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.
The Mint
The Mint was formerly a bank, remodeled into a restaurant/lounge/club. Photo credit: Dean Studios
Formerly a bank, The Mint (Get it? Bank, money, mint…) is part restaurant, part lounge. We were recently invited to visit The Mint to try some of the menu items and to check out the newly remodeled location.
If you’ve driven down Camelback just east of Scottsdale Road, you’ve probably noticed The Mint’s huge patio. What you can’t see from the road is how cool The Mint looks inside. Colorful lights, lounge seating and an eclectic mix of house music help The Mint straddle the divide between restaurant and lounge. One of the first things that I noticed when we were seated was that the music was at the perfect level to be enjoyed, and I could still carry a conversation with my fiancé during dinner.
Colorful lighting in The Mint. Photo credit: Dean Studios
Since we were invited guests, I let the waitress make recommendations for what we should drink and eat. I started with the Life Savings martini made with Ultimat Vodka, St. Germain, basil, fresh strawberries, lemon and ginger soda. Perfectly sweet, and I could tell that fresh strawberries were used by how fragrant the drink was.
The Life Savings martini. Photo credit: Dean Studios
While waiting for our food to come out, we were mesmerized by a fiber optics light show going on over the main bar. 3D images of fish swimming, people dancing and a globe spinning to the music was pretty entertaining. I also noticed a huge table in the middle of the restaurant that would be perfect for a group celebration.
We were mesmerized by the fiber optic display above the bar. Photo credit: Dean Studios
The menu at The Mint is crafted by Executive Chef Johnny Chu and consists of pan-Asian cuisine, presented on small plates as tapas. The menu items that we tried were the Soup Gyoza, House Dynamite Chicken, Sugar Cane Pork and Hong Kong Flat Rice. Soup Gyoza has always been one of my favorites so I was excited to try it at The Mint. The pork dumplings were just as delicious as I expected them to be with a hint of ginger. The House Dynamite Chicken made with bell peppers, pineapple, carrot and mushrooms in a sweet spicy sauce was large enough to be a meal. It was a little spicy for my fiancé, but perfect for me (I love spicy food). The Hong Kong Flat Rice is one of the vegetarian items on The Mint’s menu and was very fragrant with flat rice noodles in a brown garlic sauce with vegetables. I had never seen flat rice noodles before. They were like little quarters of pasta, on purpose perhaps (quarters, money, The Mint…)? The last item was probably our favorite. The Sugar Cane Pork is made with ground, seasoned pork, formed around a sugar cane stick then rolled in panko crumbs, baked, then flash fried. These sticks of porky goodness are served with a pineapple ginger sauce. Yum.
Hong Kong Flat Rice. Photo credit: Dean Studios
The Mint is the perfect place to go for a celebration dinner with friends, a pre-evening out dinner or if you’re in the mood for a dinner with someone special. We’ll be going back soon for that Sugar Cane Pork!
See you soon, Sugar Cane Pork! Photo credit: Dean Studios
The Mint is located at 7373 East Camelback Road in Scottsdale. See more photos from our dinner at The Mint 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.
Vitamin T
CityScape in downtown Phoenix seems to be celebrating another grand opening of another business, shop or restaurant every week. Thursday, Aaron May's much-anticipated eatery, Vitamin T, opened to a crowd.
Chef Aaron May is known for his other things-we-love-about-town, Over Easy, The Lodge, Iruña, 18 Degrees, Mabel's on Main, (and previously Sol y Sambra and Autostrada). But Vitamin T is totally different from all these; it refers to "Vitamina T" in Mexico, referring to the four Ts: tacos, tamales, tortas, tequila. All of which, and more, are available at the new digs.
It's designed to be reminiscent of Mexican street food: you order at a counter (albeit indoors), your food is prepared in front of you, and there aren't any seats - just barrels on-end outside to stand around (for now, anyway). The flow actually works out pretty well, as they've been busy in their opening days. It's also perfect for grabbing a bite pre- or post-game at US Airways or Chase Field, both just a block or two away from Vitamin T's location on the east side of CityScape.
Vitamin T is for "Tacos"
When you go to dig into your food, it's immediately obvious that this is not the a run-of-the-mill Mexican food chain. The tacos, tortas and tamales all have a fresh mix of cabbage, green onion, cilantro and lime juice, and usually more (top it with your own fresh salsa from the salsa bar too). The barbacoa tacos are incredibly tasty, due to the coffee and chili de arbol-rubbed beef brisket, but the pibil with slow cooked pork shoulder and the free range chicken are also winners.
If you're on the hungrier side, go for the tortas. The sandwiches are huge (one customer exclaimed, "Ohmygosh this is so heavy in the bag!"), and will keep you full, if not readying you for a siesta. You can also try an Aaron May favorite - the Sonoran Dog, which is a bacon-wrapped all beef hot dog in a bolillo roll with the [Mexican] fixin's and black bean spread. No, it's not one of the 'T's but it's a signature, nonetheless. You can't really go wrong with anything here.
Vitamin T (at CityScape)
1 East Washington St.
Suite 175
Phoenix, 85004
602.688.8168
El Chorro
Ah, El Chorro - One of the icons of Phoenix dining, as much for it's food (including their famous sticky buns) as for the view - a straight shot of Camelback Mountain from the north side.
It started out in the '30s as a girls' school, then became a restaurant for all the hip-and-happening in the '50s. It had been run for decades by the same sweet couple, the Millers. But in 2009, after the Millers had said goodbye, Jacquie Dorrance (her husband, Bennett, an heir of Campbell's Soup) purchased it and set out to remodel a pillar of old Phoenix.
The Dorrances are known around town - if not personally, than in their philanthropy. The planetarium at the Arizona Science Center and the sculpture garden at Phoenix Art Museum bear the Dorrance name. So for their next project to be El Chorro was fitting to their history here and their love of Phoenix. The public, though, held its collective breath as rumors swirled about whether or not the new version of the restaurant would live up to its name.
El Chorro has been open for months now, and the verdict is in: It is every bit as amazing as the original (and maybe even more).
The views of Camelback Mountain were improved upon by nearly doubling the patio dining areas, the interior and exterior are bridged by a huge bar, and the inside of the restaurant was completely redesigned to be brighter. In every sense, though, it is the glamorously rustic space you hope for, and the feeling of the old El Chorro hasn't changed, thanks in part to the photos of old Phoenix set on the walls, the socializing under the sky, and yes - even the sticky buns are back.
There are also new, tucked-away areas that provide loads of charm. The patio has more fireplaces for the winter with big, cushy chairs (and by the way, misters run throughout the patio so even in the summer, the patio is 85 degrees), there is the organic garden, and beautiful lawns for events.
The food is equally impressive, even in the bar which draws the happy hour crowd to nosh on delicious appetizers and cool beverages.
All-in-all, El Chorro is not to be missed. It is in the top 5 places I would recommend to my own family and friends coming to town, so take that, dear readers, as a good recommendation.
El Chorro Lodge
5550 E Lincoln Dr.
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
