20 AUGUST 2023 T he smells, the sauces, the cooking styles – if you’re a fan of barbecue, you’ll be happy to know that Arcadia has a few saucy, savory, close-by eateries that boast all of those mouthwatering barbecue dishes. FRASHER’S SMOKEHOUSE 3222 E. Indian School Road frasherssmokehouse.com George Frasher grew up in St. Louis. He learned how to barbecue in college, enhancing his craft through various kitchen positions. At 22, he opened the K.C. Masterpiece Bar and Grill in Kansas City. A few years later, he brought his skills to the Valley and Frasher’s opened June 2015. The smokehouse offers Kansas City-style barbecue with St. Louis influence. Meats are prepared using Arizona pecan wood in their Ole Hickory smoker. “Frasher’s offers award-winning baby back ribs, brisket, sides, and daily specials like pastrami, beef ribs and pork steaks, and, of course, our award-winning gooey butter cake,” George said. “I’m glad to have had the opportunity to hone my skills in the Valley for the last 24 years.” The most popular item on the menu is the burnt ends, which George says sells out quickly daily. Frasher’s future plans include adding “famous” steaks to the menu and building an indoor/outdoor patio for the cooler months. BOBBY-Q’S 3154 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix bobbyqbbq.com Bob Sikora is known by many names: Bobby Q, Bobby McGee or Mr. Lucky. He’s opened restaurants from Arizona to Hawaii – and it all started when he was 15. Sikora dropped out of school to work as a fry cook at one of the first McDonald’s restaurants in Phoenix. At 20, Sikora opened his first restaurant – Bobby’s Pancake Stand. In 1966, he opened Mr. Lucky’s, a music venue that featured acts like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. He opened Bobby McGee’s in 1971 and Mabel Murphy’s (a dance club) in Scottsdale in 1972. Then, he set his sights on bringing BBQ to Phoenix. The first location opened in 2005. The Camelback location opened in 2017. “We are known for our barbecue, but we sell salads, seafood, steaks and tacos,” Manager Kristi McDowell said. “We make sure we can please every palate. Our most popular items are Bob’s Salad and our firebird rotisserie chicken.” The secret behind Bobby Q’s barbecue, according to McDowell, is the slow-cook process over almond and mesquite wood paired with a special dry rub. Bobby-Q’s plans to continue growing, offer catering, and “letting everyone know we are here,” McDowell said. STARLITE BBQ 7620 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale starlitebbq.com Starlite BBQ and Whiskey Bar opened in February 2018. “The name came about thanks to a love of barbecue and whiskey. They work great together since they’re both made with charred wood. Who doesn’t love enjoying some BBQ under the starlight?” Managing Partner Brad Twigg said. The most popular items include beef ribs, brisket, the hot-fired chicken sandwich, chicken wings, grilled cauliflower and mac and cheese. Starlite supports local vendors: Arizona beef, organic produce from McClendon’s Farm and bread from Arizona Bread. The meat is smoked with local pecan and mesquite woods native to Arizona. “We love serving up Arizona BBQ with plenty of whiskey to wash it down,” Twigg said. “It’s been great growing with our neighborhood. We have the best regulars.” HAP’S PIT BARBECUE 4801 E. Washington St.,Phoenix hapsbbq.com Christine Darroch purchased Hap’s Pit Barbecue restaurant from her parents in March 2012, but the history of the spot goes back to 1991. “Good cookin’ has always been in the blood of the Darroch family,” Christine said. “It began with Grandpa Dan and Grandma Doris breaking out the skillet at get-togethers with family and friends.” Those family get-togethers continued with Dan Senior and “Momma Barb,” who turned their hobby into Hap’s Barbecue. “Our story is as ‘American Dream’ as it gets,” Christine said. “It started with a home-built smoker and a sign attached to a shopping cart in front of the family’s car dealership at 24th and Jefferson in Phoenix.” In 1990, Dan Sr. took the chassis from an old GMC truck and built a smoker on top of it. He parked the smoker in front of his car dealership and opened up shop – and the rest is history. Hap’s offers Southern-style dishes. The most popular items are the pork spare ribs, prime sliced beef brisket and pulled lamb, which was featured on the Burgers, Brew & ‘Que television show. “We have a diverse community of barbecue lovers from around the globe that are shocked to find that Arizona does know how to compete with the best,” Christine said. In the future, Hap’s is looking into on- site catering and possibly adding a food truck to serve corporate events, weddings, and backyard gatherings. LITTLE MISS BBQ 4301 E. University Dr., Phoenix littlemissbbq.com Little Miss BBQ has two locations: University, which opened in February 2014 and 7th St. and Dunlap, opened in November 2018. After owner Scott Holmes took a trip to Austin with his wife Bekke, he was inspired to get back into cooking (especially after visiting Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas). “The simplicity, atmosphere and experience captivated my attention and hasn’t let go,” Scott said. Bekke and Scott bought a smoker and barbecued for friends and family. After visiting a Kansas City Barbecue competition, the business plan for Little Miss BBQ was formed. “After winning Grand Championships and Team of the Year designations, we realized that we wanted to share the community, barbecue, and experience that we had fallen in love with,” Scott said. They offer Central Texas-style barbecue. Dishes include prime brisket, turkey, pork, and sausage. They also offer specials like house-cured and smoked pastrami and short plate natural beef ribs. The barbecue is cooked with locally-sourced white oak and pecan. “Brisket is our most popular item. We trim and shape them to cook evenly, dry brine them for 12-16 hours, and smoke them for 8-12 hours,” Scott said. Little Miss BBQ will soon open a new location in Midtown. “The great thing about barbecue is it’s a challenge. We try and get better with everything we do, which has been a staple of ours since we started,” Scott said. HOG WILD BBQ 4046 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix hogwildpitbbq.com Hog Wild offers pulled pork, beef brisket, hot links, turkey, pulled chicken and pork ribs with a variety of sides: coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans and more. HONEY BEAR’S BBQ 5012 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix honeybearsbbq.com Honey Bear’s boasts sandwiches, dinners and HB Specials like fried catfish and BBQ rib tips. Meats include pulled pork, beef brisket and shredded chicken. Other nearby spots that might satisfy your BBQ cravings: Local eateries serving up barbecue favorites

21 AUGUST 2023 By Mark Hays Jules Gissler could be considered the personified version of the quote, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Originally from Billings, Montana, she’s been creating art for as long as she can remember. Gissler moved to Phoenix around 20 years ago and made a career out of painting whimsical pet portraits, but that’s not all – she’s also designed pillows, jewelry, mugs and calendars. One of her first projects was selling rocks painted like Ked shoes. However, she’s moved on from stones, and most recently, her art was featured on something a little bigger: footwear. After Gissler saw a call for artists on Instagram by fashion designer Michael Grey, she submitted samples of her work and was selected for a collaboration with Birkenstock sandals. The two new footwear designs use her paintings “The Carnival of the Heart” and “The Journey of Love” on the strap of the sandal. Gissler described the process of working with Grey as “very low-key.” After coming up with the design, the duo settled on June 5 for a launch date. “For ‘The Carnival of the Heart, the art came from a hand-painted collage on hand-torn deli sheets. I love the texture of hand-torn pieces instead of using scissors to cut them,” Gissler said. She also wrote a poem that goes along with each of the pieces used on the Birkenstocks. She said she was very excited to see the final products. “I’ve always loved fashion, and my mom was a huge shoe fan,” she said. “So, of course, I thought of her when designing the sandals.” Gissler describes her art as “smile-ish-ness.” “It’s my made-up Dr. Seuss word,” she laughed. “My favorite things to paint are commissions of people’s furry kids. I do both whimsical and realistic, but the whimsical ones are the most fun. I can dress them in whatever portrays their personality.” Speaking of furry family members, readers may recognize Gissler’s work from the Shemer Art Center’s Furry Friends Fine Art Festival, where she’s participated for the last six years. “The Furry Friends event is a wonderful, creative venue that celebrates the furry kids, bringing everyone much happiness,” she said. In the future, she would like to collaborate on other fashion products and work with interior designers. Her paintings can be seen hanging in the Arcadia Sole Sports Shop and Pie Snob locations. mgsandalfactory.com Artist’s work takes a big step FDI-1867K-A © 2022 EDWARD D. JONES & CO., L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured Serving Arcadia/Biltmore for over 20 years. % % % Minimum deposit Minimum deposit Minimum deposit APY* APY* APY* Richard M Ross Financial Advisor 4040 E Camelback Rd Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ 85018 602-955-7654 3-month If you have $100,000 or more to invest today, call me. © 2022 EDWARD D. JONES & CO., L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. AECSPAD > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % % % APY* APY* APY* * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 7/17/23. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC). 6-month If you have $100,000 or more to invest today, call me. © 2022 EDWARD D. JONES & CO., L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. AECSPAD > edwardjones.com | Member SIPC Compare our CD Rates Bank-issued, FDIC-insured % % % APY* APY* APY* * Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 7/17/23. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC). 1-year 5.35 2-year 5.00 5.25 6-month