Posted by David Porter on February 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The folks at Disney have one very important understanding: people are very willing to pay for an incredible experience. Therefore, they set about their “imagineers” to focus their sites firmly on this mission. Consequently, people from all over the world max their credit cards to experience the Disney Parks.
A fine dining restaurant is no different. You can have the best food in the world, but if you can’t consistently deliver a fabulous experience to your patrons then you are destined to labor in the vastly crowded field of the mundane.
I am very pleased to report that Frank and Nancy Branham, proprietors of Cottage Place Restaurant, understand the importance of creating a dining experience, having squarely in their possession the one-two punch of fabulous food combined with a very memorable experience.
The minute we walked in the door, our first-impression-0-meter was telling us that we were perhaps in for a treat. It is also noteworthy that this impression was sealed without any highfalutin pretension, but with sincere smiles, rapt attention to our needs, mixed with a simple, relaxed casualness that belies big city eateries.
Our dining experience began with a basket of delicious breads, accompanied by a recommended Willamette Valley 2007 Sineann Pinot Noir that possessed that earthy quality that I love from a good Oregon Pinot Noir.
For her entreé, Carol greatly enjoyed a Parmesan encrusted California Halibut served on a bed of Shrimp and Sausage Quinoa, accompanied by seasonal vegetables and finished with Sauce Choron. I took a bite, it was fabulous.
For my entreé, I chose to sample their February tasting menu. This started out with a pan-seared Sea Scallop seasoned with Chipotle Chile place on a bed of Sauteéd Spinach and surrounded by Red Pepper Aioli. This was followed up with and incredible Spinach Soup, a Chicken Caesar Salad, and for my Intermezzo, Orange Julius Sorbet.
Now that my palate was properly cleansed, my main entreé was the Cottage Place Cassaulet. This was a Ragout of white beans, sausage, braised pork and duck breast topped with seasonal breadcrumbs then baked to a golden brown, and believe it or not, topped with Australian Lamb Chops!
For desert, my tasting menu brought with it a Pear Flambé.
You know that feeling when you attend a great concert, and when it is finished you spontaneously jump from your seat with applause? Well, we didn’t do that. It didn’t seem appropriate to subject the other guests to that. But we sure felt like it!
I can completely assure you that when our boots find us again in Flagstaff, that our seats will also be planted in the Cottage Place Restaurant for dinner. We give Frank and Nancy high praise, and can most assuredly understand why they have enjoyed such high accolades over the years.
Thank you to Alice, Ed, and Sam (pictured above with Carol) for making a very special dining experience during our trip to Flagstaff!
Disclosure: Frank and Nancy were kind enough to comp the food portion of our dining experience.
Posted by David Porter on February 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment
During our visit to Flagstaff’s 24th Annual Winterfest, we planned a visit to the Museum of Northern Arizona.
As you will quickly learn, if you join us as a subscriber of our website, we love to visit museums, and are great lovers of looking at the world through other people’s eyes.
As we walked into the museum, we were greeted by a life-size skeletal model of Dilophosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur found in northern Arizona, as the centerpiece of the geological gallery.
As we moved through the museum we found exhibits of Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni artifacts, jewelry, and interesting galleries highlighting the daily lives of the native peoples occupying this area of the Colorado Plateau.
Also, during our visit, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a large exhibit of 51 watercolors by Gunnar Widforss. As you can see in the painting displayed here, Widforss was able to produce near photographic details with watercolors.
Widforss enjoyed America’s newly created National Parks, and you will find a sampling of many of the west’s National Parks in this exhibit.
If you find yourself visiting Flagstaff, I would highly recommend that you set aside a few hours to investigate this highly interesting, and informative museum. There are plenty of hands-on displays to keep your children’s attention, as well as many wonderful things to delight the mind of any inquisitive adult.
Disclosure: the Museum of Northern Arizona was kind enough to comp our visit.
Posted by David Porter on February 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Our website offers product reviews that will be valuable to travelers. Coming up soon is the Garmin nüvi 1390T.
Posted by David Porter on February 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Arizona skies present the photographer many great opportunities. I just witnessed this scene outside my home office window, and quickly ran out and captured it.
Posted by David Porter on February 7, 2010 · 5 Comments
Upon making our trip up the mountain from Scottsdale to Flagstaff, with our bellies rumblin’ for food, we made a beeline to La Bellavia Restaurant for breakfast.
There seems to exist, somewhere deep in my DNA, a magnetic sort of pull to small town breakfast eateries. To be fair, Flagstaff probably doesn’t qualify for what most people would call a small town, but this restaurant has the look and feel of many a small town diner across our land.
As we pulled off the main street onto Beaver street, we immediately sensed a sort of bohemian feel to the area. You know, college age kids walking around with that artsy kinda look about them. Even though it was winter, and 31 degrees outside, some young guy was strumming his guitar on a picnic bench across the street, while two other picnic tables full of onlookers sipped their steaming hot drinks.
As we walked through the blanket draped over the doorway to keep the draft out, we found ourselves gazing upon a delightful diner with artwork from local artists on the walls, a mild smell that lets you know that you are in a building likely over 100 years old mixed with wondrous breakfast smells from the kitchen, and the beaming smile of Jennifer (pictured with Carol) our waitress.
Even though it was just after 12:00 I was here with one central purpose: breakfast!
After scanning the menu, I chose the Trout and Eggs completed with a made-from-scratch buttermilk pancake, while Carol chose the Eggs Beaver Street, which was a salmon and creme cheese play on Eggs Benedict.
Now, before you start lecturing me about my non-heart-healthy food choices, please understand that this is precisely why I came here. When I saw the Trout and Eggs feature listed on-line, I knew I was going to visit Connie Ghiglieri’s La Bellavia Restaurant.
The trout was delicious, and Carol’s Egg Beaver Street was out of this world.
If you, like me, enjoy small town breakfast eateries, then La Bellavia ranks with the best of them. We highly recommend it.