You don’t need to own a car to have fun in Phoenix

Posted on 06. Nov, 2009 by Tony Arranaga in Featured, News

I had two goals Thursday night.  Goal number one: get to the Celebrity Chef Tour at the Phoenician Resort without spending alot of money on a Zipcar. Goal number two: take a picture with headlining Celebrity Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

I realize these two goals together may seem odd, so here’s the backstory…

You may have seen in my video blogs (video widget to the right) which detailed how much money I spent during the month of October using alternative modes of transportaton – namely the Zipcar. As I mentioned in my vlog – I love the Zipcar convenience, but if you’re trying to save money, it’s probably not a luxury you should rely on every day.  So I decided I’m going to track my spending for the month of November as well, just to prove I can live carfree without spending close to $500 on a Zipcar.

So just how is November going so far, you ask??  Excellent! Last night was my first test.

You see, I won a trivia contest Thursday morning on the Visit Phoenix Facebook fan page.  The prize? Two tickets to the Celebrity Chef Tour at the Phoenician Resort. The resort is not light rail convenient – in fact it’s about 10 miles from my place in Downtown Phoenix.  I thought about getting a Zipcar to pick up my friend Taylor for the event, but she offered to come get me. Awesome!  Goal number one – accomplished.  Taylor saved me about $30 on a Zipcar.  Thanks, Tay!!!

As for goal number two (a picture with Jean-Georges) –  that was looking iffy for most of the night.  However, I needed some visual material to blog about so I decided to take pictures of the five courses. Each one more fabulous than the one before.

Tuna ribbons in an avocado ginger marinade…

Nage of Dover Sole….

Roasted Squab…

Taylor and her Tenderloin…

And to top it all off… a green apple crisp with cinnamon ice cream.  Thank you so much, Visit Phoenix!!!  The evening was amazing.  The food – fantastic!! BTW…this is how I picture heaven.  And just as I was about to dive into my apple crisp… look who walks up to the table…

It’s none other than Celebrity Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (left) and Host Chef Paul Carter (center) standing next to Taylor.  I was totally ok with her being in the picture and not me.. I’m just glad I got a picture of the headliner!!!  Woot!!!

However, just as we were about to call it a night… all the celebrity chefs came out for one last round of applause.. and one last opportunity for Taylor to get a picture of me with Celebrity Chef Jean-Georges…

Mission accomplished.  See what can happen when you set goals?

Living carfree is soo much fun.

Tags: EXTREME HEAT AND YOUR CARFREE COMMUTE, how to, METRO, Phoenix, rail, things to do, Visit Phoenix