PHX-Postino Wine Café

Sat: On my last day in PHX we went to my FAVE place in all of Central PHX, Postino Wine Café, known simply as 'Post'.  Postino's is a wine bar, with 2 large roll-up Overhead doors that open up one whole wall of the space!  It's an old post office (get it, post office and vino, Postino's?) that was converted, keeping the existing structure/brick, and adding on elements to beat the PHX heat like overhangs and stretched canvases to block the sun:

Postino's is nestled in an area called Arcadia, or more common among the locals, The LGO.  And that's because Postino's makes up part of the corner where the LGO's 'strip center' of restaurants and flagship grocery store are.  LGO stands for La Grande Orange, and there's an LGO Grocery, a cute lil' shop/bakery that sells fresh baked bread and sweets from local LGO'ers!

Okay, lemme' explain:

LGO Grocery gives way to LGO Pizzeria, which backs up to Grateful Spoon Gelato, who neighbors with Tammi Coe Cakes and MJ Bread (husband/wife bakers team), and they're all rounded out by Paper Joy.  CUTE-CUTE lil' strip center, if you can even call it that, b/c it's unlike any strip center you've ever seen!  And completing the LGO Hospitality Team are restaurants Chelsea's Kitchen and radioMilano across the street on the adjacent corner lot.  It's quite the little incestuous concoction of players, but it works out great!

Phew, that was a lot!  But I said it all to say this: when you go to PHX, visit 'The LGO', and for sure go to Postino's in that location (also one downtown, but LGO one is better.)  Post is known for $5 glasses of wine any day between 11am-5pm - Uh, HELLO!  And they have the best, best, BEST (read: BEST) assortment of bruchetta you've ever seen.  11 kinds to choose from, 4 kinds to a board, perfect to share amongst friends.  Oh, and get the raspberry/walnut chicken salad - to die for!  I have also eaten at LGO Pizzeria, and it's some of the best pizza I've ever had - and the orange and fennel salad is super yum!

Post uses MJ's bread for their menu, and Tammi Coe serves up her single serving treats at the LGO Grocery.  Talk about getting your stuff local, you can't get more local than the LGO backyard!  :)