New in Town: Oregano's

Okay, I'll admit I'm cheating a bit right now. I had actually tried Oregano's prior to moving here, but I love it so much I can't help but include it in my "New in Town" series. The atmosphere is fun, the food is delicious, and the iced tea is refreshing. My only complaint is there is never enough parking and always seems to be a wait if you try to go there on an evening, or at least that is how it is for the Scottsdale location. That being said, it is worth almost getting your car towed because you parked in the wrong spot and the 30 minute wait for a table. If you go, even in the blazes of hell heat, sit outside. Doing so definitely creates an "I live somewhere cool" ambience that cannot be replicated in the confines of indoors. The menu item I cannot recommend enough is the appetizer called "Uncle Ray's Stuffed Artichokes". It's absolutely unbeatable as far as pizzeria appetizers go. I also recommend sharing because the portion size is generous when it comes to the food. That being said, the leftover pizza still tastes good cold for breakfast the next morning, which is really the ultimate test of any pizza in my opinion.

New in Town: Salty Senorita

If you are looking for non authentic yet okay Mexican food and the most fabulous margarita selection ever, then I highly recommend trying out the Salty Senorita. They have more than one location, but I am a fan of the one in Scottsdale (of course) because of its outdoor seating area that allows you ample people watching opportunities. Plus, you can't go wrong with a place that offers over 50 different margaritas. After one of those, you won't care what the food is like although I must say I am a fan of the chips and salsa. They also have a happy hour so this place makes a good stop on the way home from a long work day.

New in Town: Flirt Salon in Tempe

As any gal knows, the task of finding a new salon can be daunting even without taking into account relocation. I loved my hair stylist in Boise. She became a good friend so when I moved here and it came time to have the hair done again I started to have separation anxiety topped with the normal switching stylists anxiety because what I had in mind was a little scary to let just anyone do. When I moved here, my hair was quite dark (like my soul) but thanks to all the time I was spending out in the lovely sunshine, since this is after all the valley of the sun, my hair was lightening in a non attractive way (brassy orangish highlights are so NOT in this season). I needed to find someone that could take me from the dark reddish brown back to a blonde that not only can withstand the sunlight but that also looks good on fair skin.

I did what every mildly computer savvy person does: I googled salons in the Scottsdale area. Not being overly impressed by the prices or reviews of the salons in my city (apparently my zip code would indicate that people can get by with charging more for the same service based on location alone), I broadened my search to the neighboring communities which is how I stumbled upon a gem of a place in Tempe known as Flirt Salon. I thought the name was charming, the online reviews were fantastic, and they have awesome deals for new clients. I was impressed that there were reviews specifically regarding the salon's ability to successfully execute extreme color changes since that was what I was looking to do. I contacted the salon via email in order to get a couple of questions answered and had a response from the owner, Yani, within 24 hours so I opted to book an appointment with her. I arrived for my appointment and was immediately impressed. Not only in the salon beautifully set up and tidy, but the friendly receptionist offered me something to drink and a brownie right away. Water and chocolate? Woohoo for Flirt Salon! Now let's see what they can do about my hair, right?

Yani took the time to talk to me about what I wanted to do and to feel the texture of my hair. She gave a price quote up front so there were no surprises at the cash register. The new client special I chose was the free haircut with color (duh), but there were others to choose from as well. I let her know up front that I was nervous because while I have done extreme change like this before, but I have had my color totally messed up before as well. Despite my skittishness, Yani was fabulous. Not to mention that her salon features a product line that does not trash your hair in the color lifting process. Anyone who has done what I am talking about here knows that your hair has a tendency to feel like straw when it has been bleached. Not in this case. My hair felt softer than it had prior to the color processing. I was amazed because Yani is not only a miracle worker, but she is also a color genius. I walked out of the salon feeling like a rock star. I also walked out of there with a bag of product samples and a discount for my next appointment just for booking the appointment in advance.

After my next appointment, I knew I wanted to write about this place. I wanted my hair lighter than before and more blonde, less red (my hair will pick up red tones like it's going out of style). Once again, Yani worked her magic and managed to achieve a color I could enjoy without the hair feeling dried out. Our chemical experiment had turned into gloriousness on my strands. As a result, I would recommend this salon to anyone in the area looking for a stylist who has great attention to detail, patience for "difficult" hair (such as mine since it is fine but there's a lot of it to contend with), and who is truly passionate about what she does. The pricing is reasonable for the level of service as well. Flirt Salon can be found online at http://www.flirthairsalon.com/.

New in Town: The Paisley Violin

I knew when I saw the name of this place in a Phoenix guidebook that I needed to go here, if anything because it sounded cool.  The Paisley Violin is located in an up-and-coming artsy district of what I think is considered part of downtown Phoenix.  The cafe/bar features primarily Mediterranean food and live music.  The Friday I happened to venture down there was the First Friday Art Walk night so it was a little crazy since there are art studios behind the Paisley and there was music both indoors and out.  When I got there, I was going to just give up since there were no available tables, but I opted to take a look at the studios and see what some of the locals put out for art.  Glad I did because there is some interesting stuff to be seen in the local market.  I want to go back down to that area now I know where it is because the road this place sits on is action packed with studios and I only went through the ones behind the cafe.

When I finally was able to find a table inside, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the featured musician is someone I was familiar with from an impromptu open mic performance while he passed through Boise.  The musician that night was Sharif from LA and he is fabulous.  He went well with my coffee and appetizer.  He is also easy on the eyes for you ladies in town who want to catch his performance next time he is here (he passes through every couple months).  The atmosphere at the Paisley Violin is very chillaxed and of course, they have local artwork hanging on the walls.  This place was very reminiscent of Seattle for me.  Because it was so crazy busy, the service was a bit slow, but the waiter was so nice (recurring theme in the Valley of the Sun) that I didn't mind.  This was the perfect place for someone to go on their own, enjoy music, and catch up on a book.  I am sure it is also the perfect place to take someone else, but beggar's can't be choosers sometimes.  

At any rate, highly recommending The Paisley Violin on a Friday for live music and interesting conversation.  Will definitely be going here again (especially when Sharif is playing).

New in Town: Tea Infusion in Tempe

Tea Infusion in Tempe is the sort of place that rocks my little tea drinking world to its very core.  Nestled in Tempe Marketplace among shops and an outdoor seating area complete with a fountain is a doorway to tea drinker's heaven.  The tea menu is beyond extensive with excellent variety within the different categories of black, green, white, red, and herbal.  You can personalize any tea with ice, boba, milk, or sweetener.  I did try the boba because the online reviews raved about it, but this former Seattlite will pass on what they consider boba tea here.  Sidenote: surely there is a place here that knows what "real" novelty bubble tea is supposed to be like and if there is I vow to find it.  The baked goods are tasty as is the red curry chicken soup.  

So far, I have been to this place three times in the span of 2 weeks.  I have tried the vanilla creme, strawberry, and something I don't recall (probably because of my buyer's remorse at the boba).  The cool thing about Tea Infusion is if you find a tea you really like, you can also purchase it in bulk and take a bag of it home with you.  They offer free wi-fi, chilled out employees with good recommendations of what to try, and plenty of people watching opportunities.  I am in love with this place even with the odd location.  This is definitely a place I will be frequenting so long as I live here.  

New in Town: Pearl Sushi in Scottsdale

I have been relying on the the Phoenix New Times publication to aid me in my quest for new experiences here and boy, am I glad I did on this one.  Pearl Sushi had a very lovely ad featuring an extensive happy hour including cheap yet creative drinks.  I took the liberty of pulling up their website to check out the menu and discovered this is not a run-of-the-mill sushi place.  The drinks and sushi dishes are action packed with creative names such as "Pearl Necklace" (sushi) and "Porn Star" (martini).  Any place naming their dishes with sexual references has got to be the place for me considering my super tacky sense of humor revolving around innuendoes and inappropriateness.  

Sure enough, the Pearl did not disappoint.  The atmosphere was very Scottsdalian in nature.  The menu offered laughter and many options.  I opted for a roll called "rice crispy", a salmon, avocado, cucumber, crab, and cream cheese creation wrapped in tempura awesomeness.  Also tried a southwestern spin on yellowtail that was surprisingly delish.  My martini didn't even taste like alcohol, which is what I prefer.  It pretty much tasted like adult kool-aid.  The staff was also fantastic and very attentive.  Sitting outside, eating good food and drinking good drinks. . . it doesn't get much better than this.  I would highly recommend any sushi lovers out there in the Phoenix metro head on over to trendy Old Town to the Pearl for a rawfully delightful experience.  

A word of caution though: parking is tricky since it's downtown Scottsdale so don't be in a hurry.

New in Town: Coffee Plantation

 This past Sunday I was in need of some caffeine and free wi-fi that didn't belong to my neighbor so I decided to venture on over to the Coffee Plantation I had seen in passing.  Apparently this is some sort of chain, but it is not one that we had in Boise or any other place I have previously lived for that matter since it is apparently an Arizona exclusive chain, so it met the criteria established in my prior blog.  

The coffee drink was okay, definitely not anything that would have set this particular place apart from anywhere else that sells pretentious coffee drinks, but it did suffice for the craving.  The dessert I got was yummy, but again pretty typical coffee house fare.  They do offer food items that did in fact look tasty so had I been hungry, that might have been the thing that gave this place more points above another.  What was charming was the decor, as the place lives up to its name.  I felt like I was in Louisiana sitting in someone's house that happens to have a full scale coffee bar in it, which would seem strange if that were really the case because why would someone have a coffee shop in their living room anyway. That's just showing off at that point. 

At any rate, I will likely return to this place solely for the convenience factor, but will keep looking for my own personal "Cheers" of the caffeinated world.  

New in Town: Phoenix Metro

Just did two things I pretty much swore I would never do.  The first thing being factoring a guy into my location decisions.  I was the last person who ever thought they would uproot and relocate for a relationship, yet here I am sitting in my awesome apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona. . . alone because things didn't work out and that is fine because Scottsdale, Arizona could just as easily be Scottsdale, California and I LOVE me some Cali. Which leads me to the next thing I swore I would never do and that is live in the blazing heat of Arizona.  For years my friend in northern Arizona has been trying to talk me into moving here and I told here absolutely insert expletive here not.  No expletive here way are you ever going to see my expletive here living in expletive here Arizona.  It's too expletive here hot!  That being said, so far I effing love it here.

Lesson learned: never say never.  Every time I have I end up doing whatever it is I said I would never do (for example: get drunk).  Whereas, the things I set out to do (for example: try marijuana at least once) I have never done.  So there you go.  Oy.

As a result, I thought it would be fun/entertaining/informative/whatever for me to write about some of the things I try out here as someone new to town. Something I have discovered upon moving here is that 95% of the people living in the Phoenix metro area aren't actually from this here, which could explain the odd midwestern accent that seems to be prominent.  That could also explain why that same 95% of the population is freakishly polite, which I appreciate going back to the whole being new to this area thing.  

My goal is to try out non-chain places that are not readily available everywhere else and review them so as to keep a record of places I like, love, or would never go back to along the way.  I don't believe people are really considered a local somewhere until they've been in that area at least a year and can navigate the street system without relying on a map (I have two in my car just in case).  Part of my quest in all this is to find a non-Starbucks coffee shop to become a regular at. Nothing against Starbucks, I heart them as much as the next java junkie, but I like to support local businesses whenever possible in order to make a small difference in the world, especially since the economy bottomed out and I saw first hand in the city I moved here from how quickly a small business owner's dreams can shatter (literally overnight, in case anyone was wondering).  Other things I am looking to discover: local musicians to become a groupie to, artsy stuff, outdoorsy naturey type stuff that I normally wouldn't consider due to weather restrictions but here that's only an issue like 2 months out of the year, shopping, dining, etc.  

We'll see how this goes considering my last post was forever ago so I can say that I am consistently inconsistent in my blogging efforts.