Many Sedona chefs are committed to using regional products whenever possible. They believe that the freshest—and often the best-tasting—ingredients are the ones that have the shortest distance to travel to the kitchen.
Sedona’s bounty includes trout, goat fudge and cheese, pecans and an array of fruits, vegetables and herbs—from figs to rosemary. There are also half a dozen local wineries and a Sedona brewery.
Pecan-crusted trout is a signature dish at the Heartline Café. The trout comes from the sparking waters of Oak Creek; the pecans, in season, from a pecan grower in Camp Verde. Chef Charles Cline breads the delicate fish with pecans and spiced bread crumbs and then sautés it in corn oil. The trout is served on a bed of hot white and brown rice and wheat berries, drizzled with a zesty Dijon mustard cream sauce, and accompanied by seasonal vegetables, some from the Heartline’s own garden.
For guests who catch a trout at Rainbow Trout Farm, Cline offers to dress the fish and prepare it with his popular sauce and fixings - all for $6. “Children really love seeing the fish they caught turned into a delicious dish for their whole family,” notes Phyllis Cline.
Another big supporter of the eat-from-your-own-backyard philosophy is Garland’s Lodge in Oak Creek Canyon. At the lodge, Oak Creek trout is served at breakfast, battered in cornmeal. The restaurant has its own organic orchard, garden and greenhouse for fresh herbs, lettuce and other produce. Chef Amanda Stein makes vegetable-rich soups and salads, such as asparagus-pea soup with lemon chive cream and mixed greens, served with crispy goat cheese and tart cherries.
Other signature dishes with local ingredients include
§ The “Chef’s Risotto Creation” at the Barking Frog & Grille, “inspired by sustainability, seasonal ingredients and regional flavors,” and an ice cream Sunday with local goat cheese fudge,
§ Arugula salads and Individual, deep-dish Oak Creek-apple pies with homemade cinnamon ice cream at Troia’s and
§ A savory mushroom apple soup at El Portal Sedona, made with apples from El Portal’s own off-site garden; a summer gazpacho featuring home-grown heirloom tomatoes; and an apricot and almond cake that uses chef Clay Berglund’s own apricot preserves.
“There is nothing better than fresh organic produce grown seasonally,” says Troia’s chef Shawn Murphy.
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