Chef Ryan Peters (above) from Tonto, went all out showing his talents with an Arizona inspired  Ancho Chile Seared Diver Scallop, Smoked Arizona Sweet Corn Puree, Crispy Berkshire Bacon, Avocado Foam, Hand-Picked Prickly Pear Gastrique.

While Cartwright’s Chef Montez (above) Crane had the perfect warm dish fitting the less-than-perfect colder weather, with his Cheyenne Indian Buffalo & Chipotle Sausage, Fresh Herbed Spätzle, Braised Red Cabbage with Mesquite Wood-Smoked Bacon.

The great news is that folks at the Devoured event really ate up our delicious cuisine, as well as honoring it with awards, praise and rave reviews.

Howard Seftel, The Arizona Republic’s restaurant critic, awarded GOLD to both Tonto Bar & Grill and Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House.

• He extolled Cartwright’s offerings with, “The flavors of the Southwest jumped out at you in the buffalo sausage goosed up with chipotle, teamed with herbed spätzle.”
• His mouth-watering comments on Tonto’s delights were also done to a T, “The two longest lines were at…Tonto, and the public nailed it. They were waiting for sublime scallops, moist and briny, sautéed to sizzle and adorned with roasted corn puree. This is how restaurants impress at a food festival.”

Taryn Jeffries, Phoenix Bites staff writer, bestowed Tonto with the honor of being in the top 5 at the Devoured  Culinary Classic for our Ancho Chile Seared Diver Scallops and paid tribute to these tasty treats with delectable kudos, “These little rounds of perfection were served with a smoked Arizona sweet corn puree, crispy Berkshire bacon, avocado foam and a hand-picked prickly pear gastrique. Word must have traveled fast as the line was long for this offering but definitely worth the wait.”

Jess Harter of Mouth by Southwest, the #1 source for food and drink in the East Valley, named Tonto as Best of Show (first runner-up) and described the Tonto tent where, “…at least a dozen people always were waiting patiently while the chef seared scallops a half-dozen at a time.” Then, the description went on with, “Here’s what people were waiting for: a seared scallop topped with a crispy piece of bacon. It was placed atop a sweet corn sauce and beneath an avocado puree. Totally worth the wait.”

Gwen Ashley Walters, News & Nibbles writer for Pen & Fork, commented that, “Tonto Bar & Grill brought one of the best dishes (I wasn’t the only one who thought so based on the day-long lines). Who can resist a perfectly seared scallop with sweet corn puree and a snippet of bacon for good measure?”

Chef/owner Eric Flatt of both Tonto Bar & Grill and Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House, worked the cowboy side, dishing up bison sausage with sautéed red cabbage and Fresh Herbed Spätzle. Also on hand for the event were Amanda Malcolm, manager of Cartwright’s, Operations Manager Smith, Shari Flatt, and Courtney Nash.

We’re all ecstatic to share our Devoured successes, and are particularly delighted to have brought home the bacon (as well as using it with our tasty scallops and buffalo sausage!).

Look for us (and satisfy your sweet tooth) at our next big culinary event, where Pastry Chef Amanda Crick and Assistant Pastry Chef Erin Glassburn take on the Caramelpalooza 2013 candy-making challenge on April 5, 2013. For more information visit: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2013/02/caramelpalooza_2013_call_for_c.php.

Chef Ryan Peters (above) from Tonto, went all out showing his talents with an Arizona inspired  Ancho Chile Seared Diver Scallop, Smoked Arizona Sweet Corn Puree, Crispy Berkshire Bacon, Avocado Foam, Hand-Picked Prickly Pear Gastrique.

While Cartwright’s Chef Montez (above) Crane had the perfect warm dish fitting the less-than-perfect colder weather, with his Cheyenne Indian Buffalo & Chipotle Sausage, Fresh Herbed Spätzle, Braised Red Cabbage with Mesquite Wood-Smoked Bacon.

The great news is that folks at the Devoured event really ate up our delicious cuisine, as well as honoring it with awards, praise and rave reviews.

Howard Seftel, The Arizona Republic’s restaurant critic, awarded GOLD to both Tonto Bar & Grill and Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House.

• He extolled Cartwright’s offerings with, “The flavors of the Southwest jumped out at you in the buffalo sausage goosed up with chipotle, teamed with herbed spätzle.”
• His mouth-watering comments on Tonto’s delights were also done to a T, “The two longest lines were at…Tonto, and the public nailed it. They were waiting for sublime scallops, moist and briny, sautéed to sizzle and adorned with roasted corn puree. This is how restaurants impress at a food festival.”

Taryn Jeffries, Phoenix Bites staff writer, bestowed Tonto with the honor of being in the top 5 at the Devoured  Culinary Classic for our Ancho Chile Seared Diver Scallops and paid tribute to these tasty treats with delectable kudos, “These little rounds of perfection were served with a smoked Arizona sweet corn puree, crispy Berkshire bacon, avocado foam and a hand-picked prickly pear gastrique. Word must have traveled fast as the line was long for this offering but definitely worth the wait.”

Jess Harter of Mouth by Southwest, the #1 source for food and drink in the East Valley, named Tonto as Best of Show (first runner-up) and described the Tonto tent where, “…at least a dozen people always were waiting patiently while the chef seared scallops a half-dozen at a time.” Then, the description went on with, “Here’s what people were waiting for: a seared scallop topped with a crispy piece of bacon. It was placed atop a sweet corn sauce and beneath an avocado puree. Totally worth the wait.”

Gwen Ashley Walters, News & Nibbles writer for Pen & Fork, commented that, “Tonto Bar & Grill brought one of the best dishes (I wasn’t the only one who thought so based on the day-long lines). Who can resist a perfectly seared scallop with sweet corn puree and a snippet of bacon for good measure?”

Chef/owner Eric Flatt of both Tonto Bar & Grill and Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House, worked the cowboy side, dishing up bison sausage with sautéed red cabbage and Fresh Herbed Spätzle. Also on hand for the event were Amanda Malcolm, manager of Cartwright’s, Operations Manager Smith, Shari Flatt, and Courtney Nash.

We’re all ecstatic to share our Devoured successes, and are particularly delighted to have brought home the bacon (as well as using it with our tasty scallops and buffalo sausage!).

Look for us (and satisfy your sweet tooth) at our next big culinary event, where Pastry Chef Amanda Crick and Assistant Pastry Chef Erin Glassburn take on the Caramelpalooza 2013 candy-making challenge on April 5, 2013. For more information visit: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2013/02/caramelpalooza_2013_call_for_c.php.

January

• The year started with a bang and an invitation to showcase both Tonto & Cartwright’s “Taste of Arizona” at the National Restaurant Associations meeting at the Biltmore Hotel. All of the top people from around the nation were invited to sample some of Arizona’s finest offerings.
• Also this month, the Arizona Republic listed Tonto as one of the top 5 restaurants for gluten-free dining in the Phoenix area.

February

• Cartwright’s was featured on Arizona’s Centennial website, celebrating 100 years of statehood, as honoring the spirit of Arizona’s ranching days with rustic yet upscale dining.
• Tonto and Cartwright’s were again featured as a taste of Arizona at the CNN Republican debate in Mesa and at a Sunset magazine photo shoot.
• To celebrate National Margarita Day, ScoopFactory.com listed Tonto Bar and Grill’s “Tontorita” in its top 10 margaritas.

March

March came in like a lion roaring with reasons to celebrate along with devouring competitions and awards.
• Tonto was featured on Fox 10 News Phoenix “Taste of the Town” and holds the record for the longest segment they have every featured on any restaurant. Click here to watch the story for yourself.
• For a major sugar rush, Tonto and Cartwright’s brought their creativity to the table at the 3rd Annual Caramelpalooza, where hundreds came out to lick, crunch, chew and otherwise gobble caramel confections.
•  Phoenix New Times featured Tonto’s Pastry Chef Amanda Crick in its Chow Bella blog posts. It was mixologist mayhem as Cartwright’s Sommelier Anthony Mueller participated in Chow Bella’s 3rd Annual Devoured Cocktail Competition.
• Then came the “Devoured Culinary Classic” at the Phoenix Art Museum, where both Tonto and Cartwright’s cooked up their favorite dishes.
• The Arizona Republic’s Howard Seftel selected Cartwright’s as a Gold Medal winner at the Devoured Culinary Classic, Arizona’s premier food festival.
• Arizona Republic’s Carey Sweet featured Cartwright’s Sommelier Anthony Mueller and his cocktails in an article on the Devoured Cocktail Competition.
• In its article entitled, “More gems to be Devoured,” USA Today highlighted Cartwright’s pan-seared quail.

April

• Tonto and Cartwright’s sponsored the Desert Foothills Community Association’s (DFCA) Cave Creek Fiesta Rodeo Days.
• To honor the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic and pay special homage to the unsinkable force of the human spirit, both of our restaurants featured specials with the same meals served on that fateful voyage.
• We headed out to MTM Ranch to harvest crimson-orange-red ocotillo flowers, used fresh, sprinkled like a fiery delight on our salads or desserts.
• Honoring top physicians and dentists in the area, Tonto and Cartwright’s participated in Phoenix magazine’s Top Doctors event in Scottsdale.

May

• Tonto and Cartwright’s both participated in the Arizona’s Spring Restaurant Week.
• In its Spring-Summer 2012 edition, Experience AZ magazine chose Tonto as “Top 5: Southwestern Restaurants.”

June

• Sunset magazine featured Cartwright’s in its choices to “Eat like a cowboy.”
• Cartwright’s Arizona History Dinners, honoring the colorful legends, lore and tastes of Arizona’s history, started this month.
• Cartwright’s History Dinners were featured in the Arizona Republic’s article, “Cartwright’s supper series match Arizona history lessons” and in Grand Canyon Planning.
• We harvested the fruit of the saguaro cactus, which is featured in our seasonal special dishes.
• Cartwright’s was also featured on the Scout website.

July

• We started building a new water feature on Tonto’s lower patio (that as of December still isn’t quite finished… darn those local artists).
• Independence Day brought us the talented AZ state historian, Marshall Trimble, to Cartwright’s Arizona History Dinner night to help us celebrate our Star-Spangled Fourth of July.
• Cartwright’s was featured on the 10Best.com website that highlights trusted advice for travelers.

August

• Cartwright’s ongoing Arizona History Dinners continued with rip-roarin’ presentations by Marshall Trimble and True West magazine’s Bob Boze Bell.
• Tonto was featured in Images AZ magazine for their taste of native Arizona and the fruits of the dessert.
• Cartwright’s is highlighted on Southwest Airlines website travel guide to Phoenix restaurants.
• We set out to “wrangle tuna” at our annual harvest of the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, which is used in our special drinks and sauces.

September

• Marshall Trimble joined us at Cartwright’s Arizona History Dinners with a presentation on movie shootouts and showdowns plus another on Arizona’s collection of colorful characters.
• Experience AZ magazine chose Tonto as one of its “Top 5: Southwestern Restaurants” in its Fall-Winter 2012 edition and ran a featured article on Cartwright’s History Dinners.
• Six weeks of Oktoberfest celebrations started at Tonto, with traditional German dishes and imported beers.
• The Arizona Republic’s website (azcentral.com) ran an article on Tonto’s Oktoberfest, where we served up the wonderful tastes of Germany.
• Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog featured our prickly pear harvest fruit harvest.

October

• Cartwright’s Arizona History Dinners series came to a close with Marshall Trumbull’s presentation on gunslingers of the American Old West and Bob Boze Bell’s wonderful stories of the famous O.K. Corral gunfight.
• Restauratour of Arizona featured an article on, “Wunderbar Oktoberfest Delights at Tonto Bar & Grill,” as Oktoberfest continued at Tonto.
• Tonto and Cartwright’s were both featured at Taste of Cave Creek 2012 festival.
• Tonto also was at the Arizona Taco Festival at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the newly built spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
• Phoenix magazine chose Cartwright’s to list in its Best Beer & Wine edition as one of the top wine lists in the valley,
• The same edition of Phoenix magazine featured Cartwright’s Cowboy S’mores in its “Sweet Spot” section.
• Our Pastry Chef, Amanda Crick was interviewed by sugarloco.com and featured in their article, “Sweet and Sour at Tonto’s Bar & Grill.”

November

• We served up a cornucopia of Thanksgiving feasts for all tastes, with Tonto’s turkey to-go and table services at Cartwright’s special dinners.
• Cartwright’s Sous Chef, Nicole DeKryuter, participated in the “Just Desserts” C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) competition and won “best of fest.”
• Phoenix magazine selected Tonto Bar & Grill for “Best Burger: Cave Creek” in its November 2012 “Best of the Valley” edition for our local organic grass-fed burger.
• True West magazine featured an article on the history of Tonto and Rancho Mañana.
• Plus, the same issue of True West carried an article on Cave Creek, the Cartwright’s Ranch & Cartwright’s restaurant.

December

• The end of the year brought major milestones for both restaurants, with Cartwright’s 12-year anniversary and Tonto celebrating its 19th anniversary.
• We also got our Catering Van wrapped.
• And both Tonto and Cartwright’s celebrated the holidays with festive Christmas Eve and joyous New Year’s Eve meals.

What’s next for 2013?
We are just gearing up for a year full of appetizing events.

• Watch for The Sanderson Lincoln Cave Creek Hot Air Balloon Festival that kicks off our season on January 12, 2013 right on the grounds near Tonto Bar and Grill.
• Stay alert for our Cinco De Mayo Festival on Saturday, May 4th and our upcoming Harvest Festival.
• Regularly check out the Events pages on the Tonto website and on the Cartwright’s website for the dates and times of our extraordinary holiday celebrations, history dinners and other special occasions at both of our restaurants.

“Huh?” you’re saying to yourself. “What the heck does ‘wrangling tuna’ have to do with the Arizona desert?” First, you have to understand that “tuna” (or tuna fig) is one of the names for the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. And harvesting them in late August when it’s very hot and getting those thorny fruits off the spiny plant and processing them are not easy tasks, so “wrangling” seems like an apt description of what we endure to get these delicacies onto our tables and into your drinks and sauces. That’s why, over the years, the method has been dubbed “tuna wrangling.”

Ripe for the picking

A peek inside

In this less-than-ideal environment, we ventured out to hand-pick and prepare the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, just like Native Tribes of the southwestern United States and Mexico have done for centuries before us, where it has been a valued source for food and medicine. These days, prickly pear jam is a frequent tourist souvenir, and the fruit is sold as the cure for chronic inflammation and pain. Here, at Tonto and Cartwright’s, the sweet, somewhat strawberry tasting fruit has much more delicious uses in our unique cocktails, desserts and sauces.

The prickly pear’s large, colorful blossoms appear in yellow, pink, red or purple and grow from the tip of cactus nodules (paddles) or “nopales.” These blossoms later ripen into the delicious red fruit appropriately named prickly pear, (and also called nopal cactus fruit, cactus pear, Barbary pear, Indian fig and, of course, tuna fig…or simply “tuna”) that is ready for harvest during the late summer and early fall.

Before I discuss this year’s harvest, I’d like to tell you an interesting prickly pear tale. According to Mexican legend, this cactus played a key role with the Aztecs. After they were forced out of Chapultepec, they wandered for the next 200 years, searching for a place to settle. Their main god, Huitzilopochtli, appeared to the leaders and told them to find a place where a great eagle was perched on a cactus killing a snake. This place was eventually found on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 and named as their capital–Tenochtitlan, “the Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus.”

Pastry Chef Amanda Crick

Chef Ryan Peters

Back to our 2012 tuna wrangling. Our chefs and I ventured out into the desert to harvest the prickly pear using long metal tongs to grasp the fruit, then gave them a half turn to plop them off the pads. We placed them in a plastic bucket, took them to the kitchen, gave them a nice bath and placed them on our mesquite wood grill to burn off the spines. Next, we positioned them in a large skillet, added some water and sugar, and poached them until tender. Then, we pureed the mixture and put it through a strainer.

Cooked puree going through the first strainer

Tonto's Prickly Pear Margarita

What happens with the resulting mixture is yours for the tasting. You can sip one of our prickly pear margaritas or a prickly pear martini or margatini…and even finish off your meal with a one-of-a-kind, mouth-watering dessert named a “Prickly Pear Cake Pop.” Plus, you’ll find it in some of our special BBQ sauces and dressings, like our “Hand-Picked Saguaro Fruit Vinaigrette.” Be sure to check them out for yourself on the Tonto Bar and Grill and Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House drink, appetizer, entree and dessert menus.

Prickly Pear BBQ Glazed Salmon Salad

Prickly Pear Cake Pops

You may also want to check out Nikki Buchanan’s blog on Chow Bella:

Listening to Montez Crane, Cartwright’s Executive Chef, discuss his take on food captures the heart and soul of the dining experience at Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House.

Before you really can understand what he’s talking about, you have to mentally step back in history about 100 years. Now, imagine sitting down for a special ranch-style Sunday meal with family. That’s the essence of Cartwright’s dining experience—with that same warm and wonderful sense of being surrounded by kinfolk, savoring the familiar, mouthwatering aromas, and tasting the very spirit of the Old West in every bite. Chef Crane simply describes Cartwright’s cuisine as, “Down-home, ranch-style food that’s been given ‘big shoulders’…it’s beefed up to the level of fine dining, without sacrificing our roots.”

Chef Montez Crane

Chef Seth Crane, who prefers to be called by his nickname, Montez, is a member of the Seneca tribe out of western New York. He pays homage to his maternal grandmother, Norma, for his love of cooking. “She was a huge influence on me,” he said, adding that she was the best cook he’s ever known. “She’d get up in the morning and start cooking. She made everything from scratch…. People were always thrilled to be invited to dinner.”

Not only does he take great pride in the food, drinks and service, like everyone at Cartwright’s, he also aims to preserve Arizona’s heritage through the cuisine and by sharing the stories of the property’s past. The restaurant was appropriately named after the Cartwright family, local ranchers who were integral in improving the quality of beef in Arizona. In fact, Manfred Cartwright was the founding member of the Arizona Cattleman’s Association. As Chef Crane boasts, “We take great satisfaction in paying tribute to these traditions every day. We use Southwestern ingredients, top-notch beef and game meats, and the best quality seafood we can find, and present them in a warm, welcoming atmosphere rich in Arizona lore.”

“I like making comfort food from scratch, working with native ingredients—that’s right up my alley,” he said. And this unique, creative cooking style, along with an American History major in college, really paid off when he and Eric Flatt, Cartwright’s co-owner, sat down to plan meals for their second annual series of “Arizona History Dinners,” honoring our state’s colorful legends, lore and tastes. (New presentations with dinners will take place every second Wednesday through October, so be sure to check them all out on Cartwright’s Events Page.)

Chef Crane revealed that he sometimes enjoys eating “breakfast for dinner.” To feed this secret desire, he cooked up an imaginative twist on Eggs Benedict to nourish any ranch-sized dinner appetite and pay homage to the restaurant’s heritage. His unique Benedict-Style Braised Pork, like its breakfast cousin, comes with Poached Eggs, House-Made Cheese Biscuits, Tomato Jam, Sauce Béarnaise, and a delectable Sweet Potato-Tortilla Hash. In his own words, “I like to take the familiar and give it broader shoulders.” And every item on Cartwright’s dinner menu proves that.

Campfire S'more

The man behind your Cartwright’s meal is at the head of the table when it comes to his talented kitchen staff, as well, who share his passion about food and eating. To nurture this enthusiasm, they all sit down to family-style evening meals where they openly share ideas and unabashedly build their team spirit.

Summing up the experience he wants for each Cartwright’s diner, Chef Crane said, “Comfortable, Approachable. Great food and service in a unique atmosphere.” He takes great pride in continuing the tradition of fine American ranch cuisine, “Celebrating a time when grandma ruled the kitchen with benevolent authority, taking impeccable care in creating a spectacular meal.”

To the native Tohono O’odham people, the saguaro cactus is considered an honored relative that sustains them both spiritually and physically. According to their mythology, the first saguaro was created when a young woman sank deep into the earth and rose back out as a giant cactus, arms raised toward the heavens. Once a year during the hot months of June and July, that majestic saguaro maiden dresses up with striking white flowers in her hair, then bears a crimson fruit called bahidaj in the O’odham language.

These fruits have been harvested for centuries by knocking or pulling them off the tops of the tall saguaros with long poles called kukuipad (sometimes 15 feet or more) made of saguaro ribs lashed together end-to-end, with a cross bar made of segai (greasewood/creosote) tied at a 45 degree angle near the top of the pole. As part of the tradition, the first fruit picked is rubbed on the fruit picker’s body near the heart. Then, the fruit goes on the ground with the red side facing the sun after the red meat is removed. To this Sonoran Desert tribe, the sun will draw up the moisture from the fruit into the sky, to make the clouds and the monsoon rain.


Like native American’s have done for generations, Tonto Bar and Grill’s Head Chef Ryan Peters, Co-Owner Eric Flatt and their team (including Eric’s 9-year-old son, Jake) ventured out into the nearby desert to participate in the recent, annual fruit saguaro harvest. And hand-picking the fruit was no easy job.

The height of the saguaro and its sharp spines make harvesting fruits particularly challenging. When the ripest fruit is knocked off the cactus, the meat often pops out of the fleshy shell. If it does not, the harvester can use the stem of the fruit as a knife to open closed fruit. The meat is placed is a bucket (traditionally, the fruits were placed in baskets).

After our hand-picked harvest, Chef Ryan and Jake cleaned all the fruit that was made into the syrup, described as somewhat sweet, like a cross between rhubarb and strawberry. The fruit meat is boiled with water until it turns orange. The liquid is strained through cloth to remove the seeds that can be dried and used in place of poppy seeds. In order to make syrup, the liquid is poured back into the pot and boiled again until it just starts to get sticky. The slightly cooled syrup called sitol is poured into jars for storage or the meat can be dried to eat like candy.

Now our chefs are heating up your summer dining experience with seasonal dishes featuring the saguaro fruit. In our ongoing desert-to-plate tradition, the saguaro is used in Tonto’s scrumptious daily lunch and dinner locavore specials and on our entrée menu in such unique taste sensations as our Skillet-Seared Scallops with Orange Tamarind Glaze and a Hand-Picked Saguaro Fruit Vinaigrette. Also look for special dishes using other seasonal ingredients harvested on our property, such as ocotillo flowers, cholla buds, jojoba beans, prickly pear fruit, palm dates and Mormon tea. (For more information on our locally harvested ingredients, please visit our website under About us /Tonto’sPantry.)

It is this unique and wonderful fire we set out to harvest, like the Native American tribes have been doing for centuries.

 I met up with our Chef from Tonto, Ryan Peters, and our Cartwright’s Sous Chef Nicole DeKruyter this morning. We were burning daylight and eager to head out to the MTM Ranch, where we met my good friend Patty Motley and her two guides Heather & Lyndsay. Geared appropriately with sacks, gloves and nippers, we mounted our ponies, cinched in and headed out to enjoy the bountiful fiery blooms of the austere ocotillo.             Tonto Chef Ryan Peters & Cartwright’s Sous Chef Nicole DeKruyter

We got right to work and maneuvered our horses through a landscape of ocotillo (and all-that pricks, nicks and rips skin if you’re not careful), circling an ocotillo and neatly removing just the blooms, not all of them, mind you. We always leave at least 50% or so for the plant and the critters that also need their fill.
                             Above: Nicole & Lyndsay      Below: Heather

Working our way through the desert on horseback is the very best way to harvest these lanky, standoffish plants. Ride right up, grab the bloom, snip it off, and drop it in your sack. When finished, we headed back, poured out our bounty onto the sheet pans to have a look at our colorful prize.Best part is my job is complete.

Now it’s up to the chefs to work with what we collected. Nicole takes her share and heads to Cartwright’s. Chef Ryan puts on gloves, and starts removing the blooms from the stems. Once finished, the flowers go for a wash in ice cold water to remove any dust and pollen. Then, they get spread out on sheet pans to dry. Some ocotillo flowers will be dehydrated for tea or later use. Others will be held in sugar to crystallize. But most will be used fresh, sprinkled like a fiery delight on salads or desserts. Tonight our Pastry Chef Amanda Crick has prepared a special Citrus Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust, Strawberry Marmalade Drizzle, Crushed Berry Compote & Fresh Ocotillo Flowers. It’s a near perfect blend of sweet, tart and creaminess bliss. Bon appétit, let’s eat! (I think the flowers are deliciously sweet, slightly tart, with a flavor profile that’s a cross between strawberry, cranberry and rhubarb.)

Using ocotillo flowers and seeds has been a way of life enjoyed by many native tribes, such as the Hopi, Yavapai, Tohono, Hohokam, O’odham, Cahuilla, Seri and Tonto Apache. Most of the tribes ate the blossoms and the sweet nectar they contain, while some of the tribes used the seeds, which were parched, ground and made into a protein-rich flour, which was used in making mush cakes or meal.

If you are ever in the Sonoran Desert when all the ocotillo blooms are at their peak, you’ll enjoy a wild fiesta of red fiery torches lighting up the sky and the vibrant landscape. The sights and sounds abound, with bees a buzzing, humming birds sipping the nectar, and maybe even a few hearty soles like us out on horseback harvesting the bounty of flowers and taking great pleasure in the awesome beauty of the desert.

The Hopi Indians have a word for this. It is called “Katsi, as explained to me by Archaeologist, Anthropologist and native Hopi, Lance Polingyouma. Years ago we rode a long horseback ride up Cave Creek wash. Lance told me to dismount my horse, be still, look around and listen. He said, “Do you see all the flowers?  The ocotillo, prickly pear, mallow, hedgehog…they are in full pollination.  Now look at all the bees, butterflies and birds. They are all working in tandem with the plants. They represent the sky and connect to the ground through the plants. When you see all of this and listen to the harmony of buzzing bees, birds calling, a gentle breeze. This is LIFE, life in its fullest, life in action…blooming, pollinating and breeding. We have a word for this, Katsi.”

This has always stuck with me and when this time of year comes around, I always smile and silently mummer to myself, “Katsi, it’s time to harvest life.”

Owner Eric Flatt

For full details, on all of our items, visit our pantry: http://www.tontobarandgrill.com/about-tonto/tontos-pantry/

What is “pink slime” anyway? A new rock group? A low-budget horror flick monster? Or a hidden menace?

Brace yourself. Pink slime is the yucky-looking, oozy ammonia-treated filler used to beef up ground beef. Lately, the stuff has been surrounded in turmoil and controversy…and frankly, it should be.

It’s truly amazing what goes into the food stream that’s been deemed as appropriate for humans to eat. Worst part is, most of us don’t even know about all the fillers, preservatives and chemicals they hide in our foods. And when we find out, we all feel like we’ve been cheated and lied to…we’re pretty disgusted…and next come the waves of that sick and nauseated feeling…followed immediately by anger and dismay.

Over 10 years ago, I made a solemn promise to myself, my business partner, my employees and most of all, to my customers. That promise was that I was going to convert 100% of all of our meats, poultry and seafood to 100% All Natural and/or Organic. When discussing this pact with my colleagues, I usually got the same reaction and questions: “What does that mean? What’s an All-Natural product? How much more is this going to cost us? Will our guests even care about it? Will we have to raise our prices? What’s wrong with the products we buy now?” The questions continued to pound at me, but my mind was set. My reply was always, “I don’t care about the costs. This is what we are going to do, and I will do whatever it takes to make this happen!”

Little did I know that those questions weren’t going to be my biggest obstacle. The real hurdle came after I started trying to find the product, a product that had not yet been labeled that way…or even discussed.

And so, after telling all of our local purveyors exactly what I was after, I got the same vacant look (you know the look!). First, their eyes glazed over, then I always got the same question, “What are you talking about…what exactly is it you want?” They just didn’t get it…or didn’t want to get it.

I started a national search, calling all types of small farms that were committed to the same “All Natural” products that I was. And, believe it or not, I found quite a few suppliers. One farm providing the best tasting meat was a small ranching family from Oregon called Painted Hills Beef. We brought in samples, did cuttings, and found that their product was exactly what I was looking for. Now a new question arose, “How could we get a steady fresh supply of it?” Plus, there was another hurdle… I couldn’t do it on my own, because I would have to palate loads at thousands of pounds at a time. Nope, that was not going to work.

Then, I went back to our local purveyors and started to push once again. Yes, you guessed it, another hurdle. But giving up was not an option. It took my dogged persistence and continually telling vendors that this was the future and that people care about what’s in their foods. I didn’t forget to hit them in their profit center with, “Hey look, it’s a great new item for you to market!”

I finally reached a deal with a major supplier that would carry a new product that I wanted. With chefs in tow, we hopped on a plane and set out to Creekstone Farms in the prairie state of Kansas. Their facility was pristine. We were able to go through the entire process—from knock to box—and we toured their feedlots and talked to their buyers and breeders. Ahhhh…finally, my dream does exists!

In order to spare you any more unnecessary details (including why I don’t have any hair left on the top of my head), all you really need to know is this:

At both Tonto and Cartwright’s, we made a solemn promise to completely keep anything even slightly resembling pink slime and many more of its noxious and non-food cousins out of our restaurant. Not only out of the protein, but out of all the products we use. There is a lot more “bad stuff” being served up than just pink slime. Sure, you can see pink slime…but what about all those things you CAN’T see, like growth hormones, antibiotics and steroids? What about harmful fats and oils, and so on and so on (ad nauseam…literally)? No, I will not settle down. It all makes me sick to my stomach to even think about that stuff, and now I’ve put it all behind me and whipped a recipe you’ll eat up with no qualms:

• ALL of our proteins are 100% ALL NATURAL, NO Antibiotics, NO Steroids and NO growth hormones!
• We offer you a choice for your hamburgers:
  At Tonto Bar & Grill, you get a choice of: All-Natural or Local grass-fed organic
• At Cartwright’s, it’s 100% All-Natural Elk & Buffalo mix
  Now how about putting that burger on our House-Made buns or a non gluten bun? We bake every single day, all day long, with NO preservatives and NO additives.
• Which side do you want with your hamburger? French fries, sweet potato tots or fresh salad with House-Made dressings? Yep, we have that covered as well. My pact continued here about 3 years ago, when we switched from canola, vegetable and olive oils. We now use 100% rice bran oil—the healthiest oil in the world, and your body is not able to absorb it as fat. Yes, we use this in all of our cooking, searing, baking, deep-frying and salad dressings. We only use a little bit of 100% sesame oil in our Asian dressing and a little 100% extra virgin olive oil in our Caesar dressing. Nothing but wholesome goodness for our diners…every time.

Needless to say, we carry the same high standards in everything we do and buy for all of our menu options. Does it come at added expense? Of course it does. But think about this, the next time you choose to dine with us. Every bite you take is 100% real, 100% good for you and it will make you 100% happy. And that’s certainly not a half-baked commitment! It’s all that you could ask for…and then some!

To see a complete list of our items, visit our pantry on our web page:
http://www.tontobarandgrill.com/about-tonto/tontos-pantry/ – or-
http://www.cartwrightssonoranranchhouse.com/about-cartwright/cartwrights-pantry/

Our sister restaurant Cartwright’s will be closed the entire day and night for Super Bowl and will also reopen for regular business the following day.

Enjoy the Big Game and we will see you soon!

For starters, how does Mesquite Wood-Grilled Red Chili Pork Brochette with Chorizo & Triple Mexican Cheese Fondue sound? It’s served with Candied Chilies and Blue Corn Strips, and it’s on our new happy hour menu, too, along with Crispy Calamari Rings with Chipotle Chili Aioli and Arizona Citrus.

Next up, we can almost feel the sea breezes as we serve up Crispy Arepas of Rock Shrimp with Black Bean Puree, Queso Añejo, Jicama, Radish, Jalapeño & Oregano Pico, topped with a Smoked Chili Drizzle. Wash these down with a cold craft beer, a Tonto-rita or a glass of Dos Cabezas Red from one of the finest Arizona vineyards, near Willcox.

We added six superb items to our all-day menu, including an Ancho-Chili Rubbed Filet, a Bowl of Butter-Poached Clams & Maine Lobster, Dos Cabezas-Dusted Diver Scallops, a Mesquite Wood-Grilled Bistro Steak Sandwich and Roasted Jidori Chicken. Check out our menu online for the full descriptions; we guarantee they’ll get your mouths watering.

Save room for Amanda’s famous desserts: She’s knocked it out of the park again with Crispy Spring Rolls filled with Fresh Strawberry, Papaya & Cream Cheese, Vanilla-Mint Syrup & Julienned Fruit Salad. She’s also added a White Nougat Semifreddo Stack, and, for those who can’t eat sugar, a diabetic-friendly chocolate pots de crème with raspberry Linzer cookies. Yum!

Finally, we’re proud of our new wine selections, so make sure to ask us for a recommendation to pair with all of these delectable dishes. Explore our new ½ bottles like the fizzy and fun Banfi Rosa Regale from Piedmont, the crisp King Estate Pinot Gris, seductive PlumpJack Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, high scorers Justin Isosceles and The Prisoner, and some ooh-la-la bottles from France. We choose each bottle especially to complement our food and delight our favorite guests (that’s you!), so come in today and check out our changes!