There’s more that can grow in the desert than you might think, and these restaurants are out to prove it. Here are your Haute 5 locales for fresh and local ingredients.
True Food Kitchen
At True Food Kitchen, the whole idea is to deliver dishes with pure and simple flavors as a way of celebrating the quality of the best local and regional ingredients available. As a result, they prove to guests that flavor doesn’t have to be sacrificed when it comes to formulating meals filled with nutritious components of all four food groups. Here they serve wholesome favorites such as sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, and salads with delicious and interesting twists. Not only is the majority of the produce they serve locally and organically grown, True Food also offers biodynamic, organic and sustainable wine choices.
True Food Kitchen is located at 2602 E. Camelback Road, Suite 135, in Phoenix (602) 774-3482
Arcadia Farms
For more than 20 years, the small French country cottage restaurant known as Arcadia Farms in Scottsdale has served cuisine made with local, organically grown, pesticide-free, hormone-free and trans-fat-free ingredients, proving they’ve made quite the commitment to healthy eating and supporting the community. In fact, Arcadia Farms in a member of the Chefs’ Collaborative, a group dedicated to supporting local farmers and encouraging the public to eat cleaner diets. Produce is harvested locally and many of the artisans they work with, such as the bread makers, also call Phoenix home.
Arcadia Farms is located at 7025 E. First Avenue in Scottsdale (480) 947-2596
Dragonfly Cafe Grill and Bar
Dragonfly Cafe is an utterly charming family-owned bistro and bar that claims using local ingredients makes the taste of the food more satisfying, and we couldn’t agree more. They prefer to locally source their meat products, in particular. The cafe’s all-natural poultry and beef products come from the local Red Bird Farms Co. and Cedar River farms, respectively. We think this fact makes their Chicken Piquant dish extra interesting, naturally.
Dragonfly Cafe is located at 10135 E. Via Linda in Scottsdale (480) 614-5516
Quiessence
Quiessence says their menu is roughly 90 percent local, an admirable accomplishment in today’s world, in which many high-end restaurants are shipping in ingredients from halfway around the world or farther. Of course, it helps that they’re located right in the heart of the Farm at South Mountain property. Here, chefs Gregory Laprad and Anthony Andiario boast contemporary American cuisine made with ingredients from all over Arizona, and even their very own “backyard.” Produce suppliers include a Peoria farm and Queen Creek’s One Windmill Farm, while nuts, olive oil and some other essentials come from the Queen Creek Olive Mill. Additional produce, such as certain fruits, are even harvested right there on the farm. Now that’s fresh.
Quiessence is located at 6106 S. 32nd Street in Phoenix (602) 276-0601
Caffe Boa
Opened by Scott Rennard in 1995 in Ahwahtukee, the Euro-style bistro and wine bar called Caffe Boa has remained in the family, and the sense of community certainly shows. The kitchen uses local, organic produce grown on Maya’s Farm, located just eight minutes from the restaurant, and they only serve natural grass-fed beef and free-range chicken products. The cafe’s name is Portuguese, with “boa” meaning “good,” and the fact that they serve fresh, local ingredients gives the name a wonderful double meaning. Rennard and his family invite patrons to taste the difference at their cafe, where we believe every dish is more than just “boa.”
Caffe Boa is located at 5063 E. Elliot Road in Phoenix (480) 893-3331
