After spending two nights in Scottsdale, we headed off to Sedona. The Missus was looking forward to the hikes and such in Sedona….but well, to be perfectly honest, I was kinda underwhelmed by what we ate there on our last trip back during Covid. I think it might have been that we stayed close to the very touristy Uptown area. So, this time, with JJ in tow, I booked us a dog friendly room with patio at the somewhat expensive El Portal Hotel. It was in the Tlaquepaque Arts area. The hotel had only 12 rooms and it had a somewhat historic, Hacienda fell to it.
Check out the lobby.
And our enclosed patio with a firepit.
We enjoyed the vibe here.
And JJ got his own goodie basket.
El Portal Sedona Hotel
95 Portal Lane
Sedona, AZ 86336
After unpacking we headed out for a walk. and explore a bit. There’s a charming little church in the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village.
The Hilton Vacation Club Los Abrigados is also in the area. They have a cute little Javelina statues along Oak Creek.
Which of course meant a photo-op for JJ. Can you figure out which one is the “little piggy”?
We then decided to head off to dinner. There’s an pedestrian underpass to the 179 close by.
And we strolled over to our dinner destination; Creekside American Bistro. I had reserved an outdoor table since we had JJ.
Which had a lovely view.
Service here was very nice…..JJ quickly was brought a bowl of water.
While we got our liquid refreshment.
One of the main reasons we booked Creekside was that they have a doggie menu! And on that menu is “beef tartare”. And you know how much Dad likes his Beef Tartare, right?
So, of course we had to order some for JJ. Though he really wasn’t sure about it at first….
But once he got started…..
Well, that’s all she wrote…..
He finished everything before our appetizers arrived!
The Shishito’s were supposed to come two different ways; blistered and charred.
That shishitos were on the chewy side….kind so strange and that what I think is a sesame based sauce didn’t pair well with it.
The Lamb Lollipops was supposedly flavored with a “Korean” style BBQ sauce, but it was quite mild and didn’t pair well with the mint based dipping sauce.
The lamb chops were really tough and not gamey enough for taste.
The flavor of the Lamb Shank in the Adobo sauce was much better; gamey and enjoyably tender. Not a big fan for the abodo – red curry….kind of a bit too much.
The bean were delicious though.
It was an interesting meal. And the view was quite nice.
We would actually return the next afternoon; but for Happy Hour to get JJ his now favorite tartare, and us a drink.
Creekside American Bistro
251 AZ-179
Sedona, AZ 86336
We walked back to El Portal. This was at the end of January, so weather at night was quite mild. I sat at the fire pit and had a cold one with JJ.
It was the end to another fun day!
So JJ is like dad with beef tartare eh? 😝