What a great joy it is for visitors and locals alike to have a marvelous treasure like the Royal Palms Resort & Spa in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.

While the region is brimming with internationally recognized luxury resorts, none can quite compare with the resplendent old-world charm found in this magnificent resort, built from the 1929 mansion of a former wealthy shipbuilder.

Even today, the property, with its Spanish Colonial architecture and Tuscan landscapes, gives visitors the feel of a private residence, rather than a commercial enterprise.  We fell in love with the Royal Palms at our very first glance, and our love affair continues on through today.

Yesterday, we were invited to a mixer for media-types to meet the resort’s new chef, new mixologist, and through the dust of reconstruction, imagine with the resort’s designer what the re-imagined T. Cooks restaurant, and the newly announced Mix Up Bar are going to be like when their reconstruction is completed on September 9, 2013.

All we can say is that we’re very impressed and can’t wait to sample the new digs and the new fare.

Here’s the scoop from the folks at the Royal Palms:

Royal Palms Resort and Spa Introduces The Mix Up Bar:
Stirring Curiosity
Fresh new bar concept to debut this September with the re-opening of the revitalized T. Cook’s

PHOENIX, Ariz. (July 23, 2013) – The Mix Up Bar, an imaginative complement to the treasured legacy of T. Cook’s, is reinventing the original T. Cook’s Lounge at Royal Palms Resort and Spa. The Mix Up Bar will deliver inventive mixology and an unexpected mix of the season’s freshest ingredients, from garden-to-glass cocktails to new palette-pleasing pairings. Local residents and resort guests will find countless reasons to return again and again to discover what The Mix Up masterminds are stirring up next.

T. Cooks Restaurant under construction

Expanding on the resort’s commitment to “surprise and delight” guests in every sense, The Mix Up’s bold, adventurous approach to mixology is sure to have patrons saying, “I’ll have the unusual.” Thoughtfully guided by Kim Haasarud, founder of nationally acclaimed beverage consulting company Liquid Architecture, the bar program will bring inventive, yet approachable, cocktails to the new bar concept at T. Cook’s.

In developing the menu, Haasarud has a strong commitment to using local ingredients and Arizona companies, paralleling the fundamental element of Executive Chef Paul McCabe’s cooking style. “I like to source as local as possible,” says Haasarud. “The cocktails are created with products from the surrounding areas, including AZ Bitters Lab’s flavored bitters, La Bella Terre’s botanical sprays and vinegars from Outrageous Olive Oil & Vinegars, to name a few. We will also heavily incorporate fresh produce and herbs grown in the new T. Cook’s garden.”

Acclaimed as a “rising star of American cuisine” by the James Beard Foundation, Chef McCabe is at the helm of the bar’s food offerings, which are sure to be distinctively unique as well. Mirroring the cocktail menu, Chef McCabe will let seasonal and homegrown ingredients dictate the daily bar menus. At the foundation will be pure and simple flavors that can be “mixed up” with an artful flair.

“The Mix Up will be an extension of the kitchen where our focus is to design dishes that enhance the cocktails, and visa versa,” said Chef McCabe. “The bar will also to showcase our New American concept while allowing us to mix up the flavor profiles a bit more.”

Guests’ curiosity will keep growing as they continue down the path of Chef McCabe’s playful and out-of-the-box techniques. For example, the usual salty accouterment to a dish may be swapped with an inventive sweet surprise like homemade sugar-cookie croutons. The Mix Up will allow Chef McCabe to advocate his craft in unique ways, such as offering house-made wild game cured meats to classic charcuterie.

Taking over the old T. Cook’s Lounge, The Mix Up will be in a familiar location but offer a fully transformed sense of space. The interior design and décor, designed by Haley Balzano of Bar Napkin Productions who is heading up the entire T. Cook’s remodel this summer, fall right into lockstep with handsome, dark woods and residential-inspired detailing juxtaposed with striking gold, yellow accents and contemporary clean lines. Perpetually new and exciting by its very nature, even the ambiance itself will provide a feeling of intrigue upon each visit.

The Mix Up Bar will be open at 11:00 a.m daily and will close at Midnight. For more information and to learn about the latest happenings being stirred up, call 602-977-6458 (queue number 19 for reservations), visit www.themixupbar.com and follow The Mix Up on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/themixupbar
Twitter: @TheMixUpBar
Instagram: @TheMixUpBar
Hashtag: #stirringcuriosity

Well, as we said above, we can’t wait to try out the new cuisine and mixology at the newly re-imagined T. Cooks.  Stay tuned!

Link: Our first visit to the Royal Palms

 
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