Currently viewing the tag: "VV Arizona"
What would possess one to visit a city during a heat wave that shot temps to 110 degrees? The largest thrift store in North America would! Braving the underestimated “dry heat” of Arizona, I browsed the majority of Goodwill-Peoria’s 92,000 square feet of thrift delights and captured the closure of checking it off my list of travels. On that list it sat for years, an Outlook contact folder compiled through the idle hours of office work within the pipe dream of authoring a thrift guidebook to the States. No book deal here though, simply a report made available by the highly prestigious e-publisher, Blogger, available for the hearty price of a few clicks.
Arizona and I don’t mix. I, much like the plant life adapted to my beloved home of temperate deciduous forest, am not cut out for 103 degree temps, especially those still lingering at 9 p.m. My visit to the desert challenged me with several physical ailments and resiliency, in my escalating age, dwindles. Luckily, day one had me only slightly lethargic and was no match for my years of thrift expectation.
There is a feeling I get in the parking lot of a new thrift store. Much like a book spine uncracked or a love unventured, there is a perfection in its unknown, bolstered by the imagination and untainted by such trivialities like reality. Would behind these doors bring back the satisfaction of my early years if thrift-hunting? Second Hand Rose in Copiague, Long Island in 1994. The Super Salvation Army on Steinway Street in Astoria in 1995, Domsey’s on Kent avenue in 1996 when Willimsburg, Brooklyn was still a shithole? (Before “cool” was so easy and marketable.) There was only one way to find out: Quit taking pictures of the damn place and get in there!
Peoria, AZ’s Goodwill store was large, that is for sure, but the store’s record-breaking footage included a very large and closed area for pricing, as well as a large area for furniture under the name of something like Bertha’s Used Furniture. Considering this (and the very spacious aisles and lay-out), I have seen far denser thrifts in my lifetime. The Goodwills in Tacoma (1415 E. 72nd Street) and Seattle (1400 S Lane St), WA come to mind. Still, scanning its contents killed about two hours (and $33.00).
Like many Goodwills, the clothing selection was not a highlight. I spent the most time pouring over bric-a-brac and kitchen stuff, scoring practical finds like a vintage potato masher and a huge wok that put the circumference of the one I brought home from Thailand to shame. Also in my basket, several small plates and bowls (some that later broke in a hasteful rental car return after a brush with Joe Law. Mosaic project!) that inspired thoughts on meals and treats to fill them with. What else? Quilted bags. Horses. Cross-stitch patterns. Anything orange. The usual… All-in-all, I’d classify Goodwill-Peoria as good. But far better were the unsuspecting onesy shops of Mesa, AZ.
Green
2240 N Scottsdale Rd # 8
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 941-9003
This adorable 100% vegan cafe seemed to congregate hipsters from Arizona’s woodwork (different hipsters, ones that smile at you) and rightfully so! Their “new American vegetarian” menu was jam-packed with options ranging from soup/sandwich-y to Asian-infused bowls to frozen treats and sweets. The large space also contained a small area for vegan pantry staples like Ricemellow, agave nectar and Newman’s sandwich cookies: many items they used to make their vegan “flurries” called tSoynami’s. Beside the selection of food, the operation was tip-top with a whole table of complementary drinks (iced coffee, lemonade, limeade, etc), local art on the walls and stellar service. In the bathroom, vegan hand wash and recycled toilet paper scored them even more points in my book. The only down point was drinking from a Styra-foam cup.
Pictured is our meal of Artichoke Gratine: a warm, creamy artichoke dip with a mean punch of nutritional yeast with corn chips
Mum’s meatball po’boy with a side of tahini cold slaw
A rocky road tsoynami with vanilla soft serve, chocolate syrup, walnuts and scoops of Ricemellow.
Mandala Tearoom
7027 East 5th Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ
(480) 423-3411
Mandala Tearoom is an small, upper scale organic vegan restaurant in Scottsdale. Well worth the trip into yuppie-ville, the restaurant exceeded my expectations at every course and the prices were right. The menu contains a good selection of vegan dishes, both raw and hot, hot, hot, along with an inspiring list of teas and “elixirs”. Knocking my socks off til the the very last course, I wished I had more time to sample the menu. Next door to the restaurant was their “Apothecary boutique” and spa services. On another note, it was nice to see that they offer take-out but at a surcharged price to cover the cost of eco-containers.
Our appetizer of tea crumpets: Rosemary spelt foccacia lightly toasted with 3 different spreads: artichoke + garlic, white bean hummus + sautéed greens and roasted tomato + fennel. Scrumptious.
Ziti al forno: organic pasta tossed with a creamy tofu ricotta cheese + spinach filling — topped with house marinara sauce + nut parmesan cheese-served with toasted garlic foccacia bread
Rawviolis Marinara: thinly sliced organic beets filled with nut “rawcotta” cheese + smothered in a living raw tomato marinara sauce.
Last but certainly not least was the tiramisu cake: layers of subtly sweet vegan creme, coffee-soaked vanilla cake and chocolate. Just perfect. Clean and not overly sweet.
Casbah Teahouse
624 N. 4th Avenue
Tucson, AZ
(520) 740-0393
The Casbah Teahouse is a eco-friendly vegetarian restaurant and teahouse in Tucson. During the summer months, the Casbah staff moonlights as a traveling caravan, doing the folk, bluegrass and world music festival curcuit in the Pacific Northwest. The place is adorned beautifully with gypsy garb and statuettes and oozes goodness and positive energy. The restaurant has a good selection of Middle East-inspired veggie fare, smoothies, teas and vegan and wheat-free desserts. And Although I enjoyed my visit to their gorgeous hemp tent eating area a good deal, I didn’t particularly like the food.
The hummus, the cornerstone of the Middle Eastern meal, was straight up tahini paste with nil flavor. My seitan casbah gyro was okay. Nothing I couldn’t make at home in a flash.
The banana mango smoothy was all chalk and little fruit. Still refreshing during the massive heatwave.
Vegan Reporting By Location
