Arizona Restaurant Week is fast approaching and with nearly 100 Valley eateries offering pre-fixe menus for cheap, cheap, cheap, it’s important you map out your best plan of attack on how to take advantage of this momentous occasion. Chow Bella has the scoop on Three Ways to Eat Your Way Through AZ Restaurant Week. Make your reservations now because you might want to try all three. The first is to hit up all the restaurants with ” the most celebrated tastemakers in town” like Binkely’s, POSH and Tarbell’s. The second option is to travel the world through your taste buds and the third is just to go with Chow Bella writer, Laura Hahnefeld’s favorite places like Citizen Public House and Cowboy Ciao.

Do you consider yourself a “food nerd”?  We can only assume this is a far less trendy term for “foodie”, and one significantly less annoying…you know…if we cared like EricEatsOut. If discussing cuisine gets you going and you have some great ideas for the restaurant scene in Phoenix, then Dominic Armato has just the place for you. The Skillet Doux Blogger has launched a new website that aims to bring together the culinary community through a public forum based on discussion. If you’ve got something to say, visit PHXfoodnerds.com right now to get in on the action.

And finally, we are in the midst of American Craft Beer Week, according to Mouth by Southwest, which means you should be heading to your nearest brewery to celebrate. Better yet, go to SanTan Brewery specifically to take advantage of their burger deals. Each day, they’ve been offering a different burger and beer pairing and you still have five days to check it out. For example, today you can get a Smoked Marlin Burger served with chips and salsa for $10.25 and suck back the suggested Negro Nitron to truly enjoy the benefits of a week such as this. Check out the rest of the deals here.

Until next week, cheer for the Yotes and chew with your mouths closed, my friends.

Photo credit, Jackie Mercandetti via Chow Bella

Buy It Here

Appetizer

Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho with Tomato Granita

Entree

Sauteed Black Cod, with Israeli Couscous Salad, and Icewine Vinaigrette

Desserts

Pina Colada Sorbet

Cask 63 | 8877 North Scottsdale Road | Scottsdale, Arizona 85253

The Cocktail: The Persian 

The Venue: Citizen Public House

The Recipe:

1.5 oz Absolut Wild Tea vodka

.5 oz St-Germain

.75 oz House-made sweet and sour

.75 oz Cucumber juice

Serve over rocks in an old fashioned glass and garnish with a lemon peel

7111 East 5th Avenue  Scottsdale, AZ 85251   (480) 398-4208

Compare with Part 2 from The Mint

Compare with Part 1 from Tarbell’s

If you’re asking yourself where to go for breakfast in Old Town, you’ve got two options: Breakfast Club and, well, Breakfast Club’s other half of the room – that is, unless you’ve heard about Dottie’s.

Dottie’s True Blue Café has been quietly open for about a little about two months and hasn’t really told anybody because the owners—Brent Abney and Joe Green—wanted to get their act together first.  Read full review after the break.

Well, it’s well past first and they’ve got it all running smoothly. We stopped in for breakfast this morning and were excited to find an alternative outside the Club.

We sat in the main dining room, which feels rightfully diner-esque. But on a weekend, the bar would be the perfect place to nurse a hangover and the patio would be perfect for sweating out the night before’s booze consumption.

Food-wise, we aren’t able to report on a basic, everyday breakfast because we were too tempted by the right side of this menu:

http://dotties.biz/menu/

Here, you’ll see things like the scramble with pulled pork, roasted onions, and jack cheese, with a side of flour tortillas and home fries for $11; a chorizo scramble with onions and cheddar cheese, topped heapingly with pico de gallo for $12.25; and a smoked whiskey fennel sausage scramble with mushrooms and baby spinach for $11.50. All of which we had, by the way. Although the latter comes with an addictive grilled chili-cheddar cornbread, the chorizo was our hands-down favorite. It had the most flavor and made for great hand-held burrito like rolls with the flour tortilla that came on the side. Mixing all three scrambles worked really well, too.

The coffee flowed, the WiFi was fast, and the service was great. On the sweet side of the menu, we tried the blueberry cornmeal pancakes, $10.95, which are thin, plate-sized, and covered in powdered sugar. They were definitely order-again-worthy. We also tried a single plain cake for $3.95. It wasn’t the lightest pancake we’ve ever tried, but it tasted healthy, almost wheatesque.

The side of bacon sent one message—this place would make a killer BLT. The slices were fat, crispy as hell, and just salty enough. Next time. Dottie’s is only open for breakfast and lunch, so the next meal will surely be a nooner.

Dottie’s True Blue Café
4151 N. Marshall Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-874-0303

http://dotties.biz/scottsdale-az/

Hours: Tue-Sun 7:30am-3pm

Via EaterAZ

DLT: Colored denim and printed denim have both been huge trends the past couple of seasons, how would you recommend women incorporate the newest styles into their wardrobes without being too trendy?

JM: White denim is the most classic way of going about it because you can actually wear white denim year-round now. People assume white is very “Spring/Summer”, but it also looks great in Fall as well if you pair it with more of the neutral tones like grey and brown. But what I really do love about colored denim is that it gives a pop of whimsy and a fun flair to your wardrobe and they just look great with a sun kissed glow. It adds a little playfulness to your wardrobe. 

DLT: What would you suggest pairing with these styles to keep it chic?

JM: I would keep it as simple as possible on top. You don’t want to do anything too crazy. Stay with your oversized white t-shirt or a crisp white button down, but I would definitely recommend staying solid on top because you’re making your statement with the pants.

DLT: And for shoes?

JM: You could really do anything with these, but what I think looks really great with a gladiator sandal or even a simple flip-flop. For something a little dressier you might want to throw on a wedge heel. 

DLT: What are the brands you carry in these styles?

JM: (pictured above in the Aztec print and fuschia color) AG is an American brand we have carried for a long time, they are a great fit, super stretchy, super soft and they’re really known for probably the most wearable denim that we have in the store just for every body type. (the white style above) This is Genetic right out of Los Angeles and the “Cherry Picker” jean (pictured right) is from a brand called Mother out of Los Angeles. I just thought they were too cute and they have a little rock n’ roll vibe with the black and the red cherries.

Like HUB Clothing on Facebook here to learn about new product and sweet sales and be sure to check out all the latest and greatest in their boutique today.

HUB Clothing l 7014 E. Camelback Rd. l 480.970.0707 

Starting May 27 and going through June 2, all 25 locations in country (five of which in Arizona) will participate in the fundraiser. A special menu has been set up where 100 percent of the proceeds will go to St. Jude. Nicky’s Week has raised more than $943,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and RA Sushi hopes to surpass the $1 million mark this year, let’s help them achieve that goal.

The special Nicky’s Week menu

FOOD:
Edamame $3.75
Shrimp Nigiri $4.75
Pork Gyoza $6.25
Chicken Yakitori $7.50
Tootsy Maki $8.00
Garlic Citrus Yellowtail Tapas $7.25

DRINK:
Saint M Riesling $8.00
Broquel Malbec $8.00
Lunetta Prosecco $6.00
Emeror’s Cucumberita $7.00
Coconut Mojito $7.00
Strawberry Saketini $7.00
Shock Top $4.00
Fiji $3.50
Strawberry Lemonade $3.75