Dine Out Diva

Join Pam Swartz, founder of Dine Out, LLC and author of Dine Out Phoenix, Arizona's leading dining guide, on her culinary adventures.

Your insider's guide to solving your dining dilemma in-and-around Phoenix and Scottsdale with restaurant reviews, mouth-watering photos, plus culinary events, trends, and musings you can chew on!

Contributer Barbara Toombs:

Barbara Toombs has always secretly yearned to be a chef, even working as a chef's assistant at a cooking school for a period of time! But she followed her initial instinct (and education) to be a writer and editor, and after living and working on three continents, she eventually discovered how to blend her passion for food with her passion for writing, and is now content to write about great food, great chefs, and great restaurants...while dabbling in gourmet cooking in her own kitchen.

Blog

First Ever “Ignite Food” Rocks the Local Food Scene

Posted on March 23, 2012 by barbara

Even the night's program was creatively produced in the form of a "menu" of presenters! Kudos to the Ignite Food organizers for a job well done. (PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS LEE)

Having never been to an Ignite Phoenix happening, I had no idea what to expect from the recent Ignite Food event, but I knew it involved the fantastic local food community and I wanted—no, had to be there.  So I was among the first to buy a very reasonably priced ticket—and it’s a good thing I did, because they sold out within hours.  What followed was an inspiring, entertaining, educational, and often humorous whirlwind evening that, like the event name says, “ignited” a flame within me to get out there and make my own bacon, grow a vegetable garden, experiment with exotic salts, find the perfect burrito, support local farming, go on a marathon food tour of a city, help improve school lunches, seek out and promote good local restaurants, and sample more good (a) scotch, (b) rum, or (c) both.

Continue reading “First Ever “Ignite Food” Rocks the Local Food Scene” »

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SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING ROCK & ROLL BLUES

Posted on March 2, 2012 by pam

SAM ANDREW – FOUNDING MEMBER OF BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING CO. WITH  JANIS JOPLIN – JOINS ARTIST PEGGY PETTIGREW STEWART

Wed. March 21 at 6:30pm at Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn

Sam Andrew—rock legend, guitarist, singer, prolific songwriter, composer, and founding member of the band Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin—will join glass artist Peggy Pettigrew Stewart for this very special evening.  Blending their passions, Sam and Peggy are in the process of creating an art exhibit titled “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Rock & Roll Blues” (working title).  The art, created by Peggy Pettigrew Stewart, will include glass sculptures of Woodstock-era music icons—more specifically those living legends who played at the original Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969.

This extraordinary traveling art exhibit features each musicians’ faces, accompanied by fascinating stories.  These superstars were part of the “Counter Culture” of the Sixties, changing the course of music forever— the likes of music greats such as Carlos Santana, Country Joe McDonald, Joan Baez, and members of Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Sam Andrew has several platinum albums, with two of his early compositions—“Call on Me” and “Combination of the Two”—becoming Big Brother’s most enduring classic tracks, which remain concert favorites today.  Sam continues in his original role as musical director of the band today, yet still finds time to paint daily.

Peggy Pettigrew Stewart’s work combines unique optical crystal with scientific glass to create her distinctive Plasma Fusion Glass.  She is a member of “Team Chihuly” for the recent installation at Desert Botanical Gardens. Through studies and training in Spain and the U.S,  she found a “voice”—and with it a unique glass process and technique.

Tonight, guests will be treated to an exceptional evening as Sam and Peggy give us a glimpse into the series they are in the process of creating (from which a film and book will be born), as well as share stories, songs, art, and more from Woodstock and the music scene, now and then. This is one dinner you won’t want to miss.

Reservations for this dinner are recommended. Please call 602-955-7878 to rsvp.  Held in Lon’s private library, the evening includes a wine reception with Sam Andrew and Peggy Pettigrew Stewart, four-course dinner paired with wines, followed by a salon-style evening. $125 per person (includes tax and gratuity). Seating is limited. For more info http://www.hermosainn.com/az/events-calendar/andrew-and-stewart-artist-in-residence.shtml

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FnB’s Dynamic Duo Hit Culinary Trifecta With New Venture

Posted on February 20, 2012 by barbara

Charleen, Pavle, and Eric at Baratin

With Scottsdale’s fabulous FnB restaurant getting rave reviews on a national scale, it’s no wonder that news of another establishment from the creative culinary minds of Pavle Milic and Charleen Badman—the talented team behind FnB—would start a lot of buzz in town … and so it was with great anticipation that two dear friends and I descended upon the newly opened Bodega, Baratin, and AZ Wine Merchants one recent evening. Continue reading “FnB’s Dynamic Duo Hit Culinary Trifecta With New Venture” »

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Farmer’s Markets and Why I Love Them!

Posted on February 20, 2012 by pam

I’m a sucker for farmer’s markets.  I love the atmosphere which buzzes with energy that you simply don’t find when you enter your chain grocery store. Laughter. Excited children. Aromas – fresh basil, garlic, wildflower bouquets, heirloom tomatoes, handmade soaps, just picked berries. Cooking demos from local chefs. Hand-pulled mozzarella.  Farmers sharing tips on how to prepare the freshest produce.  I find new inspiration and creative ideas for making just the right dinner in the coming weeks. I leave the farmer’s markets appreciating the food, the beauty, the freshness, and a sense of being connected to my community. For a listing of farmer’s markets near you: http://www.arizonafarmersmarkets.com/index.htm

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CAKE DESIGNER EXTRAORDINAIRE, COLETTE PETERS COMES to LON’S, WED. FEB. 22 at 6:30PM!

Posted on February 6, 2012 by pam
Looking for tips to create your own masterpieces? Colette Peters cakes tantalize the palate as much as they do the eye. Considered one of the world’s leading cake designers, her confections have graced White House Christmas mantelpieces, royal weddings, the store windows of both Tiffany’s and Cartier in New York City, as well as special events for celebrities such as Al Pacino, Sting, Bette Midler, Yoko Ono, and the Rolling Stones, to name a few. She’s appeared on every major television show from Today to Oprah, Good Morning America to the Food Network. She is owner of Colette’s Cakes, a specialty company in New York.  
The celebrated queen of confectionary arts will be flying in from New York City for this very special evening. She has become an inspiring resource for the home baker, professional chef, and aficionados of her incredible  edible architecture. Her cakes range from everything from the whimsical, topsy-turvy Mad Tea Party to the elegant grace of a royal bride’s ivory wedding cake.  
Colette Peters will join guests at 6:30 PM, on Wed.
Feb. 22 during the ‘meet and greet’ wine reception, followed by a four-course gourmet dinner paired with hand-selected wines in Lon’s private library. After dinner, Colette Peters will tell tales about her exploits with royalty and celebrity alike, share cherished trade secrets, demo a few useful techniques, and sign her book, Cakes to Dream On, as part of Lon’s Artist in Residence Dinner series.  
Seating is limited. Call Lon’s at 602-955-7878 to reserve. The cost for the dinner is $125 (includes tax and gratuity).
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