Great Staff=Great Service

Here it is February and I realize the last item on the Blog was about New Year.  How fast time is moving in our first year the the TBox.  Thanks to all our local diners who Chef Scott and I are getting to know pretty well.  As always, we will keep working to make your experience here a memorable one with great service and Scott's ever-changing and always delicious food .  Also, this is a great time to thank our staff here at the TBox.  A majority of them have been here since the beginning and are working right through our "slow" season with great visions of what's to come.  So thanks Joe, James, Luke, Derek (for your cooking and your pictures), Matt, Jenny, Brette, Olivia, Loni, Lisa, Corina, E.J. for your commitment to this place.

Valentine's Day is approaching and, yes, we will be open on that Sunday, February 14 for a special dinner.  And, "gasp", we are taking any and all reservations.  Come join us for a great dinner and some wine.  It's a good chance to "try us" again and see what's different on the menu or to venture in for your first experience.  Come as a couple or, buck the trend and put together your V-Day group for a great excuse to get together.

Don't forget that TBox is offering Happy Hour Monday-Friday from 4-7.  Chef has put together a great nosh menu with $6 apps including the best tacos in town.  Drink specials include $3 beers (20 oz style), $6 glasses of wine and $5 house cocktails (we leave that one up to Liv and Matt).  Another great snack is Scott's Big Time Burger--not always around but a great treat when you find it here--Ground Steak, House Steak Sauce, Cheddar, Smoked Bacon (of course) and House Made Pickles--Bar Side Only so grab your seat at the bar after work and try it out.

Happy 2010

Happy New Year Flagstaff.  The new year was brought in with style here at Tinderbox.  We had our first New Year's Service which consisted of 3 seatings and an incredible menu from the kitchen.  The 10:00 seating was great with some staying around to ring in the New Year with the TBox staff.  2010 should be a great year.  Look for exciting changes at TBox starting with a new website.  We hope to have it operational within the next month or so.  When finished you can check the ever-changing menu to see what Chef has planned for you that night as well as other great features.  The drink menus are also changing--look for some exciting cocktails and offerings from Matt and Olivia.  As for the kitchen, yes, the menu is constantly changing so watch for your old favorites or, of course, find some new ones.  The featured item running now are the Hog Jowls (or Pig Cheeks); braised and delicious this is another Flagstaff first--come on in and expand your eating comfort circle.  With all the snow coming to our area, it is a great time to come on in and have some satisfying American Comfort Food-Redefined!

New Happenings

TBox is hitting its stride and Chef Scott and I are working on some exciting things:

TBox Lunch Blue Plate Specials.  You've experienced Chef's amazing dinners now try us out for lunch.  Our location is just 180 steps from the railroad tracks and the food is well worth the extra steps.  Besides the daily changing soups, we are fully implementing our lunch "Blue Plate Special"  starting Tuesday (12/15), the Blue Plate includes the daily special with a soft drink and lunch portion of our famous fried to order cake doughnuts for only $8.00.  The Blue Plates are:
TUESDAYS:  Hand Crafted Meatlof Sandwich
WEDNESDAYS:  Tuna Melt with Oregon Cheddar
THURSDAYS:  Sloppy Joe's
FRIDAYS:  Chef's Pot Pie
SATURDAYS:  Turkey Cutlet with Gravy and Mashers

TBox Happy Hour.  Need a break at the end of your day?  Join us at our bar for our new happy hour.  We are opening the bar an hour earlier so from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. you can enjoy some $6 apps like Duck Nachos, Meatloaf Sliders, House Crafted Sausage with Mustard Sauce, Simple Greens with Goat Cheese or Chef's incredible Potato Aioli on House-Baked Focaccia Bread.  Our Drink Specials include:
ANY WINE BY THE GLASS for $6
ANY 20 oz. DRAFT BEER for $3
HOUSE COCKTAIL for $5
We are also continuing our Bar Side Bites which includes a glass of wine, draft beer or house cocktail with the Chef's Tapas Trilogy for $7
Walk on down and unwind before heading home, or come down for an early drink and snack before dinner.

Freemark Abbey Wine Dinner.  Our Wine Dinner event has been resceduled because of snow.  Our new date is January 18 (Monday) and will include an incredible paired 5-Course meal with Freemark Abbey's Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet.  Freemark will be with us along with representatives from Valley of the Sun Fine Wines for a great fun and information filled night.  Call us to reserve your seat.  The cost for the great wine, food, information and fun is $85.00 per person.

New Year's Eve.  Join TBox for your New Year's Eve celebration.  We are scheduling 3 seatings (5:30; 8:00 & 10:00) to celebrate with Chef's three-course meal.  You will have a choice of appetizer, soup or salad and a hand-crafted entree.  The 5:30 and 8:00 seating are $55 per person and the 10:00 is $65 per person and includes a champagne toast.

Come and join us for some fun!

First Friday Artwalk

Even on a cold December Friday night the First Friday Artwalk had downtown teeming with people.   We were happy to have a bunch of you here at TBox for a quick dinner (or not so quick even)  before you ventured out to catch some local art.  Chef Scott and I were particulaly proud to have one of the displaying artisits here with us last night--David Brookover http://www.brookovergallery.com/.  If you didn't catch his work last night you have to go by the Echo Canyon Art Gallery at 14 N. San Francisco St. http://www.echocanyonarts.com/  The collection is titled "Vistas of an Untamed West" and includes amazing black and white photography of the western USA.  Here's one example I love!  Thanks to the boys at Hidden Light Gallery  http://www.hiddenlightllc.com/for hanging out with us last night.  Hidden Light is an amazing little spot located on South San Francisco St. near NAU.  The tallent from Hidden Light is what brought us those amazing Brookover prints.

As the weather turns cold, you can rely on Chef to create warming comfort food dishes for you.  Today he's featuring his Beef Stew, Pork Pasole and as always the unmatched Meatloaf.  Dinner will continue to give you that feeling of Sunday Dinner but with a flare served up with great tableside attention from the best wait staff in Northern Arizona.  See you soon and remember if  you're cold ask Olivia or Matt for their signature Hot Toddys.

6 Mos. New

It's official, The Tinderbox Kitchen is a whopping 6 months old and what a ride it has been!  Chef Scott and I are thrilled with the following we've established, the good press, the great diner reviews and most importantly the friendships we have made.  Flagstaff has really embraced this "south-of-the-tracks" spot and our fine dining with attitude atmospere.  In our early life, Chef has made some great new "faviorites"  following our mantra of American Comfort Food-Redefined.  In fact, its been so great, look for a cooking class at the Seasoned Kitchen next month (http://www.seasonedkitchenaz.com/) where Scott will share some of these receipes and techniques with a few of you.

The next six months should continue to be exciting; the food and drink menus continue to evolve and, as they are ever changing, will continue to give you exciting options.  We will have great special functions from private parties to wine dinners to tasting menus to our new "Bar Side Bites" happy hour...if  you have an idea pass it along.  So come on back, we would love to see you again and if you haven't done so yet, sign up for our e-mail list so we can keep you up-to-date.

Fall Wine Dinners-Great Food with Great Wine

Time for some great wine and food!  TBox is hosting two great winery in Nov/Dec and we are taking reservations for the dinners now.  Our first event is coming quick; Nov. 4 Chef Scott is teaming with a representative from Opolo Vineyards (Paso Robles, CA) with the help of one of our favorite distributors, Quail Distributing.  The dinner will include some past appetizers as you arrive and then a paired 4-course meal with discussions on the taste profiles and the wines

Our second dinner is on Dec. 8 and is with our friends from Valley of the Sun Fine Wines who are bringing Freemark Abbey with them to discuss their four varietals. Again Chef Scott will work with the winery to pair his great food to fit the profiles of the wines.

The cost is an all inclusive $85 per person. If you think both dinners sound great let us know and we will knock off $10 per dinner for you.  Call us soon!

Keep on Working

September ended with TBox's participation in the Take Action Tuesday campaign.  Downtown Flagstaff businesses banned together to donate a portion of the proceeds from that Tuesday night to a great cause; Camp Colton (http://www.friendsofcampcolton.com/).  Camp Colton provides a week-long camp for every public school 6th grader and what a great time of the year to be outside.  Starting in October (today as a matter of fact) we are premiering our "Bar Side Bites" special.  From 5 pm to 7 pm (Mon-Thurs) in our bar side dining room we will be offering a tapas trilogy from Chef Scott along with your choice of a draft beer, select glass of wine or house-derived cocktail for $7.00.  So come on in for a quick after work bite and a drink.  We are also exploring some great food events, wine dinners, guest chef dates, etc. so stay tuned.


If you are interested in Chef's tehniques, check out his October 14 cooking class at the Seasoned Kitchen in Downtown Flagstaff (http://www.seasonedkitchenaz.com/).  His topic will be "Pork, Pork, Pork" one of the favorite staples here at TBox.  Seating is limited so contact Tony at the Seasoned Kitchen ASAP at 928.213.5942.

With fall comes the opportunity to showcase new food profiles, keep in touch for Pheasant Stuffed Egg Noodles, Braised Rabbit, Great Lakes Walleye, and House-Smoked Pastrami.  At TBox, Chef Scott and I are living by the motto that if we keep working to make the restaurant constantly unique and fun, we will see alot more of you!  Come on in soon.