Roundup: Seed Up Saturday, Arizona Beer Week, and the State of To-Go Cocktails

It's Friday, and we have five fun-sized pieces of metro Phoenix food and (mostly) drink news to catch you up on the week’s events. Let's go.

HB 2773 Hopes to Legalize To-Go Cocktails for Bars and Restaurants

The Arizona legislature is back in session, and on Monday a bill was introduced that would allow bars and restaurants across Arizona to once again sell to-go cocktails. This is not to be confused with "off-sale" privileges — i.e., packaged alcohol — which bars with a Series 6 liquor license are currently allowed to conduct by law. Rather, we're talking about sealed drinks that bars mix and sell to customers. The bill, HB 2773, would give restaurants (which typically hold a Series 12 liquor license) an opportunity to apply for and purchase an additional permit to sell to-go cocktails. Arizona state House Representative Jeff Weninger introduced HB 2773; he also is a co-owner of Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta and Dilly’s Deli. The bill would also make it legal for third-party delivery services to transport the goods, allowing them to obtain a license from the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.

The Great American Seed Up Has Gone Virtual With a Free Zoom Event

If you know us, you know we love our local food seed distributors — especially at the grassroots level (pun intended-as-hell). Here’s an example: The Great American Seed Up, normally an annual in-person, seed education, and wholesale event, is presenting Seed Up Saturday on February 27. The three-hour, free Zoom event offers classes from seed saving and storage to attracting pollinators to gardening basics. Speakers include Greg Peterson, founder of The Urban Farm and co-founder of the Great American Seed Up, Belle Starr, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, and more. Seed Up Saturday will run from 2 to 5 p.m. Check out the website to sign up.

Arizona Breweries Are Working on a Rebuild the Guild Benefit Beer

Good news: Arizona Beer Week 2021 is next week. Bad news: The host, Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, needs help (it had to cancel most of its fundraising events in 2020). As a result of both, we get the Rebuild the Guild Benefit Beer. More than 20 Arizona breweries are working with the same recipe but creating their own version of the brew. Different regions are celebrating Arizona Beer Week during different weeks, and central Arizona’s is February 8 to 21 by the way, but the benefit beer will be sold throughout February. For a list of participating breweries (Huss, O.H.S.O., SanTan, The Shop, etc., etc.), see the Rebuild the Guild website.

Little Rituals Is Celebrating Two Years on the Fourth Floor

For six straight days, Little Rituals cocktail bar at Residence Inn/Courtyard by Marriott Phoenix Downtown (132 South Central Avenue) will be celebrating its two-year anniversary with nightly specials from Tuesday, February 16, to Sunday, February 21. That includes an all-night Aperitivo Hour, $50 bottles of champagne, and a special second-anniversary punch. Here’s my favorite: You can make any pour a boilermaker on Wednesday, February 17. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the last reservations (which are strongly recommended) are taken at 10:30 p.m.

Medium Rare Restaurant Group Is Coming to Phoenix

Apparently a white-hot spot for steak frites in Washington, D.C., Medium Rare is a French-leaning but American fare-focused eatery that’s about to pop off. Medium Rare Restaurant Group co-owner Mark Bucher says he’s looking for available sites to set up 26 additional full-service Medium Rare restaurants across the country, and that includes the Phoenix area. Bucher and the team are searching the Valley for 2,700 to 3,000-square-foot locations in an existing restaurant space. So, we don’t know when, and we don’t know where, but on the way is a Medium Rare.