Lefty Joe Saunders is now a D-back. Getty Images.

After spending the last two years in Arizona, the Pepperdine product was hit by a batted ball in his first Angels outing. Reports indicate that he will be OK to begin pitching again this weekend for the Halos. In return, the D-backs received some much-needed left-handed pitching help, acquiring Joe Saunders from the Angels. Additionally, the Angels dealt Rafael Rodriguez and Patrick Corbin to Arizona. Rodriguez is a right-handed reliever, while Corbin is another left-handed starter that should add some extra help to the pitching staff.

This weekend, the D-backs will head to Citi Field in New York, where they will face the Mets, who they swept during the teams’ previous series. On Monday, the Diamondbacks will return to Arizona to face the Washington Nationals in a four-game series. The Nationals are in last place in the National League East, but have still proven to be trouble for opposing teams.

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

D-backs Digest | Struggling D-backs Acquire Pitching

Daniel, Dylan, Johnny and Jesse Kongos are not only brothers, but also band mates who have made the trek, and now call Phoenix home.

The band makes good ol’ snap your fingers to the beat, funky pop-rock music, and the places they’ve lived have definitely had a musical influence on them.

The brothers are in the studio now working on their second album, which has been in the works for a while, though not because these guys are just sitting around doing nothing. DPJ talked with Johnny Kongos about coming to Phoenix, the band’s upcoming album and, of course, the music.

The brothers Kongos

“We get perfectionist about [the album],” Johnny says. “It’s getting close. We’re aiming for some time at the end of the year.”

Every month, Kongos will release a song from the album. “It’s a Good Life” and “Come with Me Now” are now available on the band’s website for free.

“It helps get a little bit of buzz,” Johnny says of releasing each song.

And it’s been working. “It’s a Good Life” has been one of Dallas’ KXT FM’s top songs for the past two or three months.

Although the band hasn’t even been to Dallas, they’ve been thinking of touring after the album is done and going there just because of their popularity. Right now, they’re focusing on grabbing the attention of Phoenix and LA. They’ve played LA many times and will be playing at the House of Blues Foundation Room at the end of August.

The brothers were young when they came to Arizona, but they definitely noticed how different it was going to be.

“[Phoenix] is literally the other side of the world in every way,” Johnny says.

Eventually, they want to make it back to London, but for right now their pockets can only afford Phoenix and LA.

“Phoenix is really great,” Johnny says. “Downtown is really starting to get a scene now. When you go Downtown and a couple places in Tempe, there is a scene happening.”

The Lost Leaf has become the band’s favorite place to play, and they jam there pretty consistently.

“We play a three- to four-hour set there; we play whatever we want, and it has an amazing vibe,” Johnny says.

If you see them live at the Lost Leaf, you’ll truly see music at its rawest. Kongos improvises most of its set, with just a small form of how their song is going to go.

“When it gets packed in there and [the crowd] reacts, we just feed on the energy,” Johnny says. “You can sit in the studio and never know if it connects to people.”

The stage is the one place where Kongos can really let loose, but don’t think these brothers don’t get at each other’s throats from time to time.

“We do fight a lot,” Johnny admits. “We’re brothers at the end of the day. We actually live together, so the farthest we can go is just a couple hundred yards.”

Kongos will play one of its epic sets on Saturday at the Lost Leaf, so stop by and experience their music for yourself. Don’t forget you can download “It’s a Good Life” and “Come with Me Now” FREE just by signing up on their website.

If You Go: Kongos at the Lost Leaf

Saturday, July 31, 9 p.m. until close

914 N. 5th St. in Evans Churchill (light rail at Roosevelt Station) — 602.258.0014

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

Make the Scene | Kongos

Market Updates

All this week, CSM card holders can buy any six-pack Four Peaks beer (8th Street Ale or Kilt Lifter) and get the second half-off!

T-Day special @ the Market: Stop by Tuesday or Thursday for a free 4-oz. Market Melon Salsa at the cash registers!

Still haven’t voted for your favorite local farmer’s market? Vote today for Phoenix Public Market! The market is in the lead, so your vote will help to keep it at the top.

Wednesday @ the Market

Truckin’ Good Food will bring its full menu of delicious crepes to the outdoor market tonight. Short Leash Dogs will be in tonight to keep the celebration going for National Hot Dog Month. Doctor Hummus, Troyer Poultry, The Tamale Store, Native American Arts and Crafts and Wei of Chocolate will be joining the market tonight, too.

Saturday @ the Market

Need something to calm a sweet tooth craving? Produce Arizona, a new baker in town, and The Cake Contessa might have a solution for you. Produce Arizona will bring a variety of cheesecakes, its famous Patty cookies and Italian chocolate chip cookies. The Cake Contessa will sell cupcakes. At the end of the night, 50% of the sales will benefit Produce Arizona’s new teen farmer program.

Rainbow Valley Cheese, Arizona Bread, Lil’ Sassy Salsa, Fiscalini Cheese and Poppa Maize Gourmet Popcorn will be among the other local favorites this week at the market. Absolutely Delightful’s sweet local honey will be on hand, or you could stop by Mi Catering for one of their delectable burritos.

Enjoy some beautiful ceramic creations with Meharian’s and art by Fallen Wood’s. Look for some new designs by Botanicals in Clay and Alley Cat Studio.

Orlando Zapata from Wei of Chocolate still needs your help with his summer donation drive for several local domestic violence shelters. They need kitchen and bath items, toiletries, baby supplies and gift cards are accepted, too. Please help with what you can!

If You Go: Phoenix Public Market and Urban Grocery & Wine Bar

Urban Grocery and Wine Bar: Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday 8 to 8.
Open-Air Market: Every Wednesday 4 to 8 p.m., every Saturday 8 a.m. to noon.
Location: 721 N. Central Ave. (market) / 14 E. Pierce St. (grocery) (NE Corner Central and Pierce, three blocks south of Roosevelt and the new Roosevelt light rail stop!)
Free parking —  MasterCard, VISA, AZ FMNP, WIC Cash Value Vouchers, and food stamps accepted (cash is also welcome!) Sun Cards are welcome, too!

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

Fresh @ the Market | Have Your Cake

541 W. Monte Vista Rd. in Willo

Nearly hidden by vegitation from Monte Vista Road, the Alberta Apartments

As illustrated in last week’s post on the El Conquistador Apartments, by the beginning of the 1930s, the Willo neighborhood had enacted a zoning ordinance that prevented multifamily housing within its borders. Luckily, the Albert Apartments were built in 1929.

Well aware that a zoning change was on the horizon, builder E.S. Matlock drew up a small, multi-resident Pueblo Revival building for a lot on the corner of Monte Vista Road and 7th Avenue. More than 80 years later, it sits relatively inconspicuous, blending into the fabric of the neighborhood with relative ease.

The Alberta Apartments, as viewed from 7th Avenue.

Brick with a concrete foundation and stucco sheathing, the style is not unlike many of its neighbors. However, its parapet eaves and recessed wood entry would make it distinguishable, if it weren’t nearly hidden by mature vegetation in the front yard. The front veranda, arched proudly and flanked by brick piers, remains in excellent condition.

Air conditioning was installed in 1936, and remains one of the biggest changes, save for some cosmetic improvements over the years. Today it remains a symbol as one of the last “uncontrolled” developments in the neighborhood

Source: Willo-Alvarado Multiple Property Area Historic Resources Survey, 1989.

Is there a historic property in Downtown Phoenix you’d like to see in From the Arizona Room? Email me at si@downtownphoenixjournal.com with the address and a brief description.

*NOTE: The Arizona Room will temporarily close from July 18 to August 12, as it is relocating to the second floor of the Burton Barr Central Library.

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

From the Arizona Room | 541 W. Monte Vista Rd. — Alberta Apartments

I took a sweaty walk through Heritage Square on a journey to end my growing hunger. The Teeter House used to just sit as a beacon of Phoenix’s historical past. Now, it serves as a welcomed light for those of us who hunger for sweet Japanese cuisine.

Upon even walking onto the deck, I noticed that this place had been gussied up for the privilege of becoming an iconic restaurant. Inside, Nobuo subtly harkened to its cuisine with its décor. Freshly revitalized walls and a sweet, dark, moody bar set this place off and seemed to remove me from any notion of the hellacious desert heat just beyond the door.

Once seated, I began my usual ritual of scouring the menu looking for each and everything that I wanted to try. The unfortunate problem this menu presented was that I literally wanted to order everything. I settled on the Tonkatsu sandwich, and I had fun attempting to say it. (My Japanese is less than stellar for some reason.)

Once this glorious gem was presented ever so sweetly to me, I was instantly in love. The Tonkastu sandwich consists of pork cutlets on toasted shoku pan (which has an amazing and surprising flavor), heirloom tomatoes and sprinklings of wasabi. Whew son, this stuff is an all-out assault on your senses. Its aroma invades your sinuses from the get-go and each bite increasingly dances on your tongue with a mix of sweet and spice that is unmatched. The pork holds a magnificent consistency and tastes ever so delicious. The dabbling of wasabi caught me off-guard at first, but set the sandwich ablaze with flavor. You will not forget the bevy of tastes that you experience in this one dish.

Fortunately, this is just the beginning for Nobuo, and they are only open for lunch right now. I am anxious to try the dishes that Nobuo rolls out for the upcoming dinner menu. Until then, I will be more than content packing Tonkatsu sandwiches into my Dukes of Hazzard lunchbox.

Nobuo at Teeter House is located in Heritage Square at 622 E. Adams St (light rail station at 3rd Street and Washington/Jefferson) — 602.254.0600

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

Sips and Grub | Tonkatsu Sandwich at Nobuo at Teeter House

Troy S.
Scottsdale, AZ
Five-star rating
06.13.10

Here is my (probably not unique) take on Pizzeria Bianco:

Don’t come here on a budget, order away and leave satisfied.

Don’t expect to walk right in, unless you plan ahead (get there at 4 p.m.), and come on an off night.

Life isn’t fair, so pay attention to who is arriving before and after you as you arrive (if early), as we have been placed on the honor system, otherwise you may not make the first wave.

So, on to the grub. They have (über-cold) Four Peaks Sunbru on draft. This beer HAS to be super cold for me to like it, and it was that, and it pairs great with pasta/pizza. We started off with the antipasto, and yeah, we ate it all. The veggies cooked in wood gave it a nice flavor. Not necessarily the best antipasto ever, but different, and an excellent appetizer. We ordered a Sonny Boy (tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, salami, gaeta olives) and a Wiseguy (wood roasted onion, house smoked mozzarella, fennel sausage). The Wiseguy is a white pizza, which I am usually not too fond of, but the fennel sausage and ultra thin crust it was excellent. The real winner in this meal was the Sonny Boy. Literally covered in thin, crisping salami and mozzarella cheese that actually had flavor, this was hands down the best pizza I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

I will come here again, early, hopefully often.

Pizzeria Bianco is located at 623 E. Adams St. (in Heritage Square) in the Downtown District (light rail station at 3rd Street and Washington/Jefferson)  — 602.258.8300

The DPJ Yelper of the Week offers honest insight on a Downtown business to help you explore your core. DPJ hopes that by partnering with Yelp to spread the good word about well-loved Downtown spots, you’ll spread your patronage and support local business.

Yelp is a social networking and local search engine that provides the reviews of places and things that matter to you. Simply log in, pick a place and queue up your inner critic. You can write a beaming review of your favorite gelato spot, or a scathing portrayal of that rental car facility you had to use after that curb came out of nowhere. Yelp’s reviews are at once honest, uncensored, wildly hilarious and true. Heck, the site must be doing something right — it had 26 million viewers just last month!

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

DPJ Yelper of the Week: Troy S. on Pizzeria Bianco

Amber Cox

What kind of entertainment in Downtown Phoenix is inexpensive, great for the whole family, gets you out of the heat and is something you may not have considered before, even though it has been around for more than 10 years? Give up?

A Phoenix Mercury basketball game.

The Mercury’s new Chief Operating Officer, Amber Cox, is hoping to reach out to the Downtown community and encourage residents to embrace the Phoenix Mercury as a part of their neighborhood and as a premier entertainment option.

“I think the Mercury has always been about great family entertainment at a really affordable price,” Cox says, adding that tickets for lower-level seats are only $10 each. “We have a great core fan base that’s been with us 13 or 14 years, but I think there are a lot people that live Downtown that haven’t selected the Mercury as something to do on a Friday or Saturday night.”

Cox, a Missouri native and former high school and college basketball player, moved to Arizona in late 2004 to join the Mercury staff after working as the assistant athletic director at Columbia College in Missouri for five years.

When she joined the Mercury, she started working as the director of marketing and promotions, a position she held for six years until she was recently promoted to Chief Operating Officer. As the COO, she is in charge of business operations, budgets, community relations and marketing, among other things.

Cox has played an essential role in driving ticket and sponsorship revenue by developing and implementing advertising, promotions and media plans. She also led marketing efforts for the Phoenix Roadrunners, the Valley’s former minor league hockey team, for three seasons from 2006 to 2009. She currently serves on the Phoenix Women’s Sports Association board of directors.

Although she has been in Arizona for several years, Cox has only lived in the Downtown area for about three years. She first lived in north Scottsdale and says she only ventured downtown for work, but now loves living here.

“When I made the move down here, I just started discovering all of the great restaurants, different coffeehouses; and I think once you move down here you want to see it flourish, you want to see it grow,” she says. “I think all of the progress that’s being made is really exciting for the city of Phoenix, and certainly for everybody that lives down here and works down here.”

Now Cox hopes that the Mercury become a bigger part of the growing Downtown community, which she says already does a great job supporting the Phoenix Suns and the Diamondbacks.

“We’d love to see more people give give (the Mercury) a try,” she says.

The Mercury play at US Airways Center (light rail stations at 3rd Street and Washington/Jefferson) all summer long. For ticket information, visit the Mercury website.

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

Meet Downtown Advocate and Phoenix Mercury COO Amber Cox

CVS/pharmacy is open seven days a week, Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is located at 50 W. Jefferson Ave. on the corner of 1st Avenue and Jefferson Street — light rail stations at Central/Washington and 1st Ave/Jefferson.

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

CVS Opens at CityScape

“… where the needs of the distant future are determined and balanced against the current challenges of providing multimodal transportation in times of shrinking revenues and growing environmental and energy concerns.”

The Central Phoenix study area encompasses much of the Phoenix metropolitan core and is bounded generally by Loop 101 to the west, north and east and by Loop 202 and the Gila River Indian Community to the south. The fact that it covers such a vast area, much of which is outside the traditional definitions of Central Phoenix (or, ahem, CenPho), led the facilitator and some of the participants to more accurately describe the area as the “Central Valley.”

The study’s goal is to develop an environmentally sustainable multimodal transportation network; to determine and prioritize capacity, operational and safety improvements; and form a framework for regional connections and roadways within the study area.

As part of this effort, the CPHX team hosted five focus groups to foster dialogue on specific interests:

• Public safety: This focus group will concentrate on public safety issues and considerations for a long-term multimodal transportation system.

• Commercial interests: This focus group will concentrate on the movements of freight within and through the transportation network and discuss commercial interests specific to aviation, rail and trucking.

• Economic development & downtown development: This focus group will discuss how a multimodal transportation network can support economic development.

• Transit, bike and pedestrian interests: This focus group will concentrate specifically on transit- and pedestrian-oriented and specialized modes of transportation.

• Sustainability and livability: This focus group will concentrate on how a multimodal transportation network can enhance livability and promote sustainability.

I participated in the last three groups, Economic development, transit and sustainability. There was a lot of overlap in each of these sessions. While the moderator did his best to get the groups focused in on the specific topic at hand, it was evident that most of the participants did not see each occurring in a vacuum —  in others words, we realized that downtown development requires adequate transit and pedestrian-oriented transportation to be livable and sustainable (and vice versa).

While I do not have high hopes that these sessions will change anything substantially in the near term (the Project Manager himself said that the framework study will be presented to MAG’s Regional Council for acceptance, meaning that it will not be binding in any way), I nevertheless feel that the sessions were worthwhile. If Central Phoenix (however you define it), is going to be an attractive space for our children and grandchildren to live, we need to start building a common understanding of the challenges ahead and a framework to navigate through them.

Stay tuned for follow-up sessions on the CPHX framework study. In the meantime, if you would like more information, please contact Robert Hazlett, Project Manager, at 602.254.6490, or Peggy Fiandaca, Public Involvement Coordinator, at 480.816.1811, or email the CPHX team.

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

Central Phoenix Transportation Framework Study

After interim team manager Kirk Gibson won his first game, the tide turned as the team was unable to hold onto leads to win games. After the All-Star break last week, the D-backs headed to San Diego to face the National League West-leading Padres. In a series that promised to be a difficult one, the D-backs were swept once again. With the opening game of the series against San Diego rather lopsided, the two that followed were close, but without victory. After spending time in California, the team returned to Chase Field to play a couple more teams that have had successful records.

On Monday, the D-backs faced the New York Mets. The Mets are in second place in the National League East, all but assuring a tough series. For those of you that don’t know Ike Davis, the former Arizona State Sun Devil has earned his position as the starting first baseman for the Mets. Davis, a graduate of Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, has proven himself extremely well in the Big Leagues. In the first game against the Mets, the D-backs manufactured a convincing victory, winning the game by a total of 11 runs — most certainly a fun game to watch. The following evening was a little closer, as the D-backs edged the Mets by a score of 3 to 2 with Barry Enright gaining his second win as a D-backs pitcher. The third and final game of the series was even closer, as Arizona took part in a marathon game going 14 innings to beat the Mets with a walk-off RBI single. This marked the first time that the D-backs swept a three-game series since last August. The team swept a two-game series against the Giants earlier this year.

After the series against the Mets, the Diamondbacks played Thursday night against another solid National League West competitor, the San Francisco Giants. The Giants’ ace pitcher had the team’s number, as he was able to shut out the D-backs. Into the weekend, the D-backs will continue to face the Giants as Gibson’s record now stands at 6 and 11.

A reminder that Friday night is fireworks night after the game (weather permitting), and it is also singles night, sponsored by 102.5 KNIX and Sauza Tequila. Sauza will host a complimentary tequila tasting before the game. Tickets are only $15 for the event, and can be purchased at dbacks.com using a special promotion code.

Saturday’s promotion has been challenged due to a production error in the Mark Reynolds replica jerseys. The first 15,000 fans will receive vouchers for the jerseys to be redeemed at a later date.

Finally, on Sunday, the first 5,000 kids ages 12 and under will receive a Diamondbacks back-to-school binder. A post-game concert by the Wiggles is included with the ticket price, so bring out the kiddos!

Catrina, Si and the rest of the staff thank you for reading.

D-backs Digest | Let the Second Half Begin