Saturday is the Belmont Stakes, the final race of the Triple Crown series. Most years, the Belmont is ho-hum after two different horses win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. This year, it looked like we were in for an exciting race as Derby long shot I’ll Have Another had…
All right, it’s summertime (at least to this Oregon native it is). When I open my car door and could fire pottery in the heat blast I’m met with, I know we’ve arrived. I suppose oppressive heat and blistering sunshine are not the ideal conditions for drinking a big, earthy,…
The Spot: Compass Restaurant & Lounge, 122 North Second Street, (602) 440-3166. phoenix.hyatt.com The Hours: 9 to 11 p.m. daily The Details: This nightly reverse happy hour features $5 house wine (Merlot, Chardonnay, or Cabernet), $5 well drinks, a nightly cocktail special for $7, and a dessert special for only…
Beer: Conflux No.1 – Collage Brewery: Deschutes Brewery, Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. Style: American Strong Ale ABV: 11.6 percent If you’ve never heard of Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, don’t feel too bad about it. Although the Portland-based brewery has been around since 1995, annual production of…
Las Vegas is my favorite vacation destination. It’s an easy jaunt, and I know I’ll have a great time, no matter my budget. When I head up there, I spend an awful lot of time at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The atmosphere there is different from the blasé mass…
Welcome to Vine Geeks, where Brian Reeder and Pavle Milic of AZ Wine Merchants take the drinking game quite seriously. Pay attention — you might just learn something. You may have heard of this ‘decanting’ business. In fact, you may have seen it at a restaurant and wondered why someone…
Beer: Hopsauce Brewery: Rubicon Brewing Co. Style: American Double IPA ABV: 8.2 percent Though few things in the world are completely black and white, the spectrum of beer lovers can pretty much be broken up that way. On one side you have the grainiacs, who seek out the darkness of…
The Spot: Astor House, 2243 N. 12th St. 602-687-9775. facebook.com/astorhouse The Hours: 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday The Details: All beer is $3 and cocktails are $5. As for wine, it depends on when you get there: From 3 to 4 p.m., all glasses of wine are only…
What’s your favorite beer? We at Chow Bella get this question a lot, and though it may seem a simple choice for the uninitiated, it can be much harder to answer for those who have tried a multitude of brews. Even among the relatively small selection of beers made in…
In this occasional series, Pavle Milic will spill about his current mission to learn how wine is made — literally from the Southern Arizona ground up. Today: pruning and weeding. The alarm goes off at 4:30 am. I jounce out of bed in fear of pressing snooze to enjoy the…
If you’ve lived around here for more than a few years, you’re probably familiar with a little drink called the Jamaican Ten-Speed. Odds are good that your favorite bartender will whip up one for you in the blink of an eye. Then you go on vacation in the Caribbean. A…
Welcome to Vine Geeks, where Brian Reeder and Pavle Milic of AZ Wine Merchants take the drinking game quite seriously. Pay attention — you might just learn something. One of the consistent columns I’ll be writing as the resident ‘vine geek’ will be about different wine regions around the state,…
The Spot: Cork, 4991 S. Alma School Road, Suite 1, Chandler 480-883-3773. corkrestaurant.net Hours: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday The Details: There’s nothing average about the four-star restaurant’s new happy hour. It’s an extensive, mouthwatering menu unto itself, beginning with $5 snacks like the duck fat French fries…
Beer: Noche Dulce Brewery: Borderlands Brewing Co. Style: American porter ABV: 7.1 percent There’s an old joke that says the best thing to ever come out of Tucson is the I-10. But, while hilarious, it’s only mostly true. The craft beer revolution is sweeping over Tucson in a big way,…
Two weeks ago, a great deal of people put on extravagant hats, got together to watch a horse race, and proceeded to get inebriated on mint juleps. Since the second leg of the Triple Crown is tomorrow, it’s a good reason to throw another get-together in case you didn’t get…
Welcome to Vine Geeks, where Brian Reeder and Pavle Milic of AZ Wine Merchants take the drinking game quite seriously. Pay attention — you might just learn something. Today, Brian heads over to Citizen Public House to uncork the secrets of the restaurant wine list. In all likelihood, a restaurant…
The Spot: Fired Up Grill, 7131 W. Ray Road, Suite 45, Chandler, AZ 85226. (480) 940-4040. firedupgrill.com The Hours: 3 to 7 p.m. Every Day The Details: All 15 appetizers are half off, from the popular Mussels Marinara (regularly $9.99) to the classic Assorted Cheese Board ($11.99). Drinks are all…
Beer: Wookey Jack Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Style: Black IPA ABV: 8.3 percent Beer names and the stories that inspired them fascinate me. Take Firestone Walker’s beers, for example. Was Sticky Monkey named after a pet Capuchin that got into the glue? Did they designate Good Foot as such…
Earlier this spring, we launched Vine Geeks — in which AZ Wine Merchants’ Brian Reeder and Pavle Milic share advice, news and a little levity from the world of wine. Today, we bring you Romancing the Grape. In this occasional series, Milic will spill about his current mission to learn…
A lot gets said about what liquors you need to start a good home bar. Our own Zachary Fowle got a good answer from an excellent local bartender. But there’s something else that’s often neglected: You need to have something to hold your drinks. Sure, you can use that motley…
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…
