed by Alissia Melka-Teichroew, $12, momastore.org; "FLW Architect's Mechanical Pencil Set", Architect Pencil Set w/ Eraser, Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, $60, acmestudio.com; Panton Heart Chair, $3,670, danishdesignstore.com.
Fatboy- the Original, $239, 2modern.com; “Neo” Rocking Chair Armchair arms in Matt Brushed Aluminum, $2,620, ligne-roset usa.com; Eloise Candy Heart Bed in pink size large, $155.81, theuncommondog.com; “Angles” Card case, Designed by Karim Rashid, $37, acmestudio.com.
"Lovers", Roller ball Pen, Designed by Billy Dee Williams, $73, acmestudio.com; Vitra Miniature Studio 65 Bocca Sofa, $245, vertigohome.us; Le Creuset 2-Quart Heart Casserole in Cherry, $159.95, allmodern.com; Dollhouse Brush & Dustpan Set, $15, fredflare.com.
1Be Mine Design1
Be mine, Be mine, o’ Valentine of luxury and design. Take a peek at our special guide to a Valentine’s Day filled with love and design.
Nathan’s back, our resident womanizing snarkster, with some solid advice for the singletons this month. Check out this Rule of Nathan #48 and don’t miss his column next month for more of his musings.
Rule of Nathan #48: Never date or try to date a stripper. By never, I mean almost never, and by stripper I mean stripper you meet at the strip club. Strippers aren’t strippers outside of work any more than Hugh Laurie is a doctor, Nathan Fillion is a space cowboy, Nickelback are musicians or Lou Diamond Phillips is Richie Valens. OK, scratch that last one. LDP is totally La Bamba. So, you know, if you meet her because she sits next to you in your law school class, go for it.
In that vein, coffee shops are the new strip clubs and baristas are the new strippers. Bear with me on this one. When your barista smiled at you and she “was totally flirting, man,” remember she has a tip jar. Her job is to be nice to you and make you coffee. I get it. My dream woman would be nice to me and make me coffee too, but remember that’s the baristas job. »READ MORE
Here are the top stories of ALL TIME (aka last week) just in case you missed it.
Bringing the music news to the people, guitarist-turned-contributor Scott Johnson of the Gin Blossoms returns in this month’s “Found Out About You” with an insider look into the recording studio at the MIM, plus details of the museum’s upcoming centennial exhibit.
By now you’ve probably spent and hour or two visiting the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Scottsdale. If you have not been, you must go (after you’ve read my article of course.) Not only do the guitars make this picker drool, but the rock star-worthy recording studio housed adjacent to the main stage now available for recording your own tracks is impressive to say the least. If you’re a musician and you’ve got a tissue handy to wipe the drool from your lips, here’s what the MIM has stocked for your next album: »READ MORE
Bringing the music news to the people, guitarist-turned-contributor Scott Johnson of the Gin Blossoms returns in this month’s “Found Out About You” with an insider look into the recording studio at the MIM, plus details of the museum’s upcoming centennial exhibit.
By now you’ve probably spent and hour or two visiting the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Scottsdale. If you have not been, you must go (after you’ve read my article of course.) Not only do the guitars make this picker drool, but the rock star-worthy recording studio housed adjacent to the main stage now available for recording your own tracks is impressive to say the least. If you’re a musician and you’ve got a tissue handy to wipe the drool from your lips, here’s what the MIM has stocked for your next album: »READ MORE
A holiday greeting from our favorite button-pusher Nathan Simpson. Catch his monthly musings on Wednesdays as he documents the trials and tribulations of dating in the world’s most unhip suburb.
Happy Holidays to you and yours. I forgot to send out my Christmas cards again this year, so consider this as a last minute but well-intentioned substitute. If you don’t read my column you make my naughty list (not the good one I keep in my night stand) and are therefore, undeserving of my Yuletide greetings.
I’d like to share with you a holiday tradition my family has adopted for the last several years. It’s a sweet and wonderful tradition that involves reflection and reminiscing on old memories. Each year, my family gathers together in my grandma’s living room, stuffed with turkey, ham and trimmings but nibbling on Christmas sweets anyhow and they turn the discussion toward my singledom. »READ MORE
Hugo is an absolute masterpiece of a movie, a story that keeps you delightfully entertained throughout the entire two hour duration of the film. We were completely enchanted with this story told of an orphan boy named Hugo who dwelled in the secret walls of a Paris train station during the 1930‘s. It has everything a good movie should have: mystery, adventure, humor, fear, hope, and compassion–all easily understood by any age.
We loved submerging in the interlaced workings of the clock tower‘s gears, hiding along with little Hugo, rooting him on as he worked at surviving and solving his own intricacies of life. His soul-urge was to repair a broken automated machine, shaped like a boy, that was left by his late father, a clockmaker. Hugo knew his father had planted a secret message for him in the cryptic automated robot and was not going to let anything prevent him from discovering what it was. We think anyone who watches this film will appreciate Hugo’s steadfast perseverance to unravel the perplexities of trials bestowed upon him. In the end, the universe was on Hugo’s side and all the puzzles of his fate were “fixed” together in a beautiful picture that he primarily orchestrated himself. Our favorite quote of the film was when Hugo states: “life is like a machine, there is no unnecessary parts, every part has a purpose just like in a clock; therefore, I have a purpose and so do you in this life.” If you haven’t seen Hugo we would definitely recommend watching it–hope you will enjoy it as much as we did! Check the times at Harkins Scottsdale Shea theatre here and the trailer after the jump:
Shannon is back with All the Single Ladies. She’s single, fabulous and back to rant about dating in the desert. Find her column here each month.
When a singleton complains she’s not meeting any “decent” guys, her friends, family and co-workers will no doubtedly respond with…“you just need to get out more.” Sure, get out more. And where, you ask? You’re likely to be referred to the following places where you will surely meet the potential soulmates I regularly come across:
1. The Grocery Store
I typically grocery shop on my way home from work, on an early Sunday morning or at 10:00 pm when I just realized I’m out of cat food and paper towels. What gentlemanly gems have I come across during my late night supply runs? First, I always see “Mr. I Eat All Frozen Dinners and Snacks Outta Plastic Bags.” Unfortunately, I too eat frozen dinners because I hate cooking and cleaning for just me, so we would be a match made in nutrition hell. Or, I spy outta my eye “Mr. I’m Wearing What I Wore to Play Basketball in and am Picking Up a 12-pack of Bud and Lighter Fluid.” He just screams culturally stimulating to me. Not that I don’t enjoy a good chargrilled burger every now and then. And then, there’s always a creepy guy that spends way too much time deciding which brand of toilet paper to buy, or which Costco-sized lotion is more moisturizing. Cree-py! »READ MORE
It’s Friday and that means time to see where the boys have been eating and drinking. This week they rolled over to North, the new concept (of an old concept) by Fox Restaurant Concepts. DLT would have to agree with their take and in particular we like the way they chose to right it up. Well done. Highlights as follows:
Grilled Calamari – large, easily chewable pieces in a white bean ragu punched up with lemon zest. It’s refreshing and a perfect way to begin your meal.
Crispy Pork Belly – one huge piece that wasn’t all that crispy as the name implied but pulled apart perfectly and had a great ratio of fat to meat. What we really dug was that amidst the strongly flavored lentils, the pork stood on its own, retaining a gentle flavor rarely found in a chunk of pork that large.
The Burger – Served with grilled onions, roasted tomato, arugula, and ta Brie-like robiola cheese. Check this out: once upon a time, the people at Fox got a little upset that we said the burger at Black Chile (a Mexican restaurant) was better than the burger at Zinburger (a Fox-owned burger restaurant) next door. Well, now, people of Fox, we believe that the burger at North (an Italian restaurant) is better than the burger at The Grind (a burger shop) next door. You can’t win all the time, but you won this one.
Mafaldine Pasta – Of the seven pastas on the menu, we chose this for spicy rock shrimp and mix of shaved fennel, tomato, garlic, chili, basil, and white wine. It all came together beautifully.
And in case you think they may have taken them up on a freebie given the glowing report:
One more thing you should know—although this glowing review might read like lunch was paid for by PR, it indeed was not. We ponied up about $120 for said meal, and the stuff really was as good as we said it was. Damnit. We’d like to hate Fox for the mediocrity so many feel he serves up, but this place was a damn joy to eat at. And we’ll be back. Damnit.
This holiday, it’s not what you get. It’s how you’re Gifted. Whether you’re shopping for the boys or for your grown up princess, we’ve got a fabulous round up of ideas for the gifted (or yourself). Check out our special “The Gifted 2011 Guide” below.
Nobody does video like T-Poo.
On behalf of the entire Desert Living Today / Scoop Factory family, we hope you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.
The man we call “Stratta” is on the verge of making a splash in NYC. After years at the helm of The Phoenician and then making the move to Las Vegas, Alex is now heading East. Reports Eater National via Diners Journel today:
Alex Stratta, a chef who made a name for himself first in New York and later in Scottsdale, Arizona and Las Vegas (at casino restaurants Alex and Stratta), will soon open his first very own New York restaurant called Bigoli. The 84-seat restaurant, located in the old Gonzo space, will offer simple Italian food, and Stratta cautiously tells Flo Fab, “New Yorkers really know food but I’m hoping they’ll be kind and patient.” Expect dishes like 24-hour duck confit, red-wine–braised oxtail, lobster raviolo, whole roasted black bass with blood orange salad, and more. The restaurant is expected to open next Monday.
Alex Stratta Is Opening Bigoli in Greenwich Village [DJ]
UPDATE: Full menu after the break
Checking in with the Friday review today the boys have decided to polish up the old hammer and drop it Oh-So gently on OHSO, the new spot on Indian School. You want highlights, we got ‘em:
To our pleasant surprise, they were offering $5 pitchers of about half the beers during the day – great opening move to get people hanging out longer than a pint. We ordered a few beers and the entire small plate side of the menu. Priced from about $8-$15, these items included “shrimp fritter kebabs” (skewers of fried shrimp that were not fritters in our opinion because fritters imply something ground and combined and formed into a circle and then fried, these were just shrimp), “crispy calamari and spicy seared ahi” (not crispy, not spicy, and not good), ribs “smoked out back” which were great but tasted like store-bought Lloyd’s (and the smell of smoke was nowhere to be found), gnocchi Bolognese that was a Hamburger Helper doppelganger, some goopy hummus dip that came out with that dark top layer like it had been sitting, and some guac which was pretty good actually.
And…
The grilled cheese tasted good, but we wished they had propped it up so the underside didn’t get so soggy. And the pork belly arepas were inedible – the arepa itself was like an old English muffin and the pork was bland.
O.H.S.O. Eatery + nanoBrewery
Rumor has it that Ashton is in fact in town today looking for young ASU students to hot tub with tonight. Ok, that’s not true. We think it’s fair to say we all saw this one coming down the road…
In a statement released to the Associated Press, Demi expounded on the end of Mootcher:
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton. As a woman, a mother and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life. This is a trying time for me and my family, and so I would ask for the same compassion and privacy that you would give to anyone going through a similar situation.
After the news broke Ashton tweeted,
I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail. Love and Light, AK
Just in time for Black Friday holiday shopping, we’re back with Marta Walsh of Talking Makeup, one of America’s top beauty and fashion blogs. Each month, Marta brings us her beauty tricks and top picks for looking lovely everyday.
L’Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation: It feels super light on the face yet it covers all imperfection on the skin perfectly, like ‘Magic’. But the best thing about this foundation is that it’s so matte you can even skip a face powder, which is un-heard-of with some other brand foundations which normally leave my skin oily, shiny, and greasy. »READ MORE
The fashion flock have all been obsessed with the glitter and suede ankle boots that graced the Miu Miu runway. An instant pop to any outfit, these stunners have been seen on everyone from fashion editors to Hollywood starlets. Since these booties start around $900, we have a few alternatives that will still add some twinkle to your toes without stealing too much from that bank account.
Steve Madden “Hastt” ankle bootie, $94 at Nordstrom, Gianni Bini “Cher” platform sandals, $79.99 at Dillards,
Naughty Monkey “Ya Give Me Fever” pumps, $79 at piperlime.com.
Image via Getty Images
