Phoenix/Scottsdale Faves

Some faves from my recent trip:
1. Brunch at La Grand Orange Grocery -- Great crepes, havana latte (latte using condensed milk instead of regular milk) and Tammie Coe cupcakes.
2. Sprinkles cupcakes
3. Roka Akor -- For the Asian food fix. From the same group as Roka and Zuma in Hong Kong and London. But Roka Akor to Hong Kong's Roka in Pacific Place.
4. Poolside @ W Scottsdale -- Great place for drinks
5. Hike Camelback Mountain to burn off all the food and drink

Old Town Scottsdale Refreshed

It's been fours years since I was last in Scottsdale. Back then, Scottsdale Fashion Square and Biltmore Fashion Park were the two main hang-outs, with Biltmore having the higher end shops. Since then, the area south of Cambelback (i.e. the Nordstrom side of the mall) is being developed into the Waterfront, a mix of residential, retail and office space. I used to remember Stetson Drive, Fifth and Sixth Avenues as being uninteresting for its overabundance of shops selling cowboy boots, southwestern turquoise and silver, chunky belt buckle and jewelery among other cheesy Southwestern souvenir shops. That area is now undergoing quite a transformation, part of which is the new SouthBridge development, which does not take in any chain stores as its retail tenants. Whereas once "irrelevant" might have been the word used to describe the scene along those streets, now people use the words "trendy" and "glam" to describe the area and its much younger clientele.

I spent a couple hours one afternoon strolling around the area. The highlight of my walk was a stop in g2 Gallery, where I came across the intricately-zen works of Kaoru Mansour (collages on a celadon-crackle background) and the whimsically-sureal works of Patrick LoCicero.


Also worthy of mention:
Fine's Cellar -- An absolute godsend after nearly a week of drinking Starbucks' watered-like coffee (The Starbucks experience, for some strange reason, is so much better in Asia; at least there is the smell of coffee when walking into a Hong Kong Starbucks. I was glad to hear that Howard Schultz is taking the reins once again as CEO after seeing its share price take a nose dive in 2007.). I had tried The Coffee Bean and Coffee Plantation, which were marginally better. But it was the Caffé Mokarabia in Fine's Cellar that put the smile back on my caffeine-addicted face. And from the name, they also have a very fine wine cellar.
Lululemon -- Even though I'm spending a considerable amount of time in Vancouver, the hometown of Lululemon, I couldn't resist walking into the store since it was right behind Fine's Cellar. The store only opened three weeks ago, but they have a wide selection of styles. I didn't have time to check out any yoga studios this time around, but the Lululemon staff suggested I try At One Yoga.
Rejuvenation -- Just across the street from Fine's Cellar is this rather chic-looking Thai massage and private yoga/mat pilates center.
The Mix @ SouthBridge -- A collection of independent fashion and lifestyle boutiques including a beautiful floral design studio, Angelic Grove.

Burning Man + Art Towns

KC got back from Burning Man and emailed:

"This was a banner year at burning man. the weather couldn't have been more

favorable [given the extremes] and the temperament of the attendees was equally

mild--in a good way. several of the art pieces boggled the mind, notably the colossus

known as the "belgian waffle" and enormous amorphous dancehall constructed entirely

of equal lengths of 2 x 4

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:101393

there were plenty of other very incredible pieces. like a four star hotel with concierge

service [none other than chris weitz of film fame]. i'm not sure the photos do it justice.

they had four spotless suites, available for one night. and all of their structures were

deluxe. in the middle of a prehistoric lakebed, mind you.

http://www.ashramgalactica.com/Home.html

so, yes. we had a wonderful time."

I am so intrigued now. Maybe I'll do a combo Burning Man + Marfa, Texas trip one year. AD tipped me off on Marfa, where Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation and the Prada Marfa store installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset can be found. And then there's DR who raves about the real estate prospects of Bisbee, AZ with its vibrant artist community. He mentioned that a friend actually bought a book on artist towns in America and made real estate investment decisions based on towns in that book.