Phoenix is like a gigantic oasis in the middle of the desert. It's so fertile — all you have to do is water and everything grows like crazy. I moved here from Detroit more than 50 years ago — I had asthma and needed a drier climate. If you were on Route 66 travelling from New York to Los Angeles, you had to come through Phoenix, Arizona. I remember one street that was all motels, and every motel had a pool. Back then, it was still fascinating for someone to have a pool.
I've seen it grow from 500,000 people to over five million. We're the fifth biggest city in the US, and it's a resort town. Every time I land here, I feel like I'm on vacation. It's sunny all day, it's like being in paradise. And it's rare to find a restaurant where you have to wear a coat or tie. In fact, there are certain places where if you wear a tie they cut it off and hang it from the ceiling. Reata Pass is one — it's a cowboy steakhouse. There are over 100,000 ties hanging from the ceiling. For an appetiser you can get rattlesnake — it's £13 an ounce, very lean white meat, like chicken. They give you the little rattle to keep — we never run out of rattlesnakes here in the desert.
Arizona prides itself on real Mexican food. These are the places that somebody's grandmother started in 1934, so you're getting the real thing. There's one called Los Dos Amigos, which is a hole in the wall and people are dying to get in there. I have my own restaurant, Cooperstown, next to where everything is going on downtown. New bands come and play, and it's the best barbecue in town. I show up once or twice a week, and go round tasting people's food.
There's a gigantic mountain in the middle of town called Camelback Mountain. People always climb it. We go up before every Thanksgiving dinner to work up an appetite. It takes an hour to reach the top, and you can almost see Tucson, 100 miles away.
One of the biggest attractions is the golf. It's the most addictive sport. Lord help you if you hit three or four good shots, because then you're addicted. Fred Astaire said he took up golf and almost lost his career — all he could think about was golf. I play six days a week. The Phoenician and Camelback are two of the really good town courses. Out of town, I would say Legend Trail or Las Sendas. And Wekopa is on a Native American Indian reservation. It's spectacular. You just hear wildlife, and the clamour of silence.
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