At the top of the list were Aglio al Forno – Roasted head of garlic with chevre and grilled focaccia bread and also Porcini Polpette – homemade mushroom meatballs in a white truffle cream sauce, courtesy of dining at Dahl & DiLuca. The beautiful chandeliers and lighting and the white tablecloths here made this the nicest place we dined at during our vacation, though fair warning the food here is super rich and heavy.
Second Place: Oak Creek Brewery & Grill, which is located in the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village aka “artsy mall” that is full of various art galleries built into the atmosphere of a really squeaky clean Mexican town.
The Seven Dwarves at Oak Creek Brewery and Grill – sampler of, from the end by the coaster and then clockwise, the Microlight, Forty-Niner Gold Lager, a seasonal Orange Blossom with orange and vanilla flavors that temporarily displaced their hefeweizen, Doc’s Pale Ale, Oak Creek Amber Ale, Village Nut Brown Ale, and Pullman Porter.
Also, Brewpub Pretzels- Two large soft pretzels prepared in the Oak Creek Brewery & Grill wood fired oven and served with ale infused cheese fondue; Citrus Salad- Arugula, mandarin oranges, grapefruit, shallots, roasted almonds, fresh mint tossed with honey lime reduction; and Steamboat Rock BLT- Thick sliced apple wood-smoked bacon layered with vine ripened tomatoes, mixed garden greens and basil aioli served on whole grain toast, here also with avocado and with their famous beer battered onion rings and southwest ranch dip.
The highlight of summer at Elote Cafe (which takes no reservations and is at least a 45 minute wait): sweet corn, here in elote appetizer (Fire roasted corn with spicy mayo, lime and Cotija cheese) and dessert form of Pastel de Elote = Veracruz style sweet corn cake served with homemade Dulce de Leche and homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
Two places F picked out made a healthy contribution too: Mago Cafe– Tofu and Kim-Chi, sauteed kim-chi on top of the pan grilled tofu with organic romain heart salad, and ChocolaTree‘s Kale Quinoa, quinoa grain, kale, thai sauce topped with shredded carrots, red onion, and red bell pepper
