I had been in the US for about a week on business. I had gotten up early and driven to The Apple Store to buy some goodies on the cheap (compared to the UK!). Black Chile is located in an upmarket mall with several funky shops and eateries as well as The Apple Store. A shiny new Apple TV in hand I decided it was time for lunch.
I went in the restaurant and the first staff member I encountered completely ignored me – not a good start. The girl behind the bar shouted me over and explained I could have any table I wanted. It may have been January and it may have been colder than it could have been, but it was a lot warmer than it is in Scotland in January so I went for a table outside. I was delighted to find bar stools – one side of the bar had a shutter so I could sit outside at the bar! Fantastic!
This was a fairly modern place – focus is on expensive dinners with a strong Mexican theme. There was lots of black and a few choice paintings dotted around. It was lunchtime though and most people were having smaller plates.
My new friend explained that it was happy hour and handed me a price list – select domestic beers were half price as were nachos, chips and dips and chicken sliders.
My colleague joined me (from The Apple Store) and we ordered a beer and some nachos with chicken. We were each still connected to Apple’s WiFi and happily surfed while having a chat.
Beers were cold and the selection was large. The nachos arrived and we were reminded that we were in the US. This was the biggest plate of nachos you have ever seen! They didn’t taste amazing as they had that runny cheese from a can… There were plenty of them and they got eaten.
This is a cool place to sit and watch wealthy Americans go about their business. With beers from $2 on a Saturday afternoon you cant go wrong.
Before I left I asked our server nicely if I could have the branded Black Chile pen – naturally she let me so I have a nice memento of my brief visit.
Black Chile, Biltmore Fashion Park, 2502 East Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85016. Website.
