After a weekend of private friends-and-family events, The Main Ingredient Ale House & Cafe finally opens its doors to the public tonight (2337 N. 7th St.)
Owners Matt and Courtney Diamond have transformed the former Lisa G Cafe Wine Bar, which they purchased from Lisa Giungo back around Halloween, into a reasonably priced hangout offering beer, wine, snacks, salads, and sandwiches.
Diamond has worked for some of the Valley's best wine-friendly establishments, including Postino, Humble Pie, and Kazimierz.
I managed to get a copy of the menu, and it's looking tasty.
To start, there are snack like chips and salsa, a three-cheese artichoke dip, and an antipasto plate of cured meats, cheeses, roasted veggies, olives, and focaccia. There are four different salads, a seasonal soup, mac 'n cheese, and a several hot sandwiches, including The Calvano (Sal Calvano is the landlord there), with sopressata, aged provolone, chopped artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers on focaccia, and The Jive Turkey, with oven-roasted turkey breast, jalapeno cream cheese, tomato, and greens on a baguette.
I'm psyched to try the Coronado Coney, a jumbo Schreiner's hot dog with red onion and spicy Nut Brown Ale mustard on a toasted sourdough roll.
Nothing on the menu tops nine bucks.
Diamond's got eight beers on tap, including a house ale by Four Peaks, Sonoran Desert Amber, Stone Imperial Russian Stout, and Ska True Blonde. By the bottle or can, you can get two-dollar Schlitz, or craft brews like Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA. The wine list focuses on West Coast labels, available by the bottle or glass.