SanTan Brewing’s popular Tuesday Night Tasting is moving to the first Tuesday of every month, meaning the next one falls on Cinco de Mayo. For the occasion, owner Anthony Canecchia has brewed up a special habanero-flavored ale to cap a Baja-inspired menu.

For $20, you get four small-plate courses, each paired with a different beer:

• Popocatépetl (“El Popo”) shredded pork and habanero spring roll with baby carrot, sweet Vidalia onion relish and a pepper-infused honey glaze. Paired with Fullsail Brewing’s Session Premium Lager

• SanTan firecracker shrimp with a mojito lime reduction. Paired with SanTan Brewing’s Sunspot Gold.

• Applewood bacon-wrapped scallops with a Bosc pear and apple chutney. Paired with SanTan Brewing’s Sun Devil Pale Ale.

• Passion fruit margarita sorbet from downtown Chandler’s Simply Unique Gelato with a crispy lemon tuile. Paired with SanTan Brewing’s Habanero Gold.

The monthly TNTs, which start at 6:30 p.m., are limited to 50 people and fill up fast. Make your reservation by calling the downtown Chandler brew pub at (480) 917-8700.

The original text of this post has been deleted. It was intended to make a strong point, and I believe that point was made. As such, there is nothing further to be gained and I choose not to direct any more of this blog’s readership to the blog in question, thus rewarding its unscrupulous behavior with an increase in page views. Leaving the post up for 12 hours was what I considered a measured response to its false assertions.

Growing up in Fargo, N.D., I spent nine summers working for the parks department, mowing grass, shoveling dirt, pulling weeds and painting. It was solitary work, my only company a set of those early over-sized radio headphones that looked like something a person would wear on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.

At the time, Fargo had just one rock ‘n’ roll radio station, the AM giant KQWB, which provided a steady supply of The Knack, Cheap Trick and Bad Company to my square-shaped ear pieces. Every day at noon, though, the station took time out for an “oldies hour.”

Back then, “oldies” mostly meant songs from the ’50s — anything later was still considered “new” music — so for 60 minutes each day, summer after summer, I was schooled in the classics: Elvis Presley. Jerry Lee Lewis. Fats Domino. By the time I was in high school, I was as familiar with The Chordettes as The Cars.

Of all those rock ‘n’ roll pioneers, though, my favorite was Buddy Holly. And every time the deejay played one of the west Texas musician’s many hits — “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Rave On,” “Maybe Baby” — he reminded listeners of Holly’s ill-fated local connection.

Holly, you see, was flying from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Fargo when his plane crashed, killing him as well as fellow performers Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, a tragedy memorialized in Don McLean’s 1971 ballad “American Pie.”

It happened on Feb. 3, 1959 — 50 years ago today.

Holly’s career lasted little more than three years, yet his impact on the still-young genre of rock ‘n’ roll is difficult to overstate. He influenced and inspired the Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Over the years, bands ranging from the Smithereens to Blink-182 have paid tribute.

So, music fans, take a moment today to listen to a Holly song or two. There have been few like him.

Despite what we now know was a year-long recession, 2008 was a very good year for East Valley diners hungry for new restaurants. From upscale steakhouses to ethnic eateries, the East Valley welcomed more than 50 notable newcomers.

How good was this year’s crop? Several new restaurants that would have vied for one of the top spots on my 2007 list (had they opened last year) couldn’t even crack this year’s top 10.

As I ranked and re-ranked my list over the past few weeks, four different restaurants resided, at least temporarily, in the top spot. I could make the case for any of them to be No. 1. And there are a handful of places that slipped on and off the bottom of the list.

Besides food quality, I considered atmosphere, uniqueness and value. And when the final decisions got really tough, my  criterium was this: What are the places I keep revisiting on my own time and on my own dime?

So, after dining out 254 times this year for the Tribune (plus at least another 100-plus times on my own), these are the new restaurants that impressed me the most:

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With the holiday season upon us and temperatures finally cooling off — during the evening, at least — thoughts invariably turn to warm, filling comfort foods. Here are a half-dozen restaurants in the East Valley that can satisfy even the heartiest appetites:

De la Cruz Bistro
Bacon-wrapped meatloaf with sweet red chili sauce (pictured above), pan-fried pork chops smothered in country gravy and and one-pound Frenched rib eye steaks with grilled shrimp are among the hefty entrees at this rustic bistro and wine bar that opened in downtown Mesa in August. Lunch and dinner daily. 11 W. Main St., Mesa, (480) 258-6942.

McDuffy’s Grille
Catch the big game on one of this Chandler neighborhood hangout’s many hi-def TVs while enjoying Pecos Mac & Cheese made with four cheeses, green chiles and breadcrumbs, or double-stacked sliders with grilled onions and red pepper mayo. Lunch and dinner daily. 980 E. Pecos Road, Chandler, (480) 966-8200, mcduffys.com.

Fresh from the Farm
Schnepf Farm’s original roadside produce stand in Queen Creek was coverted into a country eatery a year ago. The menu includes meatloaf, chicken pot pie and biscuits and gravy. Lunch Wednesday through Sunday, dinner Friday and Saturday. 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek, (480) 987-8398, schnepffarms.com.

Liberty Market
Start the day at this renovated grocery store in downtown Gilbert with griddled bread pudding. Come back later for a hefty sloppy joe served in a bowl with a spoon, a pressed sandwich with sweet potato salad or a wood-fired pizza. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 230 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert, (480) 892-1900, libertymarket.com.

House of Tricks
Two neighboring houses, one built in 1903 and the other in the 1920s, anchor this downtown Tempe restaurant that offers such dishes as Spanish beef stew, sweet potato risotto and cider-roasted chicken with chorizo stuffing. Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. 114 E. Seventh St., Tempe, (480) 968-1114, houseoftricks.com.

Eddie’s House
Chef Eddie Matney opened his Old Town Scottsdale restaurant in May, offering many of his traditional favorites like bacon-infused meatloaf, filet mignon encased in mashed potatoes and fried chicken served in a ceramic pot. Dinner Monday through Saturday. 7042 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale, (480) 946-1622 or eddieshouseaz.com.

Anyone able to get their free Dr Pepper today? The soft-drink maker supposed was giving free 20-ounce sodas in celebration of today’s release of “Chinese Democracy,” the long-awaited album from Guns N’ Roses.

The album, which the group has been recording since 1994, has become a running joke in music circles over its perpetual delay. When it was announced the album finally would be released in 2008, Dr Pepper promised a free soda to everyone in America if it actually was.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. today, people were supposed to be able to get a coupon on Dr Pepper’s web site for the free soda. The coupon, available on the site for 24 hours, would be good through Feb. 28.

But every time I go to the web site and click the promotional link, I just get an error message. There’s a phone number to call if you have problems, but the line has been busy all day.

That’s an awful lot of work for a $1 soda.