I had been staying in Phoenix for a couple of weeks on business. Hailing from Scotland I like a bargain just as much as the next person, so I often look for coupons and promos for places to eat. Restaurant.com offers $25 vouchers for $10 but they often run promotions, which gets you money off this. I had managed to obtain ten $25 vouchers for ten different venues in the Phoenix area for the handsome sum of $10. It was almost the end of my business trip and I realised that I hadn’t used any vouchers yet! I presented my vouchers to the lady at the front desk in the hotel; she recommended Dave’s Electric Brewpub and as I could hitch a free ride in the hotel shuttle, it was a done deal.
Dave’s electric is small. It has a bar area as well as tables for food – maybe 12 of them. There is a fairly large outside area with plenty of seats and tables and you can access the bar from outside which is always a good thing! The décor here is almost non-existent – some bare brick here and there but you clearly don’t come here to sit in a trendy place.
When we arrived we (I bribed a colleague join me on my adventure under the premise of free beer) were pleasantly surprised to find a Blues/ Jazz band on; just three guys making some pretty good sounds.
We managed to get an inside table by the bar as all of the table in the seating area were occupied by people watching the band. We were welcomed by our server and given some menus. There wasn’t a lot of choice here; I suspect this is really a bar-with-nibbles sort of place.
I opted for the electric chicken quesadillas to start; my colleague ordered the ‘famous ‘ electric chicken wings. We were warned that these were hot but we had been given similar warnings before when there was really no need. I ordered the electric mac n cheese for my main; my colleague had some vaguely healthy sounding salad.
As a Brewpub, you can only buy beer / lager that has been brewed here. My colleague opted for something dark which he was happy with and I had a lager which lacked any real flavour but was cold and wet and low enough in alcohol to allow me to drink two of them and still drive. Result.
The starters arrived after a short wait – there didn’t appear to be anyone else eating. My quesadillas were pretty good although not all that spicy. The wings however were a different story. My colleague had a wing. Then turned red, then turned deeper red. He started sweating. A lot. Then he made a face. After a few moments he remarked – “these are hot”. I watched with great amusement as he finished them all. He looked very funny by the end.
Mains were out as I had my last bite of quesadilla. Salad was deemed OK (but then it was always a foolish decision to order a salad). My pasta was basically macaroni with a mediocre cheese sauce and some green pepper in it. It wasn’t unpleasant by any means, but I wouldn’t order it again.
The bill came in around $55, which (when you take off the $25 coupon) represents excellent value for money.
I would happily return here – for the music, the good atmosphere and the cheap food. I would of course order wings and my colleague? He would be stupid enough to order them again!
Dave’s Electric Brewpub, 502 South College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281. Website
