Tempe Pulse for July 13, 2026: Taste in Tempe: 25 restaurants, prix fixe menus, plus Firebird at Gammage

• 🍽️ Taste in Tempe is back. 25 restaurants running three-course prix fixe menus for two weeks.
• 🎓 Firebird and Rocky Horror hit Gammage. Plus night golf at Grass Clippings.
• 🏫 TUHSD resource pickups begin. A state audit also questions Arizona's school letter grades.
• 🏠 167 new listings came on the Tempe market last month.
• 🎟️ Four metro shows this week. DCI in Mesa tonight, Evanescence on Wednesday.

Taste in Tempe is back, with 25 restaurants across the city running three-course prix fixe menus for a two-week stretch.

The basics:

• 🍽️ 25 participating restaurants, spread across Tempe.
• 📋 Three-course prix fixe menus, built as fixed-price summer meal deals.
• 🗓️ A two-week run.
• 🔗 The full restaurant list and menus are at Phoenix New Times.

Monday

• 🎴 Pokémon Hour, Tempe Public Library. Kids and teens play the trading card game, 5 to 6 PM. Decks are available if you need one.

Tuesday

• 💃 K-Pop dance workshop, Tempe Public Library. AZ K-Pop Dance Crew teaches choreography step by step, all levels, 2 PM.
• 🧱 Level Up LEGO, Tempe Public Library. LEGO engineering and computer-science session for teens, 4 PM.

Wednesday

• 🎲 Party games at Rekreation Games. The East Valley board-game group runs party and deduction games, 5:30 PM. Snacks on site, and you can bring your own.

• 🏠 167 new listings came on the Tempe market last month, according to Redfin.
• 🐾 Puppy Pals LIVE is on the calendar at Tempe Center for the Arts. The rescue-dog stunt show plays the Town Lake south shore. Dates and tickets are at Tempe Tourism.

🎭 Firebird at ASU Gammage. Dance Theatre of Harlem brings a Caribbean reimagining of the Stravinsky ballet to Gammage. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the hall in 1964, his only public building in Arizona. Details.

🎬 Rocky Horror Spooktacular Tour at ASU Gammage. Barry Bostwick and Patricia Quinn from the original film headline, with a live shadow cast, prop bags, and a costume contest. Details.

⛳ Night golf at Grass Clippings. Arizona's first fully lit 18-hole course is running a summer events calendar. A different way to play a Tempe course once the sun is down. Details.

🏫 TUHSD resource pickups are underway. With the new year close, Tempe Union High School District (TUHSD) campuses are running resource and freshman distribution days: Corona del Sol and Mountain Pointe today, Marcos de Niza on Wednesday, and Desert Vista's freshman open house on July 21. Details.

💉 Free vaccine and well-child clinic, Tempe Elementary. Native Health runs a clinic at the Tempe Elementary School District (TESD) office, 3205 S Rural Road, today at 2 PM. It is open to all students and families, and preregistration is required. Details.

📊 A state audit questions Arizona's school letter grades. The Arizona Auditor General reviewed the state's A-to-F school grading system, and the Tempe Tribune reports the audit found problems with how those grades are calculated. For families who use the letter grades to compare schools, the findings are relevant. Details.

🥁 DCI: Drum Corps International. Top competitive marching corps at John D. Riggs Stadium in Mesa, tonight. One of the few Arizona stops on the summer tour. Tickets.

🎸 Young The Giant, Cold War Kids & KennyHoopla. Two headline indie-rock acts on one bill at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Tuesday. Tickets.

🖤 Evanescence, Spiritbox & Nova Twins. A big outdoor rock night at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Wednesday. Tickets.

🎭 Dear Evan Hansen. The Tony-winning musical at the Hormel Theatre inside Phoenix Theatre, Wednesday. A smaller room than the big touring houses. Tickets.