Sunday 24th of January 2010 07:00:17 PM

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Stopped in here after dining in Downtown Scottsdale, in order to meet up with a couple of friends and knock back a couple of beers. We were having a semi-romantic Phoenix weekend, and were staying at a hotel very close, so were on foot. I had never heard of this place, but knew it was a chain as soon as I walked in.
I walked around the bar, browsing the selection, and knew immediately that I had made a very ill-advised choice as for a place to drink. They have quite a few taps, but a lot of it is the sort of pisswater garbage you get everywhere else: Coors Light, Budweiser products, etc. To round it off, they have a lot of the stuff you get at some of the more beer-oriented places, like Old Chicago. It actually reminded me a lot of Old Chicago, as far as the selection went, except this place is just so much more annoying, even though the Old Chicago location in Tucson is always full of frat guys.
The service was horrendous. I mean, maybe I'm ignorant, but I feel like, if I'm spending almost $6 for a pint of pseudo-microbrew, indulge a few questions about the beer, take the order, and get it back quickly. It just went horribly wrong.
My friends ordered food, which I think was a huge mistake, and I'm glad we ate before. It took a very long time for the food to come out and, when it did, it was obviously the sort of frozen, pre-packaged stuff that you get at the really bad chain restaurants like Olive Garden or Chili's. Why does the food have to be so bad, especially if you're paying $12 for a chicken salad?
I like going to beer-oriented bars because they almost always have something that I've never tried, but this place disappointed me. I ended up with a pint of Green Flash IPA, which you can get in a lot of places in Arizona now. My girlfriend had one of the few locals on tap, some sort of Papago fruit business. Papago, IMHO, is responsible for some of the most horrendous beers coming out of the Valley, if not the state, so it wasn't surprised when she decided that she didn't want it because it was too gross. And this is coming from a girl who puts multiple pieces of orange in her wit beers, much to my chagrin. They made have also had a Four Peaks on tap but, honestly, in the Valley, who doesn't?
I've passed this place a couple of times since and it brings me back to the night and that sort of pissed off/disappointed state I was in then because of the whole experience there.
Needless to say, I won't be back. If you want to drink in Phoenix, I don't know why you would choose this place over anywhere else. Even in Downtown Scottsdale, where a bar, not a club, is a rare, rare thing. If you want good beer, support your local businesses and visit one of the brewpubs around here.

Friday 28th of December 2007 07:54:31 PM

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The Yardhouse (Scottsdale & Phoenix - soon to be Gilbert locations) is rated the #2 place for beer in Phoenix by www.hopsandbarleyblog.com!

The Yardhouse always has 50 or so beers on tap ranging from Green Flash Imperial IPA out of San Diego to the ubiquitous pint of Guiness.

The food menu is also extensive, but the best part about the Scottsdale location is - the location. Grab a seat on the indoor/outdoor patio in front of the valet parking station for the Scottsdale Mall and people watch ALL NIGHT LONG!

Scottsdale, where your ripped jeans cost $150 or more, and the leather cat suit is almost too tight to hold in every enhancement that too much money can buy!

Always good for a quaff and a laugh - just don't point while you do it.

ASG
www.hopsandbarleyblog.com