Okay, how many times have you heard me say “I Love My Job!”?  Well, I just said it again though my head and stomach are a little worse for wear due to my jaunt on the town last night.  I’m gladly sluggin’ a sip of Pepto and poppin’ a few pain relievers as I jot down what I can recall about the evening.

It has been a while since I visited my local restaurants, and I was feeling the need to get out.  I knew it was going to be a long night, but lucky for me, the newest member of my intern entourage, Abbie, doesn’t drink and is an excellent driver.  I could call her an enabler, but let’s stay positive, shall we? 

She’s also a copious note taker on the mini-laptop she lugs around in her purse. Thank goodness. Otherwise, the many dishes we sampled would have been lost to the void created by combining alcohol with Ambien and this blog would be a lot shorter.

Our first stop was to attend the launch party for Local First’s Shift Ten event at El Chorro Lodge.  Ok, so we missed it by a week… the party is scheduled for next Thursday.  Oh well, I got to meet Executive Chef Charles Kassels  and we chatted a bit about his upcoming C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) Heavy Medal competition.  The very funny bartender poured me my first glass of wine, and I asked the Chef about the unique addition of almond paste in the tasty crab cake I just tried.  Open mouth, insert foot!  “It’s a sweet corn sauce,” he told me.  Of course it is. And, it went beautifully with the red onions, carrots and pesto.  Off to see Chuck at Café  ZuZu.

I’d never met Chef Charles Wily before, and I had the perfect excuse to just drop in.  His Chef de Cuisine, Sean “Mad Dog” Currid, shot for the TV segment last week and left his cast-iron casserole dishes behind. I was more than happy to return them.  Chef Wiley was insanely busy, but he took the time to come out to talk with us twice.  Knowing how crazy things get, we appreciated the chance to talk with us. Even better, he whipped up some gorgeous dishes for us to try: chilled beet salad with goat cheese; gnocci with organic mushrooms, brown butter and parmesano/reggiano; fried green tomatoes with jumbo lump crab meat, and perfectly prepared orange and ginger seared Ahi.  All of this loveliness along with little Pinot Grigio was pure heaven. Time to go play with Eddie!

I adore Eddie Matney. He’s always smiling or trying to make me smile, and I learn something from him every time we meet.  One thing I know now, he likes girls in jeans, and his “House” is just as inviting as he is.  The place was packed!  We walked in the door, and he greeted us with a huge smile and a big hug.  Abbie grabbed the last two seats at the bar then ordered Cosmo for me and a bowl of the Lobster Bisque to share.  After greeting a few more guests, Eddie came by, asked a few questions about our tastes, and we were summarily served a wedge salad, his infamous Mo-Rockin’ Shrimp and marinated lamb chops which I’m polishing off right now for breakfast.  The cutie behind the bar made what I consider a superior Cosmopolitan (the ladies’ favorite drink), but I have no idea why or how he slipped me that second one. That’s my story , and I’m stickin’ to it. Off to see Pavle.

As stuffed as we were, I just really wanted to pop by, introduce myself, and reserve a seat for us this coming Sunday.  Pavle had been on the radio program, but it was the one I missed, so I wanted to thank him personally.  FnB was packed, too. He sat us down at their very groovy bar and brought me about two ounces of what I remember as home-made limoncello.  Yipes!  Seriously, it was very tasty, and I’m looking forward to sampling what I’ve only heard is outstanding fare and the service of exclusively Arizona Wines.

POSH or not to POSH. That was the question.  How could Abbie drive me past one of my most favorite people’s place of business like that? Well, she’s new to the gig, so we will forgive her.

I had pretty much peaked at Eddie’s House, and there was quite the raucous crowd in POSH so I sidled up to the bar for a quick night cap!  Joshua recommended a Blood and Sand, a gorgeous combination of Scotch, sweet vermouth, OJ and cherry brandy. That boy knows his nightcaps.  As good as I am, I couldn’t polish that one off, so I gave him an extra long, emotion filled, “I love you, man”  hug and asked the lovely, little  Abbie to take me home.  She makes a good DD.

As much as I’d love for this type of Thursday night to be weekly event, I just don’t think I can afford that much Tylenol.  It’s been a long time since I hit the town that hard, I don’t see it happening again soon.

I am making it a personal goal to visit one of our local independent joints each week.  I feel very lucky and blessed to be part of this community with restaurateurs who make such fantastic fare and our world a nicer place in which to live.  They deserve our support. 

So, I invite you, dear reader, to join me in this goal whether you are in Phoenix, LA, New York or Singapore. Pick just one place a week and go, and bring a friend. If you are strapped have an appetizer or tapas. Every little bit counts.

 Next week I plan to have recuperated enough to attend that Local First Event at El Chorro!  From there, I will pick a place to visit every Thursday night and tweet it. 

Finally, please drink responsibly (but if you can’t, I’ll give you Abbie’s phone number).