Phoenix - Best Of - BEST AUTHENTIC ARIZONA RESTAURANT - Kai (2003)

Best Of

Best Of Phoenix >

BEST AUTHENTIC ARIZONA RESTAURANT

Kai

Venue

Kai

5594 W. Wild Horse Pass Blvd.

(in Wild Horse Pass Resort)

Chandler, AZ

602-225-0100

http://www.wildhorsepassresort.com

Be Social

Kai
5594 West Wild Horse Pass Boulevard (in Wild Horse Pass Resort)
602-225-0100

It seems so obvious. Arizona's indigenous foods -- delicacies like fresh local fish, wheat, melons, pistachios, olives, chiles, citrus and squash. Yet amazingly, no chef has really tried it here, until this year, with James Beard Award-winning chef Janos Wilder. Wilder, already famous for his innovative French-Southwestern Janos restaurant in Tucson, has brought us fine dining drawn from our state's Native American heritage. How authentic is it? The chef works with Pima/Maricopa Indian farmers to harvest the finest of their 35,000 acres of land and aqua farms on their reservation surrounding Kai.

Dishes come looking like earth and sky, and tasting of heaven. They're inspired all on their own, but made even more magical with Mexican, Pacific Rim and European touches. The olive oil that starts our meal is grown and pressed on-site, and dotted with sesame and pumpkin seeds. We slather it over superb crusty bread, crunchy and sweet-tart with apricots and pumpkin seed, or cranberries and hazelnuts. Rack of lamb comes rubbed in chunky pecan-crust mushroom-infused cornbread pudding, and a mole sauce fashioned from ingredients supplied by Native Seeds SEARCH (a Tucson-based nonprofit that protects and cultivates ancient indigenous agricultural methods). Lobster fry bread is lavish, the thin dough capped with an entire four-ounce Maine lobster tail, roasted corn, avocado and garlic butter.

Beautiful food, straight from Arizona -- that's A-O-Kai with us.

BEST VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT >>

write your comment

Best Of Search

Best Of Issues - Previous Years

Latest Best Of User Comments

BEST PLACE TO INLINE SKATE (1)
2008-08-06 22:08:18

Come show your inline speed with our team Pirates of Speed - Phoenix www.piratesofspeed.com
BEST VIETNAMESE BAKERY THAT CATERS TO MEXICANS (1)
2008-07-29 15:55:33

Thanks Bamboo Bakery for the wonderful service that we have received for our wedding reception...
Best Albóndigas (1)
2008-07-25 02:18:50

Don't waste your money going to Via Delosantos. I used to live up the street from there & my...
BEST SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT (1)
2008-07-24 16:05:47

Some of the best Soul Food I've ever had!!
BEST ASIAN MARKET (1)
2008-07-12 15:15:30

It's rare when things are done well anymore, so to see Lee Lee's Market blew me away! It is...