What's Hot In Phoenix

Flat, yet mountainous.  Dry, yet botanically diverse.  Sizzling hot temperatures, yet an oh so cool vibe.  This is how Phoenix, Arizona can only be described.  As the 5th largest populated city in the U.S., Phoenix has a way of blending realness with irony.  The desert scene hosts some of the most record breaking, driest and hottest temperatures in the States.  A speedy six hour drive from my cozy L.A. apartment, through San Bernadino County, passed the famous Cabazon dinosaur stars from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and just beyond the Indio date farms, Phoenix lies its sprawling downtown, not far from the California border.  And this is now where my newlywed Little One calls home.  More bang for your buck than L.A. living and overwhelming job opportunities convinced her and my newest kin to start their journey to happily ever after here.  I have had family in and around this Arizona hub since the late 90's but now that Little One is here, I'm finding myself visiting more than ever and truly relishing in discovering new places with her.

In the area of this capital city that is closest to my sister's home, the 120 degree weather doesn't seem to faze its residence.  The golf courses on every other corner are still green, people are using public transportation without breaking a sweat, and the baking sun doesn't deter anyone from their mandatory coffee run.  Something I really enjoyed about my recent visit was learning that within just a few streets of my crash pad are my favorite kinds of places: Used (independent) bookstores, breweries, and coffee shops.  In fact, there was a place that almost combined all three, but as they were on the pricier side, I didn't get to review them... yet.  (First Draft Book Bar/Changing Hands Bookstore in case I intrigued you enjoy for a visit without a review.  I kept wanting to call it Read and Mead)  

As I toured with my sister and our friend throughout the city, she seemed to know exactly how to tickle our fancy.  She first took us to a place that has been on my blog must-try list for years.  By her place, instead of Starbucks dotting each crossroad, Dutch Bros sits in their place.  Fewer than 10 of the 309 Dutch Bros locations are in California and are hours away.  However, I'd heard about Oregon originated company (started in 1992) when I worked at a hotel and would do research as part of my concierge job title.  Guest would come in and ask if there was one of these drive thru coffee houses nearby and would rave about their great coffee.  

Dutch Bros, not Brothers, was started by 2 Dutch descendant brothers who had begun their lives as third generation dairy farmers.  Once forced to move from the family business, the two experimented with beans in the double-head espresso machine they purchased, using anyone who was within arm’s reach to try their brew, and within a month, they were on track follow their mission, "Spreading the Dutch Luv".  The company has a great commitment to the community and charities, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, as one of the brothers passed away from Lou Gehrig's disease in 2009.  The company has three core values, which are apparent, even to someone sitting in the drive thru for their very first time.  Speed, Quality, and Service.  But more than that, their value of each other as a team.  Comradery oozes from each person as they help each other and the customers.  One person hands another a bright safety vest from the freezer and they make sure each other stays hydrated in the summers broil.  The kid taking our coffee order looked like a Jungle Cruise skipper with his khaki hat and had the corny jokes to match.  He was fun and friendly and incredibly helpful as we were still a ways from the menu board and didn't want the usual steamy, milky latte that would feel like room temperature if we stepped out of our car.  

With The Skippers advice, my sister got a blended mocha, our friend got a fruity iced tea, and I went for the suggested monthly special (August) The Islander.  If the lines weren't so long, I would have had my sister swing back around to thank my cruise guide.  Chocolate Macadamia nut, coconut, vanilla, and their espresso blended with ice and cold enough to burn your hands when you held it.  It was full of flavor but not one overtook another.  Just enough of each to make a perfectly cool pick me up.  Just like that, we were part of the Dutch Mafia.  That's the loyalty stamp program.  Ten drinks and the eleventh is free.  

We took our refreshments to the second and final stop for the afternoon, Bookmans.  Only two stops, you ask?  Bookmans is a used bookstore that we spent almost two hours in.  Calling Bookmans just a bookstore is an understatement.  The Phoenix location we visited, hands out a map when you enter the store.  Not only is it huge in size, but it would do better to just list what they don't sell.  "Buy, sell, trade" books, music, movies, video games, board games, comic, jewelry, toys, home goods, and an entire area dedicated to musical instruments.  I was floored and my sister could only laugh.  She knew I would be blown away by all of it.  As I thumbed through the vintage toys of my youth, Little One and our friend knew this was going to be a wallet damaging day.   Ceiling high red bookcases took over the majority of the center of the sales floor.  Books separated by genre and coordinating Knick knacks and art.  Some of the tchotchkes sold there were homemade.  A few looked like they were created by a blind toddler; with their diaper leave ins... I mean not everything was my taste.

I couldn't help but feel the toy section gripping at my heart.  There were Barbie’s from the 80's and 90's, tiny bags with Tsum Tsums, old action figures and new ones.  What took me back to a very special moment in my childhood was seeing an original, in box, The Chipmunks theater playset.  My older sister and I loved that interactive toy so much.  You pull a tab on the back of the stage and the floor drops out, leaving Alvin, Simon, or Theodore in a drawer to be rescued before the next costume change or backdrop replacement.  

The books had staff recommendations that lead you to similar reads (love that idea).  In the video games wing of Bookmans, old Atari 2600s sold for $60 and they had games for every console released, even grab bags of games.  My sister had found a video game she had been wanting so she picked that up, our friend got a few books that I believe are still sitting in her TBR pile, and I got one little writing prompt book, that I also have just sitting on a pile with my other like journals.  We went easy this time but it was extremely hard.  Pins, pop culture pencil cases, and Japanese erasers were the impulse buys at the checkout counter.  Spin around from there and there is a discrete, locked, wooden wardrobe that housed materials for the 18 and older audience. 

They had an original Pee-Wee doll in its box still.  It was a sign that this wouldn't be our only time here.  Little One has her work cut out for her for my next visit.  We went to the Grand Canyon on this trip as well.  Will she find something even more fun when I come back in cooler weather?  I loved how much fun we had but in all honesty, if I go back and just get to see her (and new hubby), then the trip is always amazing.  

Calm, peaceful Arizona butte at 120 degrees mid day

Give a Little, Get a Little

I've been making a substantial effort to take better care of myself lately.  Eating better, trying to make it to the gym, remembering sunscreen, working on my mental health, little things that will result in an overall healthier me.  Today, I decided to do something for another person's health.  Three, in fact.  It seemed a little off putting at first, but a funeral home in the next county over was running a blood drive today.  No motivation other than the sheer craving to pay it forward somehow on a blistering summer Wednesday.  However, in my trek on to do-gooderness, I got to reward myself after by meeting with my friend for dinner and dessert.
When it comes to donating blood, making sure you're properly hydrated and have your blood sugars up prevent dizziness and fainting, which are my biggest fears about donating.  Needles don't bother me in the least.  Phlebotomists, the Dracula of the medical industry, are highly trained and usually very patient, so I have no timidness laying my inner elbow out to them.  It's the horrible life draining feeling you get when your head and upper body no longer have blood circulating fast enough and you feel like you might drop dead right there.  To prevent that, I was extra cautious before and after my visit.  Coffee, pasta leftovers, and a bite of cold brew coffee chocolate bar and 32 ounces of water made up my morning.  Upon arriving to the funeral home, they offered a make your own ice cream sundae bar, coffee, and my ultimate caloric weakness, giant chocolate chip cookies.  I bypassed the coffee with ease with my end goal in site and as I read my paperwork, I tried to make small talk with the woman in charge with Cookie Monsteresq politeness.   I was then sent to the awaiting truck where a surprisingly large staff made busy in confined but air conditioned quarters, with up to four adjustable patient chairs and several rest areas.  Salty and sweet snacks as well as bottled water were in every nook of the truck.  I brought my own bottle of water and after a myriad of overly invasive questions, I was given my seat.  Each seat had a blanket offered and oversized darkened windows.  The parking lot faced a quiet street so the view was serene.  The sweet and funny "leech" that was attending to me made sure I was comfortable and even tried to match my aftercare tape to my dress.  Time passed in a blink and as I took the mandatory 15 minute rest, I ate a snack size bag of Chex Mix.
I made my exit feeling fine and headed east to the quiet town of Moorpark to meet my date.  Well over ten years ago, I'd graduated from the little community college here so I know the city, even with the slow development it has made in the years since.  Still, I had never been to Carrara Pastries, yet my friend had been to the one other location the family runs in Agoura Hills.  Opened by an Italian native, and later had the help of his Food Network famous brother, the shop originally sold just breads, pastries, and coffee but has since expanded to offer small plates, gelato, and wine.  The full bakery boasts beautiful Italian cakes in the dining room refrigerators.  As the sun continued to sizzle outside, my friend and I ordered pre dinner drinks.  It's advised to stay away from alcohol after giving blood and I, as happens only on rare occasion, was not in the mood for coffee.  I ordered an iced matcha latte and my friend choose a crisp Pinot Gris.  My latte was cool and refreshing but didn't offer the thicker consistency that matcha tea is known for and rather than creamy, it was watered down.  We each got a salad, split a decadent mushroom pasta dish and upon choosing dessert, we each went a different direction.  She picked the house favorite gelato called the Raffaello and a second scoop of chocolate hazelnut.  One bite of the Raffaello proves why it holds a top spot at Carrara's.  White chocolate, coconut, almond, with cereal pieces topped with Nutella.  I picked the Rum Baba.  An intoxicating cream filled cake that has been soaked in rum.  After a couple of bites of this 2 inch pastry, there was still about a centimeter of rum left behind.  Oops, I didn't mean to break the bloodletting rules but I didn't think it would be so deliciously overwhelming.
Now, at the end of the day, I not only ate way more food than on a regular day, but I'd had so much sugary treats that my teeth felt gross and my stomach was bloated.  I was rewarding myself for my good deed but also making sure I had enough substantial nutrition in me to prevent any illness.  Of course, another rule of donating blood was no heavy lifting so an evening trip to the gym was out.  All in all, it was all worth it.  I think the next time I visit Carrara I will try an Italian coffee for its authenticity.

A few extra bits:

This blood drive was provided by United Blood Services.  They are a blood bank, just as the Red Cross is but they service mostly Ventura County, where Red Cross is Los Angeles County.

When a person donates, they give one pint of blood, two cups.  A body has 7 to 12 pints of blood.  After a blood donation, the body can replenish the supply in about 24 hours.  However, because of testing and "just in case" situations, a healthy and eligible person can donate every two months.

My blood type is O negative.  That means I can give to any person and am the most commonly used blood type in a state of emergency when there is no time to test and match blood types.  What can I say, I'm a giver!

Another tip to prevent faintness is doing butt clenching and leg exercises while your donating.  It helps the blood continue to circulate without affecting the upper body.

Little One ended up needing blood during a surgery  a little over a year ago, so she gets very excited to hear when her friends and family donate.  I'm so happy someone paid is forward then for her as I am hopefully doing for someone now.

Very modern facilities, including that silly scenic light cover thing they use in gynecologists offices. Ha!

Cold Brew. Let's Talk About That.

Have you "cut the cord" yet?
Not familiar with the term?  Prior to 1953, the world wasn't familiar with the idea of a TV dinner.  As technology evolves, so does the terminology we use about it.  "Cutting the cord" refers to someone who no longer has cable television.  When I moved out of my parents years ago, I never imagined I could live without cable.  It was just to be on a trial basis.  If I couldn't handle it, we would adjust the household budget to accommodate my human need to be in control of hundreds of channels that offer nothing I actually wanted to watch anyway.  Turns out, cutting the cord was easy and freeing.  Just about every show becomes available on streaming services and I don't mind being behind a few seasons if it means saving money... that I will inevitably spend on coffee and books.  Instead of spending hours flipping channels and sighing through commercials, in our house, we took full advantage of the internet instead.  Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, casting from a device to the boob tube via ChromeCast, and don't forget the occasional DVD.  Tons of options for entertainment while using a service we were already paying for.  Lucky for us, YouTube was created in early 2005 by a set of guys who had already been working together at PayPal.  By the time we chose to cut the cord, the husband and I already had established several YouTube channels we subscribed to and would watch different content just like with TV channels.
A favorite of mine is Good Mythical Morning.  GMM is a variety show that had been around just about as long as YouTube has.  This show, which is also the name of the channel, features two guys, Rhett and Link, who run the hilarious (and sometimes educational) series daily (Monday-Friday),  uploading in the mornings but with a late night show set up.  One of the segments they feature is a taste test meets ranking system.  They take a style of "food", get five or so products in that style, taste everything, and then rank the products in order of how they decide mutually the like to dislike ranking of each item.
I bring you, Cold Brew products, reviewed the GMM way.
Coffee can be brewed several ways.  Traditionally, hot water poured through finely ground coffee and served hot.  Coffee made that way but at double the strength can be poured over ice, there you have iced coffee.  Cold brewed coffee is made with cold or room temperature water, soaking the grounds anywhere from 3 to 24 hours for taste, acidity, and strength.  Typically, cold brew coffee is higher in caffeine due to the long extraction time it takes without hot water.

Reviews and Ranking:

Trader Joe's Coconut Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate:  Thick concentration meant to be diluted with milk or water.  Tried it on its own and the rich coffee flavor would be great poured over vanilla ice cream.  Added water and the flavor went from bold to water with a hint of coffee.  Tried with some hazelnut creamer, as we were out of milk, and that was the best version of this but still not that great.

Trader Joe's Cold Brew Coffee Chocolate Bar: Rich dark chocolate filled with very gooey filling.  The bottom of the bar was coated in finely ground coffee bits.  Over all and decadent bar but would have liked to try it in milk chocolate.  Coffee flavor was not overwhelming and paired nicely with the chocolate.

La Colombe Mocha Draft Latte:  Milky and creamy with a hint of chocolate.  Claimed to be 2 cups of coffee within the 9oz can.  It was the only thing I went back and finished after the taste test and it didn't give me the jitters.  Delicate coffee flavor made for possible chance of sneak up and overdose on caffeine so must be noted that this was sold adjacent to the coffee flavored energy drinks.

Signature Reserve Colombian Cold Brew Caramel Ice Cream:  Airy and sweet with bits of chocolate and swirled creamy caramel.  Very light coffee flavor.  Vons/Pavillions brand made but surprisingly high quality and fresh.  Perfect as a summer coffee substitute.

Rebbl Maca Cold Brew with Coconut Milk Elixer:  Organic and ethically sourced is good but the rest of the label was pretentious and ridiculous.  Claims Maca is an herb promoting energy and stamina, however, that can be obtained through the extra caffeine a cold brew coffee provides anyway.  Ingredients included Stevia which gave an over powering fake sugar taste that took away from the initially light coffee flavor.  

In numerical order of 1 being best and 5 being worst, here are the results of the Cold Brew Taste test.  If I could give Rebbl a 6, that would have happened.  If you enjoy a cold coffee taste on a hot day, the top 3 I would recommend but watch for the quick melting power of 1 and 3.  Overall, it was fun but now you will know if my eyes twitch when we talk, it's because I'm super caffeinated. 

The award winning talk show that inspired today's cold brew review made the decision to cut the cord very easy for us.  Daily content offering easy on the eyes hosts, fun and obscure topics, celebrity guests, games and trivia, and another brilliant original segment known as "Will It".  Taking an ordinary "food" or topic and using creative combinations to see if 'it will' create something new and amazing or just a be a big failure.  Rhett and Link have appeared multiple times on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, have a 2 season YouTube Original series, a best selling book, and a long line of "mythical" products for sale on their website.  Follow these links to watch the brief history of Rhett and Link, see one of the episodes that inspired this blog, and a cold brew recipe that will leave you laughing.

A Brief History of Rhett and Link

GMM: Pumpkin Spice Taste Test

GMM: Will It Butter?

You Suck At Cooking, Cold Brew