Experience Scottsdale, Arizona
Hi friends! If you follow me on Instagram, you may already know that last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to visit Scottsdale, AZ for the day courtesy of the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau! Now in West Phoenix, we’re not too far away from Scottsdale, but even after living in the Valley for all of my life, any time spent in Scottsdale is a treat! It’s a premier spot to visit with so much to see, do, and enjoy! And I’m so excited to get to share on of my favorite cities on Earth with all of you! Today I’m going to share the first part of our day – brunch and some farmer’s market fun. Saturday morning, my husband Andre and I dropped the kids off with Grandma and Papa, took our puppy Hope to doggy day camp, then headed out on the town.
Our first stop for brunch is Arcadia Farms Cafe. Now any local will tell you that this little space, nestled in a comfy corner of Old Town Scottsdale, is tops on the list. I’ve never had the chance to go, so this was a real treat. Making reservations (suggested) was easy, the customer service was great. We arrived, valet parked, headed in and were promptly seated. This time of year is perfect for the patio, so we headed out back amidst cozy patio tables and umbrellas, large lush trees, and plenty of sunshine.
There were so many great selections on their menu. Andre went with the Seared Salmon – a pan-seared salmon filet, local greens, fingerling potatoes, French green beans, baby carrots, and a tarragon vinaigrette that he said was the best dressing he’s ever had. I opted for the Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Goat Cheese Tart with caramelized leeks, baby spinach, wild mushrooms, mozzarella, goat cheese, and fresh fruit. The atmosphere was perfect – gorgeous and relaxing. And the food, delicious! We’ll be back again.
After brunch we headed into Old Town for some site-seeing and shopping. It was a gorgeous day out! Now for those of you who are still covered with snow and dreaming of Spring, this time of year is the perfect time to visit Scottsdale, AZ! We have great weather and great Spring-time events, including Spring Training!
There’s so much to see in Old Town. You literally could just walk around all day enjoying the architecture and scenery.
After walking around for a bit, we ventured to the Old Town Scottsdale Farmer’s Market. We have a few farmer’s markets in the Valley, but I’ve always heard great things about the Scottsdale Market – and what I had heard was reinforced by our experience. There were so many great and diverse vendors! From growers to baked goods, from natural beauty products to pet supplies! There really was something for everyone.
I grabbed an iced coffee from What’s Your Grind.
A quick snack from The Creative Kitchen…
Then we stopped by Alaskan Pride Seafoods. Alaskan Pride offers delicious, wild, healthy, and sustainable, Alaskan seafood that is second to none – and right here in Arizona! If you’re local to Phoenix and enjoy good quality seafood, you have to check out Alaskan Pride Seafoods, you can follow them here on Facebook too!
There was so much to see and buy – if we were going straight home I would have grabbed some herbs for the herb garden or fresh flowers for home.
It was a great experience and I know that we’ll be back again. This time to pick up fresh produce, herbs, seafood and baked goods to bring home!
Old Town Scottsdale has some amazing and unique shops! And the scenery is just fantastic.
I found a Mexican Import store that I just adored. The textiles were just so vibrant. I definitely see another visit there in our future!
During our Old Town shopping adventure, we stopped off for a sweet treat at the Sugar Bowl! The Sugar Bowl is well known by those in the Valley and has been around since the 1950s! We grabbed a couple scoops of ice cream then were on our way for more!
Our last stop in Old Town was at Bischoff’s Shades of the West. Such a FUN fun shop, filled to the brim with interesting housewares, souvenirs and more! They have a lot of Arizona and Southwest memorabilia, and even though we live in the Valley, we still picked up a few things for home!
Last up on our shopping list was the amazing Scottsdale Fashion Square – the best mall in the Phoenix Metro area.
Now we’ve been here a number of times but there is a whole new wing of the mall that we hadn’t seen, and a few of my favorite stores on Earth, so we had to stop by. We spent some time in my favorite stores, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and Sur la Table! We stopped by some of Andre’s favorite stores, the new Tesla Motors, Lucky and Express. See how I’m all about housewares? We even stopped by Tiffany & Co. to have my ring polished – I think that was the highlight! It’s been a while since this store is the only Tiffany & Co. in town. I’m still excited to have it all shiny and sparkly again. Here’s a little recap of our shopping trip via Instagram:
Such fun was had! Again, we could have called it a day at that point, but there was one last adventure to be had – dinner. Now Scottsdale has an amazing assortment of any dining experience that you can think of! Some of our very favorite restaurants are in Scottsdale. But this time around we wanted to try something new. So we met up with some good friends and headed down to Citizen Public House. Double date! Aren’t those the best?
I would describe Citizen Public House as an intimate and unique steakhouse.Their menu selection is concise and welcoming. Though the list isn’t long, it was hard to make a decision because everything sounded so amazing. We were all hungry, so we started out with an appetizer of Chicken & Waffles. Yum! It was the perfect salty and sweet treat to begin with. Then for our entrees Andre and I had Porcini Filet Mignon with a porcini rub, smashed new potatoes, sautéed local greens, white beech mushrooms, and demi-glace & black garlic butter. Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds! Our friend Simon had the Amaro Meatloaf made with Montenegro Amaro Italian liqueur, pork, beef, parsnip meatloaf, smashed Yukon gold potatoes, roasted zucchini, veal demi-glace, and mushroom cream. And Morgan rounded out our selection with the Applewood Smoked Duck made from Maple Leaf farms duck breast, creamy rosemary millet, spiced pistachios, and sauteed greens. I had a chance to try the duck and it was amazing. Almost made me second guess my filet. We were stuffed but when we saw the Bag ‘O Bacon Pecan Brittle on the Dessert Menu, we knew we had to give it a try. And you guessed it, it was amazing too!
All in all the food was amazing, the atmosphere warm and intimate, and the service – fantastic. Andre and I are really excited to have found another restaurant that we enjoy so much.
Now that is the end of our Experience Scottsdale journey. What do you think? It’s Scottsdale a place that you would love to visit? I hope we showed you just a glimpse of the amazing dining and shopping experiences to be had, but there is so much more! You can always find more information on the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!
Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored campaign with the Scottsdale Convention & Tourism Bureau. I received a gift card to experience Scottsdale; however, all opinions and pictures are my own.
We live in Gilbert but used to live in Scottsdale, and our children and grandchildren live there. We’ve always loved Old Town, but we’ve never been to that Farmer’s Market. I am familiar with McClendon’s Farms. Our son is the Exec. Chef of True Food Kitchen (two in AZ — one at the Biltmore Shopping Center & the other at the Scottsdale Quarter) and uses McClendon’s almost exclusively. I’m so glad you enjoyed your time in Scottsdale, and so happy you plan to go back!
Carol
I’ve heard great things about the Gilbert Farmer’s Market too, have you been there? I lived in Gilbert for years and my parents still live there – I need to try to make it out for their farmer’s market sometime too! Oh and I LOVE True Food Kitchen! What a talented son you must have!
This day seems lovely! My sister lives near Scottsdale so I am defiantly headed there when I go to visit!
Oh Lindsay you have to! It’s an amazing place for sure!
What a great trip! I’ve heard such great things about Scottsdale and would love to visit some day!
Oh you really have to Randi! It’s a fabulous place. If you do, let me know and I’ll come meet you!
Ooo. This makes me so excited for my trip to Scottsdale next month!! The farmer’s market looks especially right up my alley. And, like you, I know I’m going to wish I were able to bring home plants and herbs for my garden.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh I hope you have a great trip, Anna!
Beautiful photos! Scottsdale looks like an absolutely charming town to visit with a lot of great little shops. It sounds like you had a lot of fun! I’ve got to visit some day!
We’re so glad you enjoyed your stay in Scottsdale. The next time you are in Old Town Scottsdale we recommend stopping by The Sugar Bowl for some dessert.