Picture: Truffle Chive Fries at The Greene House in Kierland. I am a french fry fanatic and these fries score a 10 on my scale.
Hi, I'm Stephanie Quilao, the noshy eater behind the delicious living blog Noshtopia where life and food meet healthy and fun. You can read more about me here.
I live in Phoenix, Arizona, and Noshtopia Phoenix is the local version of where I eat and hang out here in town. I separated out the Phoenix stuff because there is so much awesomeness in this town that it deserves its own space.
Quick things about Noshtopia Phoenix:
- I refer to Phoenix metro here which includes the city of Phoenix along with surrounding cities of Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Glendale, Peoria, and vicinity. It's like saying LA or Silicon Valley which actually comprises of many cities not just one.
- I am not a food critic nor do I have the refined palate of one who only wines & dines at the finest establishments. I am an everyday eater living in a fast food culture like many others who is just trying to stay in her skinny jeans and enjoy food in healthy and fun ways. I focus on what I like to eat and what I think my audience will enjoy and find useful, and that can range from a fine meal at a 5 star restaurant to a hole in the wall at the local strip mall. I'm just as happy with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck as I am with a hundred year old Red.
My intent is to help make healthier eating more fun and tasty because like many of you, I am bored stiff with baby carrots and steamed chicken breast. I also like to eat fast and junk food too on occasion, so how can I do that and not break the health bank.
- I take my pictures primarily with my iPhone 3GS because that is what is handy when eating out. On Noshtopia.com, I'll use my Nikon D50 for the more fancy shots. If you are a blogger, you are free to use my photos as long as you give credit and link back here. If you want to use any of my photos for commercial use like in an ad, company website, magazine, brochure, mobile app or things like that, then contact me. I'm pretty open and flexible.
- Here is my whole philosophy on eating which I call, "Eating Wellness." The principle is based primarily on things like eliminating as much processed and artificial foods and ingredients as possible. Eating more foods in their natural state as Mother nature created, thus my attraction to organic and all natural foods. I eat things in a color you would see in nature versus lab-coat made colors you'd see like in fluorescent blue and pink Gatorade or Slurpees.
- I have food allergies mainly to cow milk, chicken eggs, almonds, and certain beans. They are not the life threatening kind of allergies where you get anaphylaxis but more the kind where you get things like a cantankerous bowel, bloating, rashes, and headache. So, you will see attention put onto food allergies, intolerances, and preferences. Because of the dairy & egg allergies and because I like vegetables and fruits, I also eat lots of vegan foods like baked goods. I also try and keep my gluten consumption to a minimum because it makes me feel heavy and sleepy.
But just because I have to avoid the dairy & eggs, doesn't mean you won't see any of those foods here. This blog is about eating, so I take pictures to live vicariously, and on occasion I'll eat things like regular pizza, non-vegan desserts, and some cheese & crackers because I'm human and it's nearly impossible for me to stay completely abstinent from cheese. That in itself is a whole other discussion, so when it comes to allergies and things like that follow your doctor not me. I'm admittedly not the best role model when it comes to the food allergies but I do the best I can.
- I moved to Phoenix from the San Francisco Bay Area in October 2009. Indeed, there is a much bigger diversity in food in SF than Phoenix, and my palate is attuned to that diversity, but there is plenty of wonderful things to eat here in Arizona too, and I am having a great deal of fun discovering all that is here to eat. I am an open minded and adventurous eater, so I'll try almost anything once. Exceptions though include eyeballs, tentacles, liver, insects, and baby animals.
- I don't write bad reviews or say, "this sucks." But, I'm not Pollyannish either. I like to take an uplifting perspective and follow what my mom says, "If you don't have anything positive to say, don't say anything." If I didn't care for something, I will share what I think could be improved and offer a suggestion. Again, I focus on what I think my audience will find helpful and tasty.
- I am not a journalist, so therefore there is no separation of editorial and advertising here. If you are a restaurant, food producer, promoter or anything related to food for a living and want to have me as a guest or give me free stuff to review, I will accept it if it fits my niche and audience. Here is more details on what will get my attention. I am always honest about what I think because I'm all about being authentic.
- I always fully disclose anything that had monetary value tied into it. Regardless of what the FTC says, I think it is just proper to be open about these things. If there is no disclosure in the post, it means I paid for it with my own money which I do quite often.
I love feedback and comments. If you want to just say, "Hi!" I enjoy that too. I do my best to respond as quickly as possible, and to everyone. If I don't, it could be that I'm overwhelmed with life or your email got trapped in my spam filter. Please don't hesitate to follow up, if I don't respond.
I hope you enjoy Noshtopia Phoenix and thank you for your time and attention!
