Go west, young (wo)man!

After a little bit of finagling and jogging, I made my connection in Detroit and landed in Phoenix in the afternoon, as planned. We relaxed a bit and then headed to Crudo for dinner with a few friends. Matt had been before, but for the rest of us, this was our maiden voyage.

Crudo means "raw" in Italian, although only one of us opted for something from the raw portion of the menu. (I figured we'd probably hit up one of Phoenix' marvelous sushi spots at some point in the trip.)

We started with the yummy smoked olives.

Smoked olives

The burrata (fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream) was served with pancetta vin and arugula and some sort of toasty thing, and the dumpling was filled with butternut squash, pork, and parmesan. I wasn't impressed with the burrata, but the dumpling was marvelous.

Burrata

Dumpling

Mushroom gratin

I was a late adopter of the fried-egg-on-top-of-things trend, but I'm starting to dig it, and it certainly worked well with this mushroom gratin.

Risotto

The dark color of the risotto can be attributed to squid ink, and it also contained tomato, chiles, and tuna, although the latter were undetectable.

Pork belly

The pork belly with smoked tomato agrodolce (traditional Italian sweet and sour sauce) over polenta was a bit disappointing.

Brisket

This ceci- and beef tendon marmalade-topped brisket was probably my favorite dish, mostly because of the white beans underneath. I don't recall what they were made with, but they were so delicious that it must've involved a high level of butter and cheese. I only had a bite of the brisket, but I tried to steal a fair amount of my dining companion's cannellini. My only wish would be that they'd add a bit more spinach to the beans.

Scandalesque (burlesque show)

When we went, it wasn't worth arriving early for the opening act, but perhaps that was just a fluke. Overall, the show--we saw Fever in February--was raunchy, funny, audacious, and demonstrated some kickass dancing, humor, contortion, singing, and aerial acrobatics.

I had a marvy time, and I'll definitely go back. Scandalesque performs its shows at the Pressroom, which is a bit tricky to locate, but your persistence will be rewarded. They also teach classes at a CrossFit that is located--get this--in a historic, renovated church. Those high ceilings are great for aerial acrobatics.

The emcee

The contortionist did things that I didn't think were bodily possible.

The Gladly

The Gladly's dining room was large and modern, and the bar seemed like a lively spot to meet friends for drinks. Our waitress was very sweet, and this duck meatloaf was decadently wonderful. Topped with a foie gras mousseline, it had a smoked cherry demi-glace, and was served on rosemary millet. It also came with a few asparagus spears.

Duck meatloaf

Pistachio chicken liver pate

This pate made me remember how much I love pate, especially when paired with capers, kickass mustard, and pickled onions.

Curry mussel ramen

Made with green-lipped mussels, this ramen was incredible. Seasoning not just with curry, it also boasted pea leaf, pork dripping, pickled daikon, carrot, and cilantro. It was delicious in my mouth.

Roasted Brussels sprouts

These Brussels sprouts over corn grits (with ample cheese, butter, and cream) and topped with shards of parmesan and truffle oil were divine.

Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)

I wasn't initially excited about going to the MIM. Honestly, looking at a bunch of instruments from around the world didn't sound thrilling. Each exhibit has a video installation of the instruments being played or made, there's an interactive room where you can play some of the instruments, and the gift shop has a lot of fun trinkets that most museum shops lack.

Chihuly piano

We lucked out and happened to be there when a renowned pianist gave a small concert on Olympia, the piano decorated by Chihuly. He started with a funkified version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," closed with Gershwin's famous Rhapsody in Blue, and between there were some classical pieces. I can't recall which composers.

Tanzania

Turkey

Egypt

Mauritania

Hee. Hee.

Sculpture-dotted courtyard

This hummingbird was one of two that were flying around in the courtyard where we rested before exploring more of the museum.

Indonesian gamelan

Singh Farms

In the quest to find unusual things to do in Phoenix and the surrounding area, I found Singh Farms, a smallish farmers' market at the northeast corner of the 101 and East Thomas Rd. It was a bit hard for us to find it and it was uncharacteristically pouring at the time, but we finally managed to locate it. I brought home some spicy mustard, apples, and kale. They're known for their pastries, but most of the good ones (to me) were gone because Joanne and I took a barre class that morning.

Getting drenched searching for the elusive Singh Farms

The market

Ticoz Resto-Bar

Charla and I met at this place for brunch. We both had the specials. I chose the breakfast tacos, which were satisfying, and C. went with the pork tamales. We sat outside on the patio and took advantage of the weekend $2.99 bloody Mary's. They also have mimosas, Cape Cods, greyhounds, and screwdrivers for that price. They're skinny, but that's ok because it was lunch afterall. ;)

Breakfast tacos

Tamales

ChopShop

The ChopShop is a healthy chain I wish would descend upon Madtown. Seriously, do we need another burger joint, a place that serves Wisco food, and/or another temple to meat-centric fare? ChopShop isn't vegetarian, but they focus on healthy sandwiches, chopped salads, and protein plates. I had the Asian chop, and Matt had one of the protein bowls. Matt's was better; next time I'd get the tofu and green curry protein plate (comes with forbidden ride, roasted broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, onion, and mushrooms) and a side of sweet potato hash, which was nummy.

My Asian chop