Phoenix Food Blog

By Wynter Holden

If you haven't been to the new Hob Nobs (in the old Willow House space on McDowell and 3rd Ave.), it’s definitely worth a visit. The place is adorable, with restored original fireplace and hardwood floors, sunlit rooms and local art decking the walls. Another cute-as-heck thing we found at Hob Nobs was barista Michael Murphy, a kooky character who’s batty for Halloween – his favorite holiday. Costumes? Check. Pumpkin-carving contest? Yup. Spooky stories? I sat a spell and he offered up a tale that'll curdle the soy in your nonfat, decaf, triple-mocha latte!

Making a Yosemite Sam costume on the fly...

Chow Bella: What’s your favorite drink to make?
Michael Murphy: The Hob Nob latte. I might be kind of partial to that because I invented it. I researched online what a "hobnob cookie" was, and it was a kind of British tea cookie. They're little shortbread cookies with sugar and cinnamon. So I came up with a drink using the shortbread syrup and cinnamon, and coffee.

CB: Tell us what your drink of choice is.
MM: What time of day? I drink coffee, except when I'm at work. At work, I stick to water and hot tea. When you're working with it, coffee gets all over you, in your clothes, in your hair.

CB: So I hear you’re a big Halloween fan. What was your most pathetic costume?
MM: This is such a sad story, and one that anyone can probably relate to. I was raised by a single mother, and one year we had to throw something together for a Halloween pageant. Mine was a queen-sized sheet with holes in it. I probably could've forgiven [my mom] earlier for that if it was a twin sheet, but a queen-size sheet is just too long for a seven-year-old. People didn't know if I was a ghost, or a bride...because I had a long, white train in the back!

Scary stuff behind the cut....readers, beware!

By Wynter Holden

We’ve always seen Mac’s Broiler and Tap, the popular little bar with the awesome patio tucked between Tempe’s beloved Changing Hands Bookstore and the newly-opened Hoodlums music shop, but we never popped in for a drink. Lucky for us we did, because there we met 24-year-old Torey Boley, an adorably cute Utah native with a perky laugh and a loyal following of burger-hungry, cocktail-thirsty patrons. Why? She's got that fresh-faced innocence and "squeaky-cleanness" that we hardened Phoenicians envy so much...

Tori (center) pals around with co-workers Hanna and Chris

Reptile Love
My favorite drink to make would be “sex with an alligator.” It’s Midori, sweet and sour, Jaeger and raspberry liqueur. It’s green in the middle. The raspberry goes to the bottom and the Jaeger to the top, so it’s green in the middle with a little pinkish on the bottom and brown on the top. It’s so fun!

Arizona: The Normal State
I like it. The weather not so much, but I love the people that I meet. So many different cultures, beliefs. Growing up in Utah, there was one belief, one way of doing things, but coming here --well, people are normal!

On Getting De-Flowered...

Bartender Carson Quinn of Roka Akor in Scottsdale is the kind of guy women -- and some men -- are intimidated by. He's attractive, well-traveled and intelligent, with a very European outlook and the slight drink snobbery that comes with being a good bartender (Three Olives Grape instead of fresh juice? Heaven forbid!). But underneath the smooth veneer, Quinn's a laid-back Midwest native who can talk your ear off with crazy stories about his clubbing misadventures and his former life in overnight room service. So pull up a chair, grab a beer and read on...

Chow Bella: How long have you been bartending?
Carson Quinn: I started bartending the day I turned 21, at the Ritz-Carlton.

CB: What’s your favorite drink to make?
CQ: I tend to make drinks for a woman’s palate. My favorite drink to make right now is a watermelon martini. It’s shochu, lemon juice, gum syrup and fresh watermelon. Any drink we can make with fresh juice, we do. For the watermelon martini, we’ll cut a watermelon in half and I’ll scoop out big chunks and shake it up with ice to break them up. It tastes like you’re eating a fresh watermelon…there’s no watermelon Pucker in there.

CB: What will we catch you drinking on your night off?
CQ: Right now I like mules a lot. It’s basically something that’ll have vodka and ginger beer in it. It’s fun. I also drink a lot of sake and shochu.

CB: What’s the difference between sake and shochu?
CQ: Shochu is a neutral spirit, similar to vodka. It’s distilled, but it can be distilled from any vegetable starch – grains, potatoes, brown sugar…Sake is brewed and it’s only made from rice. All of our sakes are served chilled, except one, which is served hot. Shochu doesn’t need to be chilled, and it can vary from 20-40% alcohol.

CB: Anyone ever ask you to make a drink you’d never heard of?
CQ: Sure. The "Flaming Viking," from Cheers. And we had a guy in here the other night who wanted a Pearl Harbor -- at a Japanese Restaurant. I’d never heard of it but we looked it up and it did exist. But he thought he was being funny. He said, “I was wondering if you guys would get that!”

By Wynter Holden

27-year-old barista Joseph Boos comes off as an innocent Virgo-type, but there’s a Gemini duality brewing under the skin. His Jekyll side sings cheesy ‘80s pop tunes with his co-workers while dishing up lattes at Coffee Rush in Chandler, and speaks fluent “Starbuckanese” – though he gently reminds customers that Frappaccino is a trademark. But his alter ego, the Hyde-like character that comes out long after dark, has a full social card, likes to drink and can often be found dressed in some crazy costume at a goth/industrial club nights. Good thing he’s big on coffee, because those morning-afters can be a bitch…

Chow Bella: How did you become a barista?
Joseph Boos: Several years ago, I got started doing it because my former girfriend’s mother bought [now defunct coffee shop] Essenza. It was cheap labor. She paid us enough to pay our bills, and we got fed.

CB: Do you personally own a cappuccino/espresso maker?
JB: I used to have an espresso machine at my house. It was a really, really expensive investment, about $3000. My espresso machine was actually more expensive than the car I drove, which was a used ’91 Ford Escort. I ended up selling it on e-bay. [Editor's Note: The espresso machine, not the car.]

CB: Honestly, have you ever gone to Starbucks while working as a barista?
JB: Once. In rural Indiana, on vacation. There was nothing else around. I did the cheap thing, because I really don’t like to give them my money. So I asked for a double shot and had them pour it over ice. Then I went over to their milk bar and made myself a latte.

CB: Tell us something strange about yourself.
JB: I have this weird curse. If I’m ever sitting down, here or at a restaurant, and there’s a woman with a skirt, I will always see her underwear. My friends say it’s my God-given talent. I say there has to be modesty in this world. But there’s nothing I can say. There’s no way to say ‘um…put your legs together' without sexually harassing someone or being rude.

By Wynter Holden

This week, we're hunting for the elusive creature known as "The Good Guy" -- a grown man who doesn't drink, party or leer at women even when they're half-dressed. The kind of guy you can bring home to mom. Some say he's just a myth, but, with our vast years of experience in tracking this particular prey, we were certain we could sniff out his lair. And we did indeed find him, in the form of bartender/General Manager Aaron Collins, a thirtyish former bouncer with bulging biceps and an equally humble attitude. We stalked him in his natural habitat at -- gasp! -- Bombshells Cabaret in Phoenix last week. Yes, that's right; the ideal man apparently works at a strip joint. Crikey, what a ripper!

Look, ma, no drink!

Chow Bella: Ok, dumb question, but why did you want to work here?

AC: Honestly, the money. It really wasn’t about the girls. I’m a bit different from the typical male bartender/GM that you’d expect in a place like this.

I’ve never smoked, never had a drink in my life, I don’t even know what a drop of alcohol tastes like. I’m a bartender that doesn’t know what his drinks taste like. And I don’t interact with the girls outside of here.

CB: Really? Are you Mormon?
AC: That’s the first question I always get. I just have no desire. Sounds weird and simple and not believable, but I swear I have more fun watching people get drunk and be goofy. Plus, I don’t pay for any of it. I don’t get sick and I don’t black out and I don’t get DUIs. And I’m always the one that can fill in the blanks at the end of the night.

CB: You obviously don't sample it, but what's your favorite drink to make?
AC: Can I say Bud Light? If I’m busy and I’m slammed, I want to hear, “can I get a Bud Light?," not "can I get a margarita?".

CB: What kind of breasts do you prefer on a woman, real or fake?
AC: Real. Easy question. Fake works for me in a bikini, but not otherwise.

More about boobs, Jesus and Aaron's crossdressing co-workers behind the cut. Don't follow if easily offended!

By Wynter Holden

Barista Russ Kaskalla is your average 23-year-old college student. He switches majors like coffee flavors, doesn’t like to think about the future, and enjoys getting blitzed after a hard day. Most days, you can either find him decorating lattes and working the drive-thru window at Tempe’s Xtreme Bean Coffee Company where he’s been for the past two years, or playing a show downtown with his indie psychadelic rock band, TrEmUlaNtS. He’s not sure what he wants to be when he grows up (phlebotomist, rock star, coffee shop owner or recording engineer are all possibilities), but for someone his age, that’s okay. Now, when he turns 30, we’ll have to talk. Again.

Chow Bella: How long have you been a barista?
Russ Kaskalla: Two years, in December. Before that, I served people pancakes and mashed potatoes at Mimi's Cafe in Ahwatukee.

CB: What would you like to do in the future?
RK: In ten years, I’d like to be owner of something, make my own schedule. I think it’d be fun to have a cool co-op slash coffee shop with an organic garden in the back.

CB: What’s your non-alcoholic drink of choice?
RK: I’m addicted to coffee. Americanos have always been my vice, but the flavors change. Lately it’s been honey and cinnamon, or today, nutmeg. I try to just stick to one four-shot iced Americano a day.

CB: And your favorite drink to make?
RK: It’s fun to put the chocolate on the latte cups, or do latte art. I’m not one of the best, but some of the people here can pull leaves or hearts or stars, so the design shows in the froth. I did a leaf earlier today. It was cool…it just takes practice.

CB: Tell us something good that happened to you recently.
RK: I have a crappy ’89 Accord, and sometimes it doesn’t start. A few weeks ago, I went grocery shopping and it died, and I was just sitting there staring at the dash and the small mileage odometer had my ATM Pin code on it. So I went a bought a scratcher and won $50. I really needed the cash, too.

CB: Cool. Will you give us your ATM pin code?
RK: Yeah...

By Wynter Holden

If you’re anything like the rest of us, you’d probably rather staple your genitals or commit seppuku with a letter opener than work the same job for a decade. Bartender and previous Best of Phoenix winner Westley “Wes” Nieto disagrees. She’s been working at downtown Phoenix’s famed Bikini Lounge for almost 20 years -- since the Oasis Hotel across the street where she worked the front desk closed, leaving her jobless -- and she isn’t planning on giving up the gig until the last bottle of gin is pried from her cold, dead hand. Damn. Now that’s dedication. We caught up with this spunky Hawaiian native and mother of eight (again with the dedication, although at least one pregnancy yielded twins) and she shared some of her wisdom while slinging beers and shooting pool with a couple of regulars.

Chow Bella: Wow, twenty years at one job. Any thoughts of moving on?
Westley Nieto: Get a real job? Are you kidding? Nooo way. I like it here because everyone’s so different. You get all walks of life in here – old guys and the bums and the kids. The routine, the job, is the same. But the people that you encounter always change.

CB: What was your first job like?
WN: I was nine when I had my first crappy job. I used to carry hot water for soup in a restaurant in Stockton, California. I got paid twenty-six cents a day. That was big money then!

CB: Nine years old? Why would you start working so young?
WN: I had a big family. There were 16 children. Four boys, the rest girls. (My mom was thrilled, my dad wasn’t too happy.)

By Wynter Holden

28-year-old flairtenderJorge Cacho is a real-life movie sidekick. You know, the "super nice best friend" type who’s perpetually single until some blonde bombshell gets wise and jumps his bones. Don't believe it? Just rent Hitch or The Holiday and you'll see. Cacho isn’t handsome in the traditional way (especially with that crazy moustache), but he’s got an adorable baby face and a sweet, outgoing personality that could literally charm the pants off of any reasonably intelligent co-ed. You can currently catch him doing tricks behind the bar, conveniently located right next to the stripper poles, at Cherry Lounge & Pit in Tempe. Oh, and ladies -- he's available.

CB: Ok, what’s the deal with the moustache?
JC: I ‘m a flair bartender and there was this competition in Vegas called The Ultimate Flair Bartending Competition. For that, they encourage you to dress up and have a theme. My theme was Nacho Libre. I bought the tights, the cape. I got a perm, I grew the moustache out and it started to curl. Now it’s kind of my signature.

CB: Do people really dig it?
JC: Yes, but my roommate hates it. We’ll go out and meet a group of girls, and I’m the only one they remember, because of the moustache. He’s like “I’m going to shave it off. One of these days you’ll wake up with half a moustache!”

CB: What do you like to drink?
JC: I’m a big rum guy. My favorite drink is a splash of Sailor Jerry…he’s an old tattoo artist and I love the tattoo world. It’s spiced rum, kind of like Captain Morgan. And Corona. I remember I was a little kid, like seven or eight years old, and my uncle was the GM of [the Corona] factory. So I could walk into the factory and grab five or six beers for my cousins.

CB: Any tattoos?
JC: Eleven.

By Wynter Holden

34-year-old Mesa native Jenifer Stern is the kind of woman who can’t sit still for long – so it’s no surprise that she works at a coffee shop. Before settling into life as a barista, Stern did stints as a corporate buyer, photographer, theatrical prop maker, security guard, gallery manager and copy shop girl. At 24, she ditched the Valley for the greener pastures of the Pacific Northwest, then LA, then Tucson, then LA again and – well, you get the picture. We managed to nail her down for a few brief minutes (between phone calls, orders and oddball customer questions) on the job at Mama Java’s Coffeehouse at Indian School & 36th St. in Phoenix.

Chow Bella: How long have you been a barista?
Jenifer Stern: Since 2004. I worked at Borders and Gold Bar Espresso, but I’ve been at Mama Java’s almost a year. I went from a terrible corporate job that I made quite a bit more at to here. There I felt like my soul was being sucked out, and here, it’s fed. I love this place. I’d hang out here anyway, so I figured why not make some money doing it?

CB: What drinks do you love to make?
JS: Anything that’s an espresso drink. You "dump, dump, dump," put the shots in, and tamp it. I love that whole process! It’s like a song; like a little dance I do. I get sad when someone orders a regular coffee or tea because it’s just pour and done.

By Wynter Holden

After getting turned down by two bartenders at Chandler’s Regal Beagle, we finally hit the mark with someone who couldn’t refuse or pawn us off on someone else: the token new girl. Michelle Anthony is a tiny, adorable blonde who giggles nervously when she talks, loves gymnastics, and holds down three jobs while going to school. She doesn’t have the accent, but her Minnesota roots show in her bad sense of direction (which way’s north again?) and her love for the Vikings and the Twins.

Chow Bella: Do you know where the bar got its name?
Michelle Anthony: Three’s Company.

CB: Impressive. Are you even old enough to have watched the show?
MA: Actually, I didn’t know because I’ve never watched it, but a customer told me. My parents told me, too.

CB: What’s your favorite drink to make?
MA: Adios Motherfuckers are kinda fun. They’re blue and all the liquor you need is right there. You just grab four bottles at a time and pour ‘em in. It’s simple and pretty.

CB: How about yourself. What do you like to drink?
MA: I’m a vodka girl. Grape and Sprite, very simple.

CB: Wait, are you even over 21?
MA: I will be on Saturday!

By Wynter Holden

Everyone’s always trying to find out what’s under 21-year-old bartender Naomii Musial’s skirt. That’s because the slender, tanned brunette works at Tilted Kilt, the South Tempe bar that combines Hooter-licious hotties in teeny plaid minis with the perks of an Irish pub and sports bar. Outside of work, the Wisconsin native is a club-hopping socialite who spends her down time cheering for the Green Bay Packers or watching Tarantino flicks with her boyfriend. Naomii took a few minutes to chat with me about that infamous plaid uniform and her plans to wiggle out of it someday soon.

Chow Bella: How long have you been bartending?
Naomii Musial: About seven or eight months. I started as a server here. I kept telling them I wanted to [bartend] and they finally let me try.

CB: Why the Tilted Kilt?
NM: I came in here and I liked the atmosphere. I'm a very upbeat, outgoing person and that's what this job is like. They wanted us to talk to everybody. And I'm a great talker.

CB: What did you do before you started working at the Tilted Kilt?
NM: Before this I was a Hooters girl. And a cheerleading coach.

By Wynter Holden

Bartender Crista MacKenzie of Chez Nous in Phoenix is every man's dream girl -- a lot of sugar, with just a touch of spice. She doesn't drink much, loves her native Arizona and is devoted to her four-month-old son. Aww...how sweet. If not for the blue-tinged platinum locks and swirling tattoos spanning her right side, Crista could easily be mistaken for the perky young soccer mom in the cubicle next to yours. That is, until you get her talking.

Chow Bella: When did you start bartending?
Crista MacKenzie: I was doing hair back in 2003 and I was struggling for money, so I got a job at Chez Nous. Six months later, they started training me to bartend. Hair styling and bartending, they're both the same type of job. You deal with all kinds of people.

CB: Why do you like bartending?
CM: A lot of people would say the money. It is cool leaving with cash every day, but for me it's more about meeting people. My fiancé Robert is a stay-at-home dad and I give him a lot of credit for it. I feel like I'd go insane if I stayed at home and couldn't go out and meet people.

CB: Any cool jobs before you became a bartender?
CM: I managed a sub shop for 5 years and that was really cool. I got to throw food at people on that job. I actually did all 3 [hairdressing, bartending and working at the sub place] up until January when I was 6 months pregnant.

CB: What drink do you absolutely love making?
CM: The "Ocean Water." We made it up a few years ago when I was first bartending and learning all of my drinks.

CB: How do you make it?
CM: Wait. Is this going to be published? Well, as long as it has my name on it, I'll tell you.

Notice the short cropped hair, the year-round uniform of board shorts and comfortable sandals. The perfectly tanned skin. The lack of sweat on his brow, even in 100-degree temperatures. Yes, you guessed it. Copper Star Coffee owner and master barista Bill Sandweg is one of those elusive creatures we rarely see in Phoenix -- the Arizona native. Crikey, we finally found one! We stalked Sandweg on his own territory and he shared some adventures from the urban jungle.

Chow Bella: How'd you break into the coffee business?
Bill Sandweg: I've been in restaurants for like 20 years. I've done time at T.G.I. Friday's Oregano's, Starbucks, Pizzeria Uno...

CB: Done time? You make it sound like prison.
BS: If you knew the T.G.I. Friday's that I worked at, then yes, you'd definitely realize I was doing time.

CB: Tell us about it.
BS: This was the T.G.I. Friday's in Marina Del Ray which, thank God, is no longer with us. It was a violent and horrible place. I pepper sprayed a customer once. Some customers walked out without paying their bill and we followed them into the parking lot and said they needed to pay us. The guy clocks my waiter, so I pepper sprayed him. A few minutes later the cops show up and my waiter has a big 'ol slab of steak on his eye.

By Wynter Holden

38-year-old bar manager Amy Ziegler is a tall, slender, no-nonsense blonde who looks like she could do some serious damage to any boozehound who treats her like a Coyote Ugly babe. As a kid she dreamed of being a ballet dancer, but as she cockily points out there isn’t much of a market for 6-foot-tall ballerinas. Instead, Ziegler opted for a different kind of dance, pouring pints and dodging propositions from flirtatious patrons at the British Open Pub with equal grace.

Chow Bella: What’s your favorite drink?
Amy Ziegler: Stoli Orange and Seven.

CB: Is there a drink that you cringe at the thought of making?
AZ: Yes, an “Adios Motherfucker!” It has the same ingredients as a Long Island Iced Tea, with blue Curacao as well. The name says it all. I dread serving those because I know that someone’s on a mission…to get totally wasted.

By Wynter Holden

Who is Fair Trade Café barista Xoë McAleece? Go back a few years and there's no record of her existing at all. No birth certificate. No high school records. No trace of her before she turned eighteen. We caught up with the mysterious Xoë (pronounced zoh-ee) and she revealed how a Midwest girl trapped in a vanilla life changed her name in tribute to a pagan goddess and found happiness in the big city with a baby, a boy and lots of coffee.

Chow Bella: How long have you been a barista?
Xoë McAleece: About five years. I started making coffee at this awful little coffee shop and I think I made the worst drinks in the city. Now I work at Fair Trade and I have people tell me I make the best drinks in the city.

CB: Do you drink coffee?
XM: I’m a coffee whore! I will drink coffee all day, every day. Coffee is an addiction. It’s one of the only legal narcotics left. Coffee and smoking.

I’ve been getting free coffee for basically five years because I’ve been working as a barista. Then I had my daughter and I was on maternity leave for nine months. I had no idea how much of one’s income could go to coffee!

CB: Hey, aren’t pregnant women supposed to avoid coffee?
XM: Shh…It was totally decaf. Actually, because I was an eight cup a day kind of girl, my doctor said that if I [quit] completely it would send my baby into withdrawal. So I cut down to one cup a day.

CB: So why is your coffee the best in town?
XM: I’m a geek. I’ve spent a lot of time tweaking coffee, trying to figure out how to pull the best shot of espresso and asking expert after expert. I’ve looked up all of the international standards. I personally hate bad coffee. If I go to a coffee shop and get bad coffee it ruins my whole day. I know that’s ridiculous, but hey, everyone has their weird passions. This is mine.

CB: Ok, where’d you get the name Xoë?
XM: I’m named after an Aztec earth goddess. I decided that Xochiquetzal would be ridiculous to write on all my application forms and driver’s license and stuff, so I shortened it to Xoë. People get really annoyed with the spelling. Telemarketers won’t even say it. They just spell it. They’re like, “is X-O-E there?”

My middle name is the Gaelic word for "strong woman." But I realized after changing it that it’s also the word for "phallus." So my name’s like Mother Earth Penis McAleece.

CB: What kind of weird things have you seen on the job?
XM: We have a homeless guy who comes in here. One day he came in and his whole face was busted up and bruised, like he had just come from a fight. Little tiny guy, but with really old eyes; one of those guys you just don’t want to mess with.

Then he leaned in really close and motioned us to him. And he whispers, “You’re going to the death chamber…”

The next time he came in, I said I’d call the cops. He goes, “That’s fine. You can call my Aunt Millie for all you want, but she won’t answer the phone. She’s strapped to a board after what I did to her.”

Creepy.

By Wynter Holden

Bartender Scott Pierce (a.k.a Pandora) is a quirky, outspoken and totally flaming queen who isn't afraid to let it all hang out. He loves to wear tight leather corsets, although he switches to muumuus in the hot summer. He digs beehive hairdos. And he wants to open a B&B in the Bahamas with his hubby. You can find Scott's "gender outlaw" alter-ego Pandora hosting drag bingo or gay movie night (think Mommie Dearest, coat hangers and Barbie dolls to beat) at Ice Pics in downtown Phoenix.

Chow Bella: How'd you get started as a bartender?
Scott Pierce: My parents were big drinkers, so we always had a bar at my house. For big holiday gatherings, my cousins and I figured out that if we poured people drinks, they would give us money. We used to get my family shitfaced! I could make the fiercest martini at age 7.

CB: What did you want to be when you grew up?
SP: I wanted to be Mrs. Wiggins.

CB: Who's that?
SP: Are you old enough to remember The Carol Burnett Show? Mrs. Wiggins was the secretary with the big ass and the leopard-print skirt who spends all of her time filing her nails and sharpening pencils. That was my earliest aspiration. I [did] the receptionist thing, so I got that out of my system.

CB: Where'd you live before Phoenix?
SP: I'm from DC. When Daddy Bush was in office, me and my friends used to write "eat my Bush" on tennis balls and throw them over the fence so his dog would get one and bring it inside.

By Wynter Holden

California native Steve Delaney, who’s worked behind the bar at Tempe’s Rula Bula for over three-and-a-half years, is the only one in his family that hasn’t been to the Emerald Isle. He has no brogue, and I’m pretty certain he couldn’t direct you to Killarney or tell you what an Eriskay love lilt is. But when it comes to pouring the perfect pint of Guinness, he’s as Irish as they come -- no blarney.

Chow Bella: What brought you to Arizona originally?
Steve Delaney: Spring training, actually. I came out here every year, and when I saw the price of the homes, and the weather, I said I’m never going back.

CB: Where would you love to travel?
SD: I do want to see Ireland, and I’d love to do an African safari one day. I think that would just be a beautiful sight.

CB: Just to see, or to hunt?
SD: No, I don’t kill. I wouldn’t kill, because they’re bigger animals then I am and I wouldn’t take that chance.

CB: Is there a food or drink you have a particular weakness for?
SD: Lamb chops. I cannot live without lamb chops, with mint jelly, the whole thing.

CB: So how exactly do you pour the “perfect” pint – or will you have to kill me if you tell?
SD: The secret is…

by Wynter Holden

Lisa Dowd is a witty, personable New York transplant who likes to gossip with her neighbors and knows an awful lot about "cawfee." Five years ago, she ditched a lucrative (albeit stressful) career as an X-Ray tech to open a small coffee shop inside a Scottsdale salon. These days, you can find her whipping foam and blending lattes in her downtown Glendale coffee house A Shot of Java. I sat down with Lisa at a shaky metal bistro table in the brick alleyway outside the shop, as tea-drinking poets and passersby eavesdropped on her fabulous stories.

Chow Bella: How did you get into the coffee business?
Lisa Dowd: My son used to play competitive soccer and his team won the state championship and the national tournament was in Hawaii. The first night, I was hanging out with one of the dads in the hotel and he's like, "what do you do? Are you happy?" I started bitching about the things I didn't like and said I wanted to own my own business. He said "I own a salon in Scottsdale and I'm thinking about putting a coffee bar in there. It's yours if you want it."

CB: Are you a coffee drinker?
LD: Yeah, I drink about four cups of coffee a day. I'd have to say my favorite drink is chai tea, though. And I make this thing called a cocomochanut that's really good. You can do it hot or cold, but I like it hot. Yes, even in the summer.

CB: Tell us the truth. If you're craving coffee and you're driving along the road and see a Starbucks, will you stop there?
LD: No, absolutely not. Never.

CB: Why make drinks when you're the boss? Don't you have peons to do that for you?
LD: Yeah, I do. I have a couple of really good peons. But I'm really anal. I feel more comfortable making the drinks, because I know I'm doing it with care and with love. And I'm doing it right.

CB: Ok, it's time for the "money shot." Give us your best on-the-job story.
LD: This is definitely a place where all the crazies come. I had one guy who came in and he was so eerie and bizarre; his spirit was just so dark, you know. It was around Christmastime and all of the Christmas lights around my counter burned out as he came in. I swear it was him!

CB: That's pretty creepy, but you can do better.
LD: Ok, I've got a good one. I was only open a couple of months, and this guy came in and kept staring at me. He had light blue eyes. He ordered coffee, sat down and kept staring the whole time and it was really uncomfortable.

Next day, he comes back with a friend and he's staring at me again. I think, he's gonna rob me or rape me. This guy is a rapist and he's scouting out the place and finding out that I'm here alone a lot.

A couple of days later the guy comes back and I'm thinking oh God, this is it. He comes up to the counter and says, "do you mind if I meet here once a week? I'm a minister and I'm with a Bible group."