finally got a chance to see a little more of Phoenix after many years of whizzing past the city to Tucson (and occasionally Scottsdale). we were in the area around the Heard Museum, driving down straight flat residential roads lined with way tall Palm trees, past lovely old stucco bungalows and Spanish mini villas. we had an excellent lunch at the funky Coronado Cafe, which oozed low key charm and served a fabulous crabcake(the owner proudly revealed her Baltimore roots). also excellent key lime pie and fres lemonade. we did a quick drive through the Roosevelt arts district which had some promising looking galleries and boutiques and along 7th street and the Coronado historic district.
Also visited the famous Biltmore hotel, with frank Lloyd wright-like architecture, lovely gardens and a way cool pool.
I finally got to walk around the renovated downtown library in Des Moines that is now the headquarters for the World Food Prize and was blown away by the restoration/renovation effort. It was always an elegant 19th century building but it got pretty shabby in the mid 1990s when my children visited the library there regularly as Downtown School students. With all its stain glassed windows and murals and wood it always hinted of a previous, more elegant life. Now it’s back to its former glory and well worth a walk around. The restored WPA murals on the bottom floor are particularly interesting, tracing the history do Des Moines from prehistoric era to 1941. And the Howard Buffett photos of people from across the world facing hunger issues is mesmerizing. So visit when
Chef Roy Choi made a big splash on this season’s “Top Chef” by being remarkably candid and foul-mouthed about how much he did not like the food the poor frazzled chefs had cooked up for him. Padma looked aghast. But apparently HIS food is worth a try so maybe we will give it a go when we’re visiting my brother in LA next month. Maybe he’ll prove to me that Korean food is worth all the hype. Our options appear to be Kogi, 
