Sierra Bonita Grill
I’ve lived down the street from Sierra Bonita Grill for four years and every time I drove by I would tell myself that I really needed to try that place. My fiancé and I finally stopped in last month. Now, it’s on our regular happy hour and dinner rotation. I should have stopped in earlier.
Located in Central Phoenix, Sierra Bonita Grill serves what can be described best as Southwestern cuisine. They take influences from many of the cultures of the Southwest and turn them into delectable dishes like the "Original" Cowboy Stew or fun happy hour snacks like the Sonoran hot dog. I’ve also heard that they have a fantastic brunch. I won’t be waiting four years to try it.
The “Orignal” Cowboy Stew made with braised beef, hominy, carrots, onions and chiles in a rich hearty broth. Garnsihed with crispy sweet potato strips and served with a warmed flour tortilla. Add a fried egg if you’re feeling like a real cowboy.
During happy hour you can snack on the Sonoran hot dog for $6. For those of you that don’t know, a Sonoran hot dog is a bacon wrapped hot dog topped with mayo, refried beans, cotija cheese, and Indian salsa served on a fresh bolillo roll.
Sierra Bonita has happy hour from 3-6pm (bar only) with $6 snack specials, $6 signature cocktails and $4 well drinks and draft beers.
Sierra Bonita is located at 6933 North 7th Street, in Phoenix.
The Garage Wine and Tap
Our marketing intern extraordinaire, Michelle, is at it again. Here's her take on a recent visit to the Garage Wine and Tap.
What used to be an auto repair shop in North Central Phoenix, has now become home to the Garage Wine and Tap. The two car bays now hold tables and chairs rather than oil pits and parts, but the repair shop theme has been carried over to the restaurants décor. The brick walls hold vintage tires and a giant wooden propeller, while gas pumps can be found in the bathrooms. Concrete and dark woods make up the u-shaped bar.
But don’t let the name fool you, this hangout offers up gourmet bar items such as flatbreads, lamb chops, specialty salads, shrimp and burgers. You can also find over 20 wines and champagnes and 20 beers, including local microbrews.
For my lunchtime trip I settled in at the bar with the Caprese Salad and the flatbread simply named Meat. The salad consisted of a large slice of an heirloom tomato topped with a very thick and dense piece of buffalo mozzarella, then drizzled with an aged balsamic. Not quite a salad in the terms of a pile of leafy greens, but still delicious.
The Caprese Salad
I followed this up with the appropriately named Meat flatbread which was a thin crust pizza covered with fennel sausage, prosciutto, pepperoni and apple wood smoked bacon which had a great smoky flavor and a perfectly crisp crust.
The 'Meat' flatbread
This neighborhood pit-stop has live music every Tuesday night, weekend brunch, and weekday happy hour specials.
The Garage Wine and Tap is located at 1534 E. Bethany Home Road in Phoenix.
Practical Art
Practical Art is located on the West side of Central Avenue just North of Camelback.
One of my favorite places to shop in my neighborhood is Practical Art. Everything in this fun boutique is handmade by Arizona artisans. It’s the perfect place to find a gift for that person who has everything or to find a unique piece of usable art for your home. The staff is super friendly and they always have some sort of treat waiting for you when you visit from fresh lemonade, to tequila to ice cream. Every First Friday they feature a new artist and usually have live entertainment, wine and cheese. So, next time you are in Phoenix stop by Practical Art for a unique piece of practical art to take home.
Make sure to say hello to the friendly staff. They usually have treats for customers.
These glasses and vases are made from recycled wine glasses. We love giving these as housewarming and hostess gifts.
Aren't these plates and bowls cool? We love shopping at Practical Art for unique items for our home.
Practical Art has everything you need for dinner parties too! Cheese plates, knives, servers etc.
Practical Art is located at 5070 North Central Avenue in Phoenix. More photos from Practical Art can be found on Flickr.
Timo Wine Bar
Our marketing intern extraordinaire, Michelle, seems to have caught the blogging bug. Here's her second contribution to The Hot Sheet.
Adding to the list of great restaurants along Central Avenue is the latest addition, Timo. This wood fire oven restaurant and wine bar opened by the talent behind Brick Urban Kitchen, features a full menu with tapas, pizzas, bruschetta and sandwiches during weekday lunch and dinner, and a brunch menu on the weekends.
I dropped in during their Sunday brunch, and found the patio already packed - I could see why. Their patio, much larger than other wine bars, was very inviting with a center placed fire pit surrounded by leather couches and tables.
Being too hungry to wait, I chose to be seated inside where I had a great spot right in front of the custom built wood fire oven.
After a recommendation by the waiter, I tried their bruschetta. With choices of smoked salmon, apple and brie, and my favorite the roasted eggplant and goat cheese, I was not disappointed! The flavors were well paired and had a great smoky flavor brought out by the wood oven. I paired this with the mimosa flight, which is three glasses of champagne with fresh squeezed grapefruit, cranberry and orange juices.
When I was looking over the menu I had noticed they had foie gras with fig jam, and feeling a little adventurous, I decided to give it a try. For those not familiar with foie gras, it’s a pate like substance made from duck liver. I tried it and as instructed, treated the items as if they were butter and jam by spreading it on the provided crostini. Well, I can say this may not be my new favorite meal, but it was interesting to say the least, with a very rich, bitter like taste.
If you miss their weekend brunch, you can stop in on Mondays they offer flatbread and a bottle of wine for only $19 from 5:30-9:30pm.
Timo is located at 8801 N. Central Ave.
Frances Studio
A few weekends ago I had a little "CenPho" day. I hit all my favorite places and finally made it to a new favorite, Frances Studio. A spin off of frances vintage, frances studio is your one stop shop for super cute shoes, bags and jewelry. On my visit I spotted Frye boots (perfect for winter), a great selection of Toms flats and wedges and some druzy jewely that has me dreaming of druzy.
Here are a few photos from my visit:
I dream of druzy.
Frances Studio has all the latest Toms shoes.
There's nothing like being greeted by a wall of handbags and shoes!
Frances Studio is located at 10 W. Camelback Road in Phoenix.
Hula’s Modern Tiki
Our marketing intern extraordinaire, Michelle, recently visited Hula’s Modern Tiki in Central Phoenix. She offered to write a blog post about her experience and we happily obliged.
If you have a craving for some island style food but can’t take the time to head to Hawaii, then you can feed that need at Hula’s Modern Tiki right here in Phoenix!
Hula’s takes island style and adds a modern contemporary twist which you can see not just in the food but in the décor as well. As you enter Hula’s you’ll first encounter a large outdoor patio with modern furniture, nothing that says island; that is until you walk up to the front doors where you will be greeted by a 6 foot tall wooden carved tiki. Now that’s more like it!
The restaurant itself has an unusual L-shape layout, but the bar which is the highlight is very inviting. The dark wood bar-top has built in glass display shelves that house hundreds of different tiki glassware. On most evenings a large wall serves as the backdrop for old Hawaii movies such as Blue Hawaii or South Pacific. Hawaiian hula girls and surfers can be found in framed pictures throughout the restaurant.
This particular visit was for lunch, so I chose the South Seas Fish Tacos, made with grilled Hapu, which is a Hawaiian Sea Bass. The size of the filet they put in each taco is ginormous, almost making it difficult to actually fold the taco! These tacos paired with the black beans and rice is a plate and belly-full.
My lunch buddy had the Big Sur Black Bean Burger, which she said was the best black bean burger she had ever tried, and that the grilled Maui onions were the perfect topping.
Hula’s lunch menu offers up a variety of sandwiches, burgers and salads, while the dinner menu provides more options with more island style flare. My top choices for dinner are the coconut or macadamia crusted fish, and the Duke’s Luau Pork Plate. The Duke’s Luau Pork Plate is served with traditional style slow roasted pork, rice and coleslaw and is named after the famous Hawaiian credited with spreading the sport of surfing. For the thirsty crowd, a must-try is the Scorpion Bowl, a punch bowl of brandy, rum and juices set aflame, sharing is recommended but not a restriction!
Hula’s also offers a full brunch menu on the weekends. On Mahalo Mondays, 10% of sales go to local charities.
Hula’s Modern Tiki is located at 4700 N. Central Ave. See more photos from Michelle's visit to Hula's Modern tiki on Flickr.
