The Farm Stand at Agritopia

With all the craziness surrounding the holidays, I forgot to pick up lettuce for our salad. There isn't much in the garden right now thanks to the rabbit that moved in under our shed. I am still nursing a damaged knee so there was no way I was going to fight my way around the grocery store to grab lettuce.

I was checking out Twitter today when I saw a Tweet about The Farm Stand at Agritopia selling spring mix for $1.50. Problem solved - the self serve stand is open 24/7 on Ray and Higley in Gilbert right next to Joe's Farm Grill and The Coffee Shop. I picked up the bag of salad mix, 2 lemons ($1.00), and medjool dates ($6.00). Fresh, local, and reasonably priced - love it!

Jimbo's Good Times Grill

Remember The Vine on the north side of Main Street in East Mesa? Remember those fabulous wings and fun afternoons watching the sports or playing trivia? Remember how awful the food and service became before it finally shut down for good? Yeah, I though so.

Well guess what? All your favorite dishes and the fun atmosphere are back without any of the problems of the past. Jimbo's Good Times Grill is located in the same space The Vine once occupied just past Walgreens. The decor is fresh and new but the same old favorites (and some news ones!) are on the menu. The wings, the burgers, the apps - it's all there. Jim was the manager of The Vine back in the good old days before it's decline and he's brought things back to they way they should be.

You'll notice the difference as soon as you step foot in the door. No surly teenager to seat you. Everyone is super friendly and genuinely invested in making sure you have a great experience. Don't be surprised if Jim himself shows up at your table to ask if everything is okay.

As for the menu, the old favorites from The Vine are back and Jimbo's has all the classic pub dishes. Although I was so excited to taste those Maple BBQ Wings again, let's face it - as a recent heart surgery survivor they are not exactly recommended for a cardiac diet. It's difficult for me to find healthy and tasty foods when eating out. Not here - Jimbo's offers a Bulid Your Own Burger or Chicken. I can get a chicken breast on wheat and I can chose healthy toppings and sides to go with it. Just what the doctor ordered. You can eat healthy or go with the classic pub food. It's all good!

Wings are sold by the pound rather than the dozen. This is a great idea. We've all felt stiffed at one time or another when you go out and order a dozen wings and you get 12 teeny wing tips for your money. For an extra dollar a pound you can choose all wings or all drums if you prefer. You can even get them grilled. It seems to be all about letting the customer make the choices here. How refreshing!

We are so thrilled that Jim took the risk in this rotten economy and opened Jimbo's Good Times Grill . The gamble seems to be paying off. The place is a bonafide hit with the locals and the winter visitors and we see lots of happy patrons each time we visit. And we have our favorite restaurant back!

Jimbo's Good Times Grill 6102 E Main St, Mesa, AZ 480-924-3800

Chandler BBQ Throwdown A Bust

(the beautiful bottle of olive oil on our table at La Stalla Rustic Cucina)

I was excited to read about the debut of the Chandler BBQ Throwdown for several reasons. First- I finally have weekends off after two years of weekend shifts. HuzBen and I are finally able to get out and enjoy some time together after having opposing days off. Second, Ben was employed for many years as a reporter with the Chandler Independent. He fell in love with the city back then and he rarely gets to see all the friends and contacts he made on his old beat. Third - Food! We love good barbecue and the combination of good BBQ and the beautiful AZ spring weather was too much to pass up. Also, our neighbors at Midwestern Meats were one of the event sponsors. I picked up my tickets there 2 weeks ago while doing the weekly shopping.

The first hurdle was the traffic. Once we arrived in downtown Chandler we found ourselves in a traffic jam of epic proportions. Arizona Avenue was down to one lane due to construction and it took us about 40 minutes to find a place to park that was almost a mile away from the event entrance. People were everywhere - this was going to be big!

The line to enter the event wrapped around the block. There was probably about a thousand people queued up at 1pm and tons more were making their way to the line. We thought it was odd that we saw almost as many people walking away from the event and going back to their cars. We found out why as we approached the ticket tent. There was no food. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we paid 20 bucks to attend a BBQ Throwdown that had no BBQ. We decided there had to be something for sale to eat, or crafts to purchase, so we soldiered on.

Since most people had not pre-purchased their tickets like we did, I made my way to the tent to ask where we were to go to get a wristband or something to let us in. Imagine my surprise when a teenage boy behind the table told me that my tickets weren't tickets, he had no idea what they were. Advertisements maybe? He questioned me about where I got the tickets and finally seemed satisfied that the guys at Midwestern Meats were on the up and up. He let us in and gave us our white coupons for the bbq tasting.

It didn't take more than a few seconds inside the event to see that people were not happy. No one knew what was going on. Vendors were packing up to leave by 2pm for an event that was suppposed to run until 9pm. A quick walk around also led to the realization that we had tasting tickets that none of the very few food sellers would accept. Want a hotdog? You can't use the white coupons, you need to go back and spend more money on red coupons. The only food that seemed to be for sale was hotdogs, beer, kettle corn and frozen fruit drinks. At least the frozen drink booth took cash. It was against policy but we were certainly grateful as there seemed to be not much else to drink and the line for beer was well over 100 people long.

We got luckier than most of the attendees when we found a booth for the Tiki Hut - one of the BBQ competitors. And yeah! They still had food. We spent all our coupons on their delish bbq beef rib tips and yummy brisket. Ben met some lovely people who were competing in the backyard bbq event. They couldn't accept tickets since they weren't a vendor but they offered free samples of their tasty bbq chicken.

For another 20 minutes we walked around the park. It was crowded and the people were hot, hungry and mad. There were barely any craft vendors to visit. The poor lady from the Cupcake Cafe was stuck right behind the entrance where she received little traffic. A real shame since their cupcakes are the best (she's at the downtown Mesa Farmer;s Market on the occasional Friday morning). Surprising in this land of strict smoking laws, there was a cigar booth right in the center of the park where people puffed away, oblivious to the ordinances that prohibit smoking at public events.

After finally deciding to cut our losses and leave we strolled through downtown Chandler on the way back to the car. The event's loss was downtown Chandler's gain. Every restaurant was standing room only. Some places were so packed that strangers were sharing patio tables, bonding over their experience at the BBQ Throwndown with no bbq.

We ended up having a fantastic meal behind the San Marcos Hotel at a little Italian restaurant called La Stalla Rustica Cucina. They certainly were not expecting to be flooded with business today but they handled it like pros. We had manicotti and their special margherita pizza with homemade mozarella. The awesome food, wonderful waitress and a relaxing atmosphere was much appreciated. While eating I checked Twitter and found that many of the foodies and locavores I follow had been turned away from the Throwdown. They were turning lemons into lemonade and meeting up at Joe's Real BBQ in Gilbert. Social networking saves the day - love it!

Jess Harter of the East Valley Trib blogged about the event too.

Heart Attack Grill

Update - If you're reading this post you may want to see this one - the surgery I had just a few weeks after my last Single Bypass Burger.

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We have wanted to visit the Heart Attack Grill in Chandler since we saw it on The Food Network. We finally got the chance last night and we had a blast.



First, Ben was weighed in by Naughty Nurse Alex. If you weigh over 350lbs, you eat for free. Ben qualified.


Ben takes a big bite out of his second Triple Bypass Burger. Yum!


Ben and Jeff with their burgers and Cokes. The Cokes are from Mexico and are still made with real sugar down there, not the nasty high fructose corn syrup we have here in the States.


Jeff finished his Triple Bypass Burger and was wheeled out to the car by Nurse Alex. But first. . .a quick check of the vital signs.


Saying goodbye to Nurse Alex - until next time. . . .

An Afternoon of Wine Tasting and Shopping

HuzBen and I had the opportunity to attend a grilling seminar/wine tasting at Fleming's Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Chandler on Saturday. The event was a joint venture with Fleming's and Barbecues Galore.

After a few basic tips on the meats we would be grilling we all headed outside to the patio where Johnathan Pyant of Barbecues Galore showed off the Odeon, and its' CrossRay technology. The Odean has infrared burners built into the sidewalls rather than underneath, thus reducing flareups. It works with liquid propane or nature gas and it's a beauty.

When the steaks were finished we returned to the dining room and tasted the three cuts of beef (filet, NY Strip, ribeye) and the wines picked to accompany them. Bruce Duffy and Candy Taylor of Flemings's were on hand to answer any and all questions about the pairings. The food was tasty, the wine was delicious and we received quite an education. The best part - the cost was a mere TEN DOLLLARS each!

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we signed up for their class on marinades and rubs in July. (And we're planning on stopping in for happy hour next week!)

Fleming's is located in one of my favorite shopping plazas, Casa Paloma. Casa Paloma is a foodie's dream, with Sur La Table and AJ's Fine Foods just a few feet apart.

I couldn't resist. Sur La Table was having a Summer Sale. I finally purchased the Baker's Edge Brownie Pan I've been wanting, along with new placemats, napkins and a few goodies from the clearance rack I'll be blogging about in the future.

Ms. Thomas' Lovely Tea House

Last weekend while shopping for a new bed we stumbled upon Ms. Thomas' Lovely Tea House on the NW corner of Mc Kellips and Power in Mesa. Dolores at Mattress Firm had nothing but praise for the establishment and I couldn't wait to check it out. I stopped in late last week to check out their gift shop (fabulous!) and I vowed to go for tea as soon as possible.

As HuzBen is not fond of tea and it took me a few days to find a dining partner. Thankfully my step mom Susan was as excited as I was to go there.

We stopped in today for tea and some shopping. Dolores was spot on, the place is wonderful. The decor is Victorian inspired, tastefully done but not cluttered. It reminded me of tea in my Aunt's parlor many years ago. The tea settings are beautiful and they include a honey pot at the table as well as sugar cubes. The tea was kept hot by a delicate looking silver teapot warmer (see blurry cell phone photo above) that I would have purchased in a second if they sold them in the gift shop.

We had the Miss Marianne Tea, which consists of a fruit cup, quiche, scones, tea sandwiches and sorbet. Other options omitted the quiche or added soup so you could customize your afternoon tea to your level of hunger. There are also some a la carte items and breakfast offerings. The food was fresh and tasty. I do wish they offered more varieties of tea.

A big plus over another popular tearoom in Mesa is that Ms. Thomas keeps her gift shop separate from the dining area. It was nice to enjoy a quiet lunch without someone kicking your while chair trying reach the price tag on a bottle of hand lotion.

When we finished I checked out the gift shop which offers lovely gifts as well as hard to find tea related items like honey spoons, sugar cube tongs and drip catchers for your teapot. I bought a butterfly drip catcher on my visit last week and it works very well, even on my little 2 cup teapot. (see picture below)

Ms. Thomas' Lovely Tea House is located at 6620 E, McKellips, Suite 102, Mesa, AZ. Phone 480-807-5133. Hours of operation are Mon-Sat 8:30am-2:30pm. Reservations strongly suggested.

Monti's Roman Bread

Monti's La Casa Vieja is situated across the street from the old flour mill in Tempe, right at the foot of the Mill Avenue bridge over the Salt River/Tempe Town Lake, across the street from Tempe Beach Park. The restaurant has been at that location since 1956 and has been designated a historic landmark. The food is fantatic and when you eat too much of it (and you will!) a stroll around the park or window shopping on Mill Avenue will help the waistline. :-)

Monti's Roman Bread is probably my favorite bread to bake in the winter to warm up the house. The smell of the fresh rosemary is heavenly! This bread is good with butter but it's fantasic when topped with baby swiss cheese.

MONTI'S ROMAN BREAD

1 tablespoon sugar
1 cake yeast
11/2 cups lukewarm water
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
chopped fresh rosemary
Olive oil and salt, as needed

Add sugar and yeast to lukewarm water and stir to dissolve yeast. Add flour, salt and onion. Knead until smooth.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size. Punch down.

Flatten dough on oiled cookie sheet to about 1-inch thick. Oil the top of the dough.

Let rise until doubled in size.

Sprinkle with salt and fresh rosemary.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Starbuck's Oatmeal

Forget about those fat filled breakfast sandwiches and greasy biscuit and bacon concoctions, Starbuck's has a healthier alternative. Oatmeal! Mix-ins include dried fruit, nuts and brown sugar. I had all three and the oatmeal was better than anything I've come up with at home from scratch or out of an envelope. The price is about the same as a breakfast sandwich anywhere else but this is one fast food meal you won't have to feel guilty about.

Jersey Girl Cafe

For lunch yesterday we stopped in downtown Mesa at the Jersey Girl Cafe. Friends have been telling me for months that I need to check the place out and they were right. The food is fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. Lunch for two was about $15.00 for 2 sandwiches with a side and and a pickle, a huge tropical fruit flavored iced tea with free refills and choice of a homemade cookie for dessert. The decor is adorable and there is a large map of New Jersey on the wall where you can put a push-pin in the city where you lived.

I ordered a tuna melt on sourdough with a side of potato salad. The sandwich was perfectly grilled and loaded with cheddar. The red potato salad was perfect, with crunchy bits of celery and onion and free of all the weird spices most restaurants throw in to disguise the fact that their product is usually several days old. It's probably the best potato salad I've had in a long time.

My friend Barb ordered the chicken salad sandwich and she was raving about it too. I'll have to try that next on our next visit.

Jersey Girl Cafe 218 West Main Street, Mesa, AZ (480) 924-7887

Strawberry Lemonade

Hubby and I love Chili's Strawberry Lemonade and I have been trying to find a copycat recipe. Most of the recipes I found contain either strawberry syrup or frozen strawberries. Fresh lemons and strawberries are so abundant right now in Arizona it's a shame not to put them to good use. I played around in my kitchen today and although it's not exactly like Chili's - it's pretty tasty.

Strawberry Lemonade

2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 quart very ripe strawberries, leaves removed
2/3 to 1 cup sugar - depending on the sweetness of the strawberries and your taste
8-10 cups of water, divided

Disolve the sugar in the lemon juice. Put in blender with the strawberries and 1-2 cups of water. Process until strawberries become liquified. Pour into a 2qt beverage container and add the remaining water and stir. Add more sugar if desired.

Plaza Hotel NYC

The legendary Plaza Hotel in New York City reopened today after a 3 year $400 millon dollar renovation and restoration.

DH and I were in New York city in February of 2005 and were lucky enough to have lunch and tea in the Palm Court dining room. This photo of us (with my Mom) was taken just a few weeks prior to the hotel's closing. I can't wait to get back and see the changes.

Another Year

Another birthday has come and gone (it was Monday). DH mentioned in his blog that I was turning 34. God Bless him, he reversed the numbers. Another wonderful thing he did - he bought home George's Gyros for dinner that night as I was too pooped to party. (George's Gyros. 205 N Country Club Dr. Mesa, AZ Phone: 480-890-1325. Fax: 480-962-4973) IMHO, George's is one of the top 2 places to get gyros in Mesa. Wild Berry Diner is the other (Wild Berry Diner. 4805 E Main St. Mesa, AZ 85205 480-832-2860).

As well as the sweetest husband in the world, I am also blessed to have the nicest coworkers. Barb gave me a lovely bouquet of daisies and a pair of beaded earrings she made herself. Deirdre bought me a tin of Harney and Sons Black Current Tea, my new addiction. Rhonda made me an absolutely divine chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. The cake wasn't around long enough to make it into the picture.

I met my parents for lunch on Tuesday at Uncle Bear's Bar and Grill on Ellsworth and Baseline. DH introduced me to their Prime Rib Sliders when he worked near their Gilbert location several years ago. DH and I never order anything but the sliders, so it was a treat when I was able to try the pizza my parents ordered. It was also fabulous!

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. For Catholics, it is a time for reflection and contemplation of our transgressions in order to repent of our sins. We abstain from meat on this first day of Lent and many Catholics mark the day by fasting as well. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholic adults (who are physically and medically able) are asked to consume only one full meal, which may be supplemented by two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal.

Traditionally, Ash Wednesday and Lent bring fish frys at church, fish sticks at home and Filet O' Fish for the fast food junkies. Oh, and if you're in downtown Mesa, it's time for the annual pilgramage to Pete's Fish and Chips.

In our home, we prefer a healthier, more economically friendly approach. Spinach Cheese Manicotti is a great 'make ahead' dish, that tastes even better as leftovers the next day. I made a batch last night for tonight's dinner, and the leftovers will be DH's lunch on Friday (Friday's are also meatless during Lent).

January is National Hot Tea Month

As January and National Hot Tea Month come to a close, I thought I'd share my favorite tea essentials.

(above l to r) Princess Flowered Teapot, vintage. PersonaliTEA Teapot available from Adagio Teas. Teapot Warmer from Republic of Tea. Pink Manhattan Depression Glass Sugar and Creamer, vintage. Madrid Faux Depression Glass Cake Plate, vintage. Porcelain Tea Strainer from Abbey Gardens Tea Parlour. Cream Cheese Cake from Midwestern Meat Market and Bakery.

(left photo) Savories, scones and sweets from Abbey Garden's "Ceremony of Loveliness" afternoon tea.

Fresh & Easy

Fresh & Easy finally opened in the East Valley and exceded my expectations on nearly all counts. Tesco, Fresh & Easy's parent company, polled Valley residents and asked them what they wanted in a market. The answer - fresh, easy and healthy food choices. Tesco certainly delivered everything that we wanted. The food is tasty (and yes - Fresh!) the prices are reasonable, the employees are wonderful and you can be in and out the door a just a few minutes.

Fresh & Easy's prepared meals are the stars of this new concept chain market and they are nothing like you've seen before. All meals are packaged so you see exactly what you're getting. The ingredient list on each package is chock full of real food- not unpronouncable chemicals and preservatives. The meals include an exparation date in big, bold type and cooking instructions are printed on the package when needed.

We've eaten the pasta with vegetables, chicken fettucine alfredo, pasta putanesca and dim sum dumplings. Everything was delicious and restaurant quality, but for much less $$$. I tried the tuna sandwich and the chicken salad sandwich for lunch and they were much better than any prepared sandwich from a supermarket. No soggy bread and the lettuce was crunchy. Try the house brand of fresh juices, pomegranate blueberry is my favorite.
If you're just doing your regular weekly grocery shopping, Fresh & Easy has it's own brand of common supermarket items, from tea to jar sauces. Pricing is on target and in most cases the store is less expensive than where I normally shop. Butter was $2.08 per pound over the holidays so I stocked up.

Fresh produce is available and is pre-weighed and wrapped to cut down on the damage you get when everything is piled in a bin and sold by the pound. However, this is where Fresh & Easy falls short. They wax nearly all their produce. Have you ever seen a waxed plum? I hadn't until I purchased one at their store and I won't make that mistake again. Superstition Ranch Market has nothing to fear.

The employees at Fresh & Easy are among the new chain's biggest cheerleaders. A far cry from the apathetic staff at Basha's or the fake overly familiar people at Safeway, the staff here are well trained and seem genuinely excited to work for such a cutting edge company. Although self checkout lanes are the norm here - if you look befuddled for more than 2 seconds an employee will jump to your rescue to check and bag your groceries. I have been told on every trip to the store that I don't ever have to touch my groceries, just ask and they will be happy to handle everything for me. I love this place!

Tesco should think about holding customer service seminars for other companies - they do it right.

While Fresh & Easy doesn't carry every item you'd see on a regular supermarket shelf, they know their customer and serve them well. I hope they'll be around for a long time.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

After a few days of nice winter weather -baby it's cold outside! Oh to be sitting at Coffee Talk in March or October - sipping an iced tea and knitting. Today I think I'll settle for a hot chai from Starbucks.