Rock Springs Cafe pies

National Pie Day was Monday, Jan. 23. Did you get your pie?

Rock Springs Cafe was shown on Fox News as THE place for pie in the Phoenix area. This historic venue was also featured in Tastes & Treasures II with the recipe for Apple pie page 106 and Mixed Berry pie page 105. YUMMM!

4th of July pie

Happy 4th of July pie. Featured in Tastes & Treasures II are fascinating history and pie recipes from Rock Springs Cafe.

Celebrate National Pi Day with Pie

Sunday, March 14 is National Pi Day. Whether you are a mathematician or not, you can celebrate with pie from Tastes & Treasures II: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. Five different recipes for pie are featured in the book along with backgrounds and food memories. Sedona's Apple Pie Dessert, page 171, relates to the life of Sedona Schnebly in 1901 Oak Creek Canyon. Mom's Sugar Cream Pie, page 162, gives us a vision of Phoenix in 1908 from O'Neil Printing. Boston Creme Pie, page 169, shares the heart-warming story of Pam Ryan. Or you can visit historic Rock Springs Cafe and purchase Mixed Berry Pie, page 103, and Apple Pie, page 106. Enjoy your pie!

Historic restaurants beginning to re-open

Featured in Tastes & Treasures II: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona, we are pleased to see Rock Springs Cafe opening up. Great pies, great food. Some delicious recipes and fascinating history from Rock Springs can be found in Tastes & Treasures. www.HistoricalLeague.org/shop.aspx

Touring with Tastes & Treasures II

Jenny Erwin has a fabulous idea with Tastes & Treasures II cookbook. Her Facebook post is below:
Last week John & I began a fun culinary adventure inspired by Tastes & Treasures II. A storytelling cookbook of historic Arizona, published by the Historical League, Inc. it was a gift from my dear friend Cathy Shumard who helped with the project. Twenty-four historic restaurants are featured along with recipes of their signature dishes. Instead of cooking these dishes, we decided to dine at each place over the next year and have the chefs sign our book. Our first stop was Gertrude's at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. That night we enjoyed a desert inspired meal..including elote fritters on the patio with the full moon as the backdrop for the Garden's Electric Desert display. Where will be go next? We haven't decided but John is leaning toward Rock Springs Cafe. He is eager to try their famous pies. Maybe you join us on our next culinary adventure. Cheers!

Rock Springs Cafe is 100 years old

Congratulations to Rock Springs Cafe for 100 years!
Great history, delicious food, outstanding pies!! Featured in Tastes & Treasures II: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona with their photo on the back cover and pie recipes inside.
Be sure to visit for your holiday pie and take home a copy of the book or order at HistoricalLeague.org/shop.aspx

Rock Springs Cafe Jack Daniels Pecan Pie for birthday

No traditional birthday cake for this lady. Earlene Alauria had delicious Jack Daniels Pecan Pie from Rock Springs Café to help celebrate her big day. So many pies to choose from at Rock Springs, but the Pecan Pie is one of the best. The Historical League is pleased to have Rock Springs Café featured in the new cookbook, Tastes and Treasures II, debuting in fall 2017.

Rock Springs Cafe history

Before written history of the area, Rock Springs was a periodic encampment for the Yavapai Indians. Beginning in the 1800’s “The Rock” as it later became known, served as a military bivouac and a water stop for miners, cattle drivers, sheepherders and travelers on the Black Canyon trail. About 1917 the last Black Canyon stagecoach was retired and motor vehicles took over the trail. Shortly thereafter, Rock Springs Cafe founder, Ben Warner, then an aspiring 19-year old entrepreneur, built a canvas-covered store to supply merchandise for travelers, miners and local ranchers. As business prospered, he started a hotel and general store in 1918.
We are pleased to tell more of the story and pie recipes in Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona Volume II.

Rock Springs Cafe to be in new second edition of Tastes & Treasures

Ruth McLeod and Cathy Shumard

Talking about our new cookbook with Richard Shaw, owner of historic Rock Springs Cafe was most enjoyable. We learned much about the history of the place, with its own natural spring water. Then we met pie maker Angel Bruck who has a passion for creating the best pies in Arizona. They are both ready to be involved in the second edition of Tastes & Treasures. Cookbook committee members Cathy Shumard and Ruth McLeod were happy to visit Rock Springs, even bringing home a Chocolate Pie and Jack Daniels Pecan Pie. Yummmmmmm.

Pie baker Angel Bruck and co-owner of Rock Springs Cafe Richard Shaw

League members volunteer

With another cookbook order to be delivered to Rock Springs Cafe, I asked if someone would be able to deliver boxes of books. In a few hours, I had many Historical League members volunteer for the job. Thanks to Judy Blackwell, Renee Donnelly, Karolee Hess, Sharron McKinney, Margaret Baker, Carol Griffin and Karen Swanson for stepping up!

Thanks to Karen for delivering the boxes of books.

What's on your bucket list?

Marija Andric, editor of Reminisce.com writes in April/May issue that "eating a slice of Jack Daniel's pecan pie at the Rock Springs Cafe in Arizona" is on her bucket list. Historic restaurant, delicious pie, Tastes & Treasures cookbook and strong supporters of the Historical League. What's not to like?

Jack Daniel's Pecan Pie  

recipe from Internet search. (not the same as Rock Springs Cafe)

 

Ingredients:
3 extra large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup jack daniel whiskey
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups pecan halves
1 10-inch deep dish pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Combine eggs, sugar, butter, syrup, vanilla and Jack Daniel's; mix well.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over the bottom of the pie shell.
Add the pie mixture and pecans.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Rock Springs Cafe helps our Troops

Nice to know that Rock Springs Cafe is using the Boots for Our Troops cut-outs to help raise funds for veterans of any conflict. You can enjoy the great food, donate to a good cause and learn about Arizona when you purchase the historic cookbook, Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona.

Rock Springs Cafe reorders Cookbook

Thanks to Mary and John Garbaciak for delivering 30 copies of Tastes & Treasures cookbook to Rock Springs Cafe. Great place for dinner and pies and now you can read about historic venues in Arizona as well as prepare the recipes!

Rock Springs Cafe pies

Dinner parties call for special desserts and Kay Holcombe brought the best "Very Berry" pie from Rock Springs Cafe. They are famous for their pies and we all agreed it is worth the drive. Especially to bring one home and freeze it for a special occasion.

No recipe to share with you here but the choices at Rock Springs Cafe are plentiful. They also continue to sell and reorder Tastes & Treasures cookbooks. Owner Richard Shaw has been a supporter of the Arizona Historical Society and the Historical League for many years. Thank you Richard.

Photo Fair at AHS Museum

The second annual Photo Fair was a big hit with many Phoenix natives eager to show their collections of Arizona history. We set up a table to sell the cookbook but the granola samples were better received than the book. I think everyone came to this event hungry and enjoyed the samples from page 196. It is a healthy snack with molasses, dates, raisins, dried apricots (my favorite), oats, coconut and assorted nuts with honey and brown sugar. Yumm. Great for an after school treat as well.

Pat Faur set up the cookbook table with Jeannine Moyle and Tobe Daum helping me through out the day. It turned out to be a good day with Richard Shaw purchasing many books for Rock Springs Cafe. Rock Springs has a long and colorful history as an Indian encampment, stage stop and watering hole for miners, drovers and sheephearders.

The first commercial use of the property was in 1920 when Ben Warner, built a canvas covered store during the time the adobe blocks for the new Hotel and General Store were made. This opened in 1924. The hotel housed some notable people as well as provided comfort to those traveling to the gold and silver mines in the Bradshaw Mountains. Jean Harlow was a guest at the hotel. The Goldwater Family, including Senator Barry Goldwater, were frequent visitors stopping to rest and savor some of Rock Springs' famous blackberry pie.