South Pool Cabanas, The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Scottsdale, AZ
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to me, Arizona is a true paradise. I moved here fifteen years ago and still can’t believe that some 320-days per year we wake with blue skies and gorgeous weather. So many times, jewels are found right in your own backyard, and the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort is just that Jewel.
I had the opportunity to be a guest at the resort this week to do a site inspection for an upcoming conference at the property. I had been to the resort before, but not as a guest.
The resort is home to the Tournament Players Club, TPC Scottsdale, where the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament is played each year.
The course is fantastic and not as challenging as you might imagine. It has those special holes that are mesmerizing.
After checking out the pool scene, it was time for a Spa appointment at Willow Stream Spa.
The Spa offers a waterfall treatment where three intensities work your trap muscles while you sit in the whirlpool. This is a great warm up before massage. One could write an entire blog on the spa, suffice it to say, it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
After a stroll around the South pool, it was time for dinner at Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak on property.
The entrance shows off the restaurants’ wine cellar – heavily comprised of Napa Cabernet and not short on price.
Mina received two Michelin stars for his Restaurant in San Francisco, before expanding to now 16 Restaurants. Vision? Imagine this young chef, who hasn’t reached 40 yet, feeds more than 30,000 people each week at his restaurants to the tune of $94 million in revenues this past year. He was recently featured on the cover of Wine Spectator magazine where I learned of him.
Amuse Bouche (French for mouth amuser – a complimentary treat from the kitchen) to start is his signature duck fat fries – three ways with three sauces.
Yes, the fries were amusing to the mouth, but what was more amusing was the mark-up on the wine list. It’s always difficult for me to justify paying 2-3x markup for a wine at a restaurant that I have in my own cellar, but I think that I found 4x markup on this list. The ‘96 Araujo Cabernet that I poured along side a ‘00 New Year’s eve was $933.00. No, that’s not for a magnum – just a 750 ml. When asked my opinion of the list, I politely told the Sommelier that I’d like to sell him some of my wine. He gave me his card.
This engaged a nice chat and we found a justifiably priced Napa Cab wine made by Philipe Melka, CJ from Napa, his last bottle.
Napa cab is my favorite pairing for Cowboy Ribeye, and for me, there is no other choice on the menu at a steakhouse, unless they have bone in filet.
The recession certainly wasn’t showing its face in Scottsdale and it’s good to see prosperity and success in Chef Mina’s vision.
