Sunday, July 17, 2011

Side Trip: Phoenix

I recently took a quiz on the Internet about what hobby I should consider taking up and guess what the result was?  Writing...surprise!  I took that as a clue that perhaps I should write on my blog.  That coupled with a comment on an earlier post made me decide that perhaps I should get blogging....

Each year 3 of us who have been friends FOREVER get together at one of our locations and make a weekend of eating, shopping, gabbing, etc.  Rockies Gal, Arizona Gal, and myself got together this year in sunny Phoenix.  Part of the fun of these get togethers is trying new restaurants.  This year's highlights are reviewed below:

Cowboy Ciao

We visited Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale for dinner.  According to the website, Cowboy Ciao "presents a Modern American menu with Southwestern and global influences."  We ordered several plates to share for the table. 

First we started with the Stetson Chopped Salad.  It was presented as a deconstructed salad and then the waiter poured the dressing over it and tossed it for us.  It was very good and I had hoped the menu would tell me what all was in it.  Unfortunately I can't remember but I do recall their being raw fish in there - that seemed a bit odd for a chopped salad but perhaps that was the "global influences" at work!

We split the Mushroom Pan Fry (ok, but not nearly as subtle as the mushrooms in my recent post of the Morel Fest).  Too many mushrooms for me to enjoy too much.  The other girls love their fungi though and enjoyed the dish.  The Dungeness Crab Enchiladas were awesome!  Just the right amount of ooey, gooey in a tortilla shell.  My suggestion was the Seared Scallops and Beet Risotto - I found it to be good.  The beet risotto was very red - guess that shouldn't have been a surprise, but it still took a little getting used to.  Not sure the mushroom lovers were too thrilled with my selection.  The nice thing with this meal was that we all tried new things and perhaps expanded our tastes ever so slightly. 

Being a girls weekend definitely requires dessert.  We couldn't decide, so we each got our own and shared.  I got the birthday cake which was a chocolate/cherry layered cake.  Rockies Gal went with the White Chocolate Blondie served with brown butter ice cream, cashew streusel, and a white chocolate sauce.  Arizona Gal went with Housemade Ice Cream and Cookies.  We all agreed that the dessert winner was Rockies Gal.


"Foodies Love Ritz Crackers"

One night we hung out at Arizona Gal's house for dinner and had steaks on the grill.  We also had grilled asparagus and a wonderful potato casserole dish.  I can't remember what it's real name was, but the phrase "funeral casserole" sticks in my mind.  It has everything yummy that a potato casserole could have - cheese whiz or something like that, potatoes and of course crushed up ritz crackers!  While my blog is predominately about eating out at "foodie" restaurants, I'm not above ritz crackers at all.  Quite the opposite, it was great to have a nice meal at home - that was relatively easy to prepare as we chilled in the pool on a hot summer day.

Our last eating occasion together was a sandwich before heading to the airport.  Both Rockies and Arizona gals have eaten at Which Wich Superior Sandwiches.  This was a fun restaurant in which you pick up a brown bag depending on which sandwich you want and then you check off the ingredients you want on your sandwich.  They then toast the sandwich so it's nice and warm and has melted cheese on it.  I went with the Roast Beef and thought it was awesome.  Not long after I got home from the trip did I find out that they are opening one not too terribly far from me.  Well, actually it is too far for me to ever get there, but my hope is that if they have one in the state they may eventually decide to have a couple of more!  If that is the case, surely there will be one near either where I live or work.

A very successful girl's weekend came to a close.  The pressure is on me for next year - they're coming here!  I better get my game on and figure out where to take them for meals!

Happy Eating!

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