RUBEE TUESDAY: May 17-23: Arizona Foothills Best of Valley Party, New Menu at Cafe ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho, Arrowhead Grill, Mix Up Bar and T. Cook's at Royal Palms
A weekly feature, Rubee Tuesday is a recap of my week's adventures in dining and drinking in the Phoenix area.
Cafe ZuZu: Chef LaCasce's Hokkaido scallops with shellfish butter, asparagus, fried meyer lemon, and toasted pearl couscous
On Wednesday, March 17th, I was honored to celebrate two wins at Arizona Foothills Best of Our Valley party - Write on Rubee as Favorite Local Food Website, and my Instagram as Best Food Feed! I am so grateful for the support. The cocktail party was held at the beautiful Desert Mountain private golf club.
We couldn't be in the area without stopping at a favorite for a nightcap on the way home - Liberty Station. Thanks to Kyla who chose two excellent cocktails for me: A Gimlet (lime-infused vodka and housemade lime cordial) and the Spaghetti Western (Altos Reposado tequila, mezcal, Aperol, orgeat, lime juice).
On Thursday, May 18th, I joined fellow media at the Hotel Valley Ho for a delicious introduction to Executive Chef Russell LaCasce's new dishes and Executive Pastry Chef Audrey Enriquez' latest dessert creations. Chef Russell debuted a wonderful menu which offered his sophisticated take on familiar and approachable ingredients. Think scallops draped in shellfish butter and complemented with Meyer lemon slices cured and then fried in tempura batter, or burrata partnered with pickled green strawberries and mint pistou. Loved our sampling, and I'm already making plans for a return visit to explore more of the new menu. Bravo chefs!
Here are some of the fantastic dishes, desserts, and cocktails we tried:
The signature Showstopper Shake! Currently it is a Banoffee Cream Pie shake featuring roasted banana ice cream, a banana cream pie, banana bread, caramel-dipped banana, vanilla wafers, candied walnuts, dulcet ganache, toffee crumbles and toffee sauce...all made by Audrey in-house.
On Friday, May 19th I joined my parents for one of our favorite neighborhood happy hours at Arrowhead Grill. We shared filet mignon sliders, lamb chops with goat cheese fondue, and BLT deviled eggs (our usual Happy Hour order).
On Saturday, May 20th, we met friends for cocktails at the Mix Up Bar before dining on the new summer menu at T. Cook's at the gorgeous Royal Palms. Look for an upcoming detailed recap, but below is one of my favorites - lamb with fava beans, morel mushrooms, green garlic and leeks.
Stay tuned next week as I visit Gertrude's at the Desert Botanical Garden, Jamie's Wine Bar, take a trip to Sedona, and celebrate my parents' and my aunt's and uncle's anniversaries at Different Pointe of View.
For past Rubee Tuesday recaps, visit this link.