DPJ Blogs
Second Annual Phoestivus Market Dates Announced UPDATE
Posted on 12/02/11 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
The Second Annual Phoestivus Market, an open-air holiday shopping event dedicated to locally-owned businesses and vendors, is set to take place on two consecutive Wednesdays, December 14 and 21, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
The event will feature over 70 vendors, seven food trucks and activities and entertainment for all ages. The festivities will take place at the Phoenix Public Market, one of 12 Downtown Phoenix organizations and businesses co-hosting the event.
Loosely inspired by the “Festivus for the Rest of Us,” the Phoestivus Market will host Feats of Strength, a Phoestivus Pole and an Airing of Grievances.
According to Get Your PHX founder and Phoestivus lead organizer, Ken Clark, “We have a vision for an open air holiday market that celebrates locally-owned businesses and locally-produced food. We want to create a tradition that will be here long after we are gone.”
This year’s the market will double in size, with food and gift vendors to be accompanied by local gourmet food trucks, popular with diners throughout Phoenix: Short Leash, Hey Joe, Mojo Bowl, Emerson Fry Bread, Beet Street, Jamburritos and Mamma Toledo’s Pies.
The first 100 attendees of either evening will receive a free Phoestivus Goodie Bag, contributed by Local First Arizona and event partners.
The community event is sponsored by the Phoenix Public Market, Get Your PHX, CenPho.com, Downtown Phoenix Journal, Downtown Phoenix Partnership, FilmBar, La Picolla Cucina, The Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA, Local First Arizona, Oasis on Grand, Phoenix Community Alliance, Phoenix New Times and Roosevelt Row.
The first Phoestivus Market launched in 2010 as a pilot project. With limited resources, the grassroots effort featured over 40 vendors, 6 food trucks and drew over 500 attendees. With increased partner support and community participation, organizers anticipate over 2,000 participants this year.
UPDATE: The 2011 Phoestivus vendor line-up:
| 3 Brothers Coffee Co. | ModernMuse61 |
| Athena’s White Light Candles/td> | Mystic Pieces Jewelry |
| Accessories by Annie | Nina and Grapey |
| Alley Cat Art Studio | One of a Kind AZ |
| annieWHERE | One Windmill Farm |
| Babcia’s Closet | Poppa Maize |
| Barb’s Sweets and Treats | Retro Rose |
| Beaded Dreams | Retro Spectacular |
| Bread Basket | Riteway Catering Co. |
| Sano Studio | Sebastien Millon LLC |
| Community Exchange | Sherrye’s Kitchen LLC |
| Copper Square Ambassadors | ShopDevious |
| Costantino’s Kitchen | Smart Cookie |
| Carol’s Delectables | SugarJam Cookie |
| Desert Gypsy Goods | Southwest Designs in Jewelry |
| Dr. Hummus | Strawberry Hedgehog |
| Fallen Wood Turnings | Studio Artology |
| Fashion Resources | The Tamale Store |
| Flipped Bird | The Loaded Cupcake |
| Ginny’s Creations | Think Positive Apparel |
| Golo Family Farms | Tiger Mountain Foundation |
| Grate Roots | Treehouse Bakery |
| Happy Snappy Dog Treats | Wei of Chocolate |
| Hazel & Violet | White Light Candles/Athena’s |
| The Herbalista | Wisdom-Nectar |
| Herb’N Organics | Ziindi Shop |
| Horny Toad Farm | ZonieBaskets |
| Jewelry by Sue Ann | |
| Kathy Zimmerman Photography | |
| Lotus Wei | |
| Luster | |
| Maya’s Farm | |
| Meharian Ceramics | |
| Moderncat Studio |
From the Wire | Artlink’s First Friday At a Glance
Posted on 12/02/11 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
(From the Wire includes press releases received from reliable sources that help tell the story of the many happenings in Greater Downtown Phoenix. Yep, they are ripped from our inbox.)
Phoenicians know some of the best gifts are found when we Shop Local Phoenix businesses, and one of the best times to do that is during Artlink’s First Friday Art Walk, taking place tonight from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. So, download your map, discover these galleries and shop your heart out.
Heritage Square Gallery
Grey Scale Forest: A Cenotaph
Multimedia artist J Morales transforms the gallery into a Cenotaph in honor of the green world we are turning into ashes.
A.E.England Gallery
“Enter the 36 chamBEARS”
The latest in Tara Logsdon EKLbearmy’s mission to promote higher thinking.
Gallery Hazel
New works by Phoenix favorite - Christine Cassano
Holiday cards, gifts and coasters available!
Phoenix Center for the Arts
EMERGING ARTISTS
A group exhibition of painting and drawing curated by Edna Dapo.
The Icehouse
Jenny Gentry
Arizona debut of Jenny Gentry. who was raised in Albuquerque and on the reservations of Arizona. Solo show of over 100 photographs, oil studies, and large canvases.
eyelounge
DAVID CACOPHRODISIAC
The newest exhibition of self-portraits by Daniel Funkhouser
Five15
Interstate West
New work by Sarah O’Donoghue
Tilt Gallery
“Who’s in the House?”
An exhibition of selected prints.
Willo North
Steel/Vision: New work by Steve Gompf and Hank Fries
A stunning end-of-year exhibit of new work by Steve Gompf, one of Phoenix’s finest and most popular artists, and new work by Hank Fries, an emerging artist whose sculptures are bound to bring him new fans.
Olney Gallery in Trinity Cathedral
“Rhythms of Grace”
An exhibit of paintings and drawings by artist and musician James Van Fossan.
Make the Scene | Top Iron & Wine Songs to Prepare for the Show
Posted on 12/01/11 by Monica Arevalo » No Comments
December brings many gifts to music lovers, and it starts with the Iron & Wine show at Crescent Ballroom.
Samuel Beam’s soothing, let’s-sit-next-to-the-fire voice is remarkable in every album. He recently flipped a switch with his music on “Kiss Each Other Clean” and took a risk in adding an electronic pop sound. The leap is different but still brings the magical feeling an Iron & Wine song usually gives off. 
For all the lucky individuals going to this small intimate (plus sold out) show, get ready to be hypnotized by Beam’s voice (and beard). For everyone else, here’s a playlist to reminiscence and imagine what the show would be like.
1. “Cinder and Smoke” (Our Endless Numbered Days, 2004)
One of Beam’s slower hits but a great one to keep. The man can do wonders with a simple acoustic guitar. Even when the song is over, listeners will continue humming the closing humms and nuhs.
2. “Each Coming Night” (Our Endless Numbered Days, 2004)
Beam has an amazing way with words. It comes as no shock that in just four paragraphs, he can say everything that most people have trouble with putting into words.
3. “Boy with a Coin” (The Shepherd’s Dog, 2007)
If this song doesn’t make you want to clap along, we have no idea what would. It repetitive clapping and subtle guitar is infectious and fun to listen to.
4. “The Rooster Moans” (The Creek Drank the Candle, 2002)
From his first album, this raw, southern banjo song shows an early stage of Beam that most people don’t know about. It makes for a great toe-tapping song.
5. “Teeth in the Grass” (Our Endless Numbered Days, 2004)
The twangy guitar breakdowns make this song a must.
6. “Rabbits Will Run” (Kiss Each Other Clean, 2011)
This song will astonish most Iron & Wine listeners with its jungle-type beats and hypnotic layering of different rhythms and noises but Beam’s vocals perfect the tune with eerie echoes and hovering last words.
7. “Me and Lazarus” (Kiss Each Other Clean, 2011)
Within the first 15 seconds of this song, you should already be hooked in with the jazzy, funk bass line which is something different in Iron & Wine’s songs. By the middle of the song, trumpet pops in for a nice surprise leaving you to wonder what else is coming along the way.
8. “Sodom, South Georgia” (Our Endless Numbered Days, 2004)
The perfect song to add to a long roadtrip with winding roads surrounding nothing but good ol’ nature. Beam’s voice is haunting and slightly creepy singing about dead white boys.
9. “History of Lovers” (In the Reins, 2005)
A quirky song from Iron & Wine/ Calexico’s EP with horns, a slight pop sound and a hint of banging on piano keys.
10. “House by the Sea” (The Sheperd’s Dog, 2007)
Even though its over a minute until vocals come in, the opening music gives a taste of fairytale-like keys and a Spanish style guitar that gives a little funk to the album.
Eat My Words | Green New American Vegetarian
Posted on 11/23/11 by Justin Lee » No Comments
Green is a cool little place.
Echoing an adapted carport with its hulky, sterile white walls, floor-to-ceiling rolling glass doorway and polished concrete flooring, Green embodies a youthful, transitional urban quality.
Depending on who you ask, opinions on vegetarian dining―in particular the type that intently plays to mirror more carnivorous experiences―can be polarizing. For enthusiastic food lovers of all stripes, this rings especially loudly.
Without delving too deeply, Green feels like it’s trying to strike middle-ground. It also feels successful at doing so. It’s a tenacious, animal-free eatery that aims to be accessible to all.
Serving bites influenced Asian to Italian, Californian to Southern American, the menu exists without the easy assistance of animal fats, meats or the like―mock proteins dominate.
Of the many sandwiches on Green’s menu, their infamous Secret BBQ Chicken Sandwich ($8) is one of their proudest. Thin medallions of faux chicken, tender as the poultry it mimics can be, sit on a toasted roll with charred onions and mild peppers, lacquered in a sweet crimson espresso barbeque sauce that faintly teases Asian undertones. A dollop of vegan mayonnaise helps add body.
The No Harm Chicken Parm sandwich ($8) is even more successful, with the mock meat cutlets deep-fried, perfectly flaky, bathed in a sweet marinara sauce and glued together with a satisfying, molten mound of vegan mozzarella. If there was ever a carnivorous deception that didn’t matter, it existed with this sandwich.
Sides like the hardy tahini coleslaw ($3), addictive samosas ($4.50), and the terribly good thyme-flavored French fries ($3), all continue to indicate that unlike similar vegetarian outposts of yore, where befuddling flavor inadequacies dominated, Green represents a fresh brand of animal-abstaining ethos – a generation where the sentiments remain, but its creativity and craft have been encouraged to evolve.
Green New American Vegetarian and its neighboring sibling Nami, the pint-sized coffee, ice cream and bakeshop (read: all vegan) that sits immediately across its tight parking lot, both live along 7th Street, just north of Palm Lane―a vibrant stretch of asphalt that keeps bearing fruit.
If you go
Where: Green New American Vegetarian (Visit Nami here)
Address: 2022 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ 85004 (Map)
Eat My Words: Rice Paper’s Banh Mi
Posted on 11/16/11 by Justin Lee » No Comments
Located along a flowering urban stretch of 7th Street between Palm Lane and Virginia Avenue, amid Coronado’s western hem, exists the dewy, contemporary Vietnamese eatery Rice Paper.
Rice Paper is certainly a charming place. Cramped with a quirky, colorful and innocent modern aesthetic that is contrasted starkly by the aging mortar of the space’s original bones, Rice Paper’s deliberate visual mix translates literally to its menu―serving core Vietnamese values teased for slightly more Westernized appetites.
Spring Rolls
However, tempered Vietnamese or not, Rice Paper provides some wholeheartedly tasty eating.
Offering an array of familiar Vietnamese classics, or takes on classics, like their namesake fresh spring rolls (here nearly burrito-sized furls of soft rice paper filled with snappy herbs, greens and an array of carnivorous and vegetarian proteins alike), warm brothy bowls of pho (savory noodle soups that garner a ramen-like cult following by many enthusiastic food hunters), crispy chicken wings (their best being the option with the tangy, salty fish sauce glaze), and, of course, the hallmark banh mi sandwich.
Crispy Wings
A love child of Euro-Asian colonialism, the banh mi of today has become an unofficial gateway bite into what Vietnamese cuisine can provide, showing striking contrasts between mild and sweltering, salty and sugary, smelly and fragrant. Everyone loves a satisfying, balanced sandwich, and at Rice Paper, there is no mocking that―it delivers.
Known for its chewy, crusty baguette frame (an ultimate banh mi make-or-break), filled with interchanging layers of savory protein, raw vegetables’ sweet and bitter crunch, zesty herbs, and often the added glue of chili sauce, a great banh mi is most definitely sandwich hall-of-fame material.
Grilled Pork Banh Mi
Pork being one of the most popular banh mi stuffings, Rice Paper offers two distinct versions: a seasoned, slow-braised option more complementary to barbeque pulled pork shoulder, and a more straightforward take, with the meat less manipulated, lightly charred on the grill, then chopped. The former is more overtly flavorful, the latter more subtle in its inherent pork attributes―smoky at first, finishing sweet as you complete the wondrous chew.
Rice Paper was never intended to be a substitute for those fantastic, stalwart Vietnamese dives we all love. We can all name our favorites. Rather, it’s about diversity in context and options, and that’s always a good thing. And in this case, a very good tasting thing.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Rice Paper.
If you go
Address: 2221 North 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ
Contact: (602) 252-3326 | Map
