The average American experience with sake begins and ends at a Benihana or similar teppanyaki-style Japanese restaurant. It’s usually served warm, in little ceramic carafe with matching shot glasses or it’s set on top of chopsticks over a glass of some nameless Asian lager and shaken by an earthquake of…
You can’t get Pliny the Elder in Phoenix. Let’s just begin with that truism, since it’ll be far easier to explain why not if you aren’t spending this whole article wondering about the local availability of the country’s most sought-after beer. Ditto The Alchemist and their double IPA, Heady Topper…
There are certain people who just know exactly what to get someone for Christmas. I’m very fortunate to know someone just like that. A very good friend picked up a copy of a very fascinating new cocktail book, Liquid Intelligence. Author Dave Arnold has penned one hell of a book,…
Winter in Arizona means more than people wearing heavy down parkas in 50 degree weather, it also means citrus season. In yards all over town and in groves outside the city limits, grapefruit are nearing their peak size and weighing down branches. Lots of people have their own thing that…
In revisiting all the beers I drank and reviewed in this space over the past year, I realized something: we live in a golden age of beer. In 2014, the number of breweries operating in the U.S. topped 3,000 — a threshold that hasn’t been reached since the 1870s. Some…
I’m somewhat reluctant to admit that I love grapefruit and don’t have any citrus trees. I know all too well how this story goes this time of year. Friends get word of the two facts above. Then, they offer to bring me a couple of grapefruit. I graciously accept. Some…
Beer: Christmas Ale Brewery: Anchor Brewing Co. Style: Winter Warmer ABV: 5.5 percent There are certain flavors I’ve grown to associate with the holidays. Egg nog and sugar cookies are the taste of Christmas eve; maple-glazed ham epitomizes Christmas morn. But though many beers have tried to claim a place…
On Sunday Phoenix Public Market Cafe hosted their first ever Coffee Cocktail event. The evening featured cocktails crafted by six of our favorite Phoenix-area cafes. Here’s a summary of the highs and lows of this event, just in case you missed it…
I’m all set for chilly weather. Granted, given that I live in Phoenix, I probably shouldn’t keep my hopes up. But the mild climate doesn’t keep me from enjoying one of my favorite winter beverages, mulled wine. There’s something about a steaming pot of mulled wine that’s just a little…
Hey, did you know that Champagne can only be called Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France? If it’s not, it’s just called sparkling wine. It is one of those painful truths that at every holiday party in which someone opens a bottle of festive bubbles, a…
Beer: Borg Brugghús Brewery: Fenrir Taðreyktur IPA Nr. 26 Style: American IPA ABV: 6 percent This is what you get, beer snobs. This is what happens when you chase down delivery trucks carrying the newest barrel-aged stout, wait in line for hours to sample an IPA made with 42 different…
Some of you might not realize that I’ve been writing Last Call for close to three years now. This means if you go back through the Last Call archives, you’ll find yourself quite an impressive collection of cocktails. This also means that if you’re looking for a certain style of…
Beer: Harvest Wild Hop IPA Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Style: American IPA ABV: 6.5 percent Of the four main ingredients used to brew beer, hops get the most fanfare — and why not? Humulus Lupulus is a beautiful plant, distinctive in shape and grown for a singular, noble purpose:…
Did you remember to make your egg nog a few weeks ago? If you’ve been playing along at home, you should have a tasty batch of luscious chocolate coquito waiting in your fridge, ready to serve at a quickly upcoming holiday party. Or maybe something happened. Someone found it and…
Beer: Here Gose Nothin’ Brewery: Destihl Style: Gose ABV: 5 percent Beer is like clothing, in a way. As tastes change, certain styles fall in and out of favor with the general public; beers that were once incredibly popular in a region may be laughed off by the modern drinker…
If you’ve ever stopped in for one at Matteo Schiavone’s authentic Neapolitan pizzas at Pomo, you likely remember how your meal ended. Every customer (of legal drinking age, of course) is treated to a complimentary shot of Schiavone’s handmade limoncello crema along with a side of fried chiacchiere or fried…
The Main Ingredient is a neighborhood hang out in all the best ways. It’s not frilly and it’s definitely not upscale, but it is a nice, casual spot in a cozy old house. The big patio is perfect this time of year to sit and sip happy hour drinks with…
Beer: Master of Disguise Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. Style: Golden Stout, I Guess? ABV: 9.7 percent Remember green ketchup? Heinz, those crazy bastards, launched an emerald-hued version of the condiment — made, I’m assuming, with ground-up leprechauns and seaweed — in 2000. It was incomprehensibly popular for about five years,…
As I look at the calendar, I realize that my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, is sneaking up on me faster than I’d care to know. The refrigerator is getting filled with all manner of tasty treats, and soon the house will be full of food and friends. With all the madness…
You’d think getting three different people with three different mixing styles and three different palates to work together to make one cocktail menu would be tricky. However, Mari Howe, Rich Furnari, and Kiefer Gilbert did just that for Cowboy Ciao’s most recent menu — and they say it was easy…
We’ll admit some skepticism when the people behind The Vig took over Mabel’s on Main. After all, they had big shoes to fill with the former Aaron May concept being known as an Old Town hotspot for craft cocktails for years. However, with some modest upgrades, the already moody, luxe,…
Beer: Born Yesterday Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Co. Style: Pale Ale ABV: 7.5 percent In beer, freshness matters. Brewers go to great lengths to get beer from their fermentors to your mouth in a timely fashion. The reason: science! Like most foodstuffs, beer is a perishable product. The longer it sits…
