It’s pretty obvious that all the good names were taken when event organizers searched for a moniker to describe their after-work culinary festival at the Camelback Esplanade. But it’s going on year seven, so who’s got the last laugh?

No need to bring your own forks to the 7th annual Forks & Corks, this year taking place on April 8 from 5:30pm-8pm. Prominent chefs from all over the Valley will dish up some of their finest while vineyards and microbreweries from around the world pour their best.

In between all the food and cocktails, you can bid on vacation getaways and gift certificates at the silent auction tables.

Forks & Corks costs $65 in advance, $75 at the door. Proceeds help provide scholarships for the Arizona Hotel and Restaurant Education Foundations, local non-profits that support the rising stars of the industry.

Forks & Corks
Camelback Esplanade
2425 & 2525 E. Camelback Road
(602) 604-0729

http://www.forksandcorks.org

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If you’re not going to the Arizona Barbecue Festival on April 10, you are either A) a Communist or B) going to the School Garden Open House and Tour organized by Slow Food® Phoenix. The self-guided tour will feature 12 school gardens and a community garden at Scottsdale Community College. Attendees will have an opportunity to speak to the gardeners, teachers and students, and participate in interactive activities at each location.

Stops include the Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center in Scottsdale with its edible raised bed garden and a Sonoran desert garden, and Mesa Arts Academy, with 16 5’x5’ raised redwood beds, as well as a large grass area beneath a mesquite canopy for an outdoor classroom. What’s so special about school gardens? They provide hands-on learning, build community, encourage healthy eating, and allow children to explore and value natural environments. And we think that’s pretty cool. Plus, you might want to learn about them for a school in your community.

Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children, and are available at www.schoolgardentour.eventbrite.com or at one of the gardens listed below. The event runs from 9am to 1pm, so it’s entirely feasible to do the BBQ Festival after the tour, meaning that even if you’re a Communist, you’re AOK in our book.

Starshine Academy, 2801 N. 31^st Street, Phoenix
Hidden Hills Elementary School, 1919 E. Sharon Drive, Phoenix
Desert Garden Montessori, 5130 E. Warner Road, Phoenix

LindseyLeeBurke@gmail.com

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When we say “Cuba” you probably think Gooding Jr., cigars, or libre. But soon, you’ll think Luci’s Healthy Marketplace. Each week, Luci’s chefs offer cooking classes that aim at effortless, family-friendly meals. The classes cost $39.99 and include a coupon for 10% off of a same day purchase at Luci’s.

The next class is on Sunday, April 25^th from 5:30-7:30 p.m., where Chef Slade Grove of Wicked Kitchen Gourmet presents FLIGHT TO CUBA. Cuban-style pork sandwiches, fried plantains, mojitos, and Cuban-inspired desserts are all part of the program. Experience enticing flavors while learning a thing or two about Cuban cuisine!

1590 E. Bethany Home Rd.

Phoenix, AZ 85014

(602) 773-1329

www.lucishealthymarketplace.com

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Did you know that when some of your favorite chefs go out to pick vegetables at local farms, they do it naked?

Did you also know that you can take pictures of them doing it? Just kidding, they have only gone foraging au naturel once, and it was for a calendar that benefits charity. Produced by Singh Farms, an all-natural 20-acre farm in Scottsdale, the new In The Raw calendar shows off (literally) 12 local chefs who are covered only by fruits, vegetables, and baked goods. Why? Singh says it shows their commitment to sustainability and education through recycling, as well as sharing the vision for locally-sourced sustainable agriculture and cooking.

Listen, we realize that America has turned food into porn, but taking portraits of chefs frolicking in fields of carrots is another level. A good one? You decide. In the Raw costs $14.95 and can be picked up at the farm (8900 E. Thomas Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85256) during their weekly public market, Saturdays from 7am to 2 pm. Then you can see where Lee Hillson went topless or Tammie Coe showed off some ripe melons.

Sales benefit charities such as the Scottsdale League for the Arts, American Diabetes Association (Camp AZDA), and American Red Cross‚ earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

Participating Chefs: Chris Bailey (Taggia at Firesky Resort), Aurore de Beauduy (Vogue Bistro), Jay Bogsinske, Matt Carter & Rochelle Daniel (Zinc Bistro & The Mission), Tammie Coe & MJ (Tammie Coe Cakes & MJ Breads), Payton J. Curry (Caffe Boa & Caffe Boa Bistro), Taylor Domet (Heirloom, An American Restaurant), Lee Hillson (T. Cook’s Royal Palms Resort & Spa), Jared Porter (The Parlor), Comer & Robyn Smith (Cielo, Hotel Theodore), Michael Stebner (True Food Kitchen), Charles Wiley (Caffe ZuZu at the Hotel Valley Ho).

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Here on the home front things seem to be falling apart‚ one agrees on a health care prescription, unemployment looms, and so do Oprah’s pounds again. It sure seems like it’s time for a drink, eh?

And just in the nick-of-time, Elements at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort is hosting Men Behind the Vines. No, it’s not some Tarzan strip-tease show, these are men working to save the world with good wine‚ Oscar Renteria, Rob Mondavi Jr., and Chris Hall. The trio will boldly cross the California/Arizona border and join forces on tomorrow night, March 24, for a special dinner engagement. They will lead a tasting of varietals from their vineyards with food from Executive Chef Beau MacMillan.

They will pop the bubbly at 6:30pm. Then dinner will follow at 7, accompanied by short presentations by the winemakers. Seats are $125 and include dinner, wine, tax, and gratuity. Seating is limited. Reserve yours at 480.607.2300.

*There will also be a raffle for three signed magnums (one from each winemaker) benefiting the Laura Hart Burdick Foundation, a local charity that supports St. Joseph’s Hospital.

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12 THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO THE ARIZONA BARBECUE FESTIVAL IN THE LAST 72 HOURS

1)   3 of the 9 slots for the Biggest Badass Bartender Competition have been filled. And the Judge—the Great Grand Niece of Jack Daniel, Lynne Tolley—has booked her ticket to come in from Lynchburg, TN. Can anyone pick her up from the airport?

2)   Chefs have begun crafting their menu for the April 9 Preview Dinner, a barbecupalooza under the stars with 13 of the Valley’s top chefs. You should come.

3)   Our first 3 entries to the Miss Arizona Barbecue Festival Queen Beauty Pageant have come in. Yes, that’s really the name of the pageant. No it’s not owned by Donald Trump. Know anyone that should enter?

4)   Our number of teams competing and serving barbecue to you has soared past 40. Which means you might want to hit the gym, now.

5)   We realize that residents of downtown Scottsdale might complain about all the BBQ smoke. So we integrated “The Best Damn Cigar Lounge” into the event, to cover up the smell of smoke with, well, the smell of smoke.

6)   Skeptics of our event should know that we’ve ordered our power generators. So at least we’ve got that covered.

7)   Skeptics of our event should also know that we’ve begun a Black List of Communists to be published on April 12’s EaterAZ.com – this list will include the people who promised their help to Rick & Dave but shunned them once called upon. Why aren’t you picking up your phones?! We’re sincerely disappointed in these people and companies. Nothing like a good ‘ole public shaming, right?

8)   Our hourly lineup for the Viking Kitchen Demo Stage has been set and includes Michael Stebner from True Food Kitchen, this cool guy, and a couple other great, entertaining chefs.

9)   We’ve ordered so much pork, beef, and chicken, that we’ve decided to pay our staff in hams and sirloin steaks.

10) The Whole Foods Farmer’s Market is pretty much booked up and ready to roll. Whole Foods, you’ve been a joy to work with and we appreciate it!

11) Back to that Viking thing—they are also providing grills for that Preview Dinner. Really, if you’re a foodie and love our local chefs, you should check out this event. We know, it’s $150, but it will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. In a good way. Promise.

12) Our water sponsor, redleaf, gave away 6 pairs of Spring Training tickets to our Twitter followers last week as a way to stir up the buzz before the event. Man, you Canadians really are nice people.

13) Plates, cups, forks and knives, and napkins for the Preview Dinner just arrived from these people—www.LetsGoGreen.biz. How cool is it that our servingware will be made from Post-Consumer Waste?!

14)   Something about Tobias?

15)    Waste Mgmt?

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Sometimes, we don’t like it when we put 2 and 2 together. It can, frankly, be kind of disheartening. We just did it and it led us to a question: does publicity matter?

Last week, we received a Thank You letter and Wrap-Up Report from the team who put together the Devoured Culinary Classic at Phoenix Art Museum – the letter went out to folks who participated in the event (we had a booth promoting the Arizona Barbecue Festival). We bet 100% of the people who attended Devoured walked away feeling great about it – the event was pretty damn cool. The Twitter buzz was unprecedented. The crowd didn’t want to leave. So it’s unfortunate that the Thank You letter notes: “While the event was not a moneymaker, the museum was very happy with what we delivered.”

So here’s where 2 and 2 come in. We were bummed to hear that the event flopped on the money side, but excited to hear that they received coverage in just about every media outlet available. On the media report, it notes that Devoured received more than 30 magazine and newspaper articles, nearly a dozen radio interviews, 10 TV segments and countless Web site placements, reaching “an audience of 4.9 million.” Impressive! So how did it not make money?

We mean no disrespect to Devoured at all. Or the media. Or the people who didn’t pay to go that should have. We’re just wondering what’s up with the publicity model? How can those two statements be made in the same letter?

We hired Prime 3 Media to promote our event, and they’ve got us scheduled for about the same amount of coverage as Devoured. The newspaper, the TV shows, the web calendars, the blogs, the yadda yadda yadda. It’s all good, and it’s all necessary. But does all that PR work like it used to?

Guess we’ll learn for ourselves on April 9-10.

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Can’t seem to get that Black Sheep song out of our heads, the one that goes, “You can get with this, or you can get with that,” Click Arrow To Play because standing in the Biltmore Fashion Park parking lot deciding whether to avoid the Lipitor prescrip and go to True Food Kitchen or try and finagle our way into what was obviously a preview test run at Fox Restaurant Concepts‘ newest, Zinburger, we decided that, hey, if Bourdain takes cholesterol meds, then so can we.

We were happy to find Peter Hearn, former owner of the Welcome Diner, back in action directing the Zinburger staff. Hearn used to slap his burger patties with gobs of butter, so he’s not shy around the calories – that’s why he recommended the “Today’s Special–a Breakfast Burger topped with bacon, cheddar, a fried egg, avocado, and mayo, also with an order of fried zucchini. It was heart-stoppingly good.

Our doc said that although he would have liked us to go to True Food, we coulda just went with the Turkey Burger, or Ahi Sandwich, or hell, even the simple Zinburger with Manchego, Zinfandel Braised Onions, and mayo (which the people next to us were devouring). But no, we went all out, and loved every second of it. Especially because sitting at the bar with the garage door windows pulled up, that spot in the Biltmore feels like a sunny day by the beach in Santa Monica. Or, the perfect day here, finally, in Phoenix.

So if you can get with this, or you can get with that, we say, “then this is where it’s at.”

Click here for menu

Zinburger
(officially opens this Monday, March 22)
2502 E. Camelback Rd.
602-424-9500
www.foxrc.com/zinburger.html
Sun–Thu  11am to 10:30pm
Fri–Sat  11am to 11pm

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You know, people talk a lot of shizz about the west side, and frankly, we’re not entirely convinced all that shizz-talk is justified. We mean, come on – they’ve got Applebee’s … and, um, Applebee’s. And an arena. But they’ve also got the West Side ThrowDown, an event being thrown by the folks at Intothesoup.com—a food and travel blog that documents the life of one Phoenix couple, David and Heidi Lee. One a chef, and the other a teacher/aspiring web filmmaker.

The West Side ThrowDown will take place this Monday, March 22, at the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria. Chef Beau MacMillan from elements will make the perilous journey to host the event which will include a tequila tasting, a cook-off featuring six chefs (including Josh Hebert from Posh Improvisational Cuisine), a leather fashion show (not that kind, you perv), lots of food, and more.

We asked Beau Mac and Posh Josh if they were excited about this event and they responded unanimously, “We’re totally excited, but it’s really just a practice run for our big VIP Dinner at the Arizona Barbecue Festival, where 13 local chefs are cooking on Viking grills from SunWest Appliance Distributing and serving our best BBQ for $150 per ticket. It’s really going to be an amazing night under the stars near SouthBridge and people are really going to get their money’s worth with four meals each, live music, and free booze. But yea, we’re totally excited about the West Side ThrowDown!”

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the door, but space is limited so get them in advance by calling 623.776.8400 or going to www.intothesoup.com.

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Tania Oseguera could be an ambassador for drywall and make it seem sexy. But because this is a food blog and not Trading Spaces, we got the double good fortune at last weekend’s Devoured Culinary Classic and spoke to Oseguera about tequila!

She was in town to give a seminar and work the margarita table for Corzo and Cazadores tequila. As you can see in the video posted here, we snuck away for a couple minutes and brought some bottles with us for the fun interview. Check out her take on what’s new with the dos bueno brands and why blue shoes are a no-no.

Click the pic for the interview!

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