“After one of the hottest summers on record in Arizona, we were ready for a change at Mora,” says chef Scott Conant. Regularly featured on Food Network, the celebrity chef owns four restaurants around the country, including Mora and The Americano in Arizona.
At Mora, the Seventh Street restaurant has undergone one of its biggest menu transformations since opening in 2017, adding more than a dozen new seasonal dishes.
To kick things off and celebrate the season, Conant is hosting a Pumpkin & Gourd event on Nov. 8. The reservations-required dinner will feature family-style dining for individual groups and allow guests to enjoy a five-course meal plus a welcome cocktail for $155 per person.
Some of the evening’s items include a Caramelized Butternut Squash Focaccia with apple sage butter and pumpkin seed pesto; Roasted Pumpkin Risotto with fresh truffles, black trumpet mushrooms, parmesan and chives; a Roasted Rack of Lamb cooked with kabocha pumpkin puree; and a Brown Butter Hazelnut Cake made with caramelized pumpkin and cranberry compote to round the evening off.
Mora's fall menu
If you can’t make the Pumpkin & Gourd event, Mora’s seasonal additions will be available at the restaurant served a la carte for a couple of months, giving diners a chance to savor the new features. “Our main inspiration was identifying beloved dishes and elevating traditional recipes with our own interpretation,” Conant says. “For example, escarole and beans is a classic Italian dish but adding pork belly... brings it to a whole other level, which was a personal touch of flavors by our Chef de Cuisine Ian McGee.”
The Glazed Pork Belly appetizer is a warm, comforting dish to dive into and a perfect pairing with a seasonal signature cocktail. For an off-the-menu secret, order a Pumpkin Spiced Old Fashioned.
Entrees served throughout fall will include Citrus-Fennel Dusted Branzino, which melts in the mouth with a delicate balance of flavors, and the Spice Rubbed Pork Chop, which takes the pork and apples concept to a whole other level and is served on top of a silky smooth parsnip polenta.
There are also three new pizzas coming out of the woodfired oven, including a classic Prosciutto di Parma loaded with arugula and salty parmesan. For dessert, Mora now offers a Tiramisu that is every bit as creamy and full of espresso as one could possibly want to finish off a meal.
With new items bursting with fall flavor and a one-time event to celebrate autumnal dishes, Mora certainly isn't skipping ahead to the holidays. At Mora, it's time to embrace all that fall has to offer.
