Art & Culinary Festival in Litchfield Park This Weekend (3/10 - 3/11)

Photo by: Vermillion Promotions

Yesterday, the AZFoodDude reported on the Scottsdale Arts Festival and the dozen food trucks that will be serving up food for the event, but not to be outdone, the west valley has an event of its own this weekend.  The 14th Annual Litchfield Art & Culinary Festival will be taking place in downtown Litchfield Park at 300 W. Wigwam Blvd. Litchfield Park, 85340. 

The "celebration of the visual, culinary and performing arts" will take place from 9am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday.  Additionally, parking and admission are free for the event that will have wine tasting, demonstrations by expert chefs, and "irresistible culinary samplings with more than 250 extraordinary artists exhibiting original fine art and exquisite handcrafted creations."

Check out the Vermillion Promotions page for more information.

Nimbus Bistro Opening in Scottsdale

Opening their second location, Nimbus American Bistro & Brewery is set to swing open their doors on March 15 at 7001 N. Scottsdale Rd. #147 Scottsdale, AZ 85253 in the Scottsdale Seville.  The Nimbus website states that they will be serving, "American grill favorites, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, salads, cocktails and our world famous Nimbus Brewery line of delectable beers, seven days a week."  To get a better idea, check out the menus for the original location in Tucson. 

The hours for Nimbus in Scottsdale are as follows:

• Sunday - Wednesday: 11am to 11pm
• Thursday: 11am to Midnight
• Friday - Saturday: 11am to 2am
• Happy Hour: Daily from 3pm to 6pm
• Reverse Happy Hour: Friday and Saturday 10pm - 2am

Nimbus will have live entertainment on Saturdays and will show every NFL game during football season.  In terms of atmosphere, assuming the Scottsdale restaurant is similar to the Tucson spot, Nimbus "invites the entire family to enjoy the atmosphere of our nationally acclaimed brew pub, right in your backyard."

Dollar Menu Changes at McDonald's

Being touted as a to way help customers continuing to struggle in this economy, according to a Fox Business article, McDonald's is altering their Dollar Menu and adding an "Extra Value Menu,"

On March 26, McDonald's also will debut an "Extra Value Menu".  That menu will include 20-piece chicken McNuggets, double cheeseburgers, chicken snack wraps, Angus snack wraps, medium iced coffees and snack-sized McFlurries, plus up to four regional options, that were previously listed elsewhere on its menu.

"The choices have been available for quite some time, we're just making it easier for customers to find them and enjoy them," Golden said, adding that the prices on those items will not change. All Extra Value Menu items will be priced above $1 and many will be below $2.

While prices on those items will not change, there is something that caught the AZFoodDude's eye:

McDonald's will change national advertising for its Dollar Menu, removing small drinks and small french fries and replacing those items with fresh baked cookies and ice cream cones, Neil Golden, chief marketing officer for McDonald's USA, told Reuters in an interview.

To begin with, if your McDonald's is only offering SMALL drinks for $1 you should know there is probably a good chance you can drive a mile in any direction and find one of the many McDonald's that offers ANY size drink for $1.  Also, pulling small french fries and the small drink off the Dollar Menu (raising the prices) and replacing them with cookies and ice cream cones?  Just a thought, but are you more likely to drive to McDonald's because you want fries and a drink or cookies and ice cream?  Finally, at the risk of being nitpicky, aren't ice cream cones currently under a dollar?  Not for that much longer it seems.

Food Trucks at the Scottsdale Arts Festival This Weekend (3/9 - 3/11)

Starting on Friday at 10am, the 42nd Scottsdale Arts Festival will kick off at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and include 181 artists, 22 bands and entertainers from Arizona, and perhaps most importantly, 12 food trucks from the Phoenix Street Food Coalition.  The participating food trucks are:

Epic Hot Dogs - Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food - Jamburritos Cajun Grill Express - Luncha Libre - Mojo Bowl - Pin-Up Pastries - Taste Rite - Spice It Up - Sweet Republic - Tom's BBQ - Whiskey Ranch BBQ & Wood-Fired Pizzas - The Maine Lobster Lady - Not scheduled for Friday - Buzznbeez Good Food - Not scheduled for Friday

The festival takes place on Friday and Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5pm.  The price of food is separate from the price of entry.  Tickets to the event are $7 for any single day and $10 for any two days.  Additional ticketing information and online purchasing can be found here.  Scroll to the bottom of this page for parking and trolley information.

Freddy's Scottsdale Location Revealed

Freddy's Mint 'n Cookie Concrete

After almost 10 months of reporting on a promised Scottsdale location by Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, the AZFoodDude can now report that the restaurant will be located at 9890 N. 90th St. Scottsdale, AZ 85258.  In the same shopping center as IHOP, Schlotzsky's, Taco Bell, etc, Freddy's is hoping to take its own share in an area busy with food options.

An opening date is not known at this time, however, providing the Scottsdale location opens before the proposed Mesa location mentioned here, this will be the eighth Freddy's in the state.  Stay tuned for updates.

You can check out other stories on previous Freddy's openings here and here.

Update (7-15-12): Freddy's has removed the upcoming(?) Scottsdale location from their website with no further details available.

First Watch Adds 15 New Menu Items

With four locations in Arizona, First Watch has changed the menu by introducing 15 new items for their "breakfast, brunch, and lunch" crowd.  According to the press release:

New Omelets:
C’EST LA VIE: Three fresh eggs with house-roasted zucchini, onions and tomatoes with herbed goat cheese.
VIA VENETO: Three fresh eggs with Italian sausage, roasted tomatoes and red peppers with fresh herbs, mozzarella and Parmesan.
THE FORAGER: Three fresh eggs with house-roasted Crimini mushrooms and tomatoes with fresh herbs, mozzarella and Swiss.
SWISSHROOM: Three fresh eggs with ham, house-roasted Crimini mushrooms and onions with fresh herbs and Swiss.

New The Healthier Side offering:
ENERGY BOWL: Your choice of our housemade granola or Muesli cereal of oats, sliced almonds, pecans, Craisins, wheat germ and raisins. Topped with fresh fruit and a touch of cinnamon. Served with low-fat organic yogurt.

New Eggs-clusives:
TURKEY CHIVE CREPEGG®: A thin crepe layered with eggs, turkey, spinach, house-roasted onions and Monterey Jack. Topped with diced tomatoes, chives and hollandaise. Served with an English muffin.
CASA FRITTATA: An open-faced frittata with roasted tomatoes, spinach, herbed goat cheese and sliced breakfast sausage. Served with an English muffin.

New Skillet Hashes:
MARKET HASH: Two eggs any style atop a hash of fresh, seasoned potatoes, house-roasted Crimini mushrooms, zucchini, onions and red peppers with spinach, melted mozzarella and herbed goat cheese.
PARMA HASH: Two eggs any style atop a hash of fresh, seasoned potatoes, Italian sausage, house-roasted Crimini mushrooms, onions and tomatoes with Parmesan, mozzarella and fresh herbs.
FARMHOUSE CHICKEN HASH: Two eggs any style atop a hash of fresh, seasoned potatoes, all-natural white-meat chicken, house-roasted zucchini, onions and red peppers with melted Cheddar. Topped with pesto hollandaise

New Fresh Salad:
THE POACHER: Baby spinach, bacon, avocado, tomato and housemade ciabatta croutons tossed in our balsamic vinaigrette. Topped with a poached egg.

New Sandwiches:
BAJA TURKEY BURGER: A lean white-meat turkey patty with avocado, lettuce, housemade salsa and Pepper Jack on a grilled wheat bun
PESTO ROAST BEEF: Roast beef, roasted tomatoes, spinach and Swiss with pickled red onion and a basil pesto spread on grilled sourdough.
VEGGIE GRILL: House-roasted Crimini mushrooms, zucchini and spinach with basil pesto mayo and melted Swiss on grilled multigrain.
CHICKEN PALERMO: Grilled all-natural white-meat chicken, sliced tomato, onion, pepperoncini and mozzarella with basil pesto mayo on artisan ciabatta.

According to First Watch, "The new menu items...were tested over an extended period of time as part of First Watch’s “Daily Specials” chalkboards. Each item was evaluated based upon quantitative and qualitative criteria including sales, customer feedback and ease of execution."

Phoenix Eaters in the Top 10 in Taxes, Tucson & Mesa Not Far Behind

NRN has a report out by a Washington, D.C. based think tank which ranked cities with the highest taxes when purchasing restaurant meals.  According to the survey by the Tax Foundation:

During the recession, an increasing number of municipalities, ranging from Omaha, to 146 of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns, enacted meals taxes in addition to regular sales taxes to help make up for revenue shortfalls.

The #1 city on the list was Minneapolis with a 7.775% sales tax and then an additional 3% meals tax creating a 10.775% tax on the bill.  Also of note is #3 Virginia Beach, VA which came in with a 5% sales tax but a whopping 5.5% meals tax for a total of 10.5% in taxes.

Phoenix, it should be noted, did not enact an additional meals tax, however, the 9.3% sales tax was high enough to tie Phoenix for the #7 spot.  But Phoenix is not the only Arizona city on the list.  Coming in at #11 is Tucson with a 9.1% tax and Mesa at #13 with a rate of 9.05%.  Again, both of these cities did not add a meals tax onto their sales taxes.

More information and the Tax Foundation's top 50 list can be found here.

El Pollo Loco Adds 2 New Grilled Chicken Burritos

Over the weekend, El Pollo Loco began selling two new chicken burritos, the Roja Wet Burrito and the Chicken Avocado.  They are described as follows:

• The Roja Wet features El Pollo Loco’s signature flame-grilled chicken combined with pinto beans, pico de gallo salsa, fresh cilantro, diced onions and melted Jack cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla and smothered in Colorado sauce—then, topped with more fresh cilantro, Cotija cheese and served with fresh, hand-made guacamole and sour cream on the side—available for a limited time only.

•  The Chicken Avocado features El Pollo Loco’s signature flame-grilled chicken, fresh avocado, crisp shredded cabbage, pinto beans, pico de gallo salsa, fresh cilantro, melted Jack cheese and our signature Creamy Cilantro dressing.

Also stated in the press release, El Pollo Loco is offering its 12-piece (legs and thighs) flame-grilled chicken with free tortillas for $12 until mid-April.

Nutritionally the Roja Wet Burrito comes in at 925 calories, 45 grams of fat (19 saturated), and 53 grams of protein.  Meanwhile the Chicken Avocado has 955 calories, 53 grams of fat (15 saturated), and 48 grams of protein.