The Best

I've tried most cupcake houses in town.  Let Them Eat Cake is my favorite by a long shot.  Pictured above are Better Than Sex (right), Spumoni (center) and Mocha (left).  Great taste is a given, but these little cakes look good too.  So, if you're looking for a presentable sweet gift, give this place a try.

The final food post... for now

It was a perfectly beautiful Sunday morning - clear skies, temps in the 70's.  We hit Morning Glory Cafe at the Farm at South Mountain.  I had lemonade and the Eggs Benedict... pretty and delicious.

Peppers

Guest photographer Belinda took this great pepper shot during a visit to St. Lawrence Market in Toronto.

The Mission

I topped off restaurant week with a visit to The Mission -an Old Town Scottsdale restaurant that serves "modern Latin cuisine mixing tradition and ingenuity".  The ambiance was dark, rich and comforting - evoking a mix of Old World elegance and modern Southwest.  The service was a tad brisk, but gracious.  This time, we sampled the prix fixe offerings.  The winners... the Halibut (tender with an interesting tamarind/fennel/mostarda sauce) and the Filet Uruguayan (perfectly cooked and served with crispy potato croquettes).  The BEST dish by far was the Pumpkin Bread Pudding which, in my mind, tops the Cowboy Ciao version.   All in all, a wonderful meal.  Check them out at www.themissionaz.com.   

 

 

Avalon

Avalon is a new Scottsdale restaurant with the typical polished Scottsdale decor in an atypical South Scottsdale location.  The biggest plus - you don't have to sift through a pulsing heap of humanity to get to a table and enjoy the food.  Try and hit Avalon for Sunday brunch.  They have phenomenal live music, AM cocktails and THE BEST toast (pre-treated with vanilla butter).

 

For dinner, the Duck-Duck-'Goose' was a bit underdone, and the Seared Maine Diver Scallops were a smaller than expected - (but still delicious).  We were really impressed with 'Provimi Farms' Lamb and the Aged Prime Rib-eye Steak. Oh, and for desert, the Roasted Banana Bread Pudding (peppered with salted caramel) was very very good.

 

I was hesitant to post this because it's nice to keep a good thing to yourself.  Many Scottsdale restaurants just like this start out as relaxing hangouts only to mature into PACKED houses where people watching is the main sport -spot the cougars/divorcees, $30,000/yr millionaires and prostitutes.  I'm hoping Avalon doesn't succumb to the same fate.  When/if it does, I'll stop visiting.  For now, I'll be hitting it occasionally for a relaxing brunch or dinner.

Try and visit when the band is playing on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings.  Check out restaurant.com for coupons.  Avalon is at http://www.avalon-scottsdale.com/.

Nine/05

 I've been so busy eating out this week that I forgot to post.  Here are pictures from Nine/05 - an Asian fusion restaurant in downtown Phoenix.  Like many places in downtown Phoenix, Nine/05 is housed in a small bungalow with wood floors.  The decor is urban, artsy with a hint of cheeky.  There is a nice outdoor bar/seating area.  The service was warm and efficient.  And the food... well... it was excellent.   We ordered a variety of dishes, but the standouts were... the char siu pork (tender with a perfect glaze), the seven spice duck confit crepes (the best on the table), the shrimp fried rice (surprisingly garnished with coconut) and the coffee and chocolate torte (heaven).  We found out later that the chef (pictured above) used to work at our all-time favorite restaurant - the now defunct Methode Bistro.  We're lucky to find him again.  Great food, reasonable prices, inviting ambiance. 

Check them out at: http://www.nine-05.com/.

Pasty

I'll start with a place that's not featured in AZ Restaurant Week but is worth a mention because it's one of those places you'd miss if you blinked.  And what you'd be missing is a great neighborhood restaurant that serves simple, satisfying, inexpensive food.  The Cornish Pasty place in Tempe specializes in the humble pasty - a half-moon shaped crust stuffed with wholesome meats and veggies.   Check them out at www.cornishpastyco.com.

Bannoffee Pie

Cornish Pasty Co.

Restaurant Week

September 19 marked the start of Arizona Restaurant Week wherein participating local restaurants offer 3-course, prix fixe menus.  It's a great way to sample your way through some of the best restaurants in town.  For details, see  http://www.arizonarestaurantweek.com/.  In celebration of restaurant week, I'll post some savory closeups of local dishes.  I'm not a food blogger, so please see chowhound.com or azcentral.com for restaurant reviews.


Here is a related thread on Chowhound

Wild Mushroom Pizza

Wild Mushroom Pizza at Christopher's Crush. 1/2 price at happy hour - 3:00-6:00pm daily.

It's 108 outside

Sorbets at Christopher's Crush. They have a delicious happy hour. Visit after 10pm for "leftovers".

Nikki Buchanan's Republic review