Downtown Phoenix is starting to BOOM. I have always heard that the Compass Room is Amazing… But, now I can tell you that it, for sure, most certainly is!  Being a native of Arizona I thought there wasn’t much I haven’t seen.  I can venture to now say that, you have not seen the most amazing view until you have been to the Compass Room — especially at Sunset!

For my birthday my fantastic husband surprised me with a mini-vacation in Downtown Phoenix.  Now, Phoenix has not traditionally been known for it’s fantastic downtown area.  We are one city that has built out instead of up.  But, if you look in the right place and are willing to try new things downtown can be a very fun place.

Anyways, I digress!  The Compass Room…where do I start?  First it is located at the top of the Hyatt hotel in Downtown Phoenix.  It is loacted right in the heart of the city…

The Compass Room Restaurant

122 North 2nd Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 440-3166

Typically, if you are just headed in for drinks and an appetizer you don’t have to make a reservation. Especially if you arrive early as we did.  The atmosphere is unbeatable.  The Compass Room has an upscale, relaxed and quite atmosphere but far from stuffy, basically oh so very fun!  The best part is the Compass Room revolves to give some of the best views the city has to offer. With revolving surroundings you don’t get bored.  They have an extensive wine list and some very sumptuous cocktails — try The Scottsdale!  They have a great Chef and truly the BEST Crabcakes I have ever had!

We were there for just appetizers before the Suns game so we only had a few drinks and the aforementioned crabby patties so we can’t give a very detailed review of the menu. However, the quality of the food in our opinion matched the price so it is fair to assume that carries on to all the entrées.

Truly a one of a kind experience that will give you the decadence of the city life with a warm and inviting atmosphere

Over all…10 out of 10!  An unforgettable meal and evening!

Enjoying Rustler's Rooste on my Bday last year.

So if you’re a frequent reader of iTourAZ.com you saw our “Eat More Rattlesnake” posting a couple months back. If you didn’t, let me give you a quick synopsis: we heart Rustler’s Rooste. That’s right a few months ago we professed our love for Rustler’s Rooste. I think we told you that we had been long time fans of this great restaurant. Well just to prove it I wanted to share with you a paper I wrote in my freshman year of college at ASU. I think the assignment was to “show through words” as opposed to “telling”… well I don’t claim that I did a fantastic job of that, but as you can see it definitely proves that we’ve loved the Rooste for a while now! So here it is in its entirety, enjoy!

From the moment you enter the Marriott resort center, you know you’re in for something special. As you slowly wind up the mountain towards Rustler’s Rooste you are constantly getting a better view of Phoenix. Rustler’s Rooste is a very unique restaurant. It combines both a fine dining experience and a fun dining experience. People of all sorts come from all around to eat there. There are cowboys, rich people, white trash, and common people alike. After you either park the car or ask the Valet to do for you, you enter the restaurant through the side of the mountain. Next to the entrance there’s a giant bull named Horny (because of the fact that he is a longhorn steer). As you enter the restaurant the smell of food cooking overcomes you, and it sets your taste buds alive.
Rustler’s Rooste was built almost 35 years ago by two people from Tempe. These people built the restaurant from scratch. They poured the concrete and built the tables in the morning, while they ran the restaurant and bar at night. In 1981 the Rooste became the main attraction of the point on South Mountain resort. However, on May 3, 1985 there was an electrical fire. This fire came very close to completely destroying the restaurant. The people who worked there loved the place so much that the very next morning at 6 AM they started cleaning up the place and had the kitchen in working order by the end of the day. Since Rustler’s Rooste opened back up for business it has served 89 tons of red meat, 27,600 pounds of ribs, 17,000 chicken wings, and 3 tons of rattlesnake. There are lots of other statistics but I won’t go into them, and if you are still interested they have them at the Rooste.
Rustler’s Rooste is located on the side of South Mountain in Phoenix. After entering the front door, you walk up a slightly inclined old hardwood floor. On both sides of you are the sheer rock walls of the mountain. A feeling comes over you as you walk up the ramp to the dining area. It is almost as if you have been transported back to the 19th century. As you walk up to the spot where the host stands you can see down to the main dining floor and out the big windows. The view out of the window is absolutely gorgeous. You can see the whole valley and all the lights with the mountains in the background fading slowly away. The hostess behind the counter is wearing a button up collared shirt, black jeans, and cowboy boots. On her head she wears a headset which she can talk to the other hosts or hostesses with, and this sets her apart from the waiters. Once you have told the hostess the name that the reservation is under she leads you off to where you are seated. To get to your seat you have to cross over a wooden bridge. The wooden bridge takes you over the sheer rock side of the mountain, where they have a waterfall running down the side of it. Once over the bridge, you come to a giant slide that goes from the second floor to the first floor, where the main dining areas is at. You can choose to take the slide down or you can take the stairs down. Your hostess then leads you across the dance floor, which is scattered with sawdust, in front of the band and to your table.
After you sit down the waiter arrives and ask you if there’s anything that you would like to drink. He then takes your drink order and tells you that he will be right back with your drinks and complimentary bread, and to see if you are ready to order. He then leaves. The menu itself adds to the whole atmosphere of the place. It is printed on an old yellowish white paper, and it tells the whole story behind Rustler’s Rooste. Everything is named in cowboy lingo. For instance, there is the “Rustler’s cut”, the “Trail Boss”, the “Cattlemen’s”, the “Bronco Burger”, and rattlesnake. They also have areas for people who don’t like steak. For instance they have “The Fishin Hole” for people who want fish, and they also have a section titled “Hey Grazers! (Vegetarians)”, which simply says that they “will have cookie (the chef) whip up something vegetarian (without any meat in it).” The meals range anywhere from $8.95 to $21.95. Our waiter comes back with complementary bread (biscuits and Indian fry bread), which I must say is quite exquisite, and takes your order. He is very polite and takes care to make sure he has everything correct before taking the orders to the cook.
Outside the sun is setting providing a very romantic picturesque view. There is a big group of people outside eating corn on the cob which is being grilled next to a bonfire that the people are sitting around. The waiter returns moments later to refill our drinks and bread basket. I asked him if it would be all right if I asked him some questions about his job. He says that he would be more than happy to answer any questions that I have. “So how long have you been working here?” I ask. “About four years,” he replies. Then I asked how he got into the job and how he actually got the job, to which he replied that he was going to school at ASU and needed the money, and that he actually got the job through a friend. “How much do you get paid,” I asked. “I get a base pay of $2.35 an hour plus tips, but it works out to somewhere around $20 an hour.” Then I asked him what kind of clientele usually comes through the Rooste. He said that in the summer it was mostly locals, with businesses and corporate executives. When I asked him if he had many famous people (which there are lots of that come through the Rooste) he said that he had met Herschel Walker and Ricky Henderson. He also said that there was a list by the guest book that had all the other famous people that had never been there. Some of these names include: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. T., Kirk Douglas, Wilt Chamberlain, Mike Ditka, Richard Dreyfuss, Don Shula, Michael Jackson, Magic Johnson, Steve Martin, Madonna, Dan Marino, Robin Williams, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, John Travolta, Bo Schembechler, and Dick Van Dyke. He said that the best part of the job is working only nights and that the pay was great.
The people sitting next to us overhear me asking the waiter questions and start remarking about how much they love the place. They also include how much more often they would come it wasn’t so expensive.
After finishing my meal, which was the “Bronco Burger”, and included the Burger, a salad, fries, and cowboy beans all of which was served on a big metal plate/bowl’s and was absolutely divine, we paid the bill and got up to leave. On your way out you pass by a display case that is filled with T-shirts, jewelry, Rattlesnake key chains, hat tacks, belts, paperweights, knives, and antique guns. As you exit you notice a giant guestbook filled with names and addresses from all over the world, and written in several different languages. I then go home with my belly full and my pockets empty and a big smile on my face because even though my stomach hurts from eating so much and my wallet is now a lot lighter it was well worth it because it is such a great restaurant.

So, there you have it in all its glory! Not too shabby for a freshman year English paper by a guy from little old Dryden, Michigan. What grade did I get you ask? Well I got a “B” on this paper the professor said the following:

“Josh, this is good — it makes me want to go. You tend to go a little overboard in the step-by-step details (we can assume the waiter leaves) you also may have wanted to interview someone else — the Cook or the hostess or even the waiter. This may have required more visits at a profile of a good place should be based on more than one visit.”

So that’s the skinny, like I said we LOVE Rustler’s Rooste! Now head on over and enjoy yourselves a rattlesnake!

The Desert Shrimp Festival is a gathering put on by the Gila Bend Chamber of Commerce. Its held the first full week of November every year. This year the magic is happening on Nov 7th 10am-10pm and Nov 8th from 10am-6pm at the Gila Bend Community Center Park. This event will have numerous arts and crafts booths as well as many food booths to keep you busy. This is a family affair with shrimp eating contests, shrimp cooking expos, and bobbing for shrimp….and I hear the shrimp are floating in cocktail sauce. You be the judge!

There will be a kids coloring booth, kids sand castle building, and many more activities. This is truly a family fun event to show off and promote more of the amazing things we have here in AZ, and this shindig that fits the bill. These are locally grown shrimp in environmentally friendly ponds keeping the shrimp free from chemicals, hormones, mercury and preservatives. The best and safest shrimp you can buy, right her in AZ. If you want a great story to tell and fantastic memories don’t miss the hoopla of the 7th Annual Desert Shrimp Festival

	7th Annual Desert Shrimp Fest
Dates:	Saturday Nov 7th 10am-10pm Sunday   Nov 8th 10am-6pm
Location:	Gila Bend Community Center Park
Price:	$3.00 for adults
Events:	Shrimp eating contest Shrimp cooking contest Shrimp Bobbing Contest Tour the Shrimp Farm Carnival Kids Sand Castle Building Live Music Door Prizes Gila Bend All-Class Reunion

Family fun: Out door water pad and restrooms right next door for easy access.  Comfortable and trendy outdoor seating with many places to get snacks and drinks.

Shopping:  What is there to say… Barnes and Noble, Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Aeropostale, Target, Ross, Ulta And much…much more!

Eating: California Pizza Kitchen, Dave and Busters, and lots of trendy little cafe’s.

The environment is truly relaxing and fun!  At night there are bands and lots of good music.  As well as a stage with a huge screen playing music video’s.

We arrived a little early waiting for our friends to join us (which almost never happens), so we sat in the bar.  I have to say that the bar was hopping!  Yes, it was happy hour and the bar and bar tables were packed.  Luckily they had really comfy chairs around the room that you could order from.  The service in the bar was great, even though the room was practically full.  I was a little hungry, so we started out with an appetizer.  My husband has dubbed it the best garlic cheese bread ever!  We will probably have to get it every time we go there, since it is so tasty.

We were pleased there was no waiting at 6:00 pm on a Friday night when our friends got there.  The ambiance of the restaurant was very laid back and classy, just how we like it in Arizona.  The waiters were all dressed up in normal steakhouse attire, which makes the restaurant feel a little more formal.  We took our son last time and we had no issues with blending in with a toddler.  Everything we have tried so far has been delicious.  Their steaks are cooked just how you ask for it and have a fantastic flavor.   This time my husband had a steak with mushrooms and a balsamic sauce, it was mouth-watering good.  The steaks start from $20 and hamburgers starting at $11, with most Entrees starting around $15.  The service was excellent.  They had to refill our waters several times and they were always on top of it.  They server bread at the table once you order and offered more bread once that was out.   I know some places have changed to only bringing bread upon request, so it was nice not to have to ask for it.  We lost track of time, so we were almost late for our movie, but all in all it took about an hour and a half to order, eat and pay.

Everyone ordered drinks, but I have to say the presentation was unique.  My husband ordered a Vodka Red Bull and our friend ordered a Rum and Coke.  They both came with the alcohol in a bar glass and the mix in on the side (Red Bull and Coke) as you can see in the picture.  The drinks tasted good.  They also feature freshly squeezed citrus drinks and the lemonade was tart, just how I like it!

I would recommend The Keg Steakhouse and Bar to friends and will definitely be going back!