Several months ago Dawn won a two night stay at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona at a charity auction that she attended. Our original plan was to use it as a getaway on a dreary Seattle weekend. Maybe fly out on a Thursday after work and then spend Friday and Saturday in the desert, basking in the sun like a couple of waterlogged gila monsters. Then, fully tanked up on Vitamin D, we'd return to Seattle on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, our impending move to Connecticut threw a monkey wrench into the original plan, so we decided to improvise and come to Arizona when everyone else was fleeing the state: at the beginning of summer.
Since we arrived yesterday morning, the daytime high temperatures have hovered around 110 degrees, a comfortable 41 degrees warmer than the air temperature at SeaTac Airport Wednesday morning. The warm dry air and intense sunshine is good for my soul. I have spent the last two days lying about like a big iguana moving from sunshine to shade and back to sunshine. Unlike most iguanas, however, I can read. Please see my comments on "Kitchen Confidential" and "The Canon" on the sidebar to the left for this week's literary fare.
This evening we decided that it would be fun to do the ArtWalk here in Scottsdale. It's a year-round event that occurs Thursday evenings from 7:00-9:00 in downtown Scottsdale. Before artwalking, we dined at a wonderful Thai restaurant called Malee's Thai Bistro. At our server's suggestion we had an order of Siamese Kisses as our appetizer. These are small steamed shumai dumplings filled with ground chicken and shrimp and topped with scallions and crispy garlic. They are accompanied by a three sauce combination (soy-ginger, Thai chili sauce, honey mustard). This was a very tasty starter. The dumplings weren't too heavy or doughy and you could mix the sauces to your own taste preference. The entrees came in small or regular sized portions and we decided to share three small entrees between us. The first was Crispy Basil Chicken. This was a combination of crispy bite-sized chicken morsels tossed in sweet tamarind chili sauce and served over flash fried basil. As you can imagine the combined aromas of the tamarind and basil were very compelling. To add a little more zing to my morsels I dipped them in a slurry of Thai chili sauce and sweet hot mustard. Dawn chose to eat them as served. They were a savory delight both ways. Our second course was Jalapeno Fried Rice. Now before any of you folks who don't like spicy food jump ship on me, let me say that the jalapenos used in the rice were seeded and chopped and added flavor without adding heat. The sweet Chinese sausage used in the rice was a delightful compliment to the tangy peppers and savory basil. Another thumbs up on this dish. Our final entree was the most complex, and for me the most interesting. On the menu it is called "Glass Noodle Salad". It is made up of shrimp and minced chicken, and vegetables in a light lime dressing. If this was all there was to it then it would be little more than a Thai version of Pho and nothing much to write about. However, what the menu doesn't say is that this dish is infused with lemongrass and cilantro. These two ingredients literally fight for dominance in your mouth. Are these noodles sourish like lemongrass or bitterfresh like cilantro? My brain kept jumping back and forth trying to decide how this wonderfully combative dish tasted. For dessert, Dawn had coconut ice cream and I had Thai Coffee Ice Cream. I'm not a huge fan of coconut so I'll simply report that Dawn thought that it was quite good. When I tasted my ice cream the first sensation was of rich chocolate, then of a medium roast coffee, and finally a very strong caramel undertone that simply took it over the top. The combination of flavors was so rich that I could only take a few small nips and I was done. Maybe if they offer kids' portions I'll do that next time.
Did I say next time? Well, if we come back to Scottsdale anytime in the near future I'm certainly lobbying hard for a return trip to Malee's on Main. Great food, sensible prices, top flight service, it was an experience to write home about.
After our very pleasant dinner we stepped out into the Arizona twilight and began our self-guided tour of several of the local galleries. Given that we are in the Southwest, there was the anticipated abundance of regionally themed work by local artists. While I appreciate the craftsmanship and creativity that goes into these works, it's simply not my favorite genre. That said, we did visit a small gallery consisting primarily of oil paintings by a local artist who used an old masters' technique to illuminate areas of his paintings such that they became highlighted when the lights dimmed. It was quite fascinating to see and learn about.
Tomorrow we're off to Sun City to see John and Wanda's new house and to visit with Dawn's aunt and uncle (Oona and Paul). From there it's off to the airport and back to the wetlands.
~ER
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