Thoughts, Reviews, and Ramblings

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

We have now had about a dozen visits to Twisted Grove since our first visit Summer 2020. They all varied from date nights to casual drinks on the patio. Twisted Grove is a versatile restaurant. If you want casual, grab a seat at the bar or out on the patio and you will be delighted. Have a fancy date planned? Make a reservation and get a cozy booth indoors. read more

The Trailhead Preserve at McDowell Mountain is an excellent hiking trail system just a little ways off of Hwy 101 and Pima Road. I originally hiked this trail system a few years ago on a visit and found it to be as easy or difficult as you choose. There is ample parking at the center when you arrive and there are restrooms and water fountains before you head up. Always bring lots of water with you! There is a nice complex at the base which was pretty much closed due to Covid but had some informational signs around the building. read more

Oh boy it has been awhile since our last review, but time to get back into the groove. Every now and then we go out and I say, "We really need to write up this place". And sometimes I say it, but the tone is totally different (re-read with your more sinister voice). We were recommended to check out Sel Scottsdale and were told we would be blown away. While not quite blown-away, it was a unique dining experience. read more

It's Friday!! I celebrate Friday nearly every week by not cooking dinner at home. It's a celebration passed down through many generations of women in my family.  An unspoken tradition, if you will.  Or it just might be that I forgot to remove the cedar plank salmon I intended to have Andy grill from the freezer, so we had to go to dinner elsewhere. Who can say? But Andy's daughter Lily made a rare appearance at home.  She's busy and we hardly ever see her. So we thought it would be a good idea to take her out to Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana and catch up. read more

Andy's youngest daughter, Lily, has been hearing great things about Ocotillo restaurant in Phoenix and wanted to try it to see what was up. Lily enjoys appealing to our foodie natures by finding restaurants we may want to try as a family. So when she asked if we could go tonight, we thought it was a great idea! An ocotillo plant is a stick with spikes in the Winter, but in the Spring it turns into a somewhat leafier green stick with spikes and pretty red flowers.  I have been studying these plants since we moved to Arizona because they tend to be in everyone's yards. They are indigenous to the Sonoran desert, so that explains their prevalence. However, Ocotillo Restaurant--named for the spikey sticks--is a casual dining restaurant located in Midtown Phoenix.  Offering contemporary cuisine and several outside patio spaces where you can enjoy the native flora and a lovely cocktail. read more

Sometimes I crave cheese.  It's not just a little "hmmm, something cheesy sounds good." It's a straight up jonesing for cheese. Do you love cheese?  I mean really love cheese.  Would you sacrifice your pant size (and possibly your spouse) for some good fondue?  Me, too!  Wally's is great for cheese. I think they have other food, too.  I'll try to talk about that, but really it's the S'mac and the Asiago Fondue that hooked me. read more

My last golf outing in Mesa was a dud (see Painted Mountain review) so I was super pleased when I pulled into the parking lot at Longbow. I was expecting some guys with mullets and dip spit bottles to greet me at the bag drop, but that was not the case. Maybe I underestimated Mesa... read more

A beautiful Friday afternoon for golf. Not a cloud in the sky and a light breeze to mellow the 97 degree heat. I heard lots of good things about Estrella and they were all pretty much on point. Wide rolling fairways, minimal water hazard, and an abundance of sand traps. read more

I grabbed my trusty cohort Leslie and we headed down south of town to the edge of the Gila River Reservation to play Whirlwind Golf Course. While this course is just across the highway from Foothills GC, there is little similarity. Foothills has some elevation while Whirlwind is built in a flat area. Whirlwind is also a Troon managed club so there is a bit more uppity swank to this course than you will find across the way. If you have a Troon card then use Troon's portal to book your tee times. There are two 18 hole courses at Whirlwind, Devil's Claw and Cattail. We played Cattail. These are both courses designed by Gary Planks. The course is adjacent to the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass which is an enormous resort with the pools and water features running along some of the fairway. read more

The TPC in Scottsdale has two courses. The Champions Course on the east side of Hayden Road and the Stadium Course on the west side. There are some huge differences in these two courses so I will not merge them together in a single review. The Stadium course is the home of the Waste Management Phoenix Open and probably most well known as the "Greatest Show on Grass" or as I like to refer to it as the "biggest shit show in golf" (not because Waste Management is the sponsor, but because it gets packed with loud obnoxious drunks). The tournament would also be a different review, but I digress...back to the course. read more

How about a fun date night! The waterfront at Tempe Town Lake is pretty happening, even after dark. When we arrived it was a bit confusing because the parking area was packed and people were heading in 10 different directions. We assumed that there was a parking lot for the specific activity we were focused on, and that was not the case. People show up to the town lake to then rent scooters and cruise along the river, or wander into town on foot, or venture to the water for a quick paddle about. read more