You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2009.
Phoenix International Raceway prepares for the first NASCAR race of its 2009 season.
The driver lineup includes NASCAR champ and defending SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 race winner Jimmy Johnson along with 42 other NASCAR drivers. The race venues stretch from Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 with an agenda that includes NASCAR Camping World Series West Race on Thursday night, NASCAR Nationwide Series Race on Friday night and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race on Saturday night.
Phoenix International Raceway came into existence in 1964 and catered to open wheel racing. In 1988, PIR added its first NASCAR race in November, and in April 2005, it added a second NASCAR race to its annual calendar.
Bryan Sperber, PIR president, Marie Lopez Rogers, Avondale mayor and Bobby Allison, guest of honor, attended the March 30, 2006 dedication of the Bobby Allison grandstand.
Over the years, PIR worked to improve the facilities at the raceway for fans. Fans have a wide variety of options for viewing the races. These options include purchasing tickets for the Hillside located outside of turns 3 and 4, general admission on specified days, reserved seating in the Bobby Allsion, A. J. Foyt, Jimmy Bryan or Richard Petty grandstands or credentials to view the race from the infield. PIR also sets aside areas for fans to park their RVs.
In addition to the racing venues, PIR offers race fans the opportunity to experience Hot Laps for the Troops on Wednesday, April 15 and Saturday, April 18. The Bondurant School of High Performance Driving takes fans on a hot lap around the track for $50 per person. For those fans who like to party, PIR features the new Budweiser Roll-Bar. On Friday, April 17, driver Kasey Kahn will appear at his Budweiser sponsor’s grand opening of the Roll-Bar.
The 2009 Phoenix International Raceway Guest Guide gives all of the information that fans need in order to make their racing experience a successful one.
The Chinese Cultural Center located at 668 N. 44th Street in Phoenix contains a wide variety of shops, restaurants, businesses and an Asian Market.
Super L Ranch Market
At the center of the business district, the Super L Ranch Market contains Asian specialty items, large tanks full of fish, crab and other live seafood, fresh Asian produce and a bakery. The meat department contains fresh cuts of meat while the produce department boast Asian imported fruits and vegetables. Chinese beer and bamboo plants make up some of many other items in the large Asian super market. Super L Ranch Market also contains a deli with a wide variety of foods to chose from.
Restaurants abound at the Chinese Cultural Center. Lao Ching Hing offers their special Shanghai cooking or a selection of Cantonese dishes.
Golden Buddha
The Golden Buddha serves exotic and unusual food with their Cantonese and Mandarin cuisine. Diners overlook the Koi lake and Chinese gardens as they relax and enjoy their meals. The restaurant accomodates parties as small as 10 or as large as 300 in their large dining room and on their patio. Smaller dining rooms also hold intimate parties.
Chinese Herbal Shop
The Chinese Cultural Center also contains business and retail stores such as the Chinese Herbal Shop, the Asian Bank of Arizona, Oriental Factory Direct and Yes I do!
Asian Bank of Arizona
During the year, the Chinese Cultural Center hosts many Chinese celebrations for holidays and special events with the largest being the Chinese New Year celebration. Other festivals on the Chinese calendar include the Dragon Boat Festival and the Moon Festival.
The sound of traffic briefly permeates the serene solitude of the Chinese Cultural Center located at 668 N. 44th Street in Phoenix. The Chinese gardens and replicas of Chinese architecture, pagodas and statues enchant visitors and represent five ancient Chinese cities.
The Heavenly Scholars’ Entry Way opens from the sidewalk on 44th Street onto this glorious, ancient Chinese garden scene. The classic Chinese entry way represents entrances used in Chinese palaces, temples and public squares. Bronze plaques written in Chinese characters and translated into English tell the history of the entry way and all of the structures within the gardens.
Ju Xing Pavilion at the Chinese Cultural Center
To the right of the entry way stands a replica of the Ju Xing Pavilion or Star Gathering Pavilion constructed about A.D. 1575. With its two-tiered roof and octagon design, the pavilion represents architecture of the Ming Dynasty.
Moon Gate at the Chinese Cultural Center
Next to the pavilion, a wall with a round window stretches across the gap between the main building and the fence by the street sidewalk. Walking through the window, vistors follow the walkway toward more pagodas, statues of Chinese characters, a stone lantern first used in A.D. 500 and the Maple Bridge Night Harbor Poem Monument.
Carved Monument Veranda at the Chinese Cultural Center
To the left of the entry way along the walkway, the Carved Monument Veranda houses the carving entitled “The Number One Mountain and River View on Earth” written by Wu Ju during the Song Dynasty. A bronze tablet gives more information in Chinese and English on the veranda and the carving.
Koi lake at the Chinese Cultural Center
Just beyond the Carved Monument Veranda, the walkway continues next to the koi lake. Colorful foot-long koi inhabit the lake on the southeast side of the Chinese Cultural Center. They swim slowly and silently next to the lake wall or through the water lilies that float on the lake in the bright sunshine. Trees bearing lavender, fuchsia and white variegated blossoms surround the lake along with restful, shaded areas and pavilions.
Garden architect Madam Ye designed the gardens using Feng Shui and Ying Yang principles. The gardens bring peace and serenity to those who visit.
Established on Oct. 16, 1978 by Sean O’Brien and his brother-in-law Jeff Lipson in a strip mall at 16th Street and Bethany Home Road, the original Carlos O’Brien’s drew loyal customers to eat Mexican food in generous portions at reasonable prices. Customers waited in line not only for the wonderful food but also for the scarce parking spaces.
Carlos O'Brien's Mexican Restaurant at 1133 E. Northern Ave.
Lipson says in March 1985 we moved to our present location at 1133 E. Northern Ave. This location accommodates 350 people in six dining rooms with parking for everyone.
In 1998 the Scottsdale Carlos O’Briens opened at 7111 E. Bell Road and Corey O’Brien, Sean O’Brien’s son, became the third owner and general manager. This establishment seats just under 300 guests in three dining rooms, the pub and the patio.
Carlos O’Brien’s menu categories include appetizers, soups & salads, house favorites, fajitas, combos & dinners, chimichangas, ala carte, sides, children’s corner, sandwiches beverages and desserts. At lunchtime, Carlos O’Brien’s offers a special lunch special menu throughout the week.
Lipson says that all recipes are family secrets prepared daily from scratch. Corey says food preparation uses 100 percent vegetable oil with no trans fats and no MSG except for the use of lard with tamales. The restaurants purchase chips, but fry them in vegetable oil.
The restaurants also offer patrons a smart choice menu, so they make choices to go along with their healthy lifestyles. The menu includes items such as grilled Mahi taco, spinach and bean enchilada and a veggie burrito.
A free rewards card helps patrons accumulate 150 points to receive a $10 gift certificate. After registering, patrons also receive a Happy Birthday e-mail which they can redeem for a free fried ice cream dessert. The fried ice cream begins with a scoop of vanilla ice cream rolled in bran flakes, deep fried and topped with strawberries, chocolate or honey and whipped cream.
Carlos O’Brien’s offers happy hour specials from 3 to 7 p.m. daily. Relax with friends or alone at the O’Brien’s Pub in Scottsdale or the bar at the Phoenix location and enjoy drinking a cool libation, eating a delicious bar appetizer and watching a sporting event on one of the TVs.
Carlos O’Brien’s also does catering for large or small groups such as home parties, office parties, weddings and funerals. They work with clients to give them flexible options, reasonable prices and good food.
On the northeast corner of the busy intersection at Tatum Avenue and Lincoln Drive, a memorial to Arizona’s native son Barry Goldwater nestles into the desert landscape. Enough parking for three vehicles plus a handicapped spot run parallel to the entrance to a calm, quiet desert scene.
Barry Goldwater Statue
The winding pathway contains a quote from Barry Goldwater done in Arizona onyx which reads, “Arizona welcomes you. It’s home to me-where my family is, where my heart is, where I belong. No man should be judged by a single act. Our responsibility in this hostile world is to defend successfully the concept of human freedom from every assault, ideological, economic, or military. My opinion, after a careful review of my case, compels me to judge myself as a possessor of a full and happy past, a future more rosy than our sunset tonight, and a present more clear and sparkling than the sky that now becomes my blanket.”
These words spiral from the beginning of the pathway to the base of the Barry Goldwater statue done by Joe Beeler, Cowboy Artist of America. Goldwater dressed for the west holds his cowboy hat in his left hand and his camera in his right with mountain views surrounding him.
Anasazi patterned wall
Anasazi walls constructed along the pathways contain windows with scenes ideal for Goldwater’s photography. Eight bronze medallions on the walls represent milestones in his life: 1921-Amateur radio operator; 1930-First solo ocean flight; 1930- Native American photography; 1940-70th person to raft the Colorado River; 1957-Native American design on his home’s front door; 1952 to1987-Five term U. S. senator; 1964-U. S. presidential candidate; and 1987- Harmon trophy winner for outstanding aeronautic achievements.
Bronze medallion commerates Goldwater achievement.
Bridge on the pathway leading to Barry Goldwater Memorial.
A bridge with a steel handrail made from aviation symbols crosses a dry wash on one side and a small, cascading waterfall on the other. Perfect specimens of native plants inhabit the grounds. Hummingbirds suck nectar from red flowers, bees buzz around purple blooms and quail scurry along the desert path.
Stone benches along the pathway invite visitors to pause and absorb the tranquil setting while taking in the beauty of the surrounding mountains and desert that Barry Goldwater loved.
Arizona Destinations 