RUBEE TUESDAY: Cafe Monarch, Hotel Valley Ho, ZuZu
A weekly Tuesday feature, I publish Rubee Tuesday as a photo recap of my recent drinking and dining adventures. You can read past Rubee Tuesdays HERE.
June’s Show Stopper Shake at Zuzu at Hotel Valley Ho is inspired by the classic Happy Meal - a chocolate shake with a macaron "burger" and cake pop "nuggets."
Thursday, June 15: Cafe Monarch (Old Town Scottsdale). It’s always nice to get together with John Bergman, co-founder of WorldClass, when he is in town, and on Thursday we were joined by Zane from his team and Eddie, GM at Prime at Gila River Casino Resort, for a spectacular dinner.
Golden Osetra caviar service
Some of the options from our four-course dinner with the Reserve wine pairing:
Shrimp ceviche with charred pineapple salpicon, avocado, and plantain chip
Sesame-crusted bigeye tuna with umeboshi tare sauce, compressed jicama, kimchi aioli, and crispy rice
Berkshire pork belly with Crow's Dairy sumac goat cheese, grilled peaches, spiced cashews, gooseberry, wild arugula, meyer lemon vin, and honeycomb
Surf and turf with Wagyu and sea bass, root vegetables, fingerling potatoes, manchego butter, wild mushroom, and Bordelaise
Frutti di mare with ‘nduja and lemon crema
Friday, June 16: Hotel Valley Ho (Old Town Scottsdale). We were invited for a hosted staycation at one of our favorite resorts along with a weekend of special events.
After checking in, it was off to the OH Pool to meet up with media friends at our reserved cabana.
As part of the Hotel Valley Ho’s monthly Sip + Shop market series, James Beard award nominee Lindsay Autry of THE REGIONAL in West Palm Beach and Honeybelle at PGA National Resort was the celebrity guest for the weekend. Our media group had a chance to chat with Lindsay, a finalist on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” over cocktails and appetizers at a special meet-and-greet.
Executive Chef Russell LaCasce of Hotel Valley Ho and chef-owner Lindsay Autry of THE REGIONAL
Afterwards, we dined at Zuzu on fantastic dishes such as steak frites with WorldClass Devesa ribeye from Argentina, chimichurri, peppercorn Foyot sauce, and garlic-parmesan fries; sugar snap pea pasta carbonara with pesto cream and toasted hazelnuts; lemon meringue pie.
WorldClass Argentine ribeye and frites
On Saturday morning, we slept in before heading over to the hotel’s monthly indoor farmer’s market. When our summer heat means the outdoor farmers markets go on hiatus, the Hotel Valley Ho opens their doors to invite guests to shop local purveyors, wines and spirits to a free indoor market with live music (for more information and to register for July’s event with special guest Robert Irvine, visit this link)
As guest chef, Lindsay served her amazing tea-brined fried chicken and kale and green apple slaw. I’m ready to make a trip to Florida just to eat this again!
Wine and spirits were poured (I visited Tequila Corrido and DAOU Vineyards in between bites) and it was nice to see so many familiar faces, like MJ Coe and James Porter of Breadworks, Chris Schlattman of Better Events Management private chef service (soon to open a restaurant!), Brent Kille of Sonoran Pasta Co, Jason Raducha of Noble Bread, and Rachel Benkowski with Bone Haus Brewing.
I’ll be stocking my pantry and fridge with plenty of goodies from Sonoran Pasta Co, Wild Rye Baking, and Breadworks.
That night, we gathered at Hotel Valley Ho’s Sands venue for Chef Lindsay’s cooking demo and delicious three-course dinner paired with DAOU Vineyards. We began with a welcome cocktail with Tequila Corrido, and chimichurri salt rim paired with passed bites such as oysters and fried green tomatoes.
Our mouthwatering feast paired with DAOU wines included seafood gumbo with sausage and fried okra, WorldClass Devesa Argentine ribeye with shishito peppers, Swiss chard, and short rib raviolo, and Atlantic Beach pie with lemon curd and candied Honeybell oranges.
As one of the sponsors, John Bergman, founder of WorldClass, spoke to the crowd about its mission to “Discover Hidden Treasures” and introduce them to chefs and diners.
WorldClass Account Executive Zane Smith, Hotel Valley Ho Executive Chef Russell LaCasce, and John Bergman, co-founder of WorldClass
Before checking out the next day, we returned to Zuzu for brunch, which is offered daily from 10 am to 2 pm. For me, a Purple People Eater and strawberry cheesecake French toast, and for my husband the Hot Chicken sandwich. Thank you to the Hotel Valley Ho for another wonderful stay!
Check back on my next Rubee Tuesday for our Hermosa Inn staycation with Cool Dining in the Cellar and a visit to one of my favorite cocktail lounges, Little Rituals.