Snowbird Trail is a 12-part series on unusual or different attractions for snowbirds in the sunbelt.
Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North
Executive chef Mel Mecinas dresses sweet, local Sunizona tomatoes with fried feta and sherry vinegar for a fun twist on a caprese salad and wraps buffalo tenderloin with bacon, dressing the tender protein with a smoky ancho-tomatillo salsa at the elegant steakhouse Talavera. At the resort’s more casual Proof, where the servers wear gingham and a shuffleboard gets a serious workout, the all-American menu draws on classics from around the country. Fried green tomatoes with crab rémoulade have a big, easy taste while an utterly shameless burger includes Arizona cheddar along with bourbon, molasses onions and, why not, a fried egg.
Bespoke Inn, Cafe & Bicycles
Named one of the 20 best new restaurants in the United States by Esquire magazine in 2013, Virtu Honest Craft occupies a prime spot in this charming four-room hotel. It is hard to imagine that anyone could ever tire of chef Gio Osso’s grilled octopus with lemon chick peas and Calabrese chile butter or his lavish grilled cheese sandwich with caramelized piquillo peppers and bacon, but the hotel’s Signature Flat suite does have a chef-worthy kitchen. An al fresco brunch in the courtyard beneath the olive tree easily becomes an all-day affair.
Hotel Valley Ho
Chicken noodle soup, shrimp cocktails and banana splits are all part of the retro hip theme that informs every detail of this wonderfully restored, classic mid-century-modern urban resort and spa in downtown Scottsdale. Tower suites boast fully functional kitchens for anyone wanting to try their hand at transforming the delicious local produce.
The writer was a guest of the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. It did not review or endorse this story before publication.