If you attended ASU from 1967 – 1994 you probably spent some of your parent’s money on beer and food at The Dash Inn. Closed in 1994 by the fourth set of owners the popular dive bar was an institution at Apache & Rural Rd. has re-opened as part of Brat Haus in Scottsdale. The Dash Inn Tribute Room’s owner Dave Andrea is also the owner of Brat Haus and was one of the last owners at the original location. I visited the new location with a very excited ASU alum on the 2nd night it was opened and many local alumni have been strolling down memory lane as the stopped by to remember their college years. Rumor has it when it was billed to a credit card it read “the library”.
“The Dash Inn was a hip joint, and you could see that just by walking in,” said former employee Tom Cole. “Management never gave long-haired waiters a hard time when they applied for work, which gave the personnel and restaurant a look that attracted the counter-culture while its traditional Mexican feel attracted everyone else.”
Andrea uses one of the dining rooms at Brat Haus for The Dash Inn as guests prefer the outdoor beer garden. Guests will find nostalgia and 500 MTV music videos on a rear projection TV and a limited menu of Mexican food. The menu includes the popular secret recipe margarita and cheese crisp with all menu items costing $8 or less.
“Luckily, I had kept all of the old recipes and plenty of pictures to help replicate the details of design, smallware and furniture,” Andrea said. “The Dash played an important role in thousands of people’s happy memories of a simpler time and college life in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It’s been so much fun listening to all their stories as we bring it back.”
The Dash Inn Tribute Room is located at 3622 N. Scottsdale Road 85251. Hours are Wednesday through Friday from 4 p.m. to close and Saturday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to close. For more information and updates check out their Facebook page.
Old town Scottsdale’s Brat Haus has delivered over 1,500 meals to healthcare workers at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in the last 2 weeks. “Feed the Heroes” was launched by owner Dave Andrea to relieve stress of healthcare workers treating patients with Covid 19. The hospital is only a short walk from the popular beer garden and scratch kitchen and each day employees bring 150 meals to the hospital.
“These incredible people are risking their lives daily in order to help others,” said Andrea. “It’s been really gratifying to make even the smallest difference for them. Now is the time to make sure that they are being taken care of too.”
To help support the “Feed the Heroes” Brat Haus re-opened with limited hours on Tuesday – Thursday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 – 5 p.m. The limited menu offers their signature brats, burgers and pretzels. You’ll probably want some beers so help “Drain the Taps” by having your 64 oz. growler filled for only $10. Beer sales also go towards feeding the healthcare workers.
Several of Brat Haus’s vendors have contributed products and money to the “Feed the Heroes” program. Vendors include Denmark Food, Capistrano Bakery, Waterloo Sparkling Water and Crescent Crown Distributing. “As long as the community continues to visit our curbside pick-up and take advantage of the great beer special, we’ll keep feeding the first responders and health care workers that we’re counting on to get us through this pandemic,” said Andrea.
Brat Haus is at 3622 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 85251. 480-947-4006
With Phoenicians love for donuts one shouldn’t be surprised that there’s a new shop in central Phoenix. Opening this morning is DoH! on 16th St. just north of Bethany Home Rd. DoH! is connected to the recently opened Brat Haus as it’s from the same owner Dave Andrea.
“Opening the two concepts in the same location was intentional,” Andrea said. “Adding DōH! allows us to give the neighborhood a casual yet mouthwatering place to enjoy fresh doughnuts, New York style bagels and Arizona roasted coffee on their way to work or while enjoying weekend mornings on the expansive, dog friendly patio.”
The donuts are locally sourced along with with New York style bagels from New York Bagels & Bialys and cold brew from CULT Artisan Beverage Company. The cold brew, Wild Tonic Kombucha and Zardetto Prosecco are served on tap.
Looking to inject fun to the new concept “drunken” donuts are available for $1 extra. This allows adults to inject a “pipette” of specialty liquor to the favorite donut. A signature “Manmosa” is served combining 32 oz. of Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier beer with a splash of prosecco and orange juice.
“We’re catering to a community that’s looking to add a little diversity to their morning routine,” Andrea said. “This is a sweet stop for families looking for morning treats, friends looking to let loose on their weekend mornings and anyone in between.”
DoH! is open Wednesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop is located at 6025 N. 16th St. Visit their Facebook page for more information and updates.
It took Brat Haus owner Dave Andrea a while to find the right location for the second location of his popular beer garden. The location came to be at 16th St. and Bethany Home Rd. in Uptown Phoenix and is now open. A slight departure from its popular Scottsdale restaurant as the Phoenix location will be “adult casual” with counter service.
“This second location is a chance for us to fully realize the original idea I had for Brat Haus, which was more geared toward the quick service model,” said Brat Haus owner, Dave Andrea. “The main goal, like what we’ve done in Scottsdale, is to foster a community of people from the neighborhood who are looking for a casual spot to enjoy specialty beers, delicious food and a fun atmosphere.”
The Phoenix restaurant will offer 100 seats, 52 inside and 48 outside on the dog friendly patio. The European styled menu offers imported beers and specialties including brats, pretzels, burgers and house made dips. Happy hour will be offered with $2 off glasses of wine and draft beers and the restaurants signature Giant Bavaria Pretzel for $10. Take out is also available.
“Uptown Phoenix is an eclectic neighborhood with an incredible mix of businesses and people,” said Andrea. “It’s growing rapidly and we’re excited to be a part of that. The timing is perfect for us to introduce our concept to the community.”
Brat Haus is open daily from 11 a.m. -10 p.m. and is at 6025 N. 16th St. Phoenix 85016 and 3622 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale 85251.
What started as a catering business will soon be a restaurant for Brat Haus’s owner Dave Andrea as he prepares to open SmokeHaus next door in the former Union Barrelhouse come mid January 2016.
This won’t be your typical Texas or southern style BBQ or smoke house but will feature Santa Maria style BBQ influenced from the central coast of California with an Arizona twist. SmokeHaus’s signature dish is the Santa Maria Tri-Tip Sandwich using meat smoked from 2 meat smokers and an open flame grill that uses Mesquite & Red Oak wood.
Entrees include chicken, ribs, pulled pork and salmon as well as rattlesnake chili, Greasewood burger and 1984 Taco salad paying tribute to its roots here in Arizona. Side dishes sound good and will include pork belly mac & cheese, street corn, Ranch beans and more.
One of the benefits of opening next door is the large parking lot included as parking for Brat Haus has always been a challenge and the lot will accommodate parking for both restaurants.
Smokehaus will be located at 3636 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Stay tuned to the Smokehaus website for more details at www.smokehausaz.com and be sure to follow on social channels @smokehausaz
Scottsdale’s Brat Haus will be hosting Sausage Fest in their outdoor beer garden on Sunday April 26th from 12 noon- 8pm. The sausage themed celebration will include the Arizona longest Brat and largest pretzel along with exotic Brats and sausage themed shenanigans such as a Stein holding contest, pretzel toss, eating contests and more. Yelp will be hosting selfie zone where festival goers can post pictures for a chance to win $100 Brat Haus gift card and Yelp schwag.
Brat Haus will create & grill an 80 + foot Brat and will sell portions to patrons for $1 per 6 inches with a 6 inch minimum with 50% of the proceeds going to the ALS Association of Arizona.
Ice cold beers from SanTan Brewing, Mike Hess Brewing, Krombacher and New Belgium will be on tap and available for purchase to wash down your brats, pretzel and more.
Tickets for this all ages festival can be purchased in advance for $8 at Brat Haus or $10 on the day of the event. Tickets can also be purchased on their website www.brathausaz.com
Brat Haus is at 3622 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale 85251
This past weekend Scottsdale Civic Center Mall welcomed the 3rd Annual AmeriCAN Beer Festival in celebration of American Craft Beer Week. The festival is hosted by Chandler AZ’s San Tan Brewing Company whom packages all their beers in either cans or kegs. You may ask what makes this beer festival different from other beer festivals. This festival featured only beers packaged in cans, and why cans….well for several reasons according to Joe Burns of Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing. Cans protect the beer from UV light, no oxygen in cans, are easier on the environment and are better for using for recreational purposes i.e on boats, around pools and water, especially in Florida.
Now that you know why cans, here is some of the samples of beers I enjoyed from some of the 60 breweries in attendance from all over the United States.
DC Brau www.dcbrau.com from our nations capital opened for business on April 15th 2011 and is DC’s 1st production brewery in almost 60 years. DC Brau makes 10,000 barrels a year and distributes throughout D.C. and northern Virginia. Lead Shift Brewer Christopher Grahm was their 1st employee and tells me they currently can 6 beers including their 3 flagship beers The Citizen, The Public and The Corruption. I tasted the limited release “El Hefe Speaks” Hefeweizen which was crisp, cold and tasted like a German style hefeweizen.
Another D.C. area brewery that came out west for the festival was Lost Rhino Brewing Company www.lostrhino.com/ from Leesburg Virginia. Sampling their Pilsner I found it rich and creamy. A hint of spice made this beer quite the thirst quencher.
Beers are not known to be gluten-free with their use of wheat and barley, but Joseph James Brewing Company www.foxbrews.com in Henderson, Nevada makes the a the only gluten-free canned beer in the world. The Fox Tail Gluten Free Ale uses nectars instead of wheat. This lighter bodied ale also no sorghum (a grain used in making of alcohol) instead using organic rice, nectars and hops. This ale tasted very good and I wouldn’t have known it was gluten -free as tasted good as any ale using wheat. Joseph James Brewing Co.’s Fox Tail Gluten Free Ale
For the cider enthusiast for which I am one, there were a few ciders in cans including Vermont Hard Cider www.woodchuck.com pouring their original Woodchuck Cider which is made from apples and is also gluten-free. Cold, crisp and clear this golden cider goes down very well and could be habit-forming. If you prefer your cider on the dry side then you can find Crispin’s “Brown Lane” Classic English Dry Cider which is one of their imported ciders. www.crispincider.com San Tan Brewing Co.’s “Mr Pineapple” wheat beer
As fruit beers are becoming more popular, a few are being canned and were being poured including Abita Brewing’s Purple Haze which uses raspberries in the brewing process, Redd’s Apple Ale from Tenth & Blake Beer Company, San Tan Brewing Co.’s “Mr. Pineapple” Wheat beer and Maui Brewing Co.’s CoCoNut Porter. All had a hint of fruit used with Redd’s Apple Ale having the strongest fruit flavor.
Grand Canyon Brewing Co. www.grandcanyonbrewery.com/ out of Williams AZ won Gold medal for their Sunset Amber in the “Amber & Brown” beer categories. Making 30,000 barrels a year this beer is distributed in Arizona & Nevada.
Nothing goes better with beer than food and several food trucks were there to provide use with something to wash down with a cold beer including Brat Haus, The Grilled Cheese Truck and Tom’s BBQ. There were several bands playing throughout the afternoon including Good Rust, Pride Through Strife, 80 proof and Boom Shed for you to get your groove on.
Nothing beats a cold beer on warm day in May and although you may have to wait til next years 4th Annual AmeriCAN Beer Festival www.cannedcraftbeerfest.com/ doesn’t mean you can’t wait to find your favorite canned beer. Many retailers including Whole Foods stock an impressive array of canned beers to get you through the summer months and beyond. Cheers!
