7th St/Coronado
Bike Chic | John Damaso
Posted on 2/14/12 by Cortney Kaminski » No Comments
Bike Chic is a new DPJ series by Fashion interns, Cortney Kaminski and Thuy An Bui. Each week they will be scouting locals who not only ride their bikes but look dapper doing it.
Who: John Damaso
Age: 32
Occupation: High School English Teacher at Brophy College Preparatory
His Neighborhood: Coronado
Where Spotted: Giant Coffee
What do you enjoy about downtown? I like the attempts at density downtown, and how it is a great place for people to try new things.
Where do you like to explore? Lux in the mornings usually, then my weekends I go to Giant.
What is your typical bicycling ensemble? I ride to school every day, usually in my work clothes.
What he’s wearing:
• Shirt from a resale shop on Indian School Road
• H&M pants
• Shoes from Argentina
• Project watch from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
His biking essentials:
• 1964 Triumph bike from England
• Brooks saddle and handlebars
• Bell helmet
From the Wire | Save the Date for Art Detour 24
Posted on 1/20/12 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.)
Art Detour 24 Links the Phoenix Art Scene with a Fun-Filled Two-Day Event
Artlink, Inc. will hold Art Detour 24 on Saturday, March 17 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, March 18 (Noon to 6 p.m.), consisting of self-guided tours of art galleries, studios and other venues in Downtown Phoenix. Music and performance art will also be a part providing visitors with a unique opportunity to explore Phoenix’s art scene in a fun, “festival” environment.
Whether you’re an established art collector or new to the arts and interested in learning more, Art Detour 24’s diverse base of participating art galleries and activities promises something for everyone – and for all ages.
Highlights of Art Detour 24 Include:
The Arizona Center: The First Stop for Art Detour weekend with two days of art, music, performances, restaurant discounts and more plus free parking for Art Detour 24 participants.
Kids’ Detour: Designated areas of the Detour for kids to choose from a variety of art projects to participate in. To make the walk itself more fun, Kids’ Detour will feature a photo scavenger hunt, with a child-friendly goodie bag for children who complete the scavenger hunt
The Public Hanging: An exhibition where visual artists of all ages and levels of expertise are invited to submit “hangable” works of art for display at Artlink’s A.E. England Gallery
WHAT: Art Detour 24
WHERE: Phoenix Arts Districts such as Roosevelt Row, Grand Avenue and 7th Ave/Melrose in conjunction with galleries, studios and venues in and around Downtown Phoenix
WHEN: Saturday, March 17 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, March 18 (Noon to 6 p.m.)
INFO: Contact Art Detour 24 Chair Nancy Hill at nancy@galleryhazel.com. Artists or vendors interested in participating can email artlinkphoenix@gmail.com for more information.
In early March, a handy print map and a downloadable online map will be available to guide attendees to Art Detour locations. Light rail stops and convenient parking will be clearly marked for each of the arts districts. Thereafter, aided by information stations at key locations, t-shirted Artlink representatives, and signage, attendees can walk, bike, Pedi cab, taxi or drive to the venues they wish to visit.
About Art Detour
Art Detour is a free, two-day, self-guided tour of artist studios, art spaces, galleries and other art venues in Downtown Phoenix organized by Artlink, Inc. in cooperation with the participating venues. Art Detour draws thousands of enthusiastic arts supporters each year providing a unique cultural experience for people new and not so new to the Downtown Phoenix Arts Community.
About Artlink
Artlink, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to linking artists, business and the public to better understand, appreciate and promote a thriving arts community in Central Phoenix. Artlink oversees a variety of community-based art events happening throughout the year, including First Fridays, the country’s largest self-guided gallery tour, and also operates two downtown galleries at Heritage & Science Park and the A.E. England Building. Both gallery spaces are committed to showcasing the talents of new and emerging local artists. Ongoing community projects include, the Artlink First Friday Art Walk and Third Friday Gallery Tour, annual Juried Exhibition, the annual Artlink Art Detour self-guided tour, featuring open studios, pop-up galleries, family-friendly art experiences and more. For more information, visit us online for the latest happening with Artlink. For more information, visit: artlinkphoenix.com.
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
Bus Tour Traces the Footsteps of Trunk Murderer Winnie Ruth Judd
Posted on 10/14/11 by Jill Bernstein » No Comments
Marshall Shore steeps himself in the history of Phoenix that others might overlook: the cultural anomalies, the fads, the dreamers, the artists and the eccentrics that provide a unique window into our city’s past. One such character was the infamous Phoenix trunk murderer, Winnie Ruth Judd.
Back in 1931, the nation was rocked by the grisly details of this gruesome crime. On October 16, 1931, Winnie purportedly killed her two roommates, cut up one of the bodies, stuffed both bodies into trunks, and took them by train to Los Angeles.
It was a big job for a small woman, and the twisted tale of adultery, jealousy and murder was complicated by rumors, speculation and uncertainty. Bits and pieces of the story continue to come to light, even to this day.
“As I talk with people in my research, the most interesting things come to light.” said Marshall. “Just recently, my phone rang and someone began telling me about how Winnie Ruth Judd’s victim was cut up in the basement of her house.” Yikes!
This Sunday, October 16, is 80 years to the day since the crime was committed, and in true Marshall Shore style, he’s hosting a bus tour to commemorate the date. The tour runs from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and begins and ends at the historic MacAlpine’s Soda Fountain coffee shop on 7th Street.
The bus will travel along the old Brill trolley line, which will give tour-goers an idea of the shape and size of Phoenix back in Winnie’s day. Other stops will include the houses where she lived and where she met Jack Holleran, a well-known Phoenix businessman with whom she had an adulterous affair; the Grunow Clinic (still a medical clinic!) where she worked; the house where the murders took place; the train station where she attempted to board with the oozing trunks; and the old Maricopa County Courthouse where the trial took place.
Marshall promises a few surprise stops along the way and tour participants will be among the first to hear about details in the story that have recently come to light. The tour will cover more information than found in any book, and Marshall will reveal a little known connection to the story that explains why MacApline’s was chosen as the meeting place.
Celebrate Halloween early with this eerie trip down murder’s memory lane.
If you go
What: Winnie Ruth Judd/ Trunk Murder Tour
When: Sunday, October 16
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Where: Tour begins and ends at MacAlpine’s Soda Fountain
Tickets: Available here
