Christmas is a holiday for good cheer and spending joyous time with loved ones, and sometimes being in the kitchen can get in the way of that. Forget about stressing out and make reservations to celebrate Christmas Eve or Christmas Day at one of the top restaurants in town. You'll be wined and dined with nothing to worry about anything but the check.
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Looking to get out of the house this holiday season? For four days leading up to Christmas, The Hermosa Inn is offering an all-inclusive package with a one-night stay for two, a $75 dinner credit per person, and a $36 breakfast credit. The Christmas prix fixe dinner ($75) will be offered from 4 to 9 p.m. on the 24th and 12 to 8 p.m. on the 25th. Starters include meatball soup with ricotta dumplings and braised pork belly with crimson gold apple, cheddar beer grits, and maple gastrique. Diners get a choice of five entrées such as veal scallopini with prosciutto, roasted duck breast with Brussels sprouts, and butternut squash ravioli with black kale, rock shrimp, and sherry-sage butter. Desserts all feature a seasonal twist: warm flourless chocolate cake with candy cane ice cream, pecan pie with cinnamon bourbon anglaise, and pan-fried bread pudding with rum raisin ice cream. Call 602-955-8614 to book an overnight package, or 602-955-7878 for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner reservations.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day there will be a limited-time prix fixe menu in addition to the regular à la carte menu. For $52 per person, there are two options per each of three courses. Diners can select sea scallops with caramelized cauliflower and a caper raisin emulsion, yellowfin tuna with red wine sauce and winter vegetables, and Bûche de Noël, for example. Or, other selections are frisee salad with champagne, mango, feta, and black olives; grilled filet mignon with gingered- shitake mushrooms and soy-caramel dressing; and warm chocolate cake with caramel ice cream. Call 480-214-8000 to reserve a table. SWB at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale
At the Hyatt Regency, SWB (Southwest Bistro) will be open on Christmas Day serving buffet from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Brunch options include made-to-order omelets, southwest-style eggs benedicts, and assorted salads. Lunch and dinner entrees such as king crab legs, made-to-order pasta dishes, roasted turkey, herb and citrus rubbed leg of lamb, and roasted prime rib of beef will also be available. Desserts include Yule logs, tiramisu, pies, cakes, tortes, chocolate-covered strawberries, and cherries jubilee. A special menu will also be available for kids. The buffet is $68 for adults, $34 for children ages 6 to 12, and complimentary for children 5 and under. In addition, an à la carte Christmas menu will be available from 7 to 10 p.m. Call 480-444-1234 x 8650 to reserve a spot for your family.
From 4 to 8 p.m., Ko'Sin is offering a five-course traditional Christmas dinner. Menu highlights include slow-roasted prime rib au jus, oven-roasted duck breast with foie gras sourdough dressing, and holiday paella. For dessert, there's a choice of red velvet cream cheese mousse torte or a cherry cordial flute. Dinner is $60 for adults, $54 for seniors, and $30 for kids 12 and under. Call 602-385-5726 for reservations.
Latilla at The Boulders Resort
The Latilla Room will have two special four-course prix fixe dinners, one on Christmas Eve ($68) and one on Christmas Day ($75). Menu items on December 24 include organic field greens with poached shrimp, cranberry cornbread croutons, oven-dried tomato, and champagne vinaigrette; risotto croquettes with wilted watercress, bacon tomato jam, and Riesling beurre blanc; poached lobster over mascarpone polenta with English peas and garlic roullie; rosemary pheasant breast with quinoa and legume sooctash; wild boar bacon-wrapped filet with fingerling potatoes and wild mushroom compote; and Bûche de Noël with candied cranberries. On Christmas Day, pick from a selection of Dungeness crab soup with a corn emulsion and crab meat profiterole; baby beet salad with Point Reyes bleu cheese soufflé, watercress, and candied walnut vinaigrette; roasted free range turkey with sage-giblet gravy, buttermilk mashed potatoes, cornbread chestnut stuffing, and Grand Marnier cranberry relish; filet of sole stuffed with lobster and served with polenta, creamed leeks and artichokes, and chervil beurre fondue; and strawberry-basil gorgonzola cheesecake with chocolate cardamom sauce. For reservations, call 480-488-9009 x 1117.
The dining room and bar at Carefree Station will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on Christmas Day. The bar will be serving specialty holiday cocktails including the VeeV a la Holiday, Mistletoe, and Apple Pie Margarita. There will be a limited lunch menu available until 3 p.m., after which a full dinner service will be offered. Appetizers include fried calamari with jalapeno cream sauce, mussels Tampico with a white wine chipotle broth, and cowboy sushi with lightly seared beef tenderloin atop crispy potato croquettes. For the main course, diners can choose from countless dishes like chargrilled Scottish salmon, lobster pasta provencale, buffalo meatloaf, Berkshire pork chop with sweet potato-carrot mash, and steak tampiquena with blue corn crusted shrimp and chorizo grits. There are also 11 desserts to choose from. Call 480-488-8182 to book a table in advance.
New chef Todd Sicolo, who will be debuting his full menu next month, has helped to plan two very special à la carte menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On December 24, dishes include a lobster truffle cocktail with black caviar, shaved speck prosciutto with brûléed figs, butter-poached sea scallops with truffled creamed corn and candied carrots, crispy wild salmon with succotash potatoes and lemon-scented asparagus, and peppermint crunch crème brûlée with eggnog-filled raspberries. On Christmas Day, diners can enjoy basil shrimp and smoked corn chowder, ginger and butternut squash bisque, balsamic charred rack of lamb with duck fat poached potatoes, walnut and root vegetable stuffed acorn squash with candied ginger cracklings, and cranberry and white chocolate crème brûlée.
