Thursday, June 4, 2009

A wonderful dinner.

I am a member of the Inner Circle, a circle of friends who met on the Internet. Crafting is the main topic, but we go off topic as often as we can. As a member of that group, I got a once in a lifetime invitation from another member. She was to be in Phoenix and could we arrange a face to face meeting. Well, one thing led to another, and what started as a possible lunch date ended up to be an invitation to partake of a dinner in a private dining room at one of the top 10 restaurants in Arizona. It was one of those restaurants where the waiter places the napkin on your lap. It was so cool. I felt honored and made to feel as if I was one of the group. That is what you are sometimes able to get when you are a friend of a friend.

The restaurant was Kai at Sheraton’s Wild Horse Pass. It is on the Gila Indian Reservation. The staff was very helpful to little ‘ole me from the moment I stepped up to the door.

Carolyn chose the wine. An Amarone. It was a delicious red wine. She chose the wine, but then wondered about the cost. The host said no problem. The wine was delicious.

There were appetizers and I had lamb for the absolute first time in my life. Wonderful. There was a wonderful salad, made of an eclectic assortment of greens. I had choose a beef dinner, and that turned into a selection of meats. Each one more flavorful than the other. There was the palate cleansing sorbet, then a flan, with topping made of onions and pomegranate. Who know onions and pomegranate went together? I never would have considered the combination prior to this. The flavors are hard to describe. Definitively something new.

Dessert was a chocolate souffle, that melted in the mouth. Very smooth.

I really enjoyed to meal and met some wonderful people. My thanks to my host, BJ and his wife; and to my contact, Kaleene.

Sometimes it really pays to be in the Inner Circle.