RUBEE TUESDAY: November 27-December 5: Drip Coffee Truck, Coconut's Fish Cafe, Jade Bar, L'Amore, Sicilian Butcher, Pita Jungle, Market Street Kitchen, Brunch Club, Crujiente Tacos
A semi-weekly feature, Rubee Tuesday is a recap of my week's adventures in dining and drinking in the Phoenix area.
Monday, November 27: Phoenix's newest mobile coffee truck, Drip Coffee and Espresso, debuted on October 10th and I attended a media introduction last Monday. We met the friendly owner, Jeff Rorvig, at his beautiful new mobile station as I sipped on a nitro dark coffee and my husband enjoyed his espresso Bananas Fosters frappe. Jeff serves locally roasted coffee and tea from CULT Coffee Roaster and offers dripped, iced and nitrogen-infused coffee, espressos, cappuccinos, lattes, frappes, teas, Italian sodas, energy drinks (on tap!), pastries, and more. You can check out his weekly routes on Facebook, Instagram, or azdripcoffee.com.
Afterwards, we joined friends Susie and Eric for dinner at Coconuts Fish Cafe. The original, famous for its fish tacos, was founded on Maui and opened its first mainland location in North Scottsdale, with currently three AZ locations. I had heard good things about this fast-casual spot and it didn't disappoint - fresh, flavorful seafood dishes at a friendly price point.
Tuesday, November 28: I met the team of Nirvana Food and Wine at Jade Bar at the Sanctuary resort. Nirvana, a culinary festival hosted by Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, debuted last year and returns in April, 2018, and I will be working with the organizers to spread the word. Last year featured culinary and beverage luminaries for a series of special events, dinners, a cocktail competition, and a celebrity golf tournament. Renowned guest chefs included Robert Irvine, Todd English, and Scott Conant. Check out the video below for a peek at last year's events (and stay tuned for 2018 details).
Of course, as we chatted, we also enjoyed cocktails (a Negroni for me) and delicious small plates - thank you Chef Andrade!
On the way home, we made a first-time visit to L'Amore Italian Restaurant. We've passed it countless times over the years, so this time instead of driving by, we pulled in. What a great spot! Cozy atmosphere, Italian classics, friendly owner, and excellent service (ask for Sal).
Wednesday, November 29: The eagerly-anticipated Sicilian Butcher held their friends and family soft opening last Wednesday, and officially opened on Friday. I'm a big supporter of the Maggiore family (read my feature on Tomaso Maggiore here in this month's Phoenix Home and Garden magazine), and their newest venture is another winner.
Chef-owner Joey Maggiore and his wife Cristina
Thursday, November 30: I'm a fan of Pita Jungle (as I've mentioned here and here), and when I received a media invitation to try their fall Seasonal Kitchen Crafts Menu, I knew who I would be bringing. My parents moved here from Massachusetts last year and I had been wanting to introduce mom to Pita Jungle. I was sure she would love their healthful and fresh dishes, and she did. "This so good! I could eat here every day," she said, so I know we'll be coming back often.
Avocaco beef shawarma lavash
In October, Pita Jungle introduced eight new dishes rooted in Levantine cuisine. I tried three delicious items: Baked Kibbeh made with ground turkey, potatoes, and quinoa topped with a walnut, onion and golden raisin compote and served with a beet and greens dressing tossed with a tahini-beet dressing, Mujaddara with beluga lentils and brown rice topped with a kohlrabi, cucumber, tomato, and jalapeno salad with a mint-sumac-apple cider vinaigrette, and the Avocado Beef Asada Shawarma Lavash Pizza with Arizona grass-fed beef (it was a nice bonus to meet the employee whose family ranch supplies the beef) with cheddar, and cilantro-avocado crema, cumin yogurt sauce. I thought the kibbeh would be my favorite, but it was actually the mujaddara that we couldn't stop eating. Look for the winter Seasonal Kitchen Crafts Menu to introduce eight new dishes in January.
Friday, December 1: The Henry. After a meeting with the vivacious Sarah Benken regarding her KNOW Tribe Phoenix project, I enjoyed a quick lunch at The Henry: An Italian Mezcal Sour, and smoked Norwegeian salmon with potato hash browns, crème fraîche, and arugula.
Later that evening, we had dinner at Market Street Kitchen. When we heard that it would be the last night behind the bar for one of our favorite cocktail talents (who recently won the 2017 Top Mixologist Foodist Award), we immediately made plans to head over. Garrit Guthrie had made his mark at Market Street Kitchen, but now he's moving on to a new position at Young's Market. Congratulations Garrit!
Saturday, December 2: Hosted by The Scottsdale League for the Arts, the inaugural Brunch Club took place on the lawn terrace at Mountain Shadows resort and featured some of the Valley's best chefs along with beer, Chandon champagne cocktails and Tito's vodka mules and Bloody Marys.
Monday, December 4: I attended a Belvedere Single Estate Rye Launch Party at the MercBar. Belvedere recently unveiled two new vodkas, Smogóry Forest and Lake Bartężek. I've previously posted how impressed I was with Smogóry Forest, and now I'm also a fan of Lake Bartężek, very different but no less remarkable. Industry guests were invited to sample tastes of both and enjoy them in cocktails. My favorite of the evening was the The Vespężek, a Vesper with Belvedere Lake Bartężek, Lillet Blanc and Nolet's gin. I also learned that Belvedere has chosen only three states to release this signature vodka this month - Phoenix, DC, and Denver.
Both unique and richly-nuanced vodkas draw their names and terroir characteristics from single estate regions, Smogóry Forest made with rye grown in a village in rural western Poland, and Lake Bartężek and its rye grown on a farm in a lakeside village in northeastern Poland.
Dinner that night was at Crujiente Tacos, an award-winning restaurant and one of our go-to spots. It's always a special treat if owner Jason Morris is working as he always introduces us to new spirits. We also met Laura, a new cocktail star at Crujiente, and be sure to order the special taco of the week - fried Kumai oysters with remoulade, romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, and house pickles. We ordered two rounds.
I also tried a couple new-to-me cocktails last night and highly recommend the JapaKnees, a riff on the Bee's Knees with Japanese whisky and hopped honey.
To browse past Rubee Tuesday recaps, visit this link.