Vine Geek Brian Reeder co-owns AZ Wine Merchants in Scottsdale. Wine is subjective. Every wine is different. It all depends on your taste. Price doesn’t equal quality. It’s all the same anyway. Just drink what you like. Blah. Blah. Blah. We’ve all heard the nomenclatures. The bullshit lines that every…
Seems like Arizona’s brewers are finally getting some of the respect they deserve. At this year’s World Beer Cup — the largest commercial international beer competition on Earth with 799 brewery entrants from 54 countries — Tempe’s own Four Peaks Brewing Co. took home two gold medals and a bronze…
The Spot: Mabel’s on Main, 7018 East Main Street, Scottsdale. 480-889-5580. mabelsonmain.com The Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday The Details: The Mabel’s happy hour keeps it simple: One menu flips from regular prices straight into “Matinee” prices, which are around 50% off. These discounts include both drinks and…
Beer: Imperial Russian Stout Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. Style: Russian imperial stout ABV: 10.5 percent Around this time of year, long days of sun and hot weather inspire drinkers to reach for refreshing, quaffable beers, so most breweries choose the summer season to release their lighter, low-ABV brews. Not Stone…
Perchance I was a bit mean last week with the Americano. It really is a nice drink . . . once you get to know the thing. At work, it was easy to tell who’d experienced Campari’s unique astringent bitterness for the first time: Those people’s eyebrows did funny things…
On Tuesday, you met Brian Reeder, co-owner of AZ Wine Merchants and one of our new wine columnists. Today, his story continues. When we left off, Pavle Milic (in the photo above, from left, it’s Reeder and Milic) had opened a little restaurant in Scottsdale and Brian had decided resort…
In 2009, National Beer Examiner writer and Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian created the BeerCity USA poll. Designed to judge the strength of a city’s beer community, the online poll drew thousands of voters to throw their support behind their hometowns and the brew culture therein. As you can imagine,…
Editor’s note: Today, we’ll introduce you to Brian Reeder of AZ Wine Merchants, our new wine columnist and one of our Vine Geeks. Come back tomorrow for the second part of our introduction. Life has a funny way of making you think you know what you’re doing with it. I…
The Spot: San Tan Brewing Company, 8 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler. 480-917-8700. www.santanbrewing.com Hours: 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; Reverse Happy Hour is 9 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday Details: They keep it simple: All San Tan pints are $3.75 each, and everything behind the bar…
Beer: Tart Lychee Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Co. Style: American Wild Ale ABV: 7.5 percent To get to know many of New Belgium’s sour ales, you must first acquaint yourself with Oscar and Felix. An odd couple of beers (see what I did there?), these two act as the base…
Summer is upon the Phoenix area once again. Sure, the official start of summer is a couple of months away, but hearing people start every conversation with “Damn, it’s hot!” is our equivalent of the first robin of spring. It means different things to different people. For me, it means…
Beer: Mr. Pineapple Wheat Brewery: SanTan Brewing Co. Style: Fruit wheat beer ABV: 5 percent Last week, I bought a pineapple. It was an impulse buy, driven in part by its alien appearance and by the realization that I rarely eat the fruit. I bet I can make some interesting…
It’s pretty rare that we get to talk about clothing here at Chow Bella, which is probably a good thing — most of our writers’ wardrobes could be accurately described as “clearance rack chic.” But today — on Earth Day, no less — the good folks at Bonobos have given…
Last week, I covered a great drink that takes a little while to make properly, the Daiquiri. In so doing, I mentioned the other great drink that takes a long time to make well, the Ramos Gin Fizz… and then swept it under the rug. Sure enough, a commenter noticed…
The Spot: Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen, 50 W. Jefferson St., Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85003. (480) 719-5005. www.copperblueslive.com The Hours: 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday The Details: Eleven appetizer selections are divided into three categories ranging from $4-6. At the low end are choices like the…
Beer: Imperial Java Stout Brewery: Santa Fe Brewing Co. Style: American Imperial Stout ABV: 8 percent Beer: It’s what’s for breakfast. It’s also for second breakfast, brunch, lunch, second lunch, first dinner and dessert, but today it’s mainly for breakfast. And when a beer is for breakfast, there’s only one…
A friend recently handed me the February 2012 issue of Esquire magazine. Sticking out the side was a Post-It with three huge question marks and an arrow pointing inside. The arrow pointed to the cover story, “Agree: Bill Clinton and 78 Other Things We Can All Agree On”. Specifically, it…
The Spot: Sushi Roku, 7277 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. (480) 970-2121. www.sushiroku.com The Hours: 4 to 6:30 p.m. Daily The Details: Sushi Roku’s new happy hour menu features eleven “Bites” – like the Sautéed Garlic Green Beans, Crispy Chicken, and Popcorn Rock Shrimp – arranged into categories from…
Beer: Trappist Westvleteren 12Brewery: Brouwerij WestvleterenStyle: QuadrupelABV: 10.2 percent It usually follows that the most highly rated beers in the world are also the hardest to get. This shouldn’t be surprising; as a beer’s acclaim grows, demand for its flavor will eventually outstrip the supply. This is less of a…
Trust us: With all the superb food festivals we have in the Valley, it’s not easy to make it onto Chow Bella’s radar. But the Epicuriad is no ordinary event. On the strength of its unique premise — top local chefs match dishes with beer and wine in an all-out…
Why is it so hard to get a good Martini in this town? Hell, why is it so hard to find a good Martini anywhere? For such a simple drink, you’d think you could saunter into any bar short of a sleazy dive and get a Martini done right. The…
The Spot: America’s Taco Shop, 735 E. University Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281. (480) 751-6250. (Two more locations in downtown Phoenix) www.americastacoshop.net The Hours: 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday The Details: Tacos Al Pastor (with marinated pork, cabbage, guacamole, cilantro, and grilled pineapple, served with tomatillo salsa) are just…
