Housed in a sprawling brick warehouse in downtown Phoenix, The Duce (525 S. Central Ave., 602-866-3823) is difficult to describe. The area — nicknamed “The Deuce” by local cops in the twenties — originally housed produce purveyors by day and speakeasies by night. Today, it feels less like a variety store…
Yesterday we met Travis Nass, whose mustache is almost as epic as his drink-making abilities. Today he dips into the cocktail menu he designed at Rancho Pinot (6208 N. Scottsdale R., 480-367-8030) to share the recipe for the Agave Nectar, a drink whose recipe was inspired at a tasting of local tequila…
The scene in front of me, however, is anything but friendly. Atop a giant metal cooking tray that’s too big for my table, a tumult of bread, meat and condiments sits menacingly before me. The ginormous sandwich boasts three foot-long, half-pound hot dogs nestled delicately inside a three-foot loaf of…
Travis Nass fits in perfectly with the southwestern décor of Rancho Pinot (6208 N. Scottsdale Rd., 480-367-8030). With his old-timey mustache, bolo tie and immaculately coifed hair, he could be the barkeep at some wild West saloon, serving shots of whiskey to depressed cowboys. Luckily for us, he lives in an…
Yesterday we met Bill DeGroot, the bartender-turned-consultant who designs the cocktails at South Mountain’s Quiessence (6106 S. 32nd St, 602-276-0601). Today he shares the recipe for the Vodka Gimlet, one of the restaurant’s “farmhouse cocktails” that makes use of fresh basil grown feet away on Maya’s Farm. DeGroot says he plans…
Bill DeGroot is an oddity for us here at Behind the Bar, for he no longer works behind the bar at all. A veteran of the cocktail scene for more than 15 years, DeGroot paid his dues at establishments throughout the valley, including Star-Spangled Tavern, Canal, Estate House and Metro Brasserie. He now…
Famous (or infamous, rather) for its embrace of everything bad for you, the burger joint has made a name for itself by giving the proverbial one-finger salute to the idea of healthiness. The potatoes are deep fried in pure lard; the milkshakes have the world’s highest butterfat content; they even…
Yesterday we met Gary Koh, Blue Martini’s resident bartender, golfer and straight shooter –with upper-management written all over him. Today he shares the recipe for his original creation, the Scottsdale Princess. “I call it that because it’s a purple drink, and you know how these girls are in this town…
Speaking of frozen yogurt, people apparently love this stuff. There are currently more than thirty places to pick up the cultured treat spread throughout the valley, and it seems another one pops up every week, filled with patrons clamoring like junkies to get a hit of froyo, as it’s known…
Underneath the giant disco ball, amidst the vast, multi-level interior awash in funky jazz music, next to the rows of clear glass vodka bottles backlit in cool hues of volcano red and electric blue, Gary Koh tends bar. For three years, he’s been a familiar face at Blue Martini (5455 E…
Yesterday we met Greg Murphy, W Hotel’s laid-back and garrulous drink maker. A bartender for more than five years, Murphy’s come up with his share of original cocktails, but there are a few he takes special pride in. There’s the Time Machine (made with Ciroc Coconut and Midori), the Denzel…
The seemingly vast community of bartenders in the Valley is smaller than you might think; Greg Murphy got his start at Merc Bar, serving drinks alongside Simon Alam and Sean Snelling. He now crafts cocktails at Scottsdale’s W Hotel (7277 E. Camelback Road, 480-970-2100), where he’s been since the opening on…
In some serious need of protein, my latest fight with food has brought me to Durant’s (2611 N. Central Ave., 602-264-5967), the storied steakhouse and hallowed Mecca of meats. For those seeking red meat revelation, Durant’s offers the 48-ounce Porterhouse Steak — a three-inch thick slab of beef that would fit in…
Yesterday we met Sean Snelling, the Aussie who tends and manages the bar at Primebar in the Scottsdale Quarter. Today he shares the recipe for the Whiskey Peach. “We have 16 cocktails on our menu, and most are made with rum or vodka,” Snelling says. “This one’s made with bourbon…
There are few things more attractive than a good accent — the more masculine and foreign-sounding, the better. Sean Snelling, a native of Australia, has one of the best around. Having successfully managed Merc Bar in Phoenix, Snelling recently returned from a four-month hiatus in his home country to man…
More than 500 years ago, German Beer Purity Law decreed that the world’s favorite fermented beverage was to be made with only four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. In recent years, however, the definition of a permissible beer ingredient has expanded somewhat, and brewers worldwide have branched out, throwing…
The average person’s stomach can hold about a liter of food, or close to two pounds’ worth. But who wants to be average? All over town, restaurants are offering up contests of confection, defying brave eaters to ingest more food than they should eat in a week — daily recommended…
Yesterday we met Steve Douds, Renegade Canteen’s head bartender, who loves tequila and hates flavored vodka. Today he shares with us the recipe for the Shandygrath, a cocktail he concocted for Renegade’s drink menu and named for Renegade’s chef, Robert McGrath. Made with Grand Canyon Pilsner, Cock n’ Bull Ginger…
If his snowy beard is any indication, Steve Douds has been in the bartending business for a long time. But with the years comes experience, which Douds uses to great effect, competing in — and winning — national bartending competitions. Douds now employs his wisdom at Scottsdale’s Renegade Canteen (9343 E. Shea…
Yesterday we met Matt Duske, the bespectacled former teacher slinging drinks at the trendy Vig Uptown. Today he shares with us a recipe crafted by Brandon Cooper, a fellow bartender who worked with Duske in Seattle. “A lot of times, girls would come in and ask Brandon to make them a…
Young, bookish and personable, it’s not difficult to imagine Matt Duske at the front of a classroom. And it shouldn’t be, since the bespectacled bartender spent two years teaching math to disgruntled high school students. He recently made the change from enriching minds to enriching livers, and has been at…
For this week’s Feast of Fury, my faithful fellow food fighter Todd and I are at Chik-a-Rib’s (1830 W. Glendale Ave., 602-759-8521), a tiny shack in north Phoenix serving up soul food faves like macaroni and cheese, glazed racks of ribs, and fried chicken and waffles. But the murals of…
