Carol w/ Dining Room Captain Anthony Pitruzzello

Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak Scottsdale -  The first stop on our seven night tour of Arizona Restaurant Week 2010 was Bourbon Steak Scottsdale located within the AAA Five-Diamond Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort.

Michael Mina’s accolades are as long as both of your arms and include such prestigious awards as being a two-time James Beard Award-Winner, Chef of the Year by Bon Apetit, AAA Four-Diamond Award, and many more.

A few of Michael’s signature dishes include Whole-Fried Organic Chicken with Truffled Mac & Cheese, American Kobe Burger with Duck Fat Fries, and Maine Lobster Pot Pie.

As we were reviewing our special $39 three-course Arizona Restaurant Week 2010 menu, we were presented with a small tasting of Michael Mina’s famous fries.  YUM!

We made our selections and out came this wonderful bread cooked in an iron skillet.

Because Carol and I were eating out seven nights in a row, we decided to share the many entrées we would be enjoying over the course of the next week.

To begin our journey, we selected Roasted Lobster and Corn Bisque (Tempura Corn Fritter, Spicy Braeburn Apples).  Piping hot, rich, and wonderful!

Our second course was Kobe Flat Iron Steak (Bone Marrow Potatoes, Trio of Onions, Pinot Noir Reduction)  Wow!

And for our final course, Macallan 18 Butterscotch Pot De Creme (Nutmeg Beignets, Toffee Float)  Holy Dessert Ecstasy Batman!

Arizona Restaurant Week 2010 was a wonderful introduction to Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak Scottsdale.  We hope to go back again soon to sample more of Michael’s magic and tell you about it in a more in-depth article.

The reborn La Hacienda restaurant combines the celebrity culinary talents of Robert Sandoval with the well known local AAA Four-Diamond Executive Chef Forest Hamrick in the kitchen.

“Richard Sandoval brings the vibrant flavors and ingredients of Mexico into the culinary spotlight, combining the bold taste of classic Mexican cuisine with timeless European cooking techniques. This lighter, ingredient-driven approach showcases a bold new taste for La Hacienda, which offers guests an upscale, sophisticated dining atmosphere for the modern day, while still cherishing the traditions of the past. Mexican-born and trained at the Culinary Institute of America, he is considered the “Father of Modern Mexican Cuisine.”

With the new La Hacienda boasting a tequila bar featuring 110 varieties of tequila from 36 different labels, we figured we had better start out with the nation’s #1 selling mixed drink:  the margarita.  Our waiter (pictured with Carol above) recommended the Organic which was a wonderful blend of Partida Silver, agave nectar, and fresh lime.  YUM!  I had two!

Our Antojitos (appetizer) was one of the great highlights of our evening’s dining experience.

Hamrick and Sandoval

The Ceviche Tasting, which consisted of Camarone Ceviche (shrimp, avocado, & chile habanero), and Mahi Mahi Ceviche (mahi mahi, citrus-tomato, & chili serrano) was absolutely out of this world.  The expert blend of sweet, sour, and heat provided my palate with a taste sensation never before experienced.  Seriously, I wanted to lick the little bit that was left upon the plate.  It was that good!  Incredible!

We had only began our meal, and we were already commenting that if the rest of the meal can keep pace with our margarita and antojitos, then we were certainly in store for an epic meal!

Next, Carol chose Ensalada Con Almendras (mixed greens, pea shoots, cranberries, caramelized almonds, goat cheese, and a spicy vinaigrette), while I opted for Sopa de Elote (roasted corn, cream, huitlacoche).

What is Huitlacoche you ask? Well, Huitlacoche is the fungal, culinary delicacy ustilago maydis that grows on ears of corn. Inhabitants of Mexico and indigenous people from the Southwestern United States enjoy this rich, smoky ingredient in foods like tamales, soups, quesadillas, appetizers, and ice cream. While farmers treat huitlacoche as an infectious affliction that ruins corn crops, it has a long history in the cuisine of Aztecs, Hopi, and Zuni.

Let me just say this about my Sopa.  When my palate encounters a taste that it greatly enjoys, there arises inside me a little boy that desires to get up and dance with joy.  My right leg actually started this rapid, involuntary up and down movement as I forced my body to stay in my seat.  My goodness, that was good Sopa!

For our Platos Fuertes (main course) Carol elected Costilla de Res (braised beef short rib, vegetable escabeche, crema fresca potato puree, with a chile habanero-guava sauce).  Major comfort food on the part of my bride-for-life.  On the other hand, I went for the Atun (pistachio chile ancho crusted tuna, sweet potato, green apple salad, with a mole verde).

My tuna was very, very good, but I noticed that Carol’s eye’s were beginning to roll back in her sockets each time she sampled her braised short ribs.

Sadly, when it came time to consider desert we simply had no room for anything more.  Even more disappointing was that we didn’t even have room for La Hacienda’s famous flaming table-side coffee.  We simply couldn’t eat another thing.

Listen, this was absolutely, and without any reservation the best Mexican cuisine we have ever encountered!  It wasn’t at all heavy as some Mexican cuisine can tend to be, and we were exposed to a few new tastes that were simply celestial.

I am greatly pleased to live only 9 miles from La Hacienda as we can easily go back again, and again, and again!

For heaven’s sake, make a reservation at La Hacienda.  We highly recommend it!

Disclosure:  this incredible dining experience was provided by the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort.

The AAA Five-Diamond Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort has a very special place in our hearts.  It was here, a little over ten years ago, that a love affair began between us and the Sonoran desert.  It was the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess who sparked this love affair, and now we are very pleased to call Scottsdale, Arizona our home.

The romance of my wife’s company, the arid desert air, the sight and smell of burning mesquite, a good cigar, a fine glass of wine, the stunningly beautiful surroundings and we were instantly, and forever smitten.

For that, we are eternally grateful to the Scottsdale Fairmont Princess.

A world class resort is no different than a stage.  You can assemble the finest appointments in the world, but at the end of the day it is the actors upon the stage, and the experience that those collective actors bring to their guests that creates an experience.  Experience is what the world craves, and subsequently very willing to spend their hard earned dollars on.

As I hope you can clearly see, the team members of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess are consummate masters of creating life-long memorable experiences.  In fact, I am quite certain that I could sit down and compose a song about that long-ago moonlit night at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.

To prepare for your remarkable experience, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess has assembled quite a stage.

Consider their:

• Five restaurants which include a AAA Four-Diamond winner, a celebrated James Beard Award-winning chef, another chef known as the “father of modern Mexican cuisine” at La Hacienda, as well as an on-site night-air lounge designed by internationally acclaimed designers.
• The Willow Stream Spa which includes 44,000 square feet of tranquil luxury, steam baths, fireplaces, a fitness center, eucalyptus inhalation rooms, wonderful spa treatments/massages, and a peaceful roof-top pool to top it all off.
• For the golfer, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess abuts the famous TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, which hosts the annual PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.  Regardless of your golfing prowess, there lies incredible experience and instruction for your enjoyment.
• Further, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess sets on 450 acres overlooking Scottsdale and the McDowell Mountains, has 580 rooms including suites and casitas, 69 Fairmont Gold Rooms and Lounge, 7 bars and lounges, 7 tennis courts, 5 heated pools, as well as upscale boutiques and entertainment.

Whether you are visiting the Scottsdale area, or looking for a wonderful Phoenix/Scottsdale area stay-cation respite, the AAA Five-Diamond Fairmont Scottsdale Princess (winning 19 consecutive years!)  awaits your arrival.  We highly recommend them!

Disclosure:  this wonderful experience was provided by the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.

Little did we know that a decade later we would sell our business, and move a few short miles down the street from this venerable resort.  The memories of “Dive-in Movies” in the pool, fabulous restaurants, and of course 19 consecutive years worth of AAA Five-Diamond Awards make this resort a must stay place in our minds.

Rather than rely on memories of old, it is our intention to reacquaint ourselves with Fairmont’s Scottsdale Princess Resort, and report back to you with our own photographs, video, and notes of our experience.

In fact, we intend to visit as many of the great resorts in this valley as humanly possible, and report back to you where you should make your stay when you visit the Valley of the Sun.

It will be our mission to not merely acquaint you with various resorts, but to share with you our experiences of actually staying in them as a guest.

How fun is that!

Stay tuned.