Starting this Saturday August 1st, all 27 Barro’s Pizza locations in the east valley will start serving 8″ Mini Pizzas. West valley locations have been serving Mini’s and now it’s time to roll them out on the other side of town.
In addition the east valley locations will introduce dairy free cheese for any size pizza on request. This will not currently be available to west valley locations. The addition of dairy free cheese compliments the gluten- free options already found at Barro’s.
Fork & Dagger Hospitality, the company that owns Pedal Haus Brewery has announced they’ve hired valley chef Jared Porter as Director of Culinary Operations. Porter oversees all food operations at the Tempe and Chandler brewpubs and at a new Phoenix location opening in 2021. His responsibilities include menu development, sourcing of ingredients and management of the culinary team.
“As a longtime Valley resident with deep ties to the culinary community, it is an incredibly exciting opportunity to join Julian Wright and the Fork & Dagger Hospitality team as they continue to grow their influence on Arizona’s food and beverage landscape,” Porter said. “I am looking forward to being a part of the already award-winning team at Pedal Haus Brewery as well as all future concepts within the hospitality group.”
The culinary resume of Jared Porter
Jared Porter started his culinary career over 20 years ago attending the Art Institute of Phoenix on a full scholarship. After graduating he worked at high profile restaurants Vincent’s on Camelback, Michael’s at The Citadel and Fiamma at The James Hotel. He’s successfully helped open La Grande Orange Grocery, Olive & Ivy and his own Clever Koi in 2013. Most recently he’s been executive chef at Buck & Rider.
“We are honored to have Jared bring his extensive culinary expertise to our hospitality group to further enhance our restaurants’ menus and culinary experience,” said Fork & Dagger founder and CEO Julian Wright. “His depth of knowledge has already proved invaluable and we are thrilled to have him join our team as we continue to bring more great restaurants to the Valley.”
The award-winning brewery is popular with beer enthusiasts since opening their Tempe location in 2015. Under Brew Master Derek Osborne they’ve won a gold medal at The Great American Beer Festival and named Best Brewery in the United States at the 2019 Copa Cerveza de Americas. Over 32 gold medals and awards have been earned by the brewery for their beers.
Arizona wine producer Aridus Wine Company has released its new line of canned wines, Tank. The grapes for the canned wines is sourced from Aridus’s vineyards in Cochise County along with purchased fruit. The fruit for the Rose is 100% Zinfandel and comes from New Mexico. The White is a blend of 72% Malvasia and 28% Picpoul which are the wineries two signature white grapes.
The wines were vinified separately then blended in early 2019 and held in stainless steel tanks until May 2020. The Viognier sees one year in neutral oak before stainless steel. The canned wines are different wines than those sold by the bottle and have a high residual sugar content. Tank is perfect for drinking by pool, camping trips or at home after a long hot day.
The Viognier, Rose and White Blend come in 4-packs and are available at their tasting rooms in Scottsdale & Willcox for $28. Each can holds 375 ml or about two glasses of wine. Buy a 4 pack and get a free Tank Koozie Can Cooler. The Scottsdale tasting room is at 7173 E. Main St. 85251. The Willcox tasting room is at 145 Railview Ave. 85643. For more information visit https://www.ariduswineco.com/
If all goes as planned with the expiration of the current Covid-19 lock down on Monday July 27th south Scottsdale could have a new beer and wine bar in early August. Regardless of the lock down Rift Tap and Wine Bar opens for curbside pick-up and delivery that same Monday. Rift is the brainchild of owners Damien Kanser, a wine industry veteran and friend Jon Coppins, the winemaker at Su Vino Winery.
Named after a Phish album that inspired Kanser since his childhood, Rift converted a spot that was a convenience store at Fillmore and Scottsdale Rd.. With little or nothing for craft beer and wine between old town Scottsdale and Tempe they felt this would be the perfect location for their neighborhood bar. The neighborhood is home to many service industry people and young professionals who have had nowhere to gather since Papago Brewing Co. closed a few years ago.
Rift will feature affordable wines and beers from local brewers and wineries and from across the country and the world. 25 beers on tap will be poured along with wines by the glass as guests gather at the 23 seat bar, high top tables or couches. Food trucks will be scheduled for guests to enjoy a bite to eat with their beer and wine. Coolers will house cold beers to go along with a few racks of retail wines. Kanser envisions Rift’s retail component as a quick grab n go for people to purchase on a regular basis to enjoy with dinner or by the pool. They’re sourcing limited production small batch beers directly from brewers giving the shop a unique selection by the bottle and tap.
Rift owners Damien Kanser and Jon Coppins
The wine club at Rift Tap and Wine Bar
This fall Rift will house a studio for their “Spilling the Truth” podcast they started in late 2018. Windows to the studio will allow guests to view podcasts live with brewers and winemakers joining the podcast.
Two wine clubs will be offered featuring local wines and wines to a national audience based on wineries visiting the podcast.
Rift is at 431 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale 85257. For updates check out their Facebook page.
A new concept has a emerged in the restaurant industry as ghost kitchens a.k.a cloud or virtual kitchens have become popular. Theses kitchens don’t have traditional store front locations and don’t offer dine-in service with delivery the only option. Carnitas Way launched last week from Kurt and Colleen Riske, owners of Los Sombreros. California style burritos, bowls and salads are made at the three locations in Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix then delivered via GrubHub, Postmates and Door Dash.
“We’ve been working on the Carnitas Way concept for some time,” says Kurt Riske. “And while it may seem unusual to open a new restaurant in the midst of a pandemic, it’s actually great timing for this delivery only restaurant that features delicious dishes made with healthy ingredients that offer people serious value.”
Outrigger BowlCarnitas Way
Carnitas Way burritos, bowls & salads.
All menu items are under $10 and burritos can be made into bowls. All burritos and bowls include carnitas except the North Shore.
Baja – black beans, peppers, onions, cabbage, chipotle cream sauce & jack cheese.
“Carnitas Way was created to make life a little easier and more enjoyable, by delivering satisfying, flavorful meals right to your door,” says Colleen Riske. “From the beach-inspired names of Carnitas Way menu items to our overall vibe, we’re excited to connect with people who appreciate the simple pleasure of a delicious meal done right.”
The Salty Sow known for its meat focused menu recently introduced fried chicken dinners to its menu. Two family style dinners are offered for take out and four dinners on the dine in menu.
The Jumbo Chicken Tenders Dinner comes with their signature kale coleslaw & cowboy beans with a choice of a 6 piece (with two sauces) for $17, a 9 piece (with a choice of 3 sauces) for $24 or a 12 piece (with 4 sauces) for $29. Their Southern Fried Chicken Dinner served with kale coleslaw and cowboy beans with 8 pieces of fried chicken bone-in for $26.00.
Dining in you can choose from…..
Tender Bites- 8 pieces of fried chicken, one sauce for $8
Jumbo Tenders- 3 piece, two sauces for $11
The O.G. Sandwich with chicken breast, mayonnaise, kale coleslaw, home-made pickles and French fries for $14
Southern Fried Chicken- 4 pieces, bone-in served with kale coleslaw for $18
Choose Sow Sauce, Honey Mustard, Ranch, Barbeque and Sweet Chili to compliment your meal. Guests looking to spice it up can choose to make their chicken “Nashville Hot” if desired.
Salty Sow is at 4801 E. Cactus Rd. Phoenix 85032. The restaurant opens for dinner daily at 4 p.m.
Central Phoenix’s Taco Guild has one of the best tequila collections in town with over 200 bottlings. On National Tequila Day, next Friday July 24th the restaurant is offering off the menu cocktails for tequila enthusiasts. As you sip on tequila and pair them with tacos you can flip through the leather bound “Tequila Bible” to see all the favorite tequila brands and exclusive bottles.
National Tequila Day cocktails include The Beginner made with blanco tequila, strawberry, lime & agave. The Purist mixes El Tesoro Reposado with Topo Chico bottled water and a slice of orange. The Sophisticated is a tequila old fashioned with barrel aged Patron Anjejo. All three cocktails are $10.
Prefer your tequila neat or by the shot, enjoy Fortaleza Blanco ($9), El Tesoro Paradiso ($15) or Tapatio Reposado for $8. Top secret tequila flights are available so just ask one of the restaurants tequila connoisseurs about them.
National Tequila Day will be celebrated all day from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. with happy hour from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Taco Guild is at 546 E. Osborn Rd. Phoenix 85012.
The city of Phoenix and Local First Arizona have joined forces to feed the city’s hungry for the Feed Phoenix initiative. They are using money from the CARES Act to recruit local restaurants, farmers & food entrepreneurs to provide and prepare meals. By keeping it with local businesses the money spent will stay local, sustain local jobs & supply chain and keep Phoenicians healthy.
“We are proud to be partnering on such a thoughtful and innovative approach to feeding Phoenix families. This initiative will touch all layers of our local food system and make the greatest impact possible for small businesses across various industries. From local chefs featuring three locally-sourced vegetables in every meal to opting for sustainable to-go packaging for delivery, community-driven solutions to complex problems are how we build a stronger local food system,” said Local First Founder Kimber Lanning.
Local businesses looking to participate in the Feed Phoenix initiative have until 12:00 pm on July 17th to submit a proposal to https://www.localfirstaz.com/feed-phoenix . Restaurants, farmers, caterers, mobile markets, and event venues are encouraged to apply for the 3 month program.
Feed Phoenix requirements
Businesses applying have to….
–Be located in Phoenix and have proper licenses and insurance to prepare food for consumption.
-Be able to prepare, store, and safely deliver 500 meals per day. A minimum of one day per week for six weeks, using compostable packaging.
-Use locally-sourced vegetables as part of the meal to be purchased by Local First
“We are excited that through this partnership we are able to feed individuals and families who are most vulnerable to hunger as a result of the pandemic. This effort also allows us to create economic opportunities for our local businesses and build relationships with our local farmers,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “This innovative approach will benefit our local food system now and in the future.”
“I think it’s important to note the city could have chosen to hire one very large company to prepare all of these meals using food grown on the other side of the country. But instead, they contracted with us to spread the funds around locally so we can impact as many Phoenix businesses and jobs as possible,” Lanning added.
If you were born after the 1980s chances are you’ve never seen a milkman deliver quarts of milk to your door. Dropping off fresh milk in glass bottles and picking up empty bottles for re-use was affordable and convenient for previous generations. Growly Delivers is the milkman of the 21st century delivering growlers of beer instead of milk.
The local delivery service started with PHX Beer Co. to get fresh beer to customers through their weekly subscription service. Plans are to add other local breweries in the future as demand grows. Deliveries are made every Thursday and those wanting to take delivery can subscribe at their website and choose what beer you’d like to be delivered. It couldn’t be any easier than that for beer drinkers. The eco-friendly Growly Delivers takes the empty growlers back to the brewery to be cleaned, sanitized and re-filled.
Beer drinkers that don’t drink as quickly as others can have a specially made high tech growler filled with beer. A compressor with a C02 cartridge allows for the beer to stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. The local startup has successfully sign up almost 50 subscriptions in the Phoenix area in its first two weeks.
Cochise County’s LDV Winery is keeping its popular Wine Country BBQ going for another year on Saturday August 8th. The winery in the Chiraicahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona opens its door from 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. for BBQ foods, wine tastings, outdoor games and tour to wine club members and the public.
Tickets for the Wine Country BBQ are $40(+tax & fee) per person and $30(+tax & fee) for wine club members. Each ticket gets you a plate of BBQ, a glass of wine and a winemaker led tour at 2 p.m. Addition glasses of wine are available for purchase.
