James Beard Award-winning chef Janos Wilder has finally departed Tucson for the big city. Sort of. The big city is the Gila River Indian Reservation and its new Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa. And while Wilder helped plan the concept and menu for the property's glamorous Kai restaurant, don't expect to actually find him cooking in the kitchen on a regular basis. The star chef isn't ready to give up on his extremely popular Janos & J Bar bistros on the grounds of the Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson. (Want reservations at the lauded places? Plan to call two weeks in advance during the high season.)
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Wild Horse Pass Resort is the ultra-lavish new casino about 11 miles east of Sky Harbor on I-10 and Maricopa Road. The architects have knocked themselves out to create a breathtaking facility featuring two golf courses, a 2.5-mile re-creation of the Gila River, plus a 1,000-acre equestrian center. And Wilder has knocked himself out on Kai, introducing a mouth-watering showcase of indigenous dishes like the Valley has never seen before. Kai, the Pima word for "seed," celebrates Native American cuisine in a tapestry of local products, including Arizona-processed olive oil, local citrus, sweet corn, gourds and melons.
I'm seriously considering taking a room at the resort for a weekend just to work my way through the impressive menu. Appetizers are appealing, such as chilled Pima yellow watermelon soup with salmon gravlax, cucumber, apple and cantaloupe; and lobster tail fry bread with corn, avocado and fresh garlic butter. Check out the stunning entrees, too -- pecan-crusted rack of lamb with Native Seeds mole and corn bread pudding; or venison loin roasted with Peruvian potato gratin and desert cactus essence. Save room for desserts such as the inventive babas au rhum (rich fruit-studded and syrup-soaked yeast cake) with grapefruit and limeade.
To taste everything, it'll have to be a long weekend, perhaps starting on a Thursday. Kai is open only for dinner (closed Monday), and the adjacent Kai bar demands its own attention. The centerpiece here is a "bread bar," with fresh fry bread, handmade tortillas and "Kai kones" made to order. Kai kones sound too fun -- hand-held pastry cones stuffed with tidbits like ahi tuna tartare and spicy remoulade; or roasted corn and nopalitos with queso blanco and creamy cucumber vinaigrette. There are "kaisadillas," of course, topped with exotica like chili rajas, queso fresco and huitlacoche (corn smut, tasting like dusky mushroom).
How refreshing. A casino with at least one table I'm guaranteed to leave a winner.
