Brittlebush Bar & Grill ~ The Westin Resort and Spa ~ Scottsdale, Arizona – The Brittlebush Bar & Grill is a Scottish Gastropub led by Scottish Chef Graeme Blair boasting some of his homeland recipes with a modern twist.

As Chef Blair was describing a few of his recipes, we could easily sense that he was greatly pleased to be able to share the cuisine of his home country, and the twinkle in his eye let us know that he was having a blast doing so.

Director of Public Relations Stephanie Dowling (left), Chef Graeme Blair, with Carol, Mrs. Roaming Boomers

I could tell that this meal was going to produce two things:

• a wonderful gastronomical tour of Scotland.
• new friends.

We hadn’t even taken our first bite and already we felt at home and amongst friends.

As we were getting to know Chef Blair,  I inquired as to the whereabouts of his kilt.  He gave me a quick smirk and retorted that his kilt was reserved only for formal restaurant occasions.

Our waitress brought us ice-cold bottles of the restaurant’s own label Piper’s Pale Ale, which was awesome by the way, and we started our tour of Chef Blair’s cuisine.

Up first, Short Rib Loaded Yorkshires (slider-sized pop-over style puddings, stuffed with braised short ribs and stilton blue cheese).  Yabba-Dabbo Do!

Check these out!  They come in sets of two or four and are absolutely out of this world!

Next on our Scottish journey was Full Scottish Breakfast Sandwich (thick cut bacon, shaved pork loin, fried egg, arugula, roasted tomato and portabella mushroom surround by a scottish potato cake).

If I remember correctly, this was a take-off on one of his grandmother’s recipes.  It was a big hit around our table.

Next up was Mac & Cheese With A Twist (lobster claw, sharp scottish cheddar and roasted tomato, finished with a goat cheese panko crust and crunchy rock shrimp).  Holy Glorious Comfort Food Batman! That was GOOD!

You certainly can’t visit Scotland without a sample of the local fish and chips.  Here we sampled Piper’s Ale Fish and Chips (beer-battered haddock fillet served with caper and malt vinegar aioli).

Mrs. Roaming Boomer loves the deep fried goodies.  This was most excellent and put a big smile on her face.

Mrs. Roaming Boomer got her grease (I mean super-high quality cooking oil) fix, and now it was time for Papa Boomer to get his.

Check out this Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding ( w/ drambuie caramel sauce).  YUM!

What an absolutely delightful lunch.  New tastes, new friends, and a new restaurant to add to my favorites list.

Highly recommended!

Note:  this wonderful Scottish meal was provided by the fine folks at The Westin Resort and Spa.  Thanks, or should I say “tapadh leat” (Scottish Gaelic)!

PS ~ While at The Westin Resort and Spa, make certain that you try Nellie Cashman’s for breakfast.  The Chorizo Flat Bread (breakfast pizza) was awesome!

PPS ~ Here is one of my photographs of the Sonoran Brittlebush (namesake of this restaurant) covering the side of a local mountain.