August 30, 2015

One great benefit of our temporary Chandler digs is that is is minutes away from Triplex Training, where Scott and I work out three (usually) VERY early mornings. Those work outs offset all the eating (and drinking) out we've been doing. :)

We had a Wednesdate and headed to Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company for burgers and beers. Wait, AZBC is not in Chandler you say? It's in Gilbert? Well, the Sonic across the street is Chandler and our table was faced that way, so we're going with that.

Arizona Wilderness is a "wildly" popular brew pub, serving only its own beers and a great variety of food. There were so many beers on tap that we ordered a flight of seven different beers -- a fews Belgians, a saison, a porter, and a sour. We've always wanted to try the apple/brie burger and this was the night. Why did we wait so long? It's obvious why AZBC is celebrating its second anniversary next week -- beer is tasty, food is great, service is friendly. It's one of my fave places.

On Friday we decided to do some "day drinking" (well, it was 3:30) at the nearby The Living Room in "downtown Ocotillo" (part of Chandler but trying to be it's own little marketing entity). Waiters are super friendly (right Karen?), but the beer selection is weak at best. Yes, it has two of the Four Peaks Brewing Company favorites, but the rest of the list was Coors Light, Stella and Guinness. Guess the place is more directed at wine sippers than beer geeks like me.

We ordered bot the white and red sangria, and after a few sips, sent it back as it was way too sweet. Too bad they never took the drinks off our bill...

But, gotta say that the "chop" bruschetta -- prime rib, gorgonzola and horseradish -- was a hit. The Living Room definitely is a "meeting place" for those 40+ something folks wanting to socialize and meet others.

Our first 10 days in Chandler have been a lot of fun. 30 more days until our move. Stay tuned...

August 23, 2015

Today we decided to visit my cuz, Randy Walters, owner of Wimpy's Paradise/Pittsburgh Willy's restaurant, for lunch. Located in downtown Chandler, this two-in-one treasure offers two different menus....Wimpy's offers great burgers and sandwiches, and the Pittsburgh Willy's menu offers excellent hot dogs. The spot also features Thrifty Ice Cream so we splurged on a chocolate malt, with extra malt!

I picked a fave from the Wimpy's Paradise menu, a fried bologna sammich, with american cheese, on grilled white bread. Perfect comfort food!

Scott selected off the Pittsburgh Willy's menu -- the Wing Ding Willy -- a polish hot link with bacon, blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce, on a pretzel bun. Ohmigosh so good. Scott reported it was the best hot dog he's ever had.

Wimpy's has other great features -- a huge selection of canned and bottled sodas, including my favorite from back home, Vernor's. There's also a "penny candy" section so we brought home some treats as well.

Maybe next Sunday we'll wake up early enough to make it to Wimpy's for breakfast. I hear their biscuits and gravy are phenomenal.

August 22, 2015

After a busy day of running errands (we had no food in the townhouse, and we can't eat out every night) we decided to try Paletas Betty again. This time, they were open, and the flavor selection was mind-boggling. There was platanos -- banana with caramel and rum; sandia -- watermelon and mint (which I got); mango/chile (Scott's pick) and so many more. I wanted to try the betabel delgada -- beet with orange, pineapple and a dash of cardamom, but they were sold out.

The pops are made on-site with piles of fresh fruit. Customers ahead of us ordered aqua frescas -- muddled fruit and spices with fruit juices. We'll try those next time!

August 20, 2015

Well, we've done it. We moved out of our big suburban house and gotten rid of half of what we own. We're getting ready to move to a great new apartment in Tempe, but until it's done, we're renting a townhouse in Chandler, Arizona. Though it's a city right next to ours, we just never headed this way much.

So, this blog will detail all our adventures in our new adopted city. We'll check out the restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and neighborhoods that may be new to us. Have a suggestion for us? Please comment.

Tonight, after moving what seemed like hundreds of boxes (didn't we get rid of half our stuff?!) we headed to Guedo's Taco Shop for dinner. Guedo's, in downtown Chandler, was the very first restaurant we ate at when we moved to Arizona. It serves really good tacos, tortas and crisps. It's a kitschy kind of place with photos, thank you letters, newspaper clippings and business cards lining the walls. A few good Mexican beers, a couple of tacos and a torta, and we had enough energy to head back to our townhouse and unpack a few more boxes.

But, on the way, we thought we'd stop at Paletas Betty. Parking seems to be at a premium in downtown Chandler, so we had to park in the big lot and walk a block...just to find the shop strangely closed though it was three hours before closing time. We'll have to hit it again soon.