Drinkin’ & Drivin’ just got a whole lot more fun and yes — safer too. IDLE Exclusive Chauffeur, a new limo service, is providing gratis luxury rides to the patrons of many fine dining establishments around town. If you live or party within a certain distance from one of their partner restaurants, they will make sure you get to and fro safely. Click here for a complete list of partner restaurants. They will also happily take you anywhere for a fee. And if that’s not enough, they also publish a magazine, IDLE Lifestyle, chock full of delicious advertorial.
To call for a reservation: 480.970.IDLE
Rooibos. Ceylon Neeraja. Zingiber.
No, they’re not characters from the new Madascar movie, they’re big players on the Teavana tea wall. This new tea boutique in Biltmore Fashion Park is singlehandedly enlivening that previously drab corner of the mall between Borders and the Apple store. With a wall of nearly 100 teas from every corner of the earth, Teavana sells bags of tea like coffee for home steeping or single cups for take-away.
We’ve been back about a dozen times for a cup we’ve simply dubbed the “Feel Good Blend.” We don’t quite have a grasp on the ingredients: Honeybush, Peppermint, Silver Needle, and Jasmine Pearls, so we ask them to write it out (as seen above), all with a touch of honey. It, well, makes you feel good. At $5.40, this blend ain’t cheap. But because we’ve been raped by Starbucks’ prices for so long, the pain of paying $5 for an afternoon pick-me-up has become almost normal.
And if you get bored waiting for your tea to steep, check out the listening station or chat with the cute tea girls offering samples out front.
Just who is Teavana? A chain now with over 80 locations throughout the U.S., Teavana makes a good portion of its money through paraphernalia: teapots, cups, serving sets, buddha statues, etc. Although employees push a little too hard for a big sale, they’re willing to explain the complex blends. And surprisingly, the shop has retained a small-biz feel, which we love.
Teavana
2502 East Camelback Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Ph: (602) 957.1779
www.teavana.com
This holiday season, Eddie V’s restaurants (Eddie V’s, Roaring Fork and Wildfish) are featuring the “12 Cocktails of Christmas” drink menu that includes a seasonal selection of martinis and cocktails made with pumpkin and candy cane liqueur, Godiva white and dark chocolate, amaretto cream and more. Priced at $11 a drink, the 12 Cocktails of Christmas menu is offered nightly starting Fri., Nov. 28, through Wed., Dec. 31, 2008.
“The 12 Cocktails of Christmas” include:
- Pumpkin Pie Martini
- Caramel Apple Martini
- Nutter Butter Martini
- Toasted Almond Martini
- Candy Cane Martini
- The Disgruntled Elf
- Five Golden Rings Martini
- Navidad Martini
- Peppermint Patty Martini
- Chocolate Mint
- White Christmas Martini
- Arctic Kiss
The Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North is hosting weekly, complimentary educational tequila seminars at their Crescent Moon restaurant.
The complimentary seminars start at 6 p.m. every Wednesday, and last for approximately 45 minutes. A knowledgeable on-site expert will guide patrons through the differences between añejo, reposado and blanco tequila, while offering complimentary sips of several tequila selections as well as a variety of appetizers. The seminars launch the first week of December 2008 and will run through May 2009; seminars are open to both locals and Resort guests.
Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North
10600 East Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale
Tel: (480) 513-5020
While most of the Valley seems caught in a lengthy pit stop of development, one ghost town is on the brink of turning things around … we hope. Market Street at DC Ranch lost its pizzazz for us quickly and obviously the same went for a bunch of tenants: Blue Wasabi, San Felipe, Flo’s, Star Spangled Tavern have all but disappeared. Sol Y Sombra, though, seems to thrive against the grain, holding its own against the more corporate Fleming’s and Eddie V’s on Market Street.
So where’s the new energy? Sol’s Chef, Aaron May, is literally in the final stages of opening his long-awaited Autostrada. We hear that guys behind NYPD Pizza, the Zieglers, are opening up a sushi concept in the old Blue Wasabi spot, and Chef Michael DeMaria – now with lots of free time since his Centerpoint Condominiums concept got the kabosh along with the entire tower itself which sits there like something from Batman’s Gotham – is taking over Flo’s old spot for something of his own.
Although the current state of affairs has taught us to be weary of the future tense, we’re pulling for all these ventures, not just because it sounds like a fun mix of restaurants, but those people up in North Scottsdale must be starving.
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Arcadia Fine Wine hosted a preview party for their new downtown Scottsdale store located at the posh Safari Drive development. Guests were treated to some excellent day-drinking and a sneak peek at their new store designed by Don Carstens (Mastro’s, Crown Room, E4.)
The new spot features more than 100 expertly chosen value wines from around the world. Certainly something for everyone. Weekly tastings will be held every Thursday from 5:00pm-7:00pm starting this December.
Arcadia Fine Wine
Safari Drive
4747 N. Scottsdale Rd. C-1007, Scottsdale
480.970.0646
Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-6:00pm & by appointment for your convenience
Another day, another 500-point drop for the dow. Goodbye expense account and hello Domino’s Pizza.
Not so fast. The Four Seasons Scottsdale, apparently, wants us to know that luxury still awaits in these tough times, and you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a little. Check out their new cocktail: The Russian Standard.
A simple vodka martini made with Russian Standard vodka, served up with two roasted potatoes adorned with creme fraiche and caviar. Imagine, the classic pairing of vodka and caviar all in one drink.
But here’s the best part: it’s only $12.
Order it up at the Four Seasons Onyx Bar any night of the week.
10600 East Crescent Moon Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85262
(480) 515-5700
Every once in an almost never, EATERAZ stays at home to cook dinner. And next time we do, we’ll be wishing it was in one of the kitchens from the new BSH Gallery that just opened in Scottsdale.
Who’s BSH? The folks who distribute kitchen brands like Thermador, Siemens, Gaggenau, and Bosch.
This beautifully designed space is full of workable kitchens and appliances and plans on hosting events with top local chefs to show off how functional all the stuff is. Walking through will have you salivating over steam ovens, induction cooktops, and germ-killing refrigerators. The entire Gallery was designed by [merz]project, the design firm behind downtown’s Roosevelt Tavern.
We’re just happy to see that BSH didn’t set up shop in the expected location—hacienda-ville, a.k.a. Scottsdale Airpark—but rather in a spot where they could breathe on their own, in a modern, 12,000-square-foot showroom.
The BSH Gallery and Training Center
8435 N. 90th St., Ste. 2
Scottsdale, AZ 480-763-2669
By appointment only, M-F 9am-4pm
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