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🍩 Outcast Doughnuts, the new concept launched last year in downtown Mesa by the owners of Level 1 Arcade Bar, has opened its second location inside the original Level 1 in downtown Gilbert.
Outcast specializes in layered croissant doughnuts ($3.85 apiece or a dozen for $35), of which it offers a dozen creations, including:
Happy Camper: Chocolate frosted, graham cracker sprinkles, Hershey’s bar, and toasted marshmallow.
Cheeky Monkey: Filled with Nutella and sliced bananas and topped with powdered sugar and Nutella drizzle.
Fried Ice Cream: Crispy corn flake and cinnamon sugar glaze with honey drizzle and topped with cream and a cherry.
Another Outcast speciality are Donecones ($9.50), nine kinds of ice cream cones made with doughnut dough and filled with soft serve.
Also available: Breakfast sandwiches ($9.50), specialty cocktails ($12) , and flights ($20 for three beers or mimosas paired with three small doughnuts).
If you go
📌 Outcast Doughnuts (inside Level 1 Arcade Bar), 60 W. Vaughn Ave. #107, Gilbert, 480-687-1192. Open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
⚾️ The Nest North, a sports bar and grill that closed a couple years ago near Camelback and the 101 in Glendale, has reopened (with an appended name) on the southeast corner of Thunderbird and 59th Avenue, about a mile west of ASU West.
The menu features 14 flavors of wings, burgers (made with wagyu beef from nearby Rovey Family Farms), sandwiches, and 14-inch pizzas.
There are two dozen 85-inch TVs for watching sports.
If you go
📌 The Nest North, 5843 W. Thunderbird Road, Glendale, 480-534-5253. Open 11 a.m.-midnight daily.
Taco Chelo, the popular taqueria on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix, will open its long-awaited Tempe location on Friday, May 10, in the former Fractured Prune Doughnuts space on the northeast corner of College Avenue and Sixth Street.
The concept was launched in 2018 by Valley restaurateur Aaron Chamberlain (Ghost Ranch, Phoenix Public Market Cafe, St. Francis, etc.), chef Suny Santana, and artist Gennaro Garcia.
Taco Chelo’s menu focuses on nine kinds of tacos ranging from $3.75 to $4.50 each. It also offers beer, margaritas, and cocktails.
🍽 Ambrogio15, the modern Italian restaurant that recently opened at Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix, will host Michelin-starred chef Silvio Salmoiraghi (pictured) and World’s 50 Best mixologist Marco Russo for a one-of-a-kind, three-night dinner series May 2-4.
The duo, traveling from Milan, Italy, specifically for the dinners, will personally cook and shake up an eight-course, cocktail-paired tasting menu.
There will be two seatings of 12 guests in a private dining room each night. Price is $249++ per person and reservations are required.
🍸 Bar Louie, a Texas-based chain of gastropubs with two Valley locations, has overhauled its menu with 32 new dishes and drinks – including one created by Elyse Perez, a bartender at the Tempe location.
Perez’s drink – the Wake Up Call Martini (made with 21 Seeds Valencia Orange Tequila, Aperol, peach, pineapple, and lemon) – beat out drinks from seven other Bar Louie bartenders in a nationwide contest.
The martini is now offered at all 65 Bar Louies in 21 states.
Other new menu items include a Truffle Crunch Burger (topped with house-made potato chips), Kickin’ Fried Chicken Sandwich, Hot Honey Bacon Flatbread, and Pineapple Upside-Down Margarita.
🇰🇷 Manna BBQ – an all-you-can-eat, grill-it-yourself Korean BBQ concept out of San Diego – has opened its fourth Valley location at the Chandler Crossroads on the northwest corner of Gilbert and Germann..
It takes over the space formerly home to the short-lived Sushi Green, which opened in July 2022 and closed three months later.
Other Valley locations of Manna BBQ are Mesa, Peoria, and Glendale.
If you go
📌 Manna BBQ, 2990 E. Germann Road #5, Chandler, 480-699-2223. Open 11:30 a.m.-9:30 Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 11:30-9 p.m. Sunday.
🇮🇳 Tikka Shack Indian Grub, a Texas-based chain of north Indian restaurants, has opened its third Valley location in the former Mici Italian space near the southwest corner of the 202 and Power in southeast Gilbert.
The menu offers a variety of traditional Indian dishes and also has build-your-own masalas and curries.
Other Valley locations are at Norterra and Desert Ridge in Phoenix..
If you go
📌 Tikka Shack Indian Grub, 5498 S. Power Road #101, Gilbert, 602-639-0793. Open 11 a. m.-10 p.m.daily.
☕️ Oregon-based Black Rock Coffee Bar celebrates the recent opening of its latest Valley store on the southwest corner of Hunt Highway and Bella Vista in San Tan Valley with $2 medium-sized drinks all day today.
Various daily promotions continue for the next week, including free mugs for the first 200 customers Saturday and free T-shirts for first 200 Tuesday.
The store, which opens at 5 a.m. daily, is Black Rock’s 38th in the Valley.
🍣 Full Moon Izakaya, a casual Japanese bar offering ramen, sushi, and rice bowls, has opened in the former Komodo Asian Fusion space on the southwest corner of Northern and 12th Street in north Phoenix.
The menu boasts six kinds of ramen and 17 sushi rolls (seven house specialties), as well as nigiri and sashimi.
Cocktails include a Tsaki Fusion (whiskey, soda, yuzu pureee, and lime), Kyoto Mule, Kappa’s Long Island, and Mimosake Sunrise.
If you go
📌 Full Moon Izakaya, 7810 N. 12th St., Phoenix, 480-694-8850. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
