An Arizona-based food, beverage and travel writer since 2008, I launched this website in 2015 to document my culinary adventures, beverage escapades, gardening endeavors, and travel in the Phoenix area and beyond. Also find a comprehensive calendar of Phoenix-area food and drink-related events on my Events page.
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:
Lemon meringue posset: Meyer lemon posset with chamomile shortbread, fresh berries, Meyer lemon curd and dehydrated meringues
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.
A recently-launched feature, Rubee Tuesday is a recap of my week's adventures in dining and drinking in and around Phoenix.
Squash blossom stuffed with mesquite-smoked lobster on roasted corn puree at Sel in Scottsdale
Tuesday, July 5. Proof at the Four Seasons Scottsdale Resort held a contest inviting Facebook fans to suggest a burger with creative toppings for a BYOB or Build Your Own Burger. The winning submission would be featured for a week in July. I was so excited to find out that my Spanish-inspired burger won, and also that it would be featured for the whole month! On Tuesday, we were invited for dinner to launch the burger and I even joined the chefs in the kitchen. Click the photo below for details of the delicious burger Chef Joey Cavaretta created. Thank you Chefs!
Chorizo burger with smoked paprika mayo, Manchego cheese, romesco, and arugula
Wednesday, July 6. My favorite neighborhood steakhouse, Arrowhead Grill in Glendale, had a Buy One, Get One special on their signature Delmonico. It's my favorite cut so I didn't hesitate when my husband suggested dinner out. And bonus! We timed it right for Wine Down Wednesday where they offer special bottles at 50% per off. Justin Vineyards Isosceles was a perfect pairing.
We also shared sides of baked stuffed potatoes and creamed spinach, and finished with the addictive butter cake. And a shout-out to Ronnie Buchanan for the great service.
Thursday, July 7. On assignment for the Scottsdale Visitors Bureau, we spent an evening at downtown Scottsdale's weekly Artwalk. What a fun event. It was my first time (what took me so long?), but not my last. The theme was International Artwalk and in addition to beautiful galleries like Casa des Artistas owned by one of my husband's high school friends, I admired Vietnamese artists at the Calvin Charles Gallery, and enjoyed entertainment such as Japanese Taiko Drummers and live Caribbean music and Japanese lanterns.
Cocktail and restaurant stops included a new gem I had never been to before: Sel. Located right in the middle of the artwalk (it was a former gallery), it's a wonderful find that has only been open three months. Chef Branden Levine welcomes guests to a fine dining experience with a four-course, prix fixe dinner menu. You can also order a la carte, as we did when we stopped in for excellent cocktails and fabulous appetizers before our stroll. Look for a future in-depth feature when we return for dinner.
We strolled on to more galleries and our next two stops: Offering 35+ wines by the glass and live music, 5th and Wine was a perfect oasis to cool down and take a break between the galleries. Bonus was live music on gallery nights.
Later, we ended our evening with cocktails at the bar of Citizen Public House. We also couldn't resist ordering another round of appetizers. Thanks to Elijah for the great recommendations and cocktails.
Crabcakes, yellowfin ceviche, and Bernie's mac 'n cheese
Sunday, July 10. We weren't out, but since it was National Piña Colada Day, we had to whip some up at home.
Monday, July 11. Uber announced the launch of its UberEats Phoenix program at DeSoto Central Market. Check out the current UberEats delivery area, which will be expanding in the near future. Invitees at the private event were treated to cocktails from Bitter and Twisted, an array of delicious food by The Larder + The Delta, Tacos Chiwas, The Vig, The Clever Koi, and, for dessert, High Spirited Cupcakes. Yes, you can now have dishes from Phoenix' best restaurants like these delivered right to your door. Aside from enjoying Lauren Klein's wonderful High Spirited Cupcakes at Bitter and Twisted, UberEats is now exclusively the only other way to get these delicious boozy cupcakes.
