The Farm at South Mountain

It took me a week to recover but a week ago I was soaking up the rays, wining, dining and shopping in sunny Arizona with husband, Bruce and daughter, Lauren. (My son, Nick, has gone back to Japan for work) I had 5 days off work so we headed south for some fun and relaxation, a perfect Mother's Day weekend. Whenever I travel, the thought of looking for a "food experience" is always a mission in the back of my mind and this trip was no different. And boy, did we find one. The restaurant is called The Farm at South Mountain which was actually less than a mile down the road from where we were staying. We'd only been at the resort less than a day before we started hearing everyone recommending we go there so that's exactly where we headed for our first dinner, which was Saturday evening before Mother's Day.

This restaurant is on 12 acres with three separate buildings for each meal. The breakfast restaurant is called the Morning Glory Cafe, the lunch restaurant is called the Farm House and we went for dinner so our restaurant was called Quiessence. The acreage grows all their own herbs and greens used in the restaurants and the owner, A. Wayne Smith, has preserved the wondrous sense of rural tranquility and vision of sustainability. Gourmet Magazine describes this dining experience as "a spiritual experience for those who journey to this 12-acre organic oasis". And we definitely felt it.

We ordered "The Farmer's Feast" which was a 5 course offering of the chef's best items and ingredients for the day . Lauren says this is how you eat in Italy in many restaurants, you don't know what you're getting because they serve what is good on that particular day. Makes sense. We decided to trust the chef. We started out with "Antipasti" which was a selection of cured meats, artisan cheeses, and a pork pate spread. The bread sticks were delicious, too, so soft and yeasty! I even liked the goat cheese which is rare for me! But the goat-ness was so subtle and it was quite tasty!

Second course included 3 different salads:

Okui Strawberry Salad and Purple Artichoke Salad with wild greens, toasted walnuts, shaved red onions, and crumbled Fossil Creek Havarti cheese

Grilled Baby Shrimp Salad with grilled elephant garlic scapes, shaved funnel, and fresh citrus

Shaved Carrot and Fava Bean Salad with mixed greens, pancetta bits, lemon thyme, full moon cheese, and creamy buttermilk dill dressing.

The third course was the pasta and even though these don't look like large portions, the pasta course really did us in! Lauren felt like she was in Italy again. She LOVES gnocchi and had a hard time putting her fork down during this course. Both pastas were very rich but delicious.

Rainbow Valley Farmer's Cheese Gnocchi with savory cabbage, housemade mortadella, and fresh whey

Hand Cut Cappalini with purple asparagus, green garlic, winter savory, and duck egg sauce

Lauren had to remove her belt after this course and had no desire to eat anymore. But she couldn't resist venison since she'd never had it before. We received 3 entrees:

Grilled Venison with braised greens, fiddlehead ferns, morel mushrooms, blackberries, and wild ramp demi glace

Thyme Scented Pork Loin with yellow stuben beans, grilled broccoli, and warm tomato vinaigrette

Pan Seared Halibut with cauliflower puree, purple Peruvian potatoes, mushrooms, and tomato nage

We were bursting at the seams at this point. But dessert was still coming!

Bread Pudding and Mulberry Panna cotta, how can one refuse…

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