Cajun Cuisine Cruising

Satchmo’s and Roux 66 Bring the Bayou Flavors to Town

Northern AZ’s Mountain Living Magazine, March 2017

Written by Gail Collins

Although Mardi Gras may be a revelry in our rear view mirrors, the vision remains vivid. Fat Tuesday, so called for its excess, marks the last merriment before 40 days of piety. The intricate iron balconies of New Orleans are draped in rich purple, green and gold; the gumbo and jambalaya are spicy; the jazz is syncopated; and the bawdiness of Bourbon Street contrast with genteel colonial mansions. The whole of it creates an intoxicating experience. This cradle of culture at the mouth of the Mississippi River blends Native American, African, French and Spanish influences among others. It is especially evident in their language of food, where you can savor sugar-dusted beignets or pork and rice boudin.  Mostly, one senses a party—whether it’s a backyard crawfish boil or festival fun—is always just around the corner.

Our olfactory-driven memories are the strongest, and all of this hit me at the door of Satchmo’s. The spicy smells of Creole cooking took me straight back to our days in New Orleans. And I grinned ear to ear. Owner Jamie Thousand is quick to say a Louisianan might turn up his nose to a batch of Satchmo gumbo offered on their turf. Family recipes are strongly respected and guarded. Thousand honors the Holy Trinity of onion, green pepper and celery in his dishes, but they are also wholly his own.

Continue reading “Cajun Cuisine Cruising”

The Date Night

Stepping Up the Romantic Dining Game for Valentine’s Day—and Beyond

Northern AZ’s Mountain Living Magazine, February 2017

Written by Gail G. Collins

Date Night is a newish term for the long term means of sustaining a relationship.  The Oxford definition reads:  A period when a couple can take time for themselves away from children and responsibilities. Kids and responsibilities acknowledged, as a practical matter, that sustenance should start the minute a couple moves from dating to partnership. There is no quicker way to undermine the love of your life than to take it for granted. Prioritizing and pursuing our lover makes for a woo-nderful life. However, planning is key. Great dates don’t just happen. So what makes for a great date night? Because honestly, who wants a mediocre date night? First and foremost is food—there’s nothing more sensual than sharing a meal. Second is ambience—cue the violins. That’s not necessary; it simply needs to be intimate and inviting enough to catch up on being a couple. Third, make plans for another date night. And when those big moments roll around, like an anniversary or Valentine’s Day, you’ve honed the skills to kick it up a notch.

Cottage Place Restaurant in downtown Flagstaff knows a thing or three about special evenings. It’s been the thrust of their longtime success. Since they opened their doors in 1994, Frank and Nancy Branham have introduced new ways for people to delight in a meal and one another, whether through holiday prix fixe events, a monthly 6-course tasting menu or novel entrees. “It’s a small restaurant, so we think outside the box,” said Frank. “Our upscale, niche wine tasting dinners began in the 90s when no one else was doing it.” Now, some patrons attend each month from Prescott and even Phoenix. As the name implies, the Cottage Place offers cozy seating at tables and banquettes surrounding a fireplace with Northern Arizona scenic landscape art. The demure, familial atmosphere belies the flavor awards garnered. A short list includes:  Wine Spectator Magazine’s Award of Excellence for 15+ years, Arizona Daily Sun’s Best Fine Dining and Wait Staff for many years plus Best Overall Restaurant in 2016, as well as Open Table’s Top 100 Restaurants and Best Overall in 2012. Personally, Executive Chef Frank, a culinary graduate of the “hardknocks school,” has been voted Northern Arizona’s Chef of the Year three times.

Continue reading “The Date Night”

Marriage & the Mountains

The Work to Woo Couples to Northern Arizona to Tie the Knot

Northern AZ’s Mountain Living Magazine, January 2017

Written by Gail G. Collins

Sitting creekside with autumn leaves strewn like golden confetti around the newly minted bride and groom, it was easy to see what had drawn my nephew, Josh, and Megan to Los Abrigados in Sedona to be married. The Spanish-styled resort with picturesque grounds next to Tlaquepaque Crafts Village—a venue in its own right—created a short-hop destination wedding for the Phoenix pair. But they are among hundreds, who choose Northern Arizona each year. Wooed by stunning scenery, plus the drama of weather and fiery sunsets yielding transcendent photography, their celebrations go from memorable to magical. In addition, these locations hold the bonus of touring for guests and a ready-made honeymoon on site for the couple.

Though the lure of the mountains and Red Rock Country is a natural choice for Arizonans, brides and grooms come from all over the country. “Ninety percent of my couples are not from Northern Arizona,” said designer and event planner Kim Duncan of Kim Duncan Designs. “Often they have a family or personal connection, but many have fallen in love with the area, and they come from as far away as Washington D.C. or Manhattan.” And why not? The region is a world class destination.

Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte are monumental landscapes. Arizona Snowbowl affords forest and mountaintop heights. Between historic hotels and patio panoramas, couples can have their wedding cake and eat it, too, in stunning style.

A wedding’s foremost functions include planning and shopping. Combining the two is a great kick-start to the decision process. Northern Arizona hosts two show-stopping events each January to entice couples:  Sedona Bridal Show and Boot Camp and Northern Arizona Wedding Expo. Vendors, such as Classic Party Rentals and Events by Show Stoppers, sponsor Sedona’s largest and most fashionable wedding planning event where brides find nearly 20 venues vying for attention plus loads of vendors. Northern Arizona Wedding Expo is billed as a “one-stop shop” providing brides, “with all the resources at their fingertips.”

Continue reading “Marriage & the Mountains”

HAPPY HOURS & HISTORIES

The Commerce Blends Its Story of Place with Lively Food and Spirits

Northern AZ’s Mountain Living Magazine, January 2017

Written by Gail G. Collins

In the late 70s, songwriter and entertainer, Peter Allen focused on life’s ageless aspects crooning, “Everything old is new again.”  This timely reference point also marks Flagstaff’s decision to preserve its downtown heritage.

First, some perspective. Several years after its namesake July 4th flag planting on the nation’s centennial in 1876, Flagstaff was established as a railway and a lumbering center. The original structures, built from the forests’ ready materials, burned down repeatedly, and many were replaced by brick and native sandstone structures. In 1926, iconic Route 66 ventured west, carrying tourists to the Grand Canyon via Flagstaff, where they stayed overnight at The Hotel Weatherford with its witch’s cap cupola or Hotel Monte Vista, as did film stars.

With modern trends, some buildings, like Babbitt’s Department Store, endured a space-aged, aluminum face lift. Many businesses exited downtown by the 70s, and the city concentrated on regeneration. By 1990, a formal preservation program began, and the aluminum siding came down, revealing carved, red stone on Babbitt’s with others following suit.

Restoration and repurposing has continued, including innovative eateries, such as Proper and Tourist Home Urban Market propping up the south side with The McMillan, north of the tracks. But not everything can be saved, even if built of stone. The Commercial Hotel was devastated by fire in 1975, and The Commerce, a new craft cocktail bar, stands on the former site. Art within the bar commemorates the event.

Continue reading “HAPPY HOURS & HISTORIES”

U.S. Marine Veteran Jerry Waxman and Inveterate Designer

The longtime Katy resident served his country in WWII and helped his community preserve that memory through the Katy Veterans Memorial Museum

Written by Gail G. Collins

“If we build it, the memorabilia will come to fill it,” Jerry Waxman says of the Katy Veterans Memorial Museum. As a member of VFW Post 9182, Waxman had a vision to honor American veterans and preserve any and all items related to their service. The G.I. Joe style military museum resulted, housing artifacts temporarily loaned or bequeathed to the museum.

To War

Born in 1925, Waxman grew up fast and joined the fight to protect the U.S. after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He marched to the recruiting office, passed the tests, and he was in. With his ability to play a few instruments, the recruit discovered it was the Marine Corps band, not the war, he was in. He declined, aiming to fight the Nazis. Waxman was told, “You’re a Marine, and we’re not fighting the Nazis; we’re in Asia fighting the Japanese.”

Next, Waxman boarded ship, headed to Asia, where first-time crossers, called pollywogs, were hazed on occasion. Finally in Asia and ready to fight, Waxman was plucked from the ship and ferried to Pago Pago, American Samoa to finish a mural in the Officers’ Mess. Once aboard ship again, Waxman was surely bound for war. “Nope,” he says with a laugh, “this time I was sent for training in Oregon and worked on the camp newspaper.” After that, Waxman arrived in Quantico, Virginia, where part of his artistic project entailed burning script. He worked on a table protected with butcher paper. Beneath it was a map, outlining possible strategic war plans, which the charring process destroyed. “Fortunately, it wasn’t needed,” he says.

Continue reading “U.S. Marine Veteran Jerry Waxman and Inveterate Designer”

STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE

Some of the Best of Our Local Dishes

Written by Gail G. Collins

It’s no secret anymore. Flagstaff’s culinary scene is now the envy of much of Arizona. For a mountain town that still does not top 100,000 people, this place has dozens of independent restaurants achieving a high level of dining in their respective categories. After a few years of basking in the recent lineup of hotspots, we thought we would pause to reflect on a handful of signature dishes by our new dining places and expanded or reinvented eateries with a look across the foodie spectrum.

Craving Crepes at Streetside Saigon

In a nod to the French, the classic banh xeo, a crepe, is revamped with shrimp and shitake, that’s a hit at Streetside Saigon. The rice flour crisp is vivid with turmeric, filled with bean sprouts plus chive and served with a field of lettuce and traditional herbs. Tear off some crepe, tuck it into a lettuce leaf with mint and cilantro, roll it and soak up the lively dip—light, crunchy, healthy and flavorful. Not up for the crepe? Try the banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich, which boasts French influence in multiple ways. Streetside slathers their softer-than-baguette bun with pate and hose mayo, piles on tender pork meatballs and a layer of livered carrot, daikon and cucumber for a tongue-teasing combination of tastes and textures. streetsidesaigon.com

Continue reading “STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE”

Roosevelt Alexander’s Lasting Impression

Katy School namesake and education Icon has
made a lifelong career teaching generations of students

Katy Magazine Oct/Nov 2016

Written by Gail G. Collins

Before Roosevelt Alexander graduated high school, he knew educating children was his calling. He answered the call with 35 years of service to Katy ISD. Alexander taught, advanced to assistant principal, and then, served as principal of Katy Junior High School for 12 years. “I have taught a lot of kids in my life and been rewarded by their returning to tell me how much they were helped,” he says.

From a family of teachers

His father died of a massive heart attack at age 36, leaving seven children between the ages of 3 and 14 for his mother to raise single-handedly. Alexander was the youngest and watched four siblings graduate college, earn masters degrees, and teach. With careers in Brookshire, Angleton, Franklin and Hearne, plus Houston, his sisters and brothers tallied more than 140 years of experience between them. Continue reading “Roosevelt Alexander’s Lasting Impression”

Katy Lacrosse

Squaring up the facts on the lacrosse game in Katy

Katy Magazine,  Oct/Nov 2016

Written by Gail G. Collins

 There are currently two Katy lacrosse clubs:  Katy Cavaliers, a Division II team, which merged with other clubs in recent years, and Seven Lakes Lacrosse, playing in Division I. The Cavaliers offer youth programs from kindergarten through high school plus girls’ teams of all ages.

When Kai Knight-Turcan moved from Canada to Texas at age 14, he brought his love of lacrosse with him. Building on seven years of the sport, he continued through high school and went on to play for Southwestern University. “Lacrosse is growing exponentially in Texas and nationwide,” he says.

Kurt Knight-Turcan’s sons play lacrosse and he now oversees fiduciary duties for Seven Lakes Lacrosse. “They love to have a stick in their hands,” he adds. Continue reading “Katy Lacrosse”

A Major ‘Shift’

New Restaurant Bringing New Style to the Dining Scene

Northern Arizona’s Mountain Living Magazine Sept/Oct 2016

Story & Photographs by Gail G. Collins

Recently, a friend identified herself as a “foodie.” She is among well-nourished, burgeoning company. Different from a gourmand, a foodie does not distinguish between elite eating and chasing down a fusion taco truck. Their interests range from indie bistros, novel menus, farmers markets and heirloom products to local sourcing plus much more. Foodies enjoy the thrill of the hunt for new ingredients and value authenticity. They want to learn new techniques and enjoy the challenge. Such rising passions fueled the Food Network, cooking classes, gastronomic travel, gardening and interdisciplinary food studies at more than 30 U.S. universities and colleges. The continuing craze even spawned Foodies! The Musical—a comedy revue on the habits and quirks of the foodie life.

According to Maxwell PR + Engagement, a high concentration of the 79 million Millennials (aged 18-35) take the cake, as far as numbers, and self-identify as focused on food. Boomers rank second despite more disposable cash and time. The young and hungry set cuisine culture trends, organize living around food, eat ethnic or global meals routinely, seek artisan over brand products, align with organic or whole food movements and find self-expression in fare. Overwhelmingly, the culinary paparazzi share all of it on social media. And in 2014, for the first time, money spent dining out surpassed their grocery budget. Simply put, this particular generation prefers the consumption of experiences, and they utilize food as social capital through exploration and education. Such open-mindedness has created a business opportunity for chefs that did not exist previously.

Enter Shift Kitchen and Bar. Their mission:  To SHIFT the mentality of the “normal” dining experience. In the tradition of small plates, the kitchen serves food as it is made with the aim of sharing amongst diners. This new approach, located on San Francisco Street, is the brain child of Dara and Joe Rodger, who possess a few decades of hospitality practice between them. Dara claims “a passion for pastry and a penchant for perfection,” and learned alongside Bobby Stuckey and Marc Vetri. Native Arizonan, Joe, has stood beside Jeremy Fox and Aaron London with a local stint at Tinderbox, which brought the couple from Colorado to Flagstaff again.

“Flag won out. The area had more of a need for the concept of an open center with upscale plating,” Joe said. “We’re ingredient-driven and add imagination to create magic on a plate.” A premium example is the coconut sorbet popsicle with honey meringue chips and sticks, coconut snow, blood orange gel and panna cotta cubes. The islands call through the rich coconut and tangy citrus droplets, teasing with textures in a light, engaging, barely sweet, refreshing climax to a meal. “The garnish is playful, tying in memory in an approachable treat to ‘shift’ people to a new level,” Dara explained. Continue reading “A Major ‘Shift’”

The Good, the Bad, and the Shaky about Teens & Caffeine

Katy Magazine, Aug / Sept 2016 Health 

Written by Gail G. Collins and Katrina Katsarelis

Lanna Hamann, 16, was vacationing with family friends when she said she began having trouble breathing. She was taken to a local clinic but they were not able to save her. Lanna’s family and friends said she had consumed several energy drinks that day while being out in the sun. The family and a cardiologist believe energy drinks, along with dehydration, contributed to her death. While energy drink deaths are rare, too much caffeine is definitely something to avoid.

Too Much of a Good Thing

While caffeine increases mental alertness, higher doses of caffeine can cause anxiety, dizziness, headaches, and the jitters, often interfering with normal sleep cycles. Dr. Danny Le, a pediatrician with Fulshear Family Medicine advises, “For teenagers who are over 12 years old and 100 pounds, 400 mg. is considered the upper limit for caffeine intake—roughly four cups of coffee.” Caffeine stimulates the heart and overstimulation may lead to palpitations or even a heart attack.” People’s tolerances to typical consumption differ and can change over time. Additionally, de-sensitivity can create a need for higher amounts to achieve similar results.

What’s in an energy drink?

Many beverages that contain caffeine also contain large amounts of sugar, sodium and other unwelcome ingredients. “High sugar intake can lead to obesity and diabetes. Energy drinks may also contain other chemicals, which may have unknown side effects,” says Dr. Le. Further physiological symptoms, like dehydration, loss of calcium and gut motility may occur. This is especially true in developing bodies and studies are yet to determine cumulative effects.

“Caffeine is also a leading cause of anxiety and hypertension—a silent killer,” Kobermann says. “Soda and energy drinks are laced with sugars and B-vitamins and extra ingredients with dangerous long term effects for nerve health and liver function.”

Shaky Situation

Increased alertness in a crunch can be welcome, but for some, not having caffeine can cause a crash. Irritability, fatigue and headaches are possible. Though widely used, caffeine is still a drug. “The addictive properties of caffeine aren’t to be taken lightly and should be respected,” says Kobermann. He warns of the knock-on issues of substance abuse, increased depression, and developmental problems.

Parents on Alert

“As with adults, intake of caffeine for teens and preteens should be in moderation,” Dr. Le reminds. For adults, 200-300 mg per day is considered reasonable, but in children, one caffeinated beverage a day is enough. Education is vital. Beware that some specialty products can deliver whopping amounts in one dose. Consumers and parents need to know exactly what their children are drinking and talk to them about what is safe. KM

ENERGY DRINKS in the news

More than 5,000 cases of people who got sick from energy drinks were reported to U.S. poison control centers between 2010 and 2013. Almost half of those cases were in children who did not realize what they were drinking. – Huffpost Parents

Middlebury College in Vermont is banning on-campus sales of energy drinks, claiming they are linked to “problematic behavior” such as “high-risk sexual activity” and abuse of “intoxicating” substances.  – NBC News

More than 10% of emergency room visits involving energy drinks result in hospitalization.  – Washington Post

An international research team, led by Dr. Fabian Sanchis-Gomar of Madrid, Spain, has concluded that energy drinks are the cause of many sudden cardiac deaths in young, healthy individuals. –Consumer Affairs

Bio:  Gail G. Collins writes internationally for magazines and has authored three books on life and work overseas, always learning from others.