any of you who know me could surmise that i am not much for the motivational, or hokey self-help mumbo-jumbo.  many of you would perceive me to be dry as dirt and not much in the way of extroverted behavior.  my philosophy pretty much boils down to the following, "less talk-ie, more do-ie".  often this bare bones philosophy does not leave room for the extraneous.

the image (fig 1.) could easily be discarded as another peice of interweb flotsam but i really think there is truth in the message.  the tough bit is actually spending any substantial amount of time outside "your comfort zone".  why?  because it is UNCOMFORTABLE (shocking revelation).  do it though, you only live once.  so drink a glass of Nero D'Avola even though you've never heard of it.  be a vegan for 2 weeks, what is the worst that could happen.  everyone can stand to learn something new and even something new about themselves.  cheers!

Let me start by introducing those of you who are new to the game to Astor House, the "cocktail lounge".  There are quite a few places to get your drink on in town but very few that are as masterfully cared for as Dr. Blaise Faber does in our little spot in the world.  In our short existence, he has concocted the following:

- coffee bitters
- elderflower tincture
- lavender syrup
- homemade "Pimms"
- etc, etc, etc.


Your cocktail will undoubtedly be crafted with skill and from the heart.  LOVE is the ingredient you cant quite identify but "could swear there is something else in there".

So we have teamed up with Devour Phoenix for the following cool event where the proceeds from the sales of our "all AZ ingredients cocktail" will benefit Waste Not:

Dr. Faber's creation? 
the AZ Apiary
High Spirits Gin (Flagstaff, AZ)
Desert Blossom Honey
Lavender Simple Syrup
Lemon Juice

Devour Phoenix and Waste Not Team Up for Hunger Awareness Drive   
July 17 -31
Devour Members set goal of using local food producers to raise enough money to feed 100,000 people

Local chefs and restaurant owners are collaborating in an ambitious effort to raise awareness about the hunger crisis happening right here in our own backyard. Right now, 1 in 4 children in Maricopa County go to bed hungry every night. Devour Restaurants are teaming up for a two week hunger awareness drive to raise funds for Waste Not, an organization that collects 6,000 pounds of food per day and re-distributes that food to the hungry. For every dollar raised, Waste Not can feed six people. Devour hopes to raise enough funds to feed 100,000 people- we invite the public to join us in this important endeavor.

The details are simple and tasty:
We want you to dine out to Devour Hunger for Waste Not! Twelve Devour restaurants will feature dishes for a two week period, July 17 – 31. Proceeds from the Waste Not dish will go directly to Waste Not’s food rescue mission. Each dish will feature local food producers such as The Meat Shop, Queen Creek Olive Mill, McClendon’s Select, Seacat Gardens, Strictly from Scratch and more! Feeding 100,000 people has never been so easy (and so delicious!)

this is what the building looked like before...

and there is her namesake, the similarities are striking.

It is about lunchtime when i begin wondering what sort of marvelous and refreshing cocktail Dr. Faber (our resident bar steward) will be concocting.  good on ya Dr. Faber.