Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year’s Eve Dinner

I had a lovely dinner with great friends on New Year’s Eve at a restaurant called Quiessence. Quiessence is located on a 12 acre plot of land in south Phoenix called The Farm at South Mountain. The property is shaded by hundreds of pecan trees and is home to several restaurants providing a variety of organic and seasonal food. The philosophy of the restaurants is similar to that of the great Alice Waters; that food should be natural, seasonal, fresh, and rooted in tradition. They purchase the majority of their food from local farmers and things they can’t get locally are purchased from small farms across the country and always with an eye toward seasonal, organic, and sustainable farming and fishing methods. It’s an interesting story that you can read more about here.

Our dinner included Island Creek Oysters, fresh truffle risotto, lobster stuffed jumbo shrimp, and chocolate torte with vanilla bean ice cream. It was fabulous.


For my local readers, it’s well worth a visit to enjoy the fabulous food and the quiet, rustic setting. You will forget you are in a big city.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

This must be a lovely setting! Glad you enjoyed your New Year's Eve dinner! :-)

Susie of Arabia said...

Sounds like a place I would love. Have you been to Tohono Chul in northwest Tucson? I know you would love it. Has more of a desert setting. Happy New Year!

Steve Buser said...

Sharon, I was doing okay with your post until you started describing the menu for the night. Now I am totally starving and a bowl of cereal just will not do.

Pat said...

I had a sandwich at The Farm many moons ago. From the website, seems like they've added a lot.

Jilly said...

This looks SO inviting!

Debbie Courson Smith said...

I'd like to try the shrimp!!!!!

Ben Nakagawa said...

Happy New Year, Sharon.
It sounds like a wonderful dinner.

marcinko said...

Sharon, it was great sharing the experience with you! : )

bitingmidge said...

I hope you the rest of 2009 goes the way it's started!

Sunshine Coast Daily - Australia

Anonymous said...

Quiessence is a hidden oasis in the city. It must have been a very civilized place for NYE.