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| - Fact: Arizona's restaurant industry posts the largest in growth, sales and jobs in the nation. It's probably all due to the wild storm of building activity on Seventh Street in Phoenix. No wonder they're calling it "Restaurant Row." New eateries are spreading faster than a grease fire on a kitchen stove.
The latest spark is Central Kitchen, located at the Crown on 7th, the hub for Chef Cullen Campbell's restaurant Okra, and other choice retail and service shops. This neighborhood-y, casual, wood-heavy sports video bar-slash-restaurant with a definite "straight" vibe is friendly and emphasizes a great choice of over a dozen sudsy craft beers and foam capped ales. Got the hungries? Their pantry is packed with pots and pans, plates and platters ready to be filled a variety of vittles to please your palate along with a hint of which beer will enhance the taste and culinary experience.
We started off Pretzel Bites for $8. These dense, mini-rolls of traditional Bavarian bread are fresh from the over, sprinkled with salt. The warm Bird City Pale Ale cheese fondue is blended with caraway, giving the flavor a twist. Try the to-die-for house-made Ironwood Porter mustard with whole mustard seeds. The $4 ramekin of Orange Peel IPA Marinated Olives are deliciously oily, although we couldn't detect much in the way of the beer marinade that we noticed. Two kinds of Chicken Wings, a Charcuterie Sampler, Chicken Tenders, Black Bean Hummus and peanuts help start the meal and great for sharing.
The Roasted and Pickled Beets are a vitamin and mineral powerhouse. Here they're served with an all too small dab of whipped goat cheese, crushed almonds and grilled focaccia. Not bad (if you like beets--we do) but expected so much more to warrant the whopping $11 price tag.
If you've got an appetite, Central Kitchen has a six main courses specializing in "comfort food" from this side of the border as well as the other. The Ale House Chicken Fried Chicken was so good it had our tongues knockin' out the back of our front teeth just to get at it. The Orange Peel IPA-brined boneless chicken breast, mashed Red Bliss potatoes with chicken gravy reminds you of what made America great. For $13 it was a winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Fish and chips, Macaroni & Cheese, Root Beer-brined Pork Shoulder Tacos, Steak 'n' Taters and and a Grilled Gulf Prawn Tostada round out the Main Menu.
Love pizza? Central Kitchen founder Rich Stark is the former CEO of NYPD Pizza brings his know-how with the Black Iron Pizza, a baked thin-crust pie, hand-formed available in 10" and 14" sizes. Six different styles, plus a "Do It Yourself" option are available. The Brewmaster ($12.50 & $16.50) includes house sauce, smoked mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage and bacon. The perfect crust wasn't too thin, the toppings were plentiful and the flavor couldn't be beat.
Central Kitchen has a selection of burgers and sandwiches, plus plenty of soups, salads and chili. Finish your meal off with one of Mamma Toledo's mouthwatering pies, baked locally.
Your meal can be complemented by the craft beer on tap, which ranges from 4.8 to 10.1 per cent alcohol content (quaff carefully!) Not only that, Central Kitchen participates in the Cicerone Beer Certification program, making them experts. Can't decide? They'll help! Try a flight with four sample beers. (You'll go nuts for the White Chocolate Ale.)
Pay it forward. "Buy a Buddy a Brew!" Pick out a pint for your bestie, give Central Kitchen your pal's name and email, and they'll have 30 days to belly up to the bar and bend their elbow, thanks to you. Plus, you'll see your names scroll by on the screen, so you'll feel like big shots. Or pints, in this case.
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