By the time I get to Phoenix...

Of course, whenever I sang that song last weekend, the way-too-young officemate who joined us on the for-work jaunt would look at me quizzically, since he had never heard of Glen Campbell before.  Sigh.  Sometimes, I feel SO old.

Anyway, last weekend I made my first-ever trip to Phoenix, for work.  We saw a student production, had some seminars and met some local playwrights.  I think it went really well.  Next time I go to Phoenix, though, I want to stay for more than 36 hours.  I would've liked to have actually SEEN the city, rather than just the airport, the rental car, the hotel or the theater space.  There were great streets with quirky fun shops we never got to, not to mention the mountains and parks that need to be explored.  I would definitely like to go back.  You can't really get to know a place until you walk around it, in my opinion.

The weather was amazing - it was sunny and warm, compared to overcast and snowy Chicago from two weekends ago.  Our hotel was lovely, and we each had a balcony.  I loved the balcony.  I sat there whenever I could. 

Getting to and from Phoenix was a pain in the butt - it took forever.  But I did get some fantastic photos from the airplane.  I'll include them at the end.

We definitely had some tasty food.  One of my favorite bloggers, Skillet Doux, actually lives in Phoenix, so I took some recommendations off his blog, and also some opinions from various friends who had been there before.  I had maybe five or six menus to choose from for our two dinners in town.

The first night, though, we actually took the recommendation of the great gal who checked us in at the hotel.  We didn't really feel like driving after all that flying, and she said Mucho Gusto was just down the street.  Which it was.  It was a fun little place, with very friendly people and yum yum yummy food.

To share, we started with the guacamole appetizer, which came with a DELICOUS Grand Marnier jalapeno reduction around the side, along with some picaditas, which were crispy masa cakes topped with black beans, shredded lettuce, crema and queso fresca.  They were also SO good - the cakes were corny and cakey yet crispy, and the black beans with crema were a delicious creamy contrast.  I liked them so much, I started putting them on my main course, which were vegetable tacos.  The vegetable tacos were also yummy, but after eating so much guacamole and chips, along with the picaditas, I couldn't really finish the tacos.  They were filled with sauteed mushrooms, a poblano slaw and more guacamole.  Tasty.  Oh, and we got there for happy hour, so we all enjoyed a half price margarita, which were strong and flavorful, with lots of lime.  Just the way I like it.  

For breakfast the next morning, we just ate in the sunny, airy hotel restaurant.  The breakfast buffet looked sad and tired, so we ordered off the menu.  I think, perhaps, the kitchen didn't really want to do food off the menu, because it took FOREVER for us to get our breakfast.  But I did get a tasty breakfast sandwich on sourdough toast.  The server looked at me askance when I asked to 'hold the bacon.'  I guess most people who order it don't pretend to be vegetarians.  My co-workers enjoyed their huevos rancheros, which I should've photographed, because they were beautiful, but I didn't.  Silly me.  But since it took so long for us to get our food, and it was so filling, we didn't even bother with lunch.  We just waited until after all of our work was finished, then we drove to Scottsdale to try one of the recommended restaurants.

I'd guess that normally, driving from Phoenix to Scottsdale is a pleasant little drive, which doesn't take long at all (it's funny, though--I thought the town looked more like a Disney idea of what the southwest should look like, it's so pristine).  We, of course, had to be there during the first weekend of Arizona State's spring break, along with baseball's spring training.  My goodness, there was a lot of traffic.  And a drive that should've taken fifteen minutes at the most took 45.  Our boss, who was driving the rental car, was thisclose to just stopping somewhere, anywhere to eat, since he was so tired of driving in the congestion.  But, ultimately, I think he was glad we made it all the way to Roaring Fork.

Roaring Fork is a very nice place, with lots of stone and fireplaces all around (which seem odd in such a warm climate, but ok).  The staff is friendly and welcoming, with a nice laid-back, but solicitous, attitude.  The first thing you see when you walk in?  Chickens on a spit.  So, yes, meat dominates their menu.  I decided to be a bad vegetarian once again and get that night's fish special, sea bass with a pineapple/mango salsa.  They had me at 'pineapple/mango salsa.'  My co-workers both got the Big Ass Burger, and oh my, it was.  I was really sad about the 'not eating meat' thing when I saw that burger come out.  It was a thing of beauty.  The photo merits inclusion, even though I didn't eat any (well, I did have a couple of those fries, which were tasty, dipped in the chipotle aioli.  yum.)...

My fish dish was also beautifully presented AND delicious.  The fish was meaty and soft, with a perfectly crispy skin.  The salsa was bright and citrus-y, which contrasted nicely with the rich fish.  There was also a little fresh crab and shrimp salad on top.  It was a light, yet still hearty, dish.  I will say it could've used a starch, but all that stuff is served a la carte, and I didn't feel like ordering an $8 side dish, expense account per diem or no.  But it wasn't a huge deal-breaker.  I enjoyed my meal quite a lot and would gladly go back to try other fish dishes.  The rainbow trout on the menu sounded amazing, too.  They could do a little better for a vegetarian, but I guess they might figure vegetarians wouldn't be all that interested in coming to a restaurant that features rotating chickens on a spit in their front lobby.  Call me crazy.  :)  

All in all, I enjoyed my brief stay in sunny Phoenix.  I just wish I had been able to walk around and see more of the city (and/or the university campus).  OH, I almost forgot.  I had another yummy food experience in the Chicago airport.  We had a three-hour layover (thank you, snooty American Airlines gatekeeper who wouldn't let us get on an earlier flight).  Since the layover was so long, we went to the little Rick Bayless kiosk for some tasty Frontera food!  They have tortas (sandwiches) and molletes (warm open-faced sandwiches).  The only vegetarian torta had three types of mushrooms on it, and since I had so many mushrooms in my tacos earlier in the trip, I instead opted for the tres-queso mollete.  It was DELICIOUS, on a thick piece of bread, with chipotle garlic mojo and argula, and the cheeses: goat cheese, Chihuahua cheese and cotija cheese.  Mmmmmmmmm.  They also serve it with a small container of tomatillo salsa, which was a tiny bit spicy for me, but I did put a little on my sandwich for a fresh bite.  I also got their house-made lemon iced tea, which was so deliciously strong, I had to get another glass of it.  It was a very satisfying lunch, not too heavy and, surprisingly, not too expensive!  Thumbs way up for Torta Frontera.  And, because I'm me, I also had to buy a cookie to take on the plane.  I got a cookie at a snooty fancy chocolates place - it was AMAZING!  It had pumpkin puree, coconut, dark chocolate chips and curry.  Oh my.  SOOOOO good.  I'll be looking for one of those stores around here when I get the chance.

No more trips until the end of the month, when I head back to Louisville and the Humana Fest.  I'm hoping to see some great theater now that management has changed (oop, did I say that out loud??), plus an old friend from college just moved there, which is exciting.  I'm also considering a trip to a recent Top Chef: Texas contestant's restaurant, though it is a pricey venture.  Hopefully, though, that trip won't end like this one did:  when we finally landed in New York last night, someone opened the overhead compartment a little quickly and his laptop dropped on a woman's head.  She screamed really loudly - it was quite scary.  The flight attendants wanted a paramedic to come on board, then they wanted to take the injured lady off the plane in a wheelchair, but the lady said she was fine.  I don't know how that turned out.  Then, once we of the unwashed masses in the back of the plane finally got up to deplane, we had to stop.  It turns out the jetway didn't actually connect correctly to the plane's door, so they had to redo it.  How the first class passengers got off, I don't know.  Hmmmm.  But, anyway, we stood around for at least a half hour, waiting for them to fix the door and let us off.  When they finally let us leave, the door was opened maybe a third of the way, and we had to squeeze out.  That can't have been very safe, but it was good to finally just get off that plane!  I wish I had had my camera out to get a picture of it, along with the maybe ten American Airlines mechanics standing around.  Very strange.

Enjoy my pictures from 33,000 feet.  :)