My Phoenix Trip

Why Jodie and I traveled to Phoenix.

For those of you who don’t know, Jodie from Jodie’s Touch of Style is my wife. I guess I need to add an About Me section to my blog. Maybe next week. More on my Phoenix Trip.

The major reason we have been taking Phoenix trips these past few years is because of our dear friends JoAnne and Jean. These are neighbors of ours who winter in Phoenix. We met them when they became our neighbors a few summers ago in Colorado. And for the past few years, they have graciously invited us to visit them at their winter home. They keep inviting us back. So I guess we haven’t worn out our welcome yet. LOL

Great Friends

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JoAnne always makes it a point to have some fun things for us to do. There usually is a daily cocktail hour with their Phoenix neighborhood friends and we always have a blast.

You will notice we are dining at Pizzeria Bianco’s. I will be doing an entire post on this incredible pizzeria in the next few weeks.

Great Food

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One evening JoAnne made us a Swedish meatball dinner. Including asparagus and a wedge salad made especially for Jean. She also invited her friend Judy and her husband to dinner. The meatballs were actually Judy’s recipe. What a pleasant evening. Good food, good wine, and wonderful people.

One note about Benny the Bee (I named him) is below. This was a small gift we brought to our friends in Arizona. He is solar-powered and lights up at night. JoAnne hung him right outside the kitchen window. Cool picture if I say so myself. LOL

Relaxing Trip

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Spring Training

This year we were able to experience a spring training baseball game at the Seattle Mariner’s spring training stadium. They played against the Oakland A’s and it was fun to see the players up close and relaxed.

The evening was perfect. It was about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and there was just a slight breeze. There were no bugs and the people around us were so very friendly. Our friends are really not baseball fans. But they are very social. So of course they were chatting with our seat section neighbors about the game. All the surrounding fans were so very gracious. All in all a great evening.

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Each year we make it a point to meet up with one of my wife Jodie’s blogger friends. This year we were able to meet up with Kay from the blog Dressed for My Day. As I mentioned in the blog about being an IG Blogger Husband, meeting all these wonderful people from Jodie’s social network is so amazing. And meeting Kay was no different. She was so gracious to drive the 2 hours to meet us. And she was a delight. Jodie and she seemed to be of kindred spirits. Hopefully next time we can meet up with her husband as well. He is also an Instagram – Blogger husband.

Jodie’s Meetup with Kay

The night before we were leaving Arizona, we were able to experience a local Italian restaurant called Portofino West Ristorante Italiano. A very classic Italian place. With white linen table cloths and a guitar performer playing live music. Of course, he was featuring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin genre songs.

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Yummy Italian Food

The food was pretty darn authentic. And pretty darn yummy! My first of many exciting moments was when they brought to the table an unlimited supply of Bruschetta. It may look like just some chopped tomatoes on a piece of bread. But looks are deceiving. The bread was that amazing Italian version that has a crunchy crust with a flaky soft inside. It was then topped with the freshest ingredients.

Of course, wonderful olive oil with a slightly nutty flavor was involved. And the tomatoes were seasoned to perfection. I suspect with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil -I am assuming the Italian variety. The flavors melded in your mouth, combined with the golden essence of the bread and oil. Mamma Mia!

Seafood Over Linguini

Okay, the seafood combination over linguini was the star of the show in my opinion. And there was plenty of it. The picture above is ONE order split. Because Jodie and I usually split our entrees. And the seafood was fresh. The sauce was seasoned with just a slight hint of spiciness. Nothing overpowering. They must have let the sauce cook for hours, letting all the goodness of the seafood, spice, and sauce blend together.

What a Criticism?

My only critique is the calamari. You know I am somewhat of a calamari snob if you read my Maggiano’s post. At first, I was so excited to see that they do not use breading on it. And just let it cook in the sauce. The calamari was flavorful but some pieces, not all of them, were a tad chewy.

Gold Standard

My mom’s is the gold standard. She never used breading and they were always so tender. She would let them cook all day in the sauce.

Now Portifino’s dish was still delicious and I would order it again. Maybe the calamari will be more tender next time.

The minestrone was the old fashion style soup that reminded me of New York. Not too tomato -y and the spices were bright and crisp. There were more ingredients of vegetables, beans, and such than broth. Just the way I like it.

We ended the meal with cannoli. A perfect evening.

Thank you for stopping by and until next time!

Ciao! And buon appetito.

If you want to see my Colorado Wine adventure click here