AZ Vibe – The Ultimate Phoenix Entertainment Resource

Well, I went to the Temple Bar Sports Grill this afternoon to meet an old buddy from High School who called me up out of the blue one day.

One thing to note is that Temple Bar Sports Grill is REALLY hard to see from Bell when driving away from the Loop 101.  It’s on the left side of the road right before the intersection of East Bell Road and North Thompson Peak Parkway.

Before my buddy arrived at the Temple Bar I got a chance to get a look around the place and the inside is just as big as the outside patio.  There’s lots of TV’s inside and the waitress said they will be installing lots more TV’s on the outside patio.  They also have the ability to play two simultaneous games of Cornhole on the patio as well.  (Don’t know what Cornhole is?  Click Here.)   This place just opened seven months ago and they seem like they are always expanding.  They have a full bar with a great selection of beer/wine/booze.

Their menu is pretty much classic ‘Pub Grub’ with some exceptions.   I didn’t have a full meal but they seem to have some good food that people seemed to enjoy.

Here’s their menu:

http://templebaraz.com/menu.html#menu

All in all, The Temple Bar Sports Grill is a great place to watch Sports, hang out, or eat.  It’s a wee bit off the beaten path but it’s definitely worth the drive.  I’ll have to go back on one of their busier nights to see if the Bar lives up to the hype.

Here’s the list of their specials according to their website:

Happy Hour: Monday – Friday 3p.m. to 7:00p.m.
1/2 off Apps
$3.00 Draft Beers…..
$1.00 off Bottled Beers
½ Price Well Vodka, Gin, & Rum
$5.00 14 Hands Chardonnay, Merlot, & Cabernet

Reverse Happy Hour: Sunday – Wednesday 10p.m. to 1a.m.

Monday Night: ½ Off Bottles of Wine 8p.m. to close.

Thursday Night: Ladies Night ½ off cocktails 8p.m. to close.

Temple Bar Sports Grill
17050 N. Thompson Peak Parkway
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(480) 429-4520

http://templebaraz.com

Popularity: 3% [?]

This is going to be an ongoing project of mine where I’m going to be looking for places to eat between midnight and 6:00 AM that aren’t places like Denny’s.

I don’t know about you but after going to the bars or just going out on the town, there’s nothing like eating a big ol’ plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns at 3:30 in the morning.  Especially if you are hangin’ with your friends re-hashing the evening’s events before everyone heads home to crash or, in the case of some cities, finding another club that’s open between 2:00 AM and 7:00 AM (I’m pretty sure places like that don’t exist in Phoenix).

Anyhoo, the first place to check out is in the perfect location as it’s no where near any major clubs in Scottsdale or Phoenix which means that people won’t pack the place for hours waiting for a table.  The place is the 5 and Diner in Phoenix near Camelback just a block west of highway 51.

The 5 and Diner is open 24 hours a day seven Days a week and offers a full menu at all hours of the day.

I went there Early Sunday Morning around 2ish with a hardcore jones for their Hot Fudge Sunday.  (In retrospect I probably should not have had it as I didn’t get to sleep until 5:30-6:00 AM. Oh well.) The place is pretty small inside like a classic diner should be but they have extra seating outside and ample parking.

I discovered this particular 5 and Diner when I first came to Phoenix as I like to drive around new towns and explore.  I found so many cool places in Seattle, San Diego, and now Phoenix in this manner and it’s the best way to get familiar with a city as well.

The 5 and Diner is a great place to go and just get a quick bite to eat.  It’s not the highest quality of food but it’s good eatins’.

5 and Diner Address:

5220 N. 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016

URL to a map of the Restaraunt:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&address=5220+N.+16th+Street+&city=Phoenix&state=AZ&zipcode=85016

Popularity: 5% [?]

I checked this band out today as I wanted to see what the live music offerings were on a Tuesday night.  I never have been to the Mondrain Hotel before so it was a wee bit hard to find as there aren’t any signs indicating you are at the hotel.

I walked into the bar and heard what was the tightest Latin band I have heard in a long time.  The grooves the Rakata Latin Combo put out had a distinct Miami vibe to them which I love.  I absolutely love Miami based Latin music as well as Miami based House/Techno.

I’m Definitely going to go back and see them again.  However, given the time of the evening I went coupled with the fact that this is the 4th of July weekend coming up, the place was not too packed.  I’m definitely going back after the holiday as this is simply just a cool place for dancing.

Just a note to those of you on tight budgets, the booze at the bar is hella expensive so if you can’t afford around 10 bucks a drink, get water.

The Rakata Latin Combo plays every Tuesday night at the Mondrian Hotel in Scottsdale from 7:30 to 10:30 PM.

More information on the Hotel/Bar:

http://www.mondrianscottsdale.com/mondrian_hotel_scottsdale_asiadecuba.asp

Popularity: 8% [?]