THE PRAGMATIC CHEF

Dancer's at the Salsa Festival


Our first stop was Phoenix Arizona. This was no easy task. It was a 12 hour drive. We were motivated

by the fact We were going to meet our good friend Scott Pinkerton. Scott is the Genius behind The Pragmatic Chef. The Pragmatic Chef is an informative and humorous blog. He shares recipes, grilling tips and food related stories. We have been a fan for several years.

We rolled into Tempe, Arizona, parched after our trek through the desert. We headed straight to the Four Peaks Microbrewery. It is a huge Cavernous warehouse located next to Arizona State University. This is the place to be. It was packed. We bellied up to the bar and had a 'Raj IPA'. It was very good. It tasted like a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on steroids. This was followed by a cask conditioned Oatmeal Stout. It smelled like coffee and chocolate. I was in beer nirvana. We had to leave to make our dinner date with Scott.



We met Scott at a Restaurant in Scottsdale called the 'Carlsbad Tavern'. This place had a cave and bat theme. The temperature was 102 degrees. There were misters cooling the outside seating area. Scott arrived and we recognized each other even though we have never met. We grabbed a table and surveyed the menu. The food theme was Southwestern. Chile's were present in all the dishes. This is just what we came for. We ordered numerous items to get a taste tour. Our favorite item was the Habanero Hamburger. It lit up our mouth with a fruity delicious after burn.



It was great to finally meet Scott. We chatted like two old friends that have been apart for awhile. Of course the majority of our conversing was about food and chiles. We said our goodbyes and Scott presented us a very generous parting gift. It was some of his products. It included his special Olive Oil, Vinegar and his famous Survival Spice. Thanks Scott!!!!!!!!! We hope to see you again soon! Oh and Julie, We will cherish the pasta.