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/

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!

She does a great job outlining all of our tempting specials and gives us a terrific testimonial that makes us beam with pride. Please check out Heather’s article and don’t forget to call us soon to make reservations. We’re looking forward to seeing you at either Tonto or Cartwright’s on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Happy Southwestern holidays, everyone!

I go almost every year to shoot my Christmas Goose at a hunt club called Cibola Sportsman’s Club in Cibola, AZ, on the Colorado river about 30 minutes south of Blythe. You actually cross into California and then drop back across the mighty river into Arizona.

The Cibola preserve, just south of where we hunt, is protected and is a winter home for thousands of geese and ducks. So, when the geese come off the preserve and fly to the fields to eat, BANG, this is where we hunt. There are a ton of deer, coyotes, fox, bobcat, etc, too.

We wake up way before sunrise, around 4:30 a.m. to have breakfast and get our gear together. We check in at the club office and find out which blind and which field location we will be in. Our guide is Bob Fields, the state champion goose caller year after year.

So, we get out into the field, find our blind. It’s dark, mind you, and it’s damn cold. The blinds are big concrete rectangles tanks set into the ground. The top of the blind is even with the top of the ground. There is a padded bench seat and a propane heater inside. The top of the blind rolls closed over you and is covered with a camouflage-type cloth we can see through. We turn our radios on, load our guns and wait for sunrise.

Surrounding the blinds are ponds of low-level water and fields of alfalfa. A couple hundred plastic geese decoys are put out. The guide sets in a separate smaller blind along side his trusty Labrador retriever. As it starts to get light, we see and hear thousands of birds flying high above, mostly heading north to feed in the crop fields. There are also geese flying in from Canada or Alaska. They fly virtually nonstop to get here, so I usually pick my time to hunt around the full moon because that’s usually when they’re flying.

So, birds are moving, and this is where the fun begins. Bob watches the sky and the birds until he sees a group that looks interested or is coming close to us. We slide the tops closed and pick a hole or two look through. Bob starts blowing loud goose calls. It is a long honking process and the geese talk back. This communication continues between the two until the geese get with in range, and he basically works the birds to set them down right on top of us.

When he feels right, he calls out over the radio, “Take ’em!” That’s when we slide the doors open and the shooting begins. Geese are extremely durable birds, so the only way to take them down is to shoot them in the head or neck. To do this you need to lead them by a good foot. I have had geese right on top of me and I shot them three times in the belly, and they just look at me and fly off like nothing happened. The feathers are so dense, it’s hard for the pellets to penetrate.

The doors fly open and we pick a bird, release the safety and shoot once, pump, shoot, pump another round and shoot again. We’re allowed to have three rounds in our shotgun. Pretty much everyone uses a 12-gauge or 10-gauge shotgun. Nothing smaller works. For ammo, we mainly use a shotgun shell that contains Bismuth or Tungsten steel shot (it is very hard steel and has great penetration) and is a high brass shell, which means it has extra gunpowder in it. The more the gunpowder, the faster the flight. The new shells I bought fly at 1,750 FPS (feet per second). That’s damn fast. Most shells shoot 1,200 FPS.

So, blam, a goose goes down (hopefully) and you watch to see what the rest in the sky are doing while you quickly reload three more shells. Most of the time the geese turn on their turbo chargers and they are out of there. But … sometimes they circle around again and come back in confused. Then the shooting starts all over again. So, birds are down and the dog is released to do the retrieval. If it is in the water, the guide sends him out to those birds first. The dog brings them back and we check to make sure the bird is dead. If not, it is a quick ring of the neck, and lights out.

The birds are placed next to the blind you wait until another bunch comes in and the cycle repeats. Sounds easy and exciting right? Doesn’t always work that way. Some years we only get one group to come in all day. Other years I’ve had lots of birds coming in, but no one can seem to shoot straight and harvest zero birds. That’s why they call it “hunting” and not “taking!”

We also shoot ducks if they are coming in and no geese are around. But our main intent is giant honkers. We hunt till noon or so, head back to the club, clean our birds at the cleaning station (just gut them), pack them in the cooler and head home. Then the real fun begins: Plucking all those feathers.

I have gotten pretty good at this over the years and have a great technique. You get a large pot of water and add a little dish soap. Bring it up to a boil and dunk the bird in for about 30 seconds. Pull it out (not the best smell), let it cool and get to plucking. The soap helps the water to penetrate to the skin and the 30-second hot bath is just enough to lightly cook or firm up the skin. This make the feathers pull right out. Then it’s off to the sink for a good rinse and then a salt-water brine over night.

The next day I give it another good rinse and dry it, and it’s ready to be prepared for the feast. This is only one of two ways to get a goose. The other is just to go to the store and buy one that has been raised on a farm and comes shrink-wrapped and ready to cook. But that just doesn’t sound like any fun to me, and it certainly doesn’t taste the same on Christmas day!

Happy holidays from your local hunter,

Eric Flatt

-       The second annual Cave Creek Hot Air Balloon Festival in January, founded by Tonto co-owner Eric Flatt and Aerial Solutions, LLC co-owner Scott Clifton, was a huge success. It brought at least 6,000 spectators to the Rancho Mañana Golf Course for a day and night of family fun. Flatt and Clifton are working on a possible date this spring for the third annual event. We’ll keep you posted.

-       Our annual “On the Lawn” spring concert series was another highlight of the year, bringing local and national talent to the lawn in front of Tonto’s patio on select Saturday nights in April and May. It finished out with a killer acoustic set by Ari Heist on May 22.

-       The mild temperatures in the spring brought an extra-long patio season to Tonto in 2011, with diners outdoors enjoying the spectacular views and wildlife sightings well into June. To celebrate, later in the year we bought all-new tables and chairs from a local manufacturer with special springs in the feet so we will have no more wobbly tables – hooray! So put away those napkins and sugar packets.

-       Arizona Republic’s restaurant critic, Howard Seftel, paid a visit to Tonto and included our grass-fed, organic burger in his round-up of “very good” burgers around town. He praised the “straightforward beefy taste” and “good potat-onion bun.” Thanks, Howard!

-       Phoenix Magazine had all kind of love for us this year. Both Tonto and Cartwright’s made its Best Restaurants issue in January. In the annual Best of the Valley issue in November, Tonto was named “best Southwestern” and Cartwright’s was deemed “best gussied-up cowboy grub.” The critics had so many nice things to say about us, we almost blushed. But our staff works hard day in and day out, and they deserve the recognition.

-       We’re patting ourselves on the back for our leap into social media with our new Facebook and Twitter accounts and this blog. It’s made it easier to let everyone know what we’re up to. Please keep in touch and keep visiting our sites, our Facebook pages, our Twitter feeds and our blog. Please subscribe by filling out the form on the left side of the blog page, below. It’s a convenient way to stay up on all of our news.

-       We’re working on a new online calendar that will keep you up-to-date on all of our events automatically once you subscribe. Also coming soon is a recipe section where we’ll post the secrets to all of your favorite dishes.

We appreciate your business and hope to see you soon!

Psst … Santa has a secret up his big red sleeves this year for all of you bosses out there. He says you don’t have be a Scrooge – treat all of your employees to a festive night out at Cartwright’s. Our pre-booked group menus are affordable yet impressive, with prices per person starting at just $25. We won’t tell your employees how little you spent! You’ll all have a holly, jolly holiday party, and no one will put coal in your stocking while you’re out of the office.

Cartwright’s can hold parties of anywhere from 10 to 80 in our rustic yet upscale Ranch Room, which boasts a crackling fireplace, a stage for live music and a big screen and Power Point for your audio-visual presentations. We’re happy to decorate for you, or to help bring your ideas to life.

Have a big, happy family? Book your holiday get-together at Cartwright’s and lessen your holiday load. Think about it: A family gathering without the stress of cooking and cleaning. If you could just get Uncle Phil to stop talking politics, you’d truly have peace on earth and goodwill toward man.

Check out our group pricing and options here, and call John at 480-575-1916 today to beat the rush.

The place was packed, as it was a sold-out event, and there was wonderful feeling in the crisp autumn air. It was as if the stage was set for the showdown at the O.K. Corral. You could see the best of Arizona’s cowboys as they meandered around the room, pausing every now and then to see where the others were in the crowd. There was Marshall Trimble, Bob Boze Bell, Charlie LeSueur, Dolan Ellis, John Wayne Anderson, quick-draw Lance Headlee and a cast of other scoundrels.  Everyone was aware of them and were just waiting for them to strike! No, not from a gun, but a guitar and a mouth full of tall tales and ballads.

We quickly put everyone at ease as Bob Boze Bell took the stage and told them to sit down, shut up and get ready to have their bellies filed with gourmet vittles from Chef Montez and his chuckwagon crew. Montez and his crew prepared a starter course of a mélange of salads: W started with Rattlesnake Egg Pasta Salad, Butternut Squash, Roasted Chilies & Pumpkin Seed-Sage Pesto, Mesquite Grilled Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions & Chive Bacon Vinaigrette, Avocado Quarter Stuffed with Mango, Lime & Rock Shrimp Salad:

Next up was an Entrée Duo of Campfire Grilled Salmon Medallion & Sarsaparilla-Braised Beef Short Ribs, Charred Tomato with Ancho Chili Sauce & Avocado Salsa, Sweet Potato-Tortilla Hash & Wood-Grilled Chayote Squash. All were paired with house-baked Green Chili & Jack Cheese Corn Muffins, Savory Biscuits & 4-Onion Baguettes:

Last but not least was Pastry Chef Amanda Crick’s dessert of House-Made Mexican Chocolate Ranch Cake, Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting, Kahlua Anglaise & Fresh Berries:

Ahh, our plan worked… The guests were now too full to be ornery and were in the mood to kick back in the saddle and ponder at what was on the horizon.

As Marshall Trimble started to speak and pick at his guitar, we were all transformed to a black-and-white life of the open range on the Sonoran desert. The sounds of crackling fire and the song of a true Western cowboy set the mood. A certain magic imbued the air because we were in Cave Creek, surrounded by massive wooden beams bearing the likeness of the historic Cartwright Ranch. From one cowboy to the next, they told their stories and sang their songs, insuring that the Wild West in all of us will surely live on.

And, if you ever get an itch to fulfill your dreams, just saddle on up to the bar in a tight pair of Wrangler jeans.

While we’re big fans of these restaurants and most places on the list, we wanted to point out Tonto Bar & Grill is by far the most Arizona-oriented restaurant we know.

Tonto uses more foraged desert ingredients than any other restaurant in town. Our chefs harvest ocotillos flowers, mesquite beans, cholla buds, jojoba seeds, and saguaro, prickly pear and yucca baccata fruit. We support and sponsor Native Seeds/SEARCH and TOCA. Our building used to be an actual dude ranch. The restaurant is respectfully named after a prominent American Indian tribe from Arizona, the Tonto Apache.

Read more about our rich history and native-inspired food sourcing on our web site. Click on “About” and then “History” or “Tonto’s Pantry.”

We also would like to point out we’ve served game meats such as buffalo, elk and quail long before Kai was a gleam in anyone’s eye, and we are a “from scratch” operation, making everything from soups and sauces to breads and desserts in-house daily.

Hard work, quality ingredients and respect for the land and history that came before us – what could be more truly Arizonan?