The Satisfied Frog

New Owners of The Satisfied Frog are Committed to Providing Exceptional Food and Service to Patrons Ownership change on February 15th prompts re-birth of a new era for The Satisfied Frog

Long-time patrons of The Satisfied Frog at Frontier Town in Cave Creek can rest assured that it is "business as usual" at the western-themed restaurant and the recent change of ownership is already bringing about positive response from employees and customers. On Friday, February 15, The Satisfied Frog Restaurant operations were temporarily suspended for some 30 minutes during a transition to new operators, and despite rumors, the restaurant did not close its doors.

"Not only were we open this past weekend, we had a wedding on Saturday and an incredible turnout for our Nascar Party on Sunday," said Marc Peagler, who is operating the restaurant. Marc added that "we're not going anywhere," noting that The Satisfied Frog has been one of Arizona's most popular dining and entertainment destinations for more than 25 years and locals and tourists have been visiting Frontier Town for more than 38 years.

A New Era and Special Events
Juli Forsyth, The Satisfied Frog's Operations and General Manager, said she views this transition as a re-birth of a new era for the restaurant. "The history of The Frog will carry on. Our menu will remain mostly the same, though we may look at how to make it even better," Forsyth said. "We're also excited to announce that The Satisfied Frog is the official Spring Training headquarters for the Chicago Cubs. In addition, we are teaming up with Nascar to host big screen TV parties in our Beer Garden on race days. We're in the midst of planning these promotions, so check back with us soon for more details." Juli also credits her staff of 65 for their dedication and hard work. "Our staff has been incredible. We are very grateful to them and to our loyal customers for their support," she said.

Constance Wood, The Satisfied Frog's Director of Special Events, has been employed by the restaurant for 14 years and in her current position for four years. She said she is confident the new change will bring about positive results. "I am 100 percent behind this and want to reassure our customers, especially our brides and grooms who are planning a wedding here, that we will continue to provide exceptional food and service," Constance stated.

The Satisfied Frog Restaurant is located at 6245 E. Cave Creek Road in Frontier Town in Cave Creek. The western-themed restaurant offers a wide selection of delicious appetizers, entrées and deserts, including a full bar. Frontier Town is a western-themed, family-friendly town that pays tribute to the miners, ranchers and cattlemen who settled in Cave Creek in the late 1800s. Located in the heart of Cave Creek, Frontier Town is just minutes from North Scottsdale. Patrons visiting Frontier Town not only can dine at The Satisfied Frog, they can stroll through a myriad of gift shops and view authentic artifacts from the Old West, including covered wagons, and a 13 step hanging gallows. Patrons can relax in the outdoor beer garden and even have their hair cut in the old western barber/beauty shop. Parking and admission is free.

For information or to make dining reservations at The Satisfied Frog, call (480) 488-3317 or visit www.satisfiedfrog.biz . For banquets and weddings, call (602) 359-3300 or visit www.icanaffordthiswedding.biz .

Buffalo Chip Saloon And Steakhouse

Buffalo Chip Saloon And Steakhouse
by Cowgirl Connoisseur

The Buffalo Chip is a cowboy's standard hang out in downtown Cave Creek. It has a real western, kinda rough and tumble feel and it comes by it naturally. All those cowboy boots kicking up their heels dancing and hootin' and hollarin' can leave a mark! "Live in the now, but play in the 1800's" is their motto. Aside from the televisions, you could be walking into an 1880's style bar.

The restaurant is open 10am to 10pm with standard cowboy fare. Big Buckin' Burger and Fries at $6.95, 3/4 lb 100% beef chuck, hand ground and pattied, on a toasted bun with cheddar cheese. You can add Bacon, Green Chiles or Red Chili for $1.00 each. On Fridays, it's "All-You-Can-Eat" Cod, Walleye, Lake Perch and Catfish with fries and slaw $9.95 from 5 to 10pm. The fish is hot and delicious and they keep it coming. What a deal! Be sure to get your fill by 10pm, because the tables get pushed back and the dance floor appears and lookout, it gets crazy. They hand cut their own choice steaks and cook the steaks and burgers are on a Mesquite grilled to your likes. Of the hundreds of steaks I've had at the Chip, every single one has been good, tender, juicy and tasty. They are served with cowboy beans, salad, and a honey butter biscuit. It's nothing fancy, just simple straight forward cowboy dinner and uumm ummm good.

Not in the burger mood? How about a Mesquite Grilled Chicken Sandwich, for $7.95, it is a large grilled chicken breast, hot melted cheese, green chilies, tomatoes, and lettuce on a toasted bun, served with fries. Or a Pit Smoked Pork Sandwich and Fries, $7.95, 3/4 pound of smoked sliced pork topped with melted cheese, coleslaw and served on a toasted bun with a side of BBQ sauce. Or the Smoked Brisket Sandwich and Fries, $7.95, 3/4 pound beef brisket with melted cheese on a toasted bun with a side of BBQ sauce. For the salad lover try the Grilled Chicken Salad, $7.95, Platter of iceberg lettuce, slivered purple cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes with a grilled chicken breast, toasted croutons and side of ranch dressing.

The Chet "ATKINS" Platter, is $11.95, it has smoked pork, beef brisket, and grilled chicken breast with dry BBQ rub and a side of low-carb home-style coleslaw. Pit-Smoked Beef Brisket, for $10.95, is one pound of pit-smoked beef brisket with cowboy beans, coleslaw and honey butter biscuit. Or try the Chicken Saloon, for $10.95, chicken breast, tossed green salad, and a honey butter biscuit.

But the most popular item is the 12 oz. choice handcut Ribeye Steak, for $16.95, served with cowboy beans, tossed green salad, and a honey butter biscuit. Cooked to your order with these guidelines, Rare = Cool Red Center, Medium Rare = Warm Pink Center, Medium = Thin Pink Line in Center, Medium Well = No Pink, Well = May Still Be on Fire!

As a center attraction for cowboys in a western town for so many years, the Chip is nothing fancy. But that patina of so many wild nights has a certain attraction. This is where life really happens. It can get wild. Pretty young cowgirls come in their best western ware and dancing boots to two-step with cowboys in Wranglers and fresh Panhandle Slim snap button shirt and of course Stetson hat. They meet on the dance floor and share a few long necks and the next thing you know there are two kids and dog in the back of his Ford F250. Yep, many a romance has begun under that roof.

The atmosphere is just what city folk and tourists want to absorb. The Buffalo Chip even caters to tour groups and parties with a little western town out back. You can listen to the live music, shoot pool, or throw horseshoes, sit next to a fire pit and enjoy beautiful Black Mountain with a cold one!

There's plenty of music and dancing going on with Wednesday Karaoke 8pm to Midnight using one of the best sound system around. Thursday and Sunday you can enjoy free dance lessons (that's cowboy dancing ya'll) from 7 to 8pm, and Live music and dancing with The Pat James Band 8pm till Midnight, every Thursday through Sunday. And check out Mel's Auction out back where you can bring anything in from 7to 9pm to get sold, and of course you're welcome to buy!

The first Sunday of every month during the Fall and Winter from 7 to 9pm the Chip goes theatre with "Murder at the High Noon Saloon", a Comedy/Interactive Theater and Dinner Show. They serve a Prime Rib, Cowboy Beans, Tossed Salad, Sourdough Biscuit and Dessert for $35.00.

So the next time your gang of cowboys and cowgirls gets real hungry and has some energy to burn, do what we do. Say,"Meet ya'll at the Chip!" Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse, is located at 6811 East Cave Creek Road, in Cave Creek.

PIONEER PEPPER & THE SUNSET PIONEERS TO PLAY THE OPERA HOUSE

Press Release For Immediate release through August 31, 2007 From Media contact LeeAnn Sharpe 602-565-5785
PIONEER PEPPER & THE SUNSET PIONEERS TO PLAY THE OPERA HOUSE IN CAREFREE ARIZONA
Pioneer Pepper & The Sunset Pioneers will charm you right back in time with their classic harmonies on those unforgettable songs like “Ghost Riders in the Sky”, “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Cool Water, as well as treat you to cowboy poetry, rootin’ tootin’ gunfights, trail humor, and good ol’ fashion wild west fun, every Friday and Saturday night at the Carefree Resort Opera House, 7 – 8:30pm starting June 15th all the way through Labor Day, September 1st ,2007.
It’s the place to be this summer as Pioneer Pepper & The Sunset Pioneers perform a Dinner & Show, on Friday and Saturday nights at the beautiful Opera House.Partnered up with the wonderful folks at the elegant Carefree Resort & Villas in Carefree Arizona, they will bring you great old west entertainment in this incredible setting. The Opera House has a rich “old west” atmosphere and The Sunset Pioneers fill it with music, dance, comedy, magic, stories and fun from the exciting era of the singing cowboys!
The Opera House is absolutely stunning with it's western charm and beautiful chandeliers. The adjacent Red Horse Saloon invites you to “belly up to the bar” for some of your favorite wild west beverages. After our evening performances we entertain you with one of our famous and funny gunfights at the Stage Coach Pass. There might even be a campfire or two waitin' for you. The entire evening is a truly unforgettable old west experience. A show for all ages!
The Carefree Resort proudly serves a scrumptious dinner for the series and they are also offering a special “Wild West Weekend Package” that will include a weekend stay at the resort, a Dinner & Show, and a Gunfight! You don't want to miss this great priced summer package deal.
These Singing Cowboys bring plenty of wild west fun along with the music from the era of the singing cowboy Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Rex Allen, and The Sons of the Pioneers. You can expect western memories and cowboy poetry with a bit of good clean family side splittin’ humor. This cowboy singing group takes you back into the days of the old west with the lonely cowboy spinning tales about his horse, the cattle and the prairie.
The Sunset Pioneers are international entertainers, recently having toured Austria! They have entertained with some of the greats like Mel Tillis, Johnny Western, Marty Robbins son Ronnie, Melissa Gilbert, John Mitchum, and Buck Taylor. They performed for the “Little House On The Prairie” TV show reunion at the Western Film Festival and filmed with the BBC-TV for the TV series “Only In America”. They’re also Fender Artists, a title held by about 140 others in the entire world of Fender Guitars, and they are the official town balladeers of the fastest growing city in the USA, Gilbert Arizona. The Arizona Republic newspaper named them Top Personalities of the year. They have also filmed with the Midwest Country TV show and are now regular featured performers of the show aired on the RFD-TV network.
The group’s leader Pioneer Pepper is an ex-police officer from Illinois. In 1995, he went from cop to cowboy and moved to Arizona to be closer to the old west. He has played guitar and been singing most of his life. Pioneer Pepper has held the title of Illinois State champion guitarist and has performed in several stage productions such as “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Man of La Mancha”. He has taken 1st place in the United States in show band competition with the International School of Music. But his love and passion has always been cowboy music and now proudly rides the trail with his pardners, The Sunset Pioneers. Doc Bellows is Pioneer Pepper’s right hand man and plays a whole wagon full of instruments such as the accordion, piano, keyboard, guitar, bass, mandolin, and sings the upper harmonies in The Sunset Pioneers. Doc taught voice in Ohio before moving to Arizona. Doc's dry wit makes him the perfect straight-man in the knee-slapping stage antics.
Perfesser Rolland taught math at various colleges and universities for 25 years, but remembers returning to music in graduate school, as a diversion from the rigors of his studies. Pioneer Pepper recalls saying “That guy can fiddle”! He’s a 3-time Certified Division National Fiddle Champion, 9 time Arizona State champion, and holds many other titles too numerous to list. Pioneer Pepper is proud to have Perfesser riding along with The Sunset Pioneers and knows you’ll be thrilled to hear his fantastic fiddling when you come out to see us!
Bass player Dusty Cartride gets his name from being an avid cyclist and is also involved in the cycling industry. He has played with music greats like Dizzy Gillespie, but with his other love you could say he is a true “Metal Cowboy” “Yep!” Dusty explains, “You could say I traded my horse for a bike. Sure, I would rather have a horse for companionship, but I don’t have to clean up much after my bike!” Dusty is a classically trained bass player from, New York City and his talents will amaze you.
Pepper’s daughters Cassandra and Calena, (Tussie) age 14 and 12 are also members of the group. Cassandra plays fiddle and Calena plays guitar. They also sing and dance in routines reminiscent from the days of the dance halls, theatres, and opera houses of the old west.. They are both going to be adding new routines to the show in the up coming months and Pioneer Pepper feels he is the most blessed “Pa” in the world to be able to share this incredible ride with his daughters.
Gramps is Pioneer Pepper father, and at 80-years-old, still plays the harmonica on stage, making it a three generation show.
Joining the show for the summer series, is Charlie LeSueur, author of “Riding the Hollywood Trail” and “The Legends Live Host of KFHX 1620am “Riding the Indie Trail” Radio Show, Charlie will shares interesting stories behind the old cowboy songs. Also, Wichita, from Wichita’s Magic Chuckwagon, will be performing some of his magical antics during dinner and before the show.
The Sunset Pioneers don’t play any of the top 40 country and western music that you hear on the radio. They play the music of the cowboy era. Truly entertaining, their music will warm your soul and lift your spirits. Visit their website at http://www.sunsetpioneers.com/ for a list of their CD’s including, Ballads Of The Trails, Music Memories Of The Cowboys, and Fiddle-ology.
Dinner is served at 5:30pm and the Show is at 7:00pm with the Gunfight at 8:30pm. You can come for a Dinner & Show or you are welcome to come just for the Show & Gunfight!Dinner & Show. Is $40 and will include a 3 course meal with choices of soup or salad, entree, dessert, coffee, tax, and tip. That is an unbelievable deal!Dinner & Show for children 12 & Under is $30 with a special children's menu available.Show Only is $15 and $10 for children 12 & under.Groups and Parties Welcome!
Call 480-595-3829 for reservations or log on to http://www.carefree-resort.com/ The Carefree Resort is located at 37220 Mule Train Rd - Carefree, AZ 85377. Take Cave Creek Road to Mule Train Road, turn north and follow the signs to the Opera House, just north of the Carefree Resort & Villas. See ya there pardners!
Photos available On request Photo Caption: The Sunset Pioneers play music from the era of the singing cowboy.

The Horny Toad Restaurant Cave Creek

When out of town relations arrive from all corners of the world, it’s time to treat them to one of the unique Arizona dining experiences. The Horny Toad in Cave Creek provides an entertaining and humorous adventure.

What's a horny toad? According to their website at http://www.thehornytoad.com/ “(Somebody always gets in a nasty chuckle). Maybe to easterners, it's a frog anxiously awaiting an answer to a mating call. Some other innocent soul might visualize a frog with spikes. Well, they are answers, however wrong, but a man named Webster put in a lot of research and when he publicized his book telling what things meant, he came up with "...any of several, small, scaly insect-eating lizards of the family Iguanidae, genus Phrynosoma, whose body somewhat resembles that of a toad or frog. The body is rough, the tail short, the head furnished with horny spikes. Several species inhabit the arid plains of the southwest U.S...." We named our restaurant after this much-maligned desert dweller after hearing the Truly Forgettable Saga of the Horny Toad. Sometime during the last century, an old prospector working the area a few miles northeast of the little town of Phoenix, Arizona, came upon a small watering hole. He thought to himself that this here was mighty purty scenery and he'd bet them easterners would give an arm and a leg for some of this property. They could build them some roads and put up funny names on the street signs and everybody'd be carefree, even if they had to live in caves and drink from the creek. Unpacking his burro, he ate the wrapped tortilla prepared by the Mexican cook back in Phoenix before he unloaded his donkey. As he sat stirring the campfire, he noticed the ruckus the frogs over on the other side of the pond made with their mating calls. They sure sound anxious, he thought to himself. His aching feet reminded him not to buy any more of those 2 for $5.00 boots. As he eased the boots off to soak his tired feet, he saw the many calluses they had given him and he said to himself, I sure am getting horny toed.”
Okay if that story doesn’t convince you maybe the menu will do the trick! Prices vary from time to time. Lunch prices range from $5.25 to $12.95. Dinner prices range from $7.95 to $24.95. Don’t expect anything fancy or frilly. It’s just good old plain western style BBQ and café fare.
Taco Salad (Beef or Chicken), Chef’s Salad, Horny Toad Chicken Salad, Caesar Salad or Chicken Caesar or a Vegetarian Plate all served with pretty darn good “Homemade Dressings” including Blue Cheese, Ranch, Eye-talian, Honey Sesame, and 999 Island. All Salad Dressings & BBQ Sauce can be purchased for Take-Out.
Their list of “OTHER STUFF” includes Soup de Joor, (don’t know if that’s the same as de Jour), Tacos, Cheese Crisp, Hot Wings or BBQ Wings, Saute' o' Mushrooms, Jalapeno Poppers, and their own award winning recipe Chili. And try the Onion Rings, Basket of Fries, Deep Fried Zucchini or Mushrooms, Garlic Bread, Baked Spud, or Cowboy Beans.
For an entrée you might enjoy BBQ Beef Ribs with all you can eat on Monday Nite! They are tender and tasty and you’ll want to bring a big appetite. BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs, BBQ 1/2 Chicken, their “Famous Fried Chicken”, Pork Chops, Carne Asada, Deep Fried Icelandic Cod with all you can eat on Fridays! Or try Broiled Icelandic Cod, Camarones, Steak & Camarones, Choice Mexican Shrimp, Fajitas, 16 oz. Porterhouse Steak, 12 oz. New York Strip Steak, 8 oz. TOP Sirloin Steak, 12 oz. Ribeye, Toad Cut Prime Rib, Toadette Cut Prime Rib, Mesquite Grilled Salmon or Homemade Meatloaf.
Their Mesquite-cooked 1/2 lb Burgers are great with selections including Horny Toad Burger, Tiajuana Torpedo and Patty Melt as well as a standard burger.
For lunch you might enjoy a sandwich of BBQ Pork, BBQ Beef, BBQ Chicken Sandwich, or a Fish Sandwich. They also have Ham Bun, Grilled Cheddar Cheese, Grilled Ham & Cheese, French Dip, Reuben, Cold Turkey, B.L.T. and B.L.T.C.T. (cheese & turkey).
They also have a children’s menu and great desserts.
So far I haven’t made many comments about the food beyond listing the options and they are many. Over the last decade I have sampled almost everything on the menu above and have enjoyed every single bite. I can’t say I have ever walked away unsatisfied from any meal and there have been many at the Horny Toad. I haven’t commented about the preparation because there is straight forward and delicious. You won’t find unusual or exotic items, just good food well prepared and served happily!
When looking for a place to take the relatives while sightseeing, drop by the Horny Toad and treat them to a Cave Creek legend. And tell them the Cowgirl Connoisseur sent you. 6738 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, Arizona 85331 Phone: 480-488-9542, Fax: 480-488-3270, E-Mail: info@thehornytoad.com.