Driving, hopping on the sober-curious trend or otherwise foregoing booze? You don’t have to belly up to the bar and bashfully request a soda. Sip in style with these six cocktails sans alcohol from celebrated Valley eating and drinking establishments. Photo courtesy Hula’s Modern Tiki Hula’s Modern Tiki Hula’s tropical mocktails feature traditional tiki flare minus the booze. Earlier this month, the posh Polynesian-inspired eatery introduced four new non-alcoholic cocktails including the citrusy...
Desert DigestDiningOpenings/ClosingsChef Rene Andrade Opens Bacanora on Grand Avenue
Nikki BuchananFebruary 26, 2021
Great news for Downtown dwellers and the avant-garde peeps who appreciate Grand Avenue for its quirky coolness. Rene Andrade, the Nogales-born chef who garnered a following at Ghost Ranch, is opening his own Grand Avenue restaurant today in the tiny sunlit space that most recently housed Silvana Salcido Esparza’s Barrio Café Gran Reserva – and years before that, the historical Bragg’s Pie Factory and Bragg’s Pie Factory Diner. Andrade is calling his pie wedge-shaped place Bacanora, name-checking the little-known and underrated mezcal produced...
Desert DigestGhost Ranch Reopens with New Chef and Dishes
Marilyn HawkesDecember 31, 2020
If you’ve been waiting for Tempe’s Ghost Ranch to reopen since closing in July due to COVID, mark your calendars for early January 2021. The modern Southwestern restaurant will debut a whole new crew, including executive chef David Mora, who has done stints at The Boulders, Coppa Café in Flagstaff and Mariposa in Sedona, where he worked with chef-owner Lisa Dahl. While Mora and the staff will be adding some new dishes and cocktails, the menu will retain many old favorites, from tacos and enchiladas to mesquite-grilled entrees, including trout, cowboy steak and pollo asado made with local Two Wash...
Drink ThisDrink This: Agua Fresca Poptail
Leah LeMoineJuly 31, 2020
Try this creative cocktail with a tasty twist from Ghost Ranch.
This week, chef Rene Andrade of Ghost Ranch shares his barbacoa burrito recipe that you can make in a crockpot, which will come in handy once the temperature rises and you don’t want to use the oven. Before wrapping your burrito, Andrade suggests heating up the tortilla to make it more flexible. “After you wrap it, put it back in the pan for 5 seconds on each side to get a nice crispiness on the...
CocktailsDesert Digest5 Places to Celebrate National Margarita Day in the Valley
Angelica OlivasFebruary 20, 2020
Agave Del Scottsdale On February 22, the Mango, Spicy Cucumber and Tamarindo margaritas will be served at $8. Agave Del Scottsdale offers eight different types of tacos for lunch including pork tacos, seafood tacos, and a vegetarian taco option. Ghost Ranch From 1-6 p.m. on National Margarita Day, Ghost Ranch will have $5 margaritas including its classic Ghost Ranch Margarita, spicy Pina Picante or fruity Chilton. Choose one of their taco platters that is served...
Desert DigestDinners & PromotionsGhost Ranch Launches Guest Chef Series
Madison RutherfordNovember 12, 2019
There’s no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen for Ghost Ranch chefs Rene Andrade and Robert Centeno. In fact, they just launched a monthly series where they invite other locally renowned chefs into the kitchen with them to create a unique five-course meal. The first guest chef is Samantha Sanz of Talavera on Wednesday, November 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. Andrade, Centeno and Sanz are all from Nogales and each dish...
Valley NewsSplit Decisions
Jimmy MagahernAugust 22, 2019
Who gets custody of a business’s fans and followers when its founding partners split? That’s just one modern question Valley businesses face when their principals get a “business divorce.”
Learn how to make Ghost Ranch's Braised Pork Torta at home.