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.
Sweet Salvage
I finally made it to Sweet Salvage this weekend. Sweet Salvage is a monthly, four day flea market that starts on the third Thursday of the month and ends the following Sunday. Each market has a theme, and I absolutely loved this month’s French Market feel. It was the perfect way to pretend that I had been whisked away to Paris for the weekend.
Each month Sweet Salvage has a new theme. This month's was a French Market theme.
This refurbished chair is magnifique!
Oui, s'il vous plaît!
I can’t wait to see what theme and treasures the Sweet Salvage ladies come up with for next month!
Sweet Salvage is located at 4809 N. 7th Avenue in Phoenix. See more photos from our visit to Sweet Salvage on Flickr.
AMC Esplanade 14 Dine-In Theatre
AMC Espanade 14 is now a dine-in theatre.
Now you can do dinner at the movies with AMC’s newest concept opening next week in Central Phoenix. The AMC Espanade 14 has been remodeled and is now a dine-in theatre featuring a full menu and bar. We were invited for a sneak peek and tasting earlier this week. Here’s a first look.
Meet me at MacGuffins
There is no longer a box office at the front of this theatre. You now must buy your tickets in advance online or at the ticket kiosk outside the theatre. When you walk into the lobby, it feels like a lounge with tables and comfy chairs where you can enjoy food and drink before or after your movie. The bar is called MacGuffins, after a term coined by Alfred Hitchcock meaning "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction."
No more ticket office.
There are two meal-and-a-move options: the Fork & Screen or Cinema Suites. The Fork & Screen experience has in-theater dining, seat-side service, a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic specialty drinks, including beer and wine. The Fork & Screen experience also welcomes families and children accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The Fork & Screen theatre.
Cinema Suites is AMC’s “premium, upscale in-theatre dining experience.” You can reserve your seats in the theatre’s comfortable, reclining lounge chairs, enjoy an expanded menu and drink options served in-theatre. For the Cinema Suites experience you must be at least 21 years old.
My co-worker found the Cinema Suites' lounge chairs so comfortable, she decided to take a nap.
Ticket prices range from $6-15, depending on the day of the week and show time. All food and drink is a la carte, separate from the ticket price. Most meals were around $10-12.
The blackened salmon was delish, as was the baked macaroni and cheese dish. Yum!
This weekend you can get your own sneak peek of AMC’s Dine-In Theatre for FREE! The theatre opens to the public on Wednesday, September 7th.
AMC Esplanade 14 Dine-In Theatre is located at 2515 East Camelback Road in Phoenix. More photos from our sneak peek can be found on Flickr.
