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Story and photography by Manos Angelakis
Wright’s at the Arizona Biltmore Wright’s is the recently reinvented signature restaurant at the Arizona Biltmore. We had dinner there as well as their Sunday brunch, which was one of the best and most elaborate brunches we have recently had, second only to the Sunday Brunch of Peacock Alley at New York’s Waldorf=Astoria. The culinary team at Wright’s is supervised by the award winning Executive Chef Todd Sicolo, and headed by Conor Favre, the Executive Sous Chef. In response to the way people eat now, many of the main courses are “classic dishes reinterpreted by the team for today’s tastes” and they were absolutely sensational. Even though there is a seafood tasting menu available on Friday and Saturday evenings (minimum 2 persons, but available for any multiple of 2 i.e. 4, 6, 8 or more), we decided on just having as many small plates as we could. Meze (culinary tidbits) is part of my heritage and I would rather have multiple meze plates, than larger main courses. The small plate menu is seasonal and accompanied by appropriate wines. The “small plates” are not really all that small, just large enough so that a dinner can get a good representation of the kitchen’s expertise. The menu is set up using the wine type as a heading, which means that - for example - we had sparkling wines with the appetizers, white wines with the salads, fruit forward white wines with the main fish course and an Arizona red blend for the meat main. This was the first time I had an Arizona red with a meal, and I was glad I had in depth investigated the local product. Arizona Stronghold’s “Mangus” is an exceptional blend, 71% Sangiovese, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 3% Petite Verdot, and 2% Merlot. We had tasted the 2010 at the winery and it tasted like a powerful Chianti, but the one at Wright’s was a 2009 that had one more year in bottle to mellow out. (see story in The Oeno File)
We started with an amuse bouche of apple and parsnip puree topped with grilled prosciutto and candied walnuts with chilies.
One thing that impressed us was the knowledgeable waiters at both dinner and brunch. Our attendants not only knew the dish ingredients and cooking methods of the kitchen, but also had an excellent understanding of wines and the way a wine will influence the taste of a dish and vice versa.
That left space for the final indulgence, the perfect chocolate soufflé. And no Gigi… a soufflé is NOT just eggs. There is major expertise involved in making a perfect soufflé, and the kitchen at Wright’s was definitely up to the task! Sunday morning we went in for the Sunday Brunch. That was a culinary tour de force which changes weekly. Groaning tables loaded with small plates of exquisite cold dishes. Sushi rolls with all the fixings, fresh seafood, smoked salmon, red and black caviar (from wild caught fish; many restaurants now serve farmed black caviar Mimosas, Rossinis, Bellinis and other sparkling wine and fruit-nectar based cocktails were offered with the brunch, along with Bloody Mary and Tequila Sunrise from a rolling trolley and made at tableside, and we took full advantage. By the way, the Bellini at Wright’s was fortified with a little peach schnapps added to yellow peach nectar – a small deviation from the classic recipe where only white peach nectar is used; the Prosecco (not Champagne) used for the cocktail was from Lunetta, one of the best producers. Giuseppe Cipriani, the creator of the original Bellini, would have approved.
© January 2012 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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The food and wine pairings set up by Wright’s chef and sommelier were beautifully done and with the exception of a Washington State Riesling that I asked to be replaced with a Mosel Riesling (Essence, an off-dry wine produced by Raymund Prüm replaced Joel Gott’s Riesling) I was in agreement with the selections. 
A glass of Taittinger Brut for me and a Domaine Carneros Sparkling Brut for Barbara were offered and they accompanied a tuna tartar with quail egg yolk, horseradish aioli, coarse grain mustard, capers, on garlic crostini (Barbara) and an escargot cassoulet (with basil-fed snails) over sweet pea risotto, pernod, and white truffle essence (for me). Both dishes were exceptional, though the risotto was a bit on the wet side.
The second course was salad tossed tableside. I had roasted beets (two kinds, both red and golden) with watercress, sherry vinaigrette, candied hazelnuts, queen creek olive oil (a very local product; we had visited the production facility the day before), ver jus, and crow’s dairy feta cheese; Barbara had a Waldorf salad with celery root matchsticks, sliced apples, candied walnuts, sliced grapes and mint leaves. We usually make our own version of the Waldorf with green cabbage and red and green apples and the Biltmore’s was visually terrific; unfortunately it had a slightly musty taste.
Our main courses were a Beef Wellington and a Crisp Skin Snapper, and we shared both dishes. As I mentioned above, these are classic dishes with a modern interpretation. The fish was perfectly cooked – one of my complains with many restaurant kitchens in the US is that they usually overcook the fish. Fish should be cooked until it is just opaque and still flaky, not dry. 
that has very little taste), prosciutto and other preserved meats, a large variety of cheeses, filet rounds on orange slices, poached eggs on potato puffs and desserts… desserts… desserts! For an additional small fee you can order as many of the hot offerings made to order in the kitchen as you like. We ordered only two of the seven choices available, each with a twist on the classic dish, and they were delectable.