Thoughts, Reviews, and Ramblings

A quick Google search of Café Monarch leads you to their website, of course, but also pages and pages of news articles regarding accolades given to the restaurant time and time again.  Sometimes, when a restaurant is hyped to such a level Andy and I get really super excited and want to try it out for ourselves.  A lot of the time we are disappointed.  Maybe we're picky.  Hahahahaha!  Who am I kidding? We are definitely picky.  I am a little choosy about service and food quality. I have pretty high expectations, especially when we intend to drop some dollar signs for dinner. I expect all steps of service to be followed without exception. We both expect the food to be cooked to perfection and plated artfully. Boy were we in for a treat when we finally decided to check out Café Monarch to see what all the noise was about! read more

Sometimes we celebrate by going to a super fancy dinner.  This evening we were celebrating nothing in particular. Andy was leaving for a weekend golf trip with his buddies and he wanted to make sure I was well fed. So I didn't forget about him in the next few days...? Whatever the reason or lack thereof I'm here to tell you elements at Sanctuary Camelback is where you should be celebrating. PS: It may look like a typo, but the restaurant doesn't capitalize their name. So I'm not going to capitalize their name either.  You can direct your emails to the Grammar Police hotline. read more

I have a favorite pair of shoes.  They are so dear to me that I don't wear them.  If I had a glass case in which to display these shoes, I would place them prominently in the foyer of our house.  But I don't have a glass case, which makes Andy happy.  Our friends Shannon and Steven invited us to an occasion that required some dressing up. I thought that maybe this occasion would warrant The Shoes.  So we got dressed up.  I threw on my little black dress and my Happy Shoes and joined Steven and Shannon all aboard the authentic Pullman railcar turned swanky bar at Platform 18. We had a blast stepping back in time in this Gatsby era themed cocktail bar! read more

I'm not sure if you noticed, but if not let me tell you: It's flippin' hot outside.  Not just hot, but muggy.  Like we should be in a humid state, not a desert state.  What's up with that? Last year, Andy and I swore the Monsoon was a myth.  I counted a grand total of 12 raindrops all last summer.  This year, we get rain every night!  I'm not complaining. But I am desperately searching for something to do inside, where my hair doesn't magically turn curly and my mascara isn't running down my face like I just opened the door to a steam room. I've been telling Andy about Wonderspaces since I added it to our list of things to do. Andy comes from an arty family. They're all artists, collectors of art, or both. I can't really art myself; but I bake, I make jewelry, I'm pretty good at doing my makeup, and I like looking at art.  So I thought Wonderspaces would be the perfect way to beat the heat. read more

When we first moved to Scottsdale we were on the lookout for a really good wood fired pizza. We thought we found one in CM2 Pizzeria, but every time we went by, the place was closed. This was not a COVID hours type thing, they just operate within the tiniest window: 5-8pm. What we realized when doing our multiple drive-by-leave-hungry routines, was that CM2 was an off-shoot of the restaurant next door, Casa Mia. We peeked through the glass--they only have slightly better operating hours 5-9pm--and thought, "Well that looks like a delightful little spot." We then thought if a business is only open for 24 hours in the entire week, it must be really special and, by golly, it was! read more

We see tons of posts online by people saying, "I need to find a restaurant for a romantic evening out." Well, here you go! For starters the location is terrific. Stroll through Old Town until you see a cute little house with a tent out front that's even larger than the house. The house was built in 1939 and seems out of place as the rest of town has been built or rebuilt around it over the decades. The inside is cozy, Victorian inspired decor, dimly lit with beautiful wood trim. read more

We spent Fall and Winter 2020 remodeling our home.  Fun!  You know what was even more fun?  Cooking in your choice of crockpot, rice cooker, or toaster oven in the living room on a card table, because the living room was the only room in the house that wasn't in a shambles and covered with dust.  Actually, the living room was dusty, too.  Andy could see that I was slowly losing my sanity. So we decided to take a break from the mess and spend the weekend, staycation style, in a nearby resort.  We'll cover the resort in another review.  What we will discuss today is The Henry.  The Henry is like walking into your rich uncle's study, if he had a chef and served food in his study...  read more

When I think "The Mick Brasserie" my first thought is Victoria's Secret and my second thought is some sort of dark wood paneled Irish poser bar. But lo and behold The Mick is neither. I did have to look up the definition of brasserie and realized there would be beer, but not served by bra models. The Mick in this case, is a reference to McCormick Ranch and it certainly is an excellent Ranch Ambassador. read more

My visit to Sterling Golf and Country Club was really fascinating. The club just recently opened (February, 2021) and so everything is new or still in construction. The course is a Troon managed club which gets you on with some discounts if you are using a Troon card or have a Troon Privé membership. The course is a Nicklaus designed course with a menagerie of mounds, traps, and hazards to menace all levels of golfers. I played the Blue tees which were still 6,500 yards and managed to throw out a number that I will not be recording in the GHIN computers. read more

Tucked away at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Indian Bend you will find Alma. Just kidding, you still won't find it. In the Scottsdale Seville shopping center there is a small courtyard you get to from the corner, or from either side (hard to explain). Once in there you will be greeted by Alma, an excellent patio and an elegant dining room. Alma has a menu of Southwestern delights that will start you impressed and leave you stuffed. read more

We were searching for a light lunch, you know, a salad or something, because it was a hot summer day.  We had only been in town about a week or so, and weren't yet familiar with the restaurant choices in our neighborhood.  So we hopped on our trusty cruisers and rode over to Mercado Del Lago Mall which is conveniently located at Via De Ventura and North Hayden.  There we discovered Grassroots, and Andy discovered the only salad he has ever loved. read more

For starters... Verrado is not in Scottsdale. It's actually about a 45 minute drive from mid-Scottsdale and well worth it. My first impression of the Victory course is that someone dropped patches of sod in the middle of a gravel pit. My second impression was how cool it would be to play through patches of grass in a gravel pit! read more

When Lily tells her friends she went to a fancy dinner to celebrate her graduation, they will inevitably ask "Where did you have your fancy dinner last night? The Mall?" Well, yes actually. Fashion Square Mall has quite a few very nice restaurants, which do not even require you to enter the mall, per se. Francine, along with Nobu, Toca Madera, Zinque and others are attached to the mall perimeter. Drive up in your Ferrari, hand the keys to the valet, walk five feet and there you are: at the front door of the French Riviera. read more

Andy's middle daughter, Rachel, is off in California attending her first year of college.   We wanted to have a nice dinner and invite family to join us because she's in town for the weekend.  So, because I'm an excellent planner, I waited until late Sunday morning to find a dinner reservation for the evening.  Luckily, we happened upon Pubblico Italian Eatery, located right next door to Ruth's Chris at Scottsdale and Indian Bend.  What a gem! read more

Upon arrival to Scottsdale, we were in the midst of lockdown.  It was 115 degrees outside, Andy was out of town, and I only had a cat to entertain me.  So I flipped on Food Network (as I am wont to do in times of desperation... or just general boredom) and came across "The Best Thing I Ever Ate."  This is a show where the Food Network chefs tell you about their favorite menu items at their favorite restaurants.  Just my luck if one of them didn't mention a restaurant right around the corner from us, Fat Ox! (I know that reads like some new slang I learned from the kids on social media. Fat Ox is the name of the restaurant.) Well, I broke out my trusty phone and called Andy immediately. Just kidding. I added it to a running list of restaurants we want to try around town.  Let me tell you, Fat Ox did not disappoint. read more