ALPHA // SMALL BIZ

COMPANY: PourMasters
Title: OWNER
WEB: www.pourmasters.com

dave forman By Brittany Smith Photography by Jerry Portelli

Est.
1992
Dave Forman with Carrie
Bayless, event sales director
at Clayton On the Park. Dave Forman had a whopping two
weeks of experience in bartending when
he decided to launch his own profes-
sional bartending service, PourMasters,
in January 1992.
He had been working in manage-
ment and sales, but after taking a two-
week course in bartending, Forman
was hooked.
“Bartending seemed like a fun, great
job,” says Forman, a native of Michi-
gan. “I’m a people-person, and I just
had a blast.”
PourMasters provides clients with
bartenders and portable bars. The
service also provides the actual bev-
erages, including the alcohol, sodas
and mixers. Bartenders employed by
PourMasters must be familiar with Ari-
zona alcohol laws and certified with
the proper credentials.
Forman started PourMasters with two
friends in the Valley, but by the end of
the first month, the partnership dis-
solved. This left Forman alone to handle
the challenges that come with starting a
new business.
“One challenge I experienced early on
was learning what clients want from a
bartending service in the first place. The
biggest challenge, though, was hiring bar-
tenders with the right personality.”
Another challenge Forman faced —
and he was not alone — was the 2008
recession. Luckily, Forman had built a
strong relationship with catering busi-
nesses in Arizona, and that helped him
to stay afloat.
“I’m proud of staying in business for
this long in this economy,” he said.
As for the future, Forman says he
hopes to expand into other cities,
and maybe even write a book about
his experiences.
He has this advice for other small busi-
ness owners: “If you’re not having fun,
find something else to do because if you’re
not having fun, it’s just not worth it.”

32 AB | May-June 2011
 NOW // DINING
The bar at The Arrogant Butcher (right)
offers plenty of seating in an open
setting. A mural (below) graces the
entrance. The Pink Drink is a favorite.
(Photos: The Arrogant Butcher)

Arrogant, but no Bad Attitude

By Brittany Smith
The Arrogant Butcher Leaves patrons
feeling welcomed and satisfied

A
fter dining at enough eateries
in my life that have rude wait-
ers and sub-par cuisine, I was
wary to spend an evening at
a restaurant featuring the word
“Arrogant” in its name. Howev-
er, I was pleasantly surprised to
find that The Arrogant Butcher
dishes out just the right amount
of attitude.
The newest of Sam Fox’s creations, The Arrogant Butcher
is located in the heart of Downtown Phoenix at CityScape.
It’s a hybrid of a neighborhood eatery and an upscale fine-
dining venue.
A chalkboard runs alongside one of the restaurant’s walls,
including a running “Straw Poll” for who will be Phoenix’s
next mayor. Combined with a full bar in the middle of the
room and a television broadcasting sporting events, it makes
the restaurant feel homey and perfect for co-workers looking to ooze the over-the-top confidence
for a place to spend happy hour. that is its namesake.
In contrast, the dim lighting and quiet booths in another Refreshingly, despite its name, The Arro-
section of the restaurant, as well as private dining rooms to- gant Butcher’s wait staff is comprised of friend-
ward the back encased in slightly transparent curtains, set an ly servers who checked the table my dinner
intimate atmosphere for those wishing to conduct an impor- companions and I shared often and seemed
tant business meeting. genuinely concerned with whether we
The restaurant also features a hard-to-miss open kitchen were satisfied with our meal.
and a wait staff dressed in business casual, never forgetting My dinner companions and I kicked

36 AB | May-June 2011
 Sandwich offerings include the turkey
pastrami, which features Swiss cheese
and coleslaw on a pretzel bun.

If you go

The Arrogant Butcher

2 E. Jefferson St., # 150
Phoenix
(602) 324-8502
www.foxrc.com

with spinach, caper berry and lemons. Following our main dishes, our table
The blueberry cheesecake includes The blend of seafood flavoring and ordered the blueberry cheesecake and
a graham cracker streusel topping.
chicken crunch made for a very unique warm peanut butter cup desserts, per
and enjoyable dish. My dinner com- recommendation of the wait staff. As
panions ordered the bone-in dry aged an avid dessert-eater with a keen sweet
ribeye, served with roasted mushrooms tooth, I was impressed. The creamy
and shallots; the sweet potato tortelli, cheesecake was served in a medium-
served with mushrooms, brussels and sized cup with a sweet graham cracker
hazelnuts; and the special of the day, and tart blueberry topping. The peanut
fried chicken and honey biscuits. butter cup, though, was my personal
The ribeye was one of the best I’ve tried, favorite. The dish consisted of a scoop
very tender and flavorful. In fact, I normal- of chocolate gelato bathed in a warm
ly eat mine with steak sauce, but the fla- peanut butter sauce and served with two
vor on this one was so fine that none was chocolate peanut butter cookies. It was
needed. The table seemed to come to a like having a Reese’s peanut butter cup
consensus, though, that the two best dish- in melted form.
es were the tortelli and the fried chicken. I would recommend this restaurant to
Now, I have never been a big fan of sweet professionals looking for a comfortable
potatoes, but the tortellis were divine. The restaurant to conduct business, as well
subtly sweet and soft inside, served with as to those visiting the US Airways Cen-
off our meal with salumi and prosciutto
nuts and mushrooms, was a refreshing ter or Chase Field who are looking for a
appetizers served with house-made mus-
change from the typical meat-filled tor- nice place to take friends or loved ones
tard and crusty bread, as well as a plate
telli to which I am accustomed. The fried before or after a downtown event.
of marinated olives, grilled asparagus,
roasted almonds and crescenza cheese. chicken didn’t want for surprises, either.
I ate a good portion of the salumi and With the first bite I was hooked. It was The crab cake “Louie” is made with
prosciutto, intrigued by how well the prepared in an interesting way with honey- avocado, corn and white asparagus.
zesty mustard and flavorful bread com- infused skin, making it a slightly
plemented both types of meats. Both sweeter version of the
the creamy crescenza cheese and juicy American classic.
grilled asparagus were table favorites.
Before ordering our main courses,
our table ordered two salads: one pre-
pared with green apples, beets, arugula,
pistachio and gorgonzola vinaigrette and
one served with avocado, corn, white
asparagus and crab cakes. Both sal-
ads met our high expectations. The
apple and beet salad satisfied with
its variety of flavors, and the savory
crab cakes in the other salad were
the ideal combination of soft, flaky
bread and a warm, crab filling.
Despite how tasty our appetizers
and salads were, the real treat came
when our main courses were served. I
ordered the crab-stuffed chicken served

AB | May-June 2011 37