Graz Kitchen Fresh

I love a good grilled cheese sandwich.

The first time I went to Graz Kitchen Fresh for a breakfast meetup and saw they had a whole menu of them, I was like “oh, I’m coming back!”

And I’ve definitely been back. So I felt like a post devoted to the goodness of Graz was long overdue.

Open for breakfast and lunch, Graz is a juice bar and sandwich shop focused on fresh ingredients.

It’s located just south of Downtown Chandler and Gangplank, where I sometimes work. I can easily pick up lunch on the way in or pastries for our Monthly Momentum meetup.

I’m kinda hooked on their green goddess sandwich. It is goat cheese, mozzarella, pesto, arugula, and avocado on this whole grain bread toasted on a sandwich press. I mean, seriously.

They serve Peixoto coffee and occasionally do a breakfast sandwich pop-up there. They also provided the food and coffee for Craft Camp. If you order ahead, they make crazy good cinnamon rolls.

August 22, 2016March 5, 2020

Star Trek and Star Wars Music: Fan Favorites

After seeing the Phoenix Symphony’s concert Star Wars vs Star Trek – The Music of Deep Space during Phoenix Comicon, we asked a few fans about their favorite pieces and made a video.

It was cool that we happened to catch three people who were so passionate and knowledgable about music from both franchises.

What movie or tv music are you a fan of?
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August 18, 2016May 23, 2023

Where to Stop for Date Shakes on California Road Trips

We don’t order date shakes at home in Phoenix. We could. There are a couple places that serve them, since date palms grow here.

But we only look for them on road trips through a certain western Arizona/eastern California corridor.

I-10

If you’re headed from Phoenix to Los Angeles on the 10, there’s the Hadley Fruit Orchards store in Cabazon near the dinosaurs.

The decades-old farm store recently moved to a shiny new building. They still have a little cafe, and it’s still a great place to stop for snacks – all kinds of specialty trail mix and dried fruit and veggies, much of it from the local area and/or their own blends.

Shakes come in a reusable souvenir cup. Last time, we got there near the end of the day and they said they were out of regular date shakes but had banana date shakes. So they must mix them in advance-? Anyway, you could mostly just taste the banana, and it wasn’t the same.

I-8

If you’re on I-8 headed for San Diego, I’d recommend skipping the well-publicized Dateland and opting for Martha’s Gardens in Yuma instead. Coming from Phoenix, it’s about another hour down the freeway but worth it. The shake we got at the Dateland Travel Center tasted overly, artificially sweet with dates in clumps. The Martha’s Garden shakes were blended well and sweet without being sickeningly so.

The Martha’s Garden store is smack in the middle of a working date farm, down a dirt driveway surrounded by rows of palm trees. While Martha’s store shelves are mostly stocked with bulk dates, they do sell some other local products like honey and salsa.

From the counter at the back, you can order sandwiches, date shakes, coffee, or a shot of espresso in your date shake. Behind it is a room of tables and chairs – and a couple outlets if you need to recharge.

Have you ever tried date shakes? Do you have food/drinks you only get on road trips?

August 15, 2016August 15, 2016

July Photo: Pasadena

July was our trip to Pasadena, nicknamed “the City of Roses.” I took this photo in the inner courtyard of its iconic City Hall.

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August 11, 2016September 8, 2016

Happenings List: August 2016+

This is our curated roundup of maker/artist/explorer events!

Angle brackets (>>) point to related info on our site.

U.S.

National Park Service Centennial

Aug 25. There are programs throughout the United States to celebrate the Park Service’s 100th birthday.

Now – 2017. Art Quilt Tour: 13 art quilts created in celebration the National Park Service Centennial are touring the National Parks they depict now through 2017.
Read on to find out about celebrations in Arizona, Hawaii, and Massachusetts!

+Arizona

Tucson Movies in the Park

Aug 19 at Reid Park, Demeester Performing Arts Pavilion, Tucson. Free admission.
>>Ongoing Phoenix-area movie events.

CraftHack

2nd Mondays, 6pm at Gangplank Chandler. Free monthly meet-up of artists and crafters. Learn something new or bring your own project to work on!

Sep 12: Project TBD

National Park Service Parks in the Pines Birthday Bash

Aug 20, 10am-5pm at Flagstaff City Hall Parking Lot. Celebrate the National Park Service’s centennial with a free park fair, photo booths, and cake.

Blended Conference

Sep 15-16 at Windmill Winery, Florence. Blogging conference with workshops, speakers, and networking.

>>Our visit to Windmill Winery.

+California

Pasadena Summer Concert Series

Now – Sep 25 at Levitt Pavilion band shell in Memorial Park, Pasadena. Free concerts featuring both emerging and established musicians of many genres.

Thursday through Sunday evenings.
Thursdays are children’s nights.
Festival opens two hours before music starts.
You can picnic on the lawn.

>>Our drive to Pasadena in one minute.

Balboa Park San Diego Summer Events

Now – August 29, Mondays, 7:30pm at Spreckels Organ: 2016 International Summer Organ Festival. Free outdoor concert series.
Now – Sep 2, Fridays: Balboa Park After Dark. Extended musuem hours, food trucks, and entertainment.
Now – Sep 5, 3:30pm at San Diego Zoo: Nighttime Zoo. Artisan demonstrations, movies, live music and other performances to celebrate the San Diego Zoo’s centennial.
Now – March 3, Sundays, 2pm at Spreckels Organ: Sunday Organ Concerts. Free weekly concerts at one of the world’s largest outdoor pipe organs.

The Junk Show

Aug 14, 8pm at Copper Still, Los Angeles. A monthly comedy-focused variety show at the bar inside Jaraguá Salvadoran restaurant.

+Colorado

Animalia exhibition

Now – August 21 at Loveland Museum/Gallery, Loveland. Art with animals as the subject, which explores their complex relationship with humans.

“The Rat Race” sculpture (and photo) above by Ken Newman will be included in the exhibit.

+Hawaii

Return of ‘Alalā: Restoring The Voice Of Hawaii’s Native Forests

Sep 3 – Oct 9 at Volcano Art Center, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park campus. Juried exhibition of multimedia artwork featuring depictions of the Alalā, Hawaii’s native crow, in anticipation of its reintroduction into the wild this September.

Photo above by volcano art center on Flickr.

+Illinois

Cuz I’m Fancy

Now – Aug 31 at The Arts of Life North Shore studio, Glenview. Exhibition of new work that examines the ways we interpret “fancy,” at the intersection between elegance and tack, refinement and kitsch.

+Massachusetts

Bring the Park to the People!

Aug 20, 1-4pm at Eagle Park, Lowell. Interactive pop-up museums with crafts and informational materials, neighborhood tours, and a community weaving project in celebration of the National Park Service’s 100th birthday.

+New York

Point of Vision: Celebrating Women Artists in Fantasy and Science Fiction

Now – Aug 20 at Museum of Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, New York.

The Great Food Truck Derby

Aug 19, 4pm at Hayground School, Bridgehampton. At least 15 New York City and Long Island food trucks serve food and drink during the Community farmers market. Event benefits Hayground schoolyard projects providing culinary arts training for local kids. (Graphic via Edible East End.)

+Oregon

Native Fashion Now

Now – Sep 4 at Portland Art Museum. Exhibition of Native American fashion designers from the 1950s to today.

+Virginia

Virginia Craft Brewers Fest

Aug 20 at Devils Backbone Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows. Celebration of Virginia’s craft beer industry.

>>Over 60 participating breweries, including South Street, which we visited in Charlottesville.

+Washington

Graphic Masters: Dürer, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, R. Crumb

Now – Aug 28 at Seattle Art Musuem. Exploration of how six historical artists used prints and drawings to express personal sentiments.

+Washington DC

Cooking Up History

Monthly at National Museum of American History Demonstration Kitchen in Coulter Performance Plaza. Food history demonstration and talk by a guest chef and a Smithsonian host. Each month they will prepare a different recipe that ties back to the Museum’s exhibitions, research, and collections.

Aug 12, 2pm. Julia Child in the 1970s
Sep 17, 2pm. Hispanic-American Culinary Heritage
Oct 15, 2pm. Harvest Season