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Showing posts with label interactive art museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interactive art museum. Show all posts

06 April, 2025

The Salted Knot -- Mesa, AZ

The Salted Knot - Mesa, AZ

We have a very special person joining us today on our adventures.  A long time friend of Kenny's is in town for this post. Dan, who helped us write a previous post, shall join us once again as a guest reviewer!

March 8th, 2025 was a busy day for us. We started off visiting Grandma's Farm for some fresh citrus. Talking with the owner is always enjoyable as she has delightful stories and insights to share. Her fresh citrus is tickling our taste buds as we speak. Delicious!

From there we went to an immersive, interactive art exhibit called Bubble Planet. The attraction is suitable for all ages and located inside Arizona Mills mall. Ten bubbled
 themed environments awaited exploration. One of our favorites was Bubble Ocean. A pink sea of beach ball sized balloons surrounded us, sailing high above our heads while Dan juggled to his heart's content. Some other rooms to note were the Giant Bubble, Bubble Bath Pit and Infinity Room. The exhibition is open until the end of April so if you need something fun to do for an hour or two we do suggest it!



F
ollowing this wonderful experience we set off to Mesa to visit the actual brick and mortar location for the Salted Knot. I

t was obvious
 that we needed to visit and conduct a follow up review after we tasted their pretzel at Phoestivus with it's 4.0 rating.

L
ocated on Main Street by the cross street Center, the physical location is perfect. There are a few tables immediately outside the front door of the bakery with a small adjacent patio. As the Friday before it had rained, it was a cooler, crisp spring afternoon, so we choose a table in the warmth of the sun.


Once we entered the eatery we immediately took note of the ambience, the decorum was decked out with tributes to classic rock music artists. The whole place had a chill bohemian vibe, down to the extremely cleanly and well kept bathroom. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, including the staff. We proceeded to the counter, which was directly next to a beautifully decorated display of pretzel based foodstuffs. Sarah Love, Dan, and Kenny discussed what tasty treats they wanted to try and which dipping sauces would best complement them.




After ordering, we took our number 17 sign, and returned to the patio eagerly awaiting the delectable dishes. 
In the interim, we basked in the sunshine and held lively conversation until our lunch arrived.

3/8/2025

On to the review...
Our order included three specialty pretzels: a cheese pizza pretzel, a pepperoni pizza pretzel, and a garlic parmesan pretzel. In addition, we picked up a pretzel dog and pretzel brat. The accoutrements chosen were marinara sauce, maple mustard, stoneground mustard, and beer cheese. The pretzels were all uniformly baked light beige and appeared similar in size and shape. Our first bites revealed a perfectly balanced texture, soft and moist.

Gooey, melted cheese covered the pizza pretzels; one which was covered in little, round pepperonis. 
To perfect the meal be sure to use equal proportions of cheese, pretzel and marinara sauce. The garlic parmesan tasted similar to a breadstick.  Not bad, just not what we expected with a pretzel. The brat and hot dog were equally tasty. The rope of pretzel twisted around the dogs give the consumer the ultimate experience of pretzel satisfaction.


Sarah Love, Dan and Kenny definitely DO recommend visiting this place.  The Salted Knot not only provides a welcoming environment but an excellent snack or meal that satisfies anybody's preferences.

Specialty Pretzels*: 5.0/5.0

*Disclaimer: Due to the nature of this pretzel we do not want to confuse our rating with that of a 
traditional restaurant pretzel.





Sincerely,

Kenny Muzzey & Sarah Love




21 July, 2024

Culinary Dropout -- Scottsdale, AZ

Sunday fun day, on April 17, 2022 we spent our day meandering around one of our favorite interactive art museums, Wonderspaces, located in the Scottsdale Fashion Square. We were surprised to find this gem tucked away behind the expansive food court within the mall. After signing the waiver, we entered the unique space and started exploring. Please note that we do not recall the names of the exhibits we visited, nor can we remember the particular artist(s) who created them.

This museum has a handful of touring exhibits that originate from artists around the world. Early on during our visit Sarah frolicked about in a room that focused on shadow and light play. The room was dimly lit, with the exception of a projector system that exhibited different wavelengths of light within a shadow.






From there we moved into another dark room that also utilized both lights and darks in a majestic atmospheric experience. In the center of the room was an arrangement of disco balls, illuminated by strategically place projectors around the space that threw up a light spectacle that resembled the night sky. 






A third room, shaped as a particularly long rectangle, was covered in a continuous chalkboard from floor to ceiling. In big, bold white letters, the phrase "Before I die..." was printed near the top; additional sentence prompts also read "Before I die I want to __________." Positioned around the room were a few rectangular prisms with an open top containing colored chalk that were available for visitors to record their thoughts and aspirations. - Sarah Love

Kenny added, "Before I die I want to see the Northern Lights." While Sarah can not recall what she contributed to the space, she did offer a smile, wink, and nod in Kenny's general direction (as Kenny remembers it). This was our first visit, but definitely will not been our last.

During this whimsical journey though the Wonderspaces interactive art museum we developed quite an appetite. From there, we walked in the direction of the Scottsdale Waterfront and down to Culinary Dropout where we enjoyed some cool, refreshing libations, and, as you could have guessed, another pretzel.

April 17, 2022

Culinary Dropout -- Scottsdale, AZ

These delectable treats were shaped as little, big nuggets which is quite the oxymoron. There was a moderate amount of salt sprinkled on the golden brown morsels. The pretzel bites were light, fluffy and excellent for snacking. Served along side of them was a heated provolone cheese fondue which really accentuated the taste of the pretzels. 


Pretzels alone: 3.0/5.0
With provolone fondue: 4.0/5.0


Sincerely,

Kenny Muzzey & Sarah Love