Just because the snowbirds are gone and you can actually find parking around town, doesn’t mean your social calendar has to completely dry up. In fact, there are wine dinner series and even educational events happening all over town during the next few months. So you don’t have to wade…
Friend 1 asks Friend 2 a seemingly trick question, “Hey, wanna go to Four Peaks for a cocktail?” Except it’s not a trick question at all. With a new Summer Signature Craft Cocktail Menu, Four Peak Brewery in Tempe has successfully debuted cocktails that are easier drinking than one might…
The Spot: Mejico Cocina Mejicana 2333 East Osborn Road 602-956-4420 mejicoaz.com The Hours: Happy hour is Monday through Friday 3 to 6 p.m. Perfect for: $5 margaritas and $1 tacos Interior: Mejico Cocina Mejicana is the perfect example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Because even though Mejico’s…
Summer is upon us, Phoenicians, and that means it’s time to switch up our wine game. Gone are the days of spicy Merlot and bold Bordeaux — for now at least — and here to take their place are light, chilled white wines and rosés. But that doesn’t mean you have to give…
Usually you’d drink a Negroni just ’cause — ’cause, you know, they’re delicious. But Negroni Week will give you the chance to drink for a cause. Next week bars around the world, the country, and right here in Phoenix are participating in Imbibe Magazine and Campari’s Negroni Week, which takes place from…
The Spot: Bei Sushi and Bar 2200 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-471-6609 beisushi.com The Hours: Happy hour is daily from 4:30 to 7 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m. Perfect for: Cheap sushi, cheap drinks, and tennis-ball-sized hunks of deep-fried imitation crab meat Interior: Stepping inside Bei Sushi for a Thursday…
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of my mouth. It’s an ongoing mission: to drink strange new beers. To seek out new brews from every civilization. To boldly drink what no man has drunk before. With apologies to Shatner, I’m stealing that mission statement from the starship Enterprise…
Later this summer, local entrepreneurs Craig Dziadowicz and Danielle Middlebrook will do their part to up the cool factor of downtown Phoenix by opening a wine store called Hidden Track Bottle Shop. Located at 111 West Monroe (in the same high-rise that houses the new coffeeshop Mornin’ Moonshine), Hidden Track will…
The glossy second draft of a Book o’ Cocktails is big and better, featuring drinks that are revisited, revised, and reinvented. H.G. Wells inspired images, dotted with nods to Dr. Who and illustrative styles of bygone eras, give a feel of what’s to come in your glass. The tour guide is…
The Spot: Perfect Pear 9845 South Priest Drive, Tempe 480-247-3410 perfectpearbistro.com The Hours: Happy hour is daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Perfect for: Cheap drinks and hummus nachos. Mostly the hummus nachos. Interior: Sit by the windows on the south side of the restaurant when you visit Perfect…
In the beginning, beer was just called beer. There was dark beer and light beer; bitter beer and sweet beer; spiced beer and sour beer. Order a beer in Munich and you’d likely get a clear, golden lager; order one in Bruges and it would probably be red and acidic…
The Spot: The Market by Jennifer’s 3603 East Indian School Road, Suite A 602-626-5050 facebook.com/themarketbyjen The Hours: Happy hour is daily from 3 to 6 p.m. Perfect for: A champagne lover. Interior: The Market by Jennifer’s mixes industrial touches of metal with the delicate flair of chandeliers. Though it appears that…
There are websites that sell wine and websites that help visitors locate wineries, but what about one website that let’s you do both? And on top of that, what about a website that let’s you rate wineries you’ve visited and search for wineries by specific criteria, for example those that…
What comes to mind when you think of St. Francis? First and foremost, you might think of the exterior of the CenPho restaurant — mid-century design by the institutional Harold Ekman, whose architectural firm once occupied the building’s top floor, above a dental office. Or maybe you recall the famed…
We’ve combed through all 250-plus beers available at this year’s AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival to find 13 must-try brews you’ll never see again — at least until next year.
This Saturday, May 9, Trocadero Wine School will host a Mother’s Day Weekend Wine Class at Vincent on Camelback. Along with brunch from Vincent’s restaurant, the class will focus exclusively on celebrating wines made by women. Women vintners and enologists have been gaining visibility in recent years, and we have…
A “Bols-vardier,” you ask? Really, you should order one. It’s quite good. The recipe riffs on a classic Negroni while the name plays on that of the Negroni-derived cocktail the Boulvardier. But don’t call it a “Bols-vardier” because, at this juncture, your bartender will either think one of two things,…
The Spot: Dick’s Hideaway 6008 North 16th Street 602-241-1881 richardsonsnm.com/dicks-hideaway/ The Hours: Happy Hour is available from open to 6 p.m. daily in the bar area only Perfect for: A cozy happy hour in the middle of the day Interior: Unless you’ve been there before, chances are you’ll walk right…
L.A.’s Golden Road Brewing has come to Arizona with its lineup of canned brews, including the deliciously dank Wolf Among Weeds IPA.
Owner Jenna Rousseau opened Central Wine Bar, located next to Clever Koi and salon Model Citizen on Central Avenue, in February of 2014, bringing with her experience from working in Italy and San Francisco wineries. To be an expert in wine is to be an expert in service, and Rousseau…
The Spot: Sa Bai Modern Thai 4121 East Thomas Road 602-954-8774 sabaimodernthaiphoenix.com The Hours: Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Perfect for: Satisfying that Thai craving at nearly any waking hour. Interior: The sign outside…
It was a normal Saturday evening in Downtown Chandler, save for the 2,000 or so who lined up for the return of the Chandler Craft Spirits Festival on April 25. Dr. A.J. Park was full of spirit — and spirits — and we tried everything craft, local, and ridiculous…
