A week in Scottsdale

I spent this last week in Scottsdale visiting my parents and my brother, Carter, and his wife, Susan.  And I can not forget to mention Remy, Carter and Susan's darling Lakeland Terrier.

After retrieving my luggage, the first thing we did was head over to Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale located in the well designed complex, Kierland Commons.  Zinc Bistro has great soups, salads, a delicious crispy duck confit sandwich and many other savory entrees... and I love the decor.

I had the Zinc Burger with truffled Gruyere cheese, tomatoes, garlic, lemon and arugala.  Ooops, my stomach got the best of me, I stopped eating to take a photo.

A side of their house fries sprinkled with marjoram, paprika and sea salt is a must.  Don't you just love the presentation. 

The next day we went to the Phoenix Art Museum which is located right in the center of downtown Phoenix. We went to see the 41st Annual Cowboy Artist of America Exhibition and Sale.  Twenty-two artist had their works on display.  The paintings by Bill Owens were definitely our favorites.  The gross sales from this exhibition came to 2.3 million dollars and a portion of that goes to the Museum.  What a great fund raiser.
We then had lunch in the Museum's restaurant, Arcadia Farms Cafe.   The food was excellent along with a nice presentation.  My Mom had their Chicken & Wild Mushroom Crepes with spinach, leeks and a herb buerre blanc sauce.  My Dad and I had the Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Leek Tart with Goat Cheese & Mozzarella along with a garden salad on the side.  I definitely will go back next time in town.

In the main lobby of the museum is this suspended sculpture, The Last Scattering Surface, by Josiah McElheny.  Made of hand-blown glass, chrome plate aluminum and electric lighting, it is the artist's interpretation of the "creation of the universe."  It was purchased in 2006 to celebrate the Museum's 50th anniversary.

The weather could not have been any nicer.  The next day we went over to the Heard Museum North (just south of Carefree) and had lunch out on their patio.

 The landscaping was spectacular.

The menu at The Cafe has a south-western theme.  I ordered their three cheese Quesadillas with roasted red peppers and caramelized onions.  Very flavourful and the flour tortillas were nice and thin.

 

One afternoon we drove around north of Cave Creek where my parents had a house and a lot of acreage in my high school and college days.  My Dad and I road our horses all over that area,  always with a pair of plyers and wide toothed comb in case we had to pull cholla (jumping cactus) out of the horses legs. The mountain in the background is Elephant Butte.  Carter and my Dad have hiked to the top of the nose of the butte where there is a huge Indian ruin.

The desert was so beautiful and lush. And talk the about sunsets! Viva Arizona.