The road construction continues! There is no way they can finish by this summer as projected…read more There are still huge piles of dirt, cones, detours and equipment in the street. Nothing to be done but wait it out or take another route. Some of the road changes are not clear to many drivers. In fact today I saw someone take the left hand turn exit only to go straight ahead. That mistake nearly caused an accident. Careful out there if you drive in either direction on Scottsdale Road near Jomax and further.

The original intent of the scenic drive has seriously waned over the years, as the area has become…read morecommercialized. It's okay--but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it.

100% of the Profits from Whiskers & Wine go to the Foothills No Kill Animal Shelter…read more For a $25. Donation you had the opportunity to partake in light food, generous pours of wine,Beer, Live Jazz Music, A silent auction and the opportunity to find a new furry best friend in the beautiful Carefree Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion. Some pet dogs also attended. Unlike other festivals of this nature I've been too this one was really well organized and the people just flowed in actually before opening time and everyone was more than ready to handle the crowd. (that is unusual and is not the norm) They had more wine flowing than food serving. Guess that makes sense after all it's called Whiskers & WINE not Whiskers and Food. I was surprised that Sassi Restaurant was pouring Obscure Italian Wine instead of serving food. I wasn't the only one blind sighted about the food selection. One woman next to me asked Grimaldi's for 5 pizza slices but they came here to pass out Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil Appetizers. The most popular food selection was Hummus Dip. Four kinds were served. The Carefree Bistro set up a mini buffet of many appetizers. Z's Asian Bistro, Venus Cafe and Giordano's also participated in donating their foods and time. The wines they poured were HIGHER quality than another a few other festivals I attended over the past year. (The West Side Festival and the Channel 8 festival) Arizona Stronghold, Brix Wines, Cellar 13, PRP, Sassi & Foothills were the Wine Sponsors. Mudshark Brewery sponsored Beer. The live music was good and they provided water and had nice clean bathrooms nearby. Parking was easy, close and there wasn't a fee.

North of Scottsdale in the Phoenix-area is the town of Carefree, Arizona. When I think of Carefree,…read moreI immediately think of the English Rose Tea Room as I've traveled about an hour to have afternoon tea there (48 miles from my house). I'm sure there are other places to explore, but due to distance I don't often get out that way. I'd recommend visiting as it's a small town and I've heard great things about. Plus, who doesn't love a town with a beautiful tea room?

Unexpected surprise while driving past this morning's frontier town…read more The homes are predominantly constructed in the adobe style and are absolutely gorgeous, surrounded by desert flora. Visit the small botanical garden! It's worth the detour.

I love this market and restaurant! They have a great variety of olive oils, specialty foods,…read morepremade meals, beauty items and wine -- my favorite! I especially love that you can sample many of the oils, jams and BBQ sauces before buying. I ordered from the Del Piero Kitchen and enjoyed the Mill Meatballs, which had great flavor, and the garlic Parmesan frites -- YUM! I also had a Hugo Spritz. A little sweet for me, but still refreshing. There are plenty of tables for small and larger groups, plus a bar where you can order drinks. I was tempted by the premade pasta and sauce dinners to take home, but decided to buy some wine instead. It was busy inside and quieter outside since we visited in mid-August, but they had the misters going. I can imagine how great the outdoor space and events are when the weather cools down. Definitely need to come back in the fall!

Queen Creek Olive Mill is one of those places where I tell myself, "I'll just have something…read morelight," and somehow end up ordering half the menu. No regrets. On this visit, we had the Melabella, Charred Mozzarella & Pesto, and Classic bruschetta, along with the White Mountain Pizza, Olive Farmer's Caesar Salad, and their special Meatball Sandwich. I usually stick with my favorites--the Drunken Tomato & Pepperoni pizza or Olive Farmer's Rigatoni Bolognese--but decided to branch out. Everything was delicious! You can tell they use quality ingredients, including flour imported from Italy, and it really makes a difference. Honestly, it's hard to go wrong here. Special shoutout to Wendy, the manager, who is always so friendly and helpful. The entire staff is welcoming and makes every visit enjoyable. Great food, great ingredients, and great people. At this point, I should probably just set up a permanent table! P.S. Don't forget the gelato! It's THAT good.

This was a free festival that promised art and a culinary experience. There was plenty of beautiful…read moreart displayed in the breathtaking Carefree Desert but as far as a culinary experience this event fell flat. I was planning on enjoying lunch at this event and had to come up with new plans. I did enjoy looking at most of the art and imagined some of the very expensive pieces I saw looking mighty pretty in my house but some of them cost what my car is worth so I just had to enjoy looking at them. As far as the food I do have to say the food vendor Safari Samosas that serves up African cuisine is OUTSTANDING. The samosas are hand held pies that have meat or vegetable fillings with many different unique sauces to dress them up. The owner very generously gave out samples and the potato curry samosa was really delicious. My husband enjoyed the beef samosa the best and purchased one as a snack. Other than the Safari Samosas they had a falafel vendor, a tamale vendor and a baked goods vendor. That is all the culinary I saw on Sunday. t was a beautiful stroll through the Carefree Desert. It was free. Lots of Art! Just not enough that I would call it a Culinary Experience. Three stars is positive and means A-Ok. Would have been very good if this truly was a culinary event.

This was my first time dining at Pizzicata (Mesa location), and the live music is what initially…read moredrew me in. The patio views are beautiful, and the weather made it such a great spot to sit outside in the evening. The live music was a perfect touch...not too loud, so you could still have a conversation comfortably. The owner even walked around and spoke with guests, and both he and his wife were incredibly friendly. You can tell they really take pride in the entertainment they provide and in making sure customers have a great experience. As for the food, it reminded me a lot of the pizza at A Modo Mio Cucina Italiana, which is just a few streets away. If you've had and enjoyed their pizza, you'll likely enjoy Pizzicata as well. I ordered the Jennifer calzone, and it was okay. I would try a calzone again, but with different toppings. I added a meatball for an extra $3, and honestly, it didn't quite hit the spot compared to homemade meatballs. The calzone had a lot of ricotta and not a lot of other ingredients in it, so if you're not a big ricotta fan, this probably isn't the best choice. That said, the ricotta itself had a different flavor than other ricotta I'm used to. The calzone doesn't come with sauce inside, and the side of sauce is pretty small. I was charged $0.50 for an extra... I probably could've used two or three sides of sauce since the calzone had none. That being said, the sauce itself was excellent... very close to the flavor of sauce that my family makes. This sauce really gave the calzone a good Taste, it just needed more! We also tried the mozzarella sticks, and those were good. Overall, the atmosphere is beautiful, the space is a nice size, and the staff is warm and welcoming. It seems like a good place to bring kids, although when we went (Thursday around 6), I didn't see many. The decor is lovely, and the overall vibe makes it a place I'd come back

I can't believe we haven't visited Pizzicato until now. Service was wonderful and the food was…read morespectacular! We will definitely be back.

This was a lot of fun and an insightful tour! Our guide James Beach was a TON of fun and made the…read moretour worth it. He had a lot of stories and history about the area which was interesting to learn about the area. We stopped at about 5 restaurants and the food from each of the restaurants was really good at each stop. If you are looking for a fun tour to learn more about the Scottsdale area, this is a good one. Be ready for a lot of walking though, and wear comfortable walking shoes!

Our tour was a great introduction to Old Town Scottsdale! Our guide, John (or James as he was known…read morefor our tour!), was such a great host. He shared so much background not only about the food but about Scottsdale itself. The stops were well planned and provided a great variety of items to sample. Our trip included pizza, tacos, a pasty, macarons, gelato, margaritas, beer, tea, popcorn and spice blends. I also thought the price was really fair for what we got. Highly recommend Taste It Tours and our guide John!

Patrick the bar tender is awesome! Drinks and food were delicious! My husband loved the sausage…read morepizza and I loved my chicken piccata and pear martini!! We will definitely be back!

I came in because owner posted on Facebook today that calzone was 5-6 lbs and tall with lots of…read morericotta. I ordered the biggest with 4 fillings and it was pretty flat, little ricotta and under 3lbs total (see photo). The dough was a little flat and chewy underneath - it is a folded pizza. Good American-Italian food but I was disappointed comparing it to what they advertised. The Facebook description sounded like one of those calzones in Italy with very inflated Neapolitan dough but it was a normal American one instead.