Southwest Bistro at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch– On Tuesday through Saturday evenings, the Southwest Bistro offers Wine Me Dine Me, a wonderful experience that takes diners on a culinary adventure. Top-notch chefs wowed us with four courses that were carefully paired with tequila and wine. Because the chefs determine the menu each night, we had no idea what delights were in store for us. The surprise factor only enhanced the evening!

As we walked into the restaurant, we immediately noticed that we would be in for a real treat. We were seated along a bar that allowed us to look right into the open kitchen. The flames danced in the wood-burning oven where food was being prepared for other patrons by the chefs who were mere feet away from us. We were off to a great start.

Our first course was prepared by Bruce J. Briere. He served us a Pan-seared Scallop which was topped with jicama apple slaw and warm chipolte red onion jam. This was absolutely wonderful. When he presented it to us, we could tell that he was incredibly proud of his creation, which he should be!  YUM!

The scallop was paired with Chinaco Reposado Tequila. Even though we aren’t huge drinkers, we enjoyed tasting this. It was served with lime and salt to better bring out the flavor of the tequila. There was quite a bite to it, but the citrus and salt combo made it a little bit more mellow and really enhanced the flavor of the alcohol.

For our second course, Chef Brian Contreras made Smoked Pork Mole Verde with zucchini & yellow squash and fresh corn tortilla chips. Wow! This was really tasty. It was served in an individual sized cast-iron pot which created a stunning presentation. I enjoyed this dish so much that I was tempted to drink straight from the pot to get every last slurp out, but I managed to refrain myself knowing that there were two more courses to come.  This course was paired with Arizona Stronghold Tazi-White Blend.  We’re big fans of Arizona Stronghold wines, and the Tazi-White was the perfect compliment.

The next course was a team effort, prepared by Chefs Bruce J. Briere, Brian Contreras, Jose “El Picho” Botello, and Young Jun Lee. We enjoyed Grilled Filet Mignon with roasted acorn squash, sauteed spinach, and Cascabel mushroom ragout. Served with a Carlson Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, the 3rd course was a homerun. As we enjoyed the filet, we saw the chefs peaking at us to see if we were enjoying the course. This didn’t bother us in the slightest, because we knew they were doing it because they wanted to make sure that it exceeded our expectations.

The forth course ended our meal at the Southwest Bistro. Chef William Martin whipped up a Brulée Strawberry Rhubarb Tart, paired with a Sandeman Port. This was a delicious treat. The crunch on the top brulée was perfectly done.

We loved our Wine Me Dine Me experience at Southwest Bistro. Not only was each course and alcohol pairing excellent, sitting at the bar gave us the opportunity to interact with the chefs, which enhanced our amazing experience. We highly recommend experiencing this yourself!

Disclosure:  this wonderful experience was provided by the kind folks at Southwest Bistro.  Thank you very, very much!