Fresh for Fall, the Parlor Releases a New Cocktail Menu

Being Phoenix’s slowest season, summer is a time for Valley chefs and bartenders to try things out, a time to experiment with ingredients, themes, and personnel — to go off-brand a tad, like The Parlor did. The Biltmore-area restaurant and bar is going on eight years in business, and last…

Sushiholic in Arcadia: Happy Hour Report Card

Each week we venture to a new restaurant to check out what the spot has to offer during our favorite time of day — happy hour. Whether it’s affordable appetizers, delicious drinks, jaw-dropping deals, or none of the above, we’ll check out the situation and report back. The Spot: Sushiholic…

McFate’s Tap + Barrel: Happy Hour Report Card

Each week, we venture to a new restaurant to check out what the spot has to offer during our favorite time of day — happy hour. Whether it’s affordable appetizers, delicious drinks, jaw-dropping deals, or none of the above, we’ll check out the situation and report back. The Spot: McFate’s…

What Is A Coffee Tonic, Anyway?

Maybe you got too caught up in colorful cans of LaCroix to notice, but over the summer, at cafes al over the country, Instagram snaps of what might have otherwise have been latte art were replaced, now and again, by some … bubbly, layered beverage in a plastic cup. Yeah,…

Hopsassin’s Creed From 8-Bit Aleworks in Avondale Is A Hop Lover’s Dream

The Brewery: 8-Bit Aleworks, Avondale The Beer: Hopsassin’s Creed Session IPA ABV: 4.3% Background:  Located in Avondale, 8-Bit Aleworks is a craft microbrewery with a retro-gaming theme. The brewery, the first within the Avondale city limits, was founded by husband-and-wife team Ryan and Krystina Whitten, and opened last May as a production-style facility located in…

New Cocktails at Little Cleo’s Seafood Legend Are Both Anchored and Inspired

Since opening, Little Cleo’s Seafood Legend has held onto its title as the most chef-driven concept within the Fox Restaurant Concepts fleet.  As for their cocktails? Until recently, they’ve been passively positioned behind freshly shucked oysters and, understandably, behind Arizona’s largest selection of absinthes — a point of pride for…

Brewery Review: Helton Brewing Company in Central Phoenix

Drive down Indian School Road just east of Highway 51, and you’ll find Helton Brewing Company, an upstart brewery in central Phoenix that’s created and operated by brewmaster Brian Helton. At this new drinking spot, there’s a noticeable emphasis is on beer education — the walls are adorned with beer…

Rúla Búla in Tempe: Happy Hour Report Card

Each week we venture to a new restaurant to check out what the spot has to offer during our favorite time of day — happy hour. Whether it’s affordable appetizers, delicious drinks, jaw-dropping deals, or none of the above, we’ll check out the situation and report back. The Spot: Rúla…

Crush Lounge at Christopher’s Gets a Cocktail Makeover From Travis Nass

Travis Nass has been busy. In addition to his role developing drinks and working with wholesale clients for Caskwerks Distilling Co., he’s been consulting with standalone bars and restaurants looking to improve their cocktail game. Nass just finished up the menu at Joe’s Midnight Run, the new late-night restaurant in uptown Phoenix, and…

Brandon Casey of The Ostrich Just Bought A Dive Bar in Tempe

The Ostrich, Chandler’s fist craft cocktail bar, opened nearly a year ago, which made the bar’s head honcho, Brandon Casey, a pretty happy man. His long-time goal, he says, has been to spend his 30th birthday at his own bar. “And now I have two,” Casey says. He turned 30…

10 Favorite Tiki Cocktails in Metro Phoenix

Whether you’re a connoisseur or just beginning to dip your toe in the world of tiki drinks, we’ve got good news for fans of pina coladas, painkillers, and more. If you know where to look, you’ll be thrilled by the sheer volume of options for creative, rum-filled tiki-style drinks in…