We could have easily just headed home upon leaving Sedona, but I had one more overnight stop in mind. On this road trip, I had decided to bookend our travels with some more upscale meals. On the way to Zion we stopped in Las Vegas for dinner at Partage. On the way back home, I decided we should spend a night at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass and have dinner at Kai Restaurant, the only AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star restaurant in Arizona. Beyond those accolades, I was fascinated by the menu which is described as having "distinct interpretations of Native American cuisine using fresh local ingredients for elevated dining." I thought it would be a nice end to our road trip.
Upon checking in to this rather posh resort, we relaxed in our room.
We had a nice view.
We got ready for dinner and left our room a bit early to do some shopping in the gift shop before heading off to the restaurant. With Covid measures in place, it seemed like reservations were staggered and until one third way through our meal, we were the only folks dining. The service, while discreet is definitely professional and polished; the Servers all knew our names, crumbs cleared off the table between every course, silverware changed, and still, the service wasn't hovering and did not feel stuffy in the least.
The decor is low-keyed, the walls festooned with the craft and artwork of the Pima and Maricopa Tribes and each menu has distinct artwork featured on it as well. I was told that the watercolor on my menu was of the Maricopa Butterfly Dance.
The meal is tasting menu only, with several choices for the "Birth", "Beginning", "The Journey", and the "Afterlife". We decided to share a wine pairing with dinner.
The Amuse was a very nice Sablefish wrapped in Basil Flower. The Olive Oil served with the bread was outstanding and we were told it was from Queen Creek Olive Mill.
As always, the Missus and I shared our course which would give us tastes of a good range of items.
The Escargot with Wild Mushroom was an interesting mix of textures, the truffle crema added some decadent touches to the dish. There was a bit more sweetness then I expected in this dish from the black garlic, bread, and the caramel goat cheese.
We both loved the "Pee-Posh Garden".
While it might have seemed to be a bit much when reading the ingredients on the menu, it was a symphony of textures and flavors, from the fermented white asparagus, to the crunchy and mildly sweet pecan "soil", to the pickled beets, nutty-sweet sunchoke puree, and buttery confit potatoes.
I'm sure you know if foie gras is on the menu, we'd be ordering it, even with a $20 supplement. The fois gras was nicely seared, the interior nice and smooth, rich, earthy, though the roasted and compressed apple was perhaps a bit on the sweeter end of the spectrum for us.
The Pork Cheek and Crisp Belly was nice and "swiney". Perfectly done; the Anasazi Bean adding a nice, sweet-earthiness to the dish.
The mains…ummm "Journey" were prepared well, if a bit on the "standard" side.
The "Kachk", black cod with fennel puree was cooked well, nice and creamy. We appreciated the fact that the fennel puree did not overwhelm the dish.
This could have used a bit more aggressive seasoning in our opinion.
Kai's signature dish is the Grilled Tenderloin of Tribal Buffalo was cooked to a perfect medium rare.
It is of course buffalo….thus a bit on the "toothsome" side. A bit milder in flavor than what I expected, the corn puree and saguaro syrup made this a bit sweeter than I like as well.
The cheese plate was quite routine.
Dessert was served with some fanfare…..
Both desserts were outstanding and not overly sweet.
The Chocolate and Queen Creek Olives.
The Mousse "stones" where wonderful, so decadent and creamy inside, with the "hidden" olive cake adding a touch of savoriness, and the lemon foam had just enough cirtus-acidity for the dish.
The Cactus Melange was also stellar.
That Nopales and Lime sabayon was outstanding and it's really hard to describe the taste of the nopales sherbet.
We loved the parting gift.
Definitely not a inexpensive dinner at almost $600 with tip.
Kai
5594 W Wild Horse Pass Blvd. (At the Sheraton Grand At Wild Horse Pass)
Phoenix, AZ 85226
After dinner we took a stroll around the property.
The next morning we headed home; stopping for coffee and a light breakfast at WhereUBean Coffee.
Nice, relaxed coffee stop; really friendly staff. When I grabbed a Earl Grey cake for the Missus, the guy working pointed me to the "Happy Little Accident" discounted slice….he must've known how much I paid for dinner the previous night!
The Missus got a pour over and I an Americano….
And soon enough we were on our way.
WhereUBean Coffee
4804 E Chandler Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85048
It had been a fun road trip:
Starting with our first visit to Las Vegas in over 8 years.
And then to Zion, Angels Landing, and a Ghost Town.
Moving on to Mystery and Monument Valleys.
And I even got to do my best Forrest Gump impression and "Stand on a Corner".
We even got our "selfie" moment at a sandstone arch.
Thanks for coming along!
Turning things over was a different story as it was pretty greasy. The meat was very moist, tender, and it had that flavor of dark meat chicken that I prefer. The batter was quite crunchy but the seasoning dust is pretty gritty, though quite spicy; but there’s a lack of other flavors….at Hatties, I remember the chicken being very spicy, but it still had some smokiness, most likely from Paprika and even a hint of garlic tones.
Unfortunately, the batter of the wings didn’t hold up well, much of it getting a bit mushy and flaking off. So, if you’re ordering this, it’s probably in your best interest to eat them ASAP….maybe even in the parking lot! Lot’s of burnt garlic which was on the bitter side, though I enjoyed the spice. The flesh of the wings were nice and moist.
The chicken really just tasted boiled lacking in the mild hints of anise-wine and devoid of any salt or mild ginger tones….just plain bland. The sauce provided had brown specks in it and tasted a bit rancid and off. The chicken while cooked nicely, just didn’t taste right.
We decided to just walk along Princes Street and the huge 
Soon it was getting close to our dinner time, so I had to find the "close" where our dinner destination was located. We headed down the Mound and onto the Royal Mile and High Street. Right across 
Folks inside waved us to the actual entrance where we were greeted by a Hostess…..people in Edinburgh and Scotland for that matter, were so very friendly….really fun and nice. We were led to a table on the upper level. Where we were seated and handed menus. The place is dark and somewhat funky….but what do you expect here! After all, who knows who walked along the path in this close? It might have been 
The smoked fish taco was pretty good….I had read in the Eater post that items had a "Asian" touch….I figure in the case of these tacos, it was the sesame seeds? Anyway, the fish was nice and moist, smoky, good savory hints, no off flavors, and the tortillas held up well. The cabbage added textural contrast and a touch of sweetness. 
This was actually pretty good; I mean it ain't 
There was a generous amount of shrimp in this; but we both thought this was a bit lacking in overall flavor and was really too salty. The texture of the shrimp was fine.
We got this with the "verde", the green sauce which was tangy and tart, a perfect foil for the spice. Loved the avocado which helped to quell whatever heat evolved from the dish, the cucumbers added a nice, crisp and "chlorophyllic" touch to the dish. The shrimp had spent the perfect amount of time in the sauce, being just toothsome enough. We'd have this again!
And then went and sat at a table. I took a look around the room and quickly noticed at the pile of children's toys stacked up on a freezer. I guess Covid has meant that there had to be options in place if childcare and school is not available?
My noodle soup and duck arrived. Over time, I'd resigned myself to the fact that 
As for how I eat this; well that's been that's 
And that couple was the folks from that new yellow Corvette. We were just going to take a stroll on the Devil's Bridge and maybe do a selfie. But the really nice guy told me; "I'm going to rest here a while, so why don't you walk on over and I'll take a picture of you!" And he didn't take just one photo, but an entire set! You know, people like him really do make travels just so much better!
It is a nice hike and I loved the rock formations. Now this is what I envision when I think of Sedona!
The 2022 San Diego County Fair Officially opened yesterday. It's been a long time since I wrote the 
The planned Theme was "Heroes Unite"; that Fair never happened.
This year, the Theme is "Heroes Reunite".
The Midway was still being set up earlier this week. (You can see the Ferris Wheel way down there at the West end).
There are quite a few areas around exhibits where you can take photos with Superheroes.
Some things have changed. At the far West end of the Vendors Halls (next to Bing Crosby Hall), the new location of the Adult as well as Youth crafting, cooking and hobby exhibits has a new name- Home Made.
Of course, Preserved Foods
as well as Baked Foods
and Decorated Foods had to be judged. 
There are some amazing collections.
The Quilt display is original.
There were so many needle art items entered this year- Sewing, spinning and weaving, knitting, crochet and more. The displays are great. 
An "Express Line" if you are purchasing a turkey leg only!
The slices of 'Ten Pound Buns' are very large-the amount of avocado on that piece of toast…
Lemon mini donuts- we will definitely try those!
A 'themed' sandwich choice!
