"Portland's Friendliest" Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill Headed to Tempe

The Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill will soon have their first restaurant outside of their home state of Oregon, where they currently have two establishments. Luckily for those of you in the Phoenix area, the Tempe Marketplace is to be the new home of what is called "the friendliest pub in Portland." 

To be located where Maria Maria was at 2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy. #K1 Tempe, AZ 85281, the Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill will offer a large menu with something for everyone. One section of the menu states, "we are committed to using local & Northwest products and ingredients." Does this mean we'll get to try some special products from Oregon in Tempe, or will they be adapting that policy to Arizona and use local Arizona ingredients in their recipes? It seems that only time will tell because the Thirsty Lion will reportedly open in October.

Update (10-14-11): According to the Thirsty Lion website, the Tempe location will be opening on Tuesday, November 1.

Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Roll Out Captain America Treats

On Monday, June 27, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins will begin offering multiple new Captain America themed treats. Let's start with Dunkin' Donuts, which has four new items:

Dunkin’ Donuts has expanded its popular line of icy cool Coolatta beverages with the introduction of a new Captain America Coolatta drink, a cherry-flavored frozen beverage. The new Coolatta drink will be available in a special limited-edition collectible First Avenger Tri-Cup, an innovative three-chamber cup featuring images of Captain America that allows guests to enjoy three different Coolatta flavors (8 oz. each) within the same cup. Joining Dunkin’ Donuts’ famous lineup of donut varieties is the brand’s first-ever star-shaped donut, the Captain America Donut, filled with jelly, frosted with vanilla icing, and topped with patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles, as well as the Stars & Stripes Donut, frosted with red icing and topped with patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles.

Next, Baskin-Robbins will also have four new items:

Baskin-Robbins...is featuring an assortment of ice cream refreshments including July Flavor of the Month Super-Soldier Swirl, vanilla ice cream swirled with a combo of blue chocolate chips and a cherry flavored ribbon. Guests can also succumb to the power of chocolate with a Hydra Force Sundae, Chocolate Mousse Royale ice cream that is chock full of brownies, hot fudge, and whipped cream topped off with chocolate sprinkles and a cherry, or dive into the Super-Soldier Sundae, Super-Soldier Swirl ice cream topped with moist white cake, and a rich strawberry topping (add whipped cream, a cherry, and star-spangled sprinkles for a flavorful patriotic salute). Lastly, the Captain America Ice Cream Cake, inspired by Captain America’s signature shield, is classic sheet cake customized with your favorite ice cream and cake flavors along with a collectable Captain America Cake Topper.

 Captain America: The First Avenger will come to theaters on Friday, July 22.

New Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich at Carl's Jr.

Yesterday, coming off the heels of the successful release of their Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's announced their new Hand-Breaded Chicken Fillet Sandwich. According to the Carl's Jr. website, the sandwich, which comes in at 650 calories, 33 grams of fat and 33 grams of protein, is composed of:

A freshly prepared, premium, all-white meat chicken breast hand-dipped in buttermilk, lightly breaded and fried to a golden brown, then topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on a seeded bun.

If you like saving a little bit, Carl's Jr. has a $1 off printable coupon for the new sandwich.

Also, the chain has released an ad to roll out the new menu item:

The Phoenix Cheesesteak Company Looking to Open Restaurant

The Phoenix Cheesesteak Company is looking to open their own restaurant in the Phoenix metro area. According to their twitter page:

"Wanted to update everyone- we are currently in negotiations to open a restaurant! Our trailer will be closed until August..."

Among many other locations around town, you've probably seen the Phoenix Cheesesteak Company at events like 1st Friday and 3rd Friday on Roosevelt Row, at the Phoenix Public Market and at 3rd Thursdays at the Raintree Whole Foods in Scottsdale in conjunction with Phoenix Street Food.

As they stated above, they will be back to selling cheesesteaks and fries out of their trailer very soon. Check out the cheesesteaks they make.

Rock Bottom Closing in Ahwatukee

Open since 1999, the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery at 14205 S. 50th St. Phoenix, AZ 85044 will be closing on Saturday, June 25. The Easy Valley Tribune has a statement from the company:

"It is with a heavy heart that we inform you Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery in Phoenix will be closing their doors. It was only after much consideration that the company made this difficult decision to permanently close the doors after over 12 years of business at this location," Lindsay Killian, marketing coordinator with CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc., owners of Rock Bottom, wrote in an email Monday.

This comes after the closing of the Rock Bottom in Scottsdale earlier this year. With this closure, there are only 2 locations left in Arizona. One in Glendale at 7640 W. Bell Rd. Glendale, AZ 85308 and one at 21001 N. Tatum Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85050 at the Desert Ridge Marketplace.

Einstein Bros. Now Has Happy Hour

Everyday from 2pm to close is Happy Hour at all Einstein Bros. locations. During Happy Hour, you can get any baked treat for free with the purchase of a drink. The AZFoodDude has not found anything stating when this promotion ends.

According to this list, there are 33 Arizona Einstein Bros. locations.

A Quick Sweet Treat - Orange Cream Slush

Summer officially starts today, even though our hands have been burning on the steering wheel and seat belt for weeks. Looking for a quick and easy sweet drink to cool down? I know I was last night so I did a quick look online and found a recipe from the convenient allrecipes.com website. The Easy Orange Cream Slush turned out to be a very simple, cool drink that hit the spot, albeit with a few alterations.

Some of the commenters on the recipe stated that you could use some more orange juice and the amount of ice depends on the size of your cubes, too many could water the drink down. You can find the original recipe here and tinker with it how you would like, but here is my altered version. Combine all the following ingredients in a blender:

• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 half oval shaped ice cubes

While it is called a slush, when I think of slush, I think of that very fine icy and flavored drink I used to have back in grade school. This came across as more of an orange cream drink. Perhaps I blended too much? Oh well, I would make it again because it's quick, easy and good.

Note: The above photo is not mine, it is from the allrecipes website. Unfortunately, I drank my version way too fast before I thought to take a photo. Why don't I just make another one? Today is the day my milk expires, I have never been brave enough to use milk on the day it expires.

Scottsdale/Paradise Valley Chipotle Restaurants Opening at End of June

Previously reported by the AZFoodDude here and here, Chipotle is about to open at the Scottsdale Pavilions at Talking Stick. Not only is Chipotle set to open there on June 27th, which is ahead of the rumored July opening, but the Paradise Valley Mall location is set to open just a few days later.  From the press release:

"Scottsdale and Phoenix, Ariz., residents will soon each have a new Chipotle (Chi-POAT-lay) Mexican Grill to call their own, bringing the total number of Chipotle locations in Arizona to 45. Chipotle, the burrito restaurant known for serving Food With Integrity, will open at The Pavilions at Talking Stick on Monday, June 27...and at the Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix on Thursday, June 30..."

Both locations will be open from 11am to 10pm daily, but you may want to make it a late lunch on opening day:

"To say thank you for welcoming additional Chipotle locations to each neighborhood, the new restaurants will hold promotions on their respective opening days. The first 100 customers who purchase a burrito after 3 p.m. will receive a free biodegradable, BPA-free water bottle and a free burrito card they can bring back to use anytime following opening day (fax and online orders are not eligible)."

The address for each location is as follows:

9010 E. Indian Bend Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85256 - Google Maps has this shown incorrectly on the map, it is actually just east of Pima Road on Indian Bend, right next to Lamps Plus.

4622 E. Cactus Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85032

August Opening for Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Mesa

Beginning in Dallas, TX in 1941, Dickey's Barbecue Pit will be coming to the southeast valley at 1914 S. Power Rd. Mesa, AZ 85206 in August. With over 147 locations across the country, this will be the third restaurant in the state. The others are located in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Check out Dickey's menu.