Tag: burger

Sips & Bites: News from the Phoenix restaurant community

Events & news about what’s going on around the Phoenix restaurant community, breweries and wineries.

Afternoon Tea for Mother’s Day at STK Steakhouse

Still looking for a restaurant to take mom on Sunday? The cool Scottsdale restaurant hosts a traditional tea starting with a glass of  champagne ($89 & $99) or prosecco ($69) followed by a selection of hot tea and tower of petite sandwiches, scones and desserts. Tea infused cocktails are offered for $21 each.

Over Easy celebrates National Mimosa Day

The breakfast cocktails are $2 off flights next Tuesday, May 16th at all 11 Arizona locations. Guests can choose 4 flavors including orange, peach, guava, mango, strawberry or raspberry during breakfast or lunch.

National Burger Month features at Kona Grill

The month of May and “America’s Favorite Grill” celebrates one of our favorite comfort foods with 3 burger features. A $7.99 lunch and take-out burger, Kona Sliders for $6 at happy hour and a Chophouse Burger are available throughout the month.

The much anticipated Course Restaurant is now open

Personal chef Cory Oppold’s new restaurant is open and taking reservations near Scottsdale Rd. & Shea Blvd. The highly acclaimed chef and Food Network’s “Chopped” winner serves a 5 course tasting menu Tuesday and Wednesday’s for $135 and 10-course menu Thursday-Saturday for $190. Wines paired by sommelier Nick Padua are additional an additional charge. May 28th Oppold will debut his Sunday brunch, Morning Would. His take on brunch favorites will be served in 6-courses from 10 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. for $75.

Spitz Mediterranean opens its first location Arizona

Desert Ridge Marketplace is where you can find healthy and modern Mediterranean street food found around Europe. Wraps, gyros, rice salads & bowls, falafel, hummus and more from this California based concept. Started almost 15 years ago when a couple of college friends who studied and traveled in Europe wanted to bring this type of food home to the U.S. Serving sangria, beer & wine Spitz is participating in DRM’s Sips & Stroll program allowing guests to take their drinks outside the restaurant. The fast casual restaurant is located on the east end near the AMC Theaters.

Check out my podcast Pulling Corks & Forks: The Podcast with Sandy Wasserman to hear from those in our community. Please subscribe, like & comment.

Chase Field offering new food items and mobile food ordering

When the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field Friday at Chase Field it will be the first time they’ve played a meaningful game in front of fans in over a year. Fans attending games this year will notice new food and drink options along with the ability for mobile ordering.

New food items also include items from locally owned Gadzooks and Danzeisen Dairy. Here are some new food items fans can snack on during the game.

  • Gadzooks (located at Sections 116 and 314)
  • Poblano Cheesesteak (Shaved Philly Ribeye, American Cheese, fire roasted poblano chile, barbecue aioli, battered onion straws)
  • Beer Cheese Bratwurst (Beer bratwurst, pub beer cheese, griddled onion, brown mustard, pretzel roll)
  • 505 Green Chile, Chicken Bacon and Ranch Tots (Grilled chicken, tots, nacho cheese, bacon, 505 green chile)
  • Ultimate Bacon Pub Burger (Chuck patty, pub beer cheese, bacon, battered onion, barbecue sauce, pickles, potato roll)
  • Danzeisen Dairy Chocolate Mint Chip Stack Shake
  • A 25% discount off purchases at Taste of Chase for those using a Chase credit or debit card

The Still at Cutwater- Award-winning distillery Cutwater Spirits will have an assortment of ready-to-enjoy canned cocktails, including limited-edition cans of its popular classic Vodka Mule featuring D-backs marks.

Fry’s Grab n’ Go- Unique stands throughout the main concourse stocked with small bites, drinks and pre-packaged goods available to purchase quickly.

For more information about what else you can expect at Chase Field for the 2021 Major League Baseball season head to the Diamondbacks website.

The 9th annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival set for Aug. 22 -25

The culinary stars shine bright on southern California when the 9th Annual Los Angeles Food & Wine festival launches for four days in August. Celebrity chefs and local food icons show off the coastal cuisine of southern California cooking. Jerimiah Tower and Nancy Silverton are two of the chefs cooking for guests at diners, cooking demonstrations and more.

The four days start with a series of dinners Thursday evening at restaurants around the city before shifting to the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica airport for the weekend.

Los Angeles Food & Wine festival events

14 culinary events will span the weekend including…..

The Legends Dinner at Chi SPACCA: The widely credited father of California cuisine Jeremiah Tower joins queen of the Mozza-Plex Nancy Silverton at her white-hot Chi SPACCA. This epic, one-night-only pairing promises a lifetime of bragging rights to the 40 festival-goers fortunate enough to snag a ticket.

Dinner at Otium: Fans of Netflix’s “The Final Table” can pull up a chair to watch 2018 season winner Tim Hollingsworth share the spotlight with rising star chef Travis Swikard at Hollingsworth’s downtown masterpiece, The Broad museum-adjacent Otium. 

The Epic Burger Throwdown with Alvin Cailan: In a city known for great burgers, the best are going bun to bun to win the coveted LAFW Golden Burger Show Trophy. Host Alvin Cailan, of YouTube’s “The Burger Show,” joins celebrity judges Seth Rogen, Tiffani Thiessen and Adam Richman in this juicy battle of the beef.

LA’s Faves & Craves: In one short stroll, festival-goers can take in the breathtaking diversity of L.A.’s culinary landscape as the city’s own Jet Tila hosts a showcase of the most crave-worthy dishes of 25 local chefs. L.A’s finest tacos, pizza, hot dogs, donuts, fried chicken and Asian-inspired specialties will share one location for one afternoon.

Meat Me at LAFW’s Great Steak-out & BBQ: Meat master Curtis Stone of Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant and 25 other great tamers of the flame are bringing their A+ game to LAFW. Surf, sides, caviar and Big Cabs will complement the slabs at this event evoking the nation’s greatest steakhouses and BBQ joints.

Sunday Brunch So Hard: Those lucky enough to score one of the very limited VIP tickets to LAFW’s grand finale enjoy rare pre-event access to Jeremiah Tower, the illustrious self-taught chef dubbed “The Last Magnificent” by Anthony Bourdain. Standard tickets are anything but shabby, too, at the culinary legend’s brunch-to-end-all-brunches.

To see a full list of events, more information and to purchase tickets visit their website.

Dorian starts serving breakfast as it re-opens after summer hiatus.

Scottsdale’s Victorian decor’d Dorian is open 7 days a week as they started serving breakfast at 7 a.m. when they re-opened after a 2 month break. Breakfast is served daily until 12 p.m. and the restaurant will then re-open at 4 p.m. for Happy Hour leading up to dinner starting at 5 p.m.

The new breakfast menu and seasonal dinner menu was crafted by chef Kurtis Smith, a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute with over 13 years of experience.

Dorian

Dorian new menus

The new breakfast menu will include parfaits, smoothies, omelettes, Lemon Cake pancakes, biscuits & gravy and more ranging in price from $7-$14.

Double back for Happy Hour starting at 4 p.m. for $3 bottles beer, $5 well drinks, 25% off craft cocktails and 30% off the bar bites. The bar menu includes burgers, Grilled Octopus, Ravioli over Butternut Squash puree, salads and more. My personal favorite is the Tomato & Burrata Salad.

A Mediterranean inspired seasonal dinner menu highlights the delicious Braised Short Ribs over warm cheddar grits, shellfish filled bowl of Cioppino and roasted hare (new food trend) with root vegetables in brown butter sage compound butter.

Braised Short Ribs

“The popular bruschetta’s and house charcuterie board stayed on the menu,” said Chef Kurtis Smith. “They are great dishes to share with a group.  We revised the menu to offer more healthy and unique options. My goal was to create a menu of familiar foods, done well. Guests will find more vegan options, fresh fish, a very tender and tasty short rib and new salads. The dishes are flavorful and bold and our breakfast menu is casual and fun too.”

Cocktails and wine

Dorian offers 6 signature cocktails such as The Madam, Chandon No.5 and The Dorian for your enjoyment. If wine and champagne are your preferred adult beverage their is an extensive list from around the world selected by the in-house 2nd level sommelier. Bottles of wine are offered at $60-$10,000 with glasses available for $8-$15.

Dorian is at 7419 E. Indian Plaza in old town Scottsdale 85251. For more information visit http://www.dorianscottsdale.com/

August is here as Liberty Market’s Burger Daze returns

Every August Gilbert’s Liberty Market serves up 31 different burgers for its annual Burger Daze promotion and this August is no different.

Liberty Market
Fried Chicken burger photo courtesy of Sarah

Planning for 31 burgers

Planning started shortly after 2016’s Burger Daze ended as executive chef David Traina started thinking of combinations for new burgers while also including a few favorites on this years list. In January chef Traina started to make the burgers for consideration to see how they went from paper to palate in an effort to finalize this years burgers. Chef Traina should know about burgers as he was Delux Burger’s first executive chef before making his way to Liberty Market.

According to Traina ” I’m really excited about this years burgers and we start with a favorite from last year, the  Coffee burger the Beehive cheese is an awesome addition to that one. Our End of Daze burger is going to be worth the wait.”

Gift card challenge

Owner Joe Johnson knows how to motivate his customers to come by Liberty Market on a daily basis to try each days special burger. Save those receipts as Joe is giving away a $50 Liberty Market gift card to those that come in and eat 10 burgers during the month. If you can stomach all 31 burgers you’ll have earned a $250 gift card. Those that accomplish either one of these challenges will have until the end of the first week of September to provide the receipts for verification and get their Liberty Market gift card.

Monte Cristo burger photo courtesy of Sarah

Burger Daze daily line up

Most of the burgers are made from local, natural ground chuck beef while others are made from buffalo meat and a vegan black bean pattie. Below is the list of all 31 burgers , one for each day of the month.

 #1 Tuesday – Coffee Burger: beef patty, Beehive Barely Buzzed Cheese, candied bacon, and onion whipped cream on a hawaiian bun.

 #2 Wednesday – Monte Cristo Burger: beef patty, swiss cheese, shaved ham, strawberry jam and powdered sugar, served open face on griddled bread pudding.

 #3 Thursday – Spanish Burger: beef patty, manchego cheese, chimichurri aioli and sliced Spanish chorizo on panella bun.

 #4 Friday – Ultimate Buffalo Burger: buffalo patty, pickled carrots and celery, St. Pete’s blue cheese, Frank’s Red Hot buffalo sauce on kaiser bun.

 #5 Saturday: Chilaquiles Burger: beef patty, chilaquiles,  sunny side up egg, tomatillo salsa, cotija cheese on a jalapeno ciabatta bun.

 #6 Sunday: Liberty Joe Burger: beef patty, housemade sloppy joe and cheddar cheese on hawaiian bun. 

 #7 Monday: Gordita Burger: beef patty, pico de gallo, lettuce, pepper jack cheese on housemade fried gorditas. Served with tortilla chips.

 #8 Tuesday: California Burger: beef patty, fresh guacamole, lettuce, tomato, and monterey jack cheese on a croissant.

 #9 Wednesday: Shrimp Po’ Boy Burger: two 4 oz patties, fried shrimp, coleslaw, and housemade remoulade on a baguette.

 #10 Thursday: The Thai Ramen Burger: beef patty, ramen noodles, thai basil, cilantro, seasoned pork and red chili peanut sauce on a panella bun.

 #11 Friday – Onion Ring Burger: beef patty, fried onion ring, smoked cheddar, sauteed red onion, potato chips and BBQ sauce on kaiser bun. 

 #12 Saturday – Short Rib Burger: beef patty, braised short ribs, fresh mozzarella and shaved parmesan on ciabatta bun.

 #13 Sunday – Croque Madame Burger: beef patty, shaved ham, swiss, fresh tomato, sunnyside up egg, smothered with bechamel, served open faced on challah toast.

#14 Monday – The Elvis Burger: beef patty, cheddar cheese, chopped bacon, peanut butter, and pickles on a housemade waffle bun.

 #15 Tuesday – The Boursin Burger: beef patty, herbed Boursin Cheese, caramelized onions and fresh arugula on a hawaiian bun.

 #16 Wednesday – The Black Bean Butternut Burger (Vegan): black bean & butternut squash patty, avocado, heirloom tomatoes, and baby greens on a kaiser bun.

 #17 Thursday – The Greek Burger: beef patty, feta cheese, nicoise olives, oven dried tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce on a potato bun.

 #18 Friday – The Poached Pear Burger: white wine poached pear, cambozola, bacon and spring mix on hawaiian bun.

 #19 Saturday – The Louie Burger: beef patty, crab salad, chopped bacon, avocado, red leaf lettuce, and Russian dressing on a pretzel bun.

 #20 Sunday – The BBQ Pork Burger: beef patty, house made BBQ pulled pork with creamy coleslaw on seeded kaiser.

 #21 Monday – The Brie and Mushroom Burger: beef patty, brie cheese, truffled mushrooms, watercress, and oven dried tomato aioli on an onion brioche bun.

 #22 Tuesday – The Fried Chicken Burger: beef patty, fried chicken, bacon, jack cheese, ranch and jalapeno chips on a hawaiian bun.

 #23 Wednesday – The Korean Beef Burger: beef patty, korean style short ribs, kimchi, radishes and sesame seeds on a hand cut bun.

 #24 Thursday – The Serious Grilled Cheese Burger: beef patty, fontina, jack and cambozola , shaved cornichons on a panella bun.

 #25 Friday – The Fresh Grind Burger: house ground brisket, ribeye, and short rib patty, fontina cheese, tempura fried oyster mushroom, and demi glace, served open face on a polenta cake. 

 #26 Saturday – The Savory Dossant Burger: beef patty, gruyere cheese, crispy bacon, and roasted garlic aioli, on an Onion Dossant

 #27 Sunday – The Elote Burger: beef patty, fire roasted corn, mexican spice blend, lime aioli,pepper jack, cotija, Fresno peppers, and cilantro on jalapeno ciabatta bun.

 #28 Monday – The Curry Masala Burger: beef patty, grilled halloumi cheese,curried onions and tomatoes, and masala aioli, on a brioche bun.

 #29 Tuesday – The Basil Pesto Burger: beef patty, basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, fried zucchini and arugula on ciabatta bun.

 #30 Wednesday – The Chile Relleno Burger: beef patty, cheese stuffed relleno, shredded lettuce, green enchilada sauce and cotija cheese, on a panella bun.

 #31 Thursday – THE END OF DAZE BURGER: house ground beef patty, hatch chile cheese, foie gras, duck bacon, truffle aioli, and parmesan tuile on toasted brioche.

 

 

 

 

Local eateries offer up burger deals for National Hamburger Month

Americans eat more than 50 billion, billion with a “b” hamburgers every year and I’m proud to do my part of a couple a dozen a year. Since we couldn’t give it its own year somebody decided to give it all 31 days in the month of May. To salute the American classic several Phoenix area restaurants are celebrating all month with burger deals & even a burger selfie contest.

Kelly’s at Southbridge

U.S. Egg’s selfie contest

U.S. Egg not only serves up delicious breakfast but they offer mouth-watering burgers. U.S. Eggs grills up nine different burgers including a vegetarian burger and they even offer gluten-free burgers.

In celebration of National Hamburger Month, U.S. Egg is having a burger selfie contest. Take a photo eating a burger, upload it to social media and #USEgg in your caption and you will be entered to win free burgers for a year! Every week in May, one winner will be chosen and will be given a $50 U.S. Egg gift card and will be entered for the grand prize. Check out facebook.com/USeggBreakfastLunch for more information

Thirsty Lion Gastropub’s Tavern Burger

One of Thirsty Lion’s signature items is none other than the Tavern Burger. This classic burger is simple, delicious and topped with crispy onion rings. Thirsty Lion also has a happy hour from 3pm – 6pm and 9:30pm – close and serves $5.95 Grilled Burger Sliders.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill is at 2000 East Rio Salado Parkway, Suite 1041 in Tempe and 7014 E Camelback Road, Suite 1423 in Scottsdale. Their Scottsdale location offers complimentary valet. Thirsty Lion’s newest location is at SanTan Village 2212 E Williams Field Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85297. For more information visit www.thirstyliongastropub.com.

Kelly’s at Southbridge offers burger deals on May 28th

On Sunday, May 28th, National Hamburger Day, Kelly’s at Southbridge will offer $12 burgers. Kelly’s award winning burgers are made with a signature four meat blend of short rib, sirloin, chuck and brisket.

Kelly’s burgers include a spicy Pepperjack Guacamole Burger, Bourbon Egg Burger topped with onion rings and barbecue sauce and the signature Original Four-Cut Burger topped with pancetta, mushrooms and piquillo peppers. Kelly’s will also have all day happy hour on Sunday, May 28th! Enjoy half price appetizers, bruschetta, bottles of wine and champagne, $4 drafts, house wines, wells and $4 off signature cocktails.

Kelly’s is on Sixth Avenue in downtown Scottsdale. For more information, visit www.kellysatsouthbridge.com or facebook.com/KellysAtSouthbridge.

 

 

Burger Review: The Farm Fresh burger at Burger Theory

Photo credit: Burger Theory
Photo credit: Burger Theory
As mentioned in a recent post I have decided to include my burger reviews on this blog after the site where I was reviewing burgers decided to cease operations, after 293 burger reviews this is my 1st review on this blog. By reviewing burgers on this blog I will have the freedom to express my thoughts without the restrictions of a corporate entity and will be a work in progress while I explore the right format I want to take it in. If you’ve read my burger reviews on the other site you will see a resemblance but I hope to mix it up and expand on it a bit without losing the burger review aspect of it. I often dine out with friends but will review only the burger I ate but our dining experience and opinions may be included.

The recently opened Burger Theory connected to the Holiday Inn & Suites on McDowell Rd. at 44th St seemed like an out of the way place for a sit down burger restaurant despite the heavily trafficked intersection. As my dining companions arrived we weren’t sure if this was an independently owned restaurant renting space from the hotel or part of the hotel, many indications led us to believe it’s part of the hotel’s corporate structure. Regardless of who owns and runs it we were there for burgers and with 6 1/3 lb. burgers of Angus chuck, brisket and short rib blended beef and another 4,300+ ways to Build Your Own Burger we dove into the menu to see which burger each of us would go for.

Although all of the burgers sounded delicious I opted for the Farm Fresh burger with a single patty for $10 (a double patty is $14) and comes topped with a Portobello mushrooms, grilled onions, diced roasted red peppers, iceberg lettuce (on the bottom half), goat cheese and roasted garlic mayo in between a toasted potato bun that looked and tasted like you ordinary hamburger bun. All came served in a plastic basket lined with Burger Theory wax paper.
Burger theory
Although satisfying I felt there was a heavy hand when it came to the Goat Cheese and that’s not easy to admit as I love Goat cheese but the strong flavor took away from the flavors of the vegetables and made the roasted garlic mayo un-necessary. The burger which is cooked to order was cooked pretty much the way I like it and had drops of juices dripping after the first few bites. Sides are not included in the price and a side of fries will set you back another $3.50.

I was somewhat happy with the Farm Fresh burger but felt a bit let down with a 1/3 lb burger for $10 with sides being extra. There are better burgers around town for your burger dollar. I decided to include a picture from the Burger Theory website and a photo of my actual burger. Had I been served the burger from there website this could’ve been a better burger.

Burger Theory is at 4401 E. McDowell Rd. Phoenix, Arizona 85008 602-358-0924 and is open for lunch and dinner from Mon-Thu. 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat. 11am-12am and Sunday 11am-11pm www.burgertheoryphx.com

Liberty Market’s “Texas Chainsaw Chili” Burger & 31 daze of burgers

As the dog days of summer are still around despite school starting & pre season football kicking off restaurants still have to be creative with ways to bring in the customers. At Liberty Market in downtown Gilbert, partners Joe Johnson & executive chef David Traina have embarked on the 3rd annual “Burger Daze” with a different burger for each of the 31 days in August. With 31 burgers to create they had to be creative and breakout some recipes they’ve had for years such as David’s chili recipe for the Texas Chainsaw Chili burger from last week. This year they’ve added some vegan burgers and seafood too. For a full line up of the burgers for the rest of the month check out http://www.examiner.com/article/liberty-market-gilbert-celebrates-burger-daze-for-31-days-august

Texas Chainsaw Chili burger