Maynards Tucson Dinner Menu Preview

This weekend was a busy one. I started off heading to Phoenix to attend the Vegetarian Food Festival and rushed back to attend a blogger happy hour with some Tucson ladies. We were lucky enough to have Maynards Kitchen hosting us and got to try a preview of their new dinner menu!

Essentially, Saturday was a foodie’s dream and the photos will show you why. Each dish was unique, something you can’t find anywhere else, and beautifully presented.

Starters:

I showed up a few minutes late, so I had to snag two food photos off one of the other girls in attendance. At least, when I arrived, there was still some leftover beet salad and pan-seared scallops!

ROASTED BEET SALAD: Red beets, local goat feta cheese, white Sonoran wheat berries, Merchant garden mustard greens, pistachio, burnt lime vinaigrette

I’m a huge fan of beets, so I was pretty stoked that this beet salad was on the menu. This one was one of the more unique versions of a beet salad I’ve ever had.

Side note: are you supposed to eat the flower petals?

PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS: Diver scallops, apple butter, chiltepin compressed apple, date-walnut jam, tarragon

Scallops are always a treat, since it takes a good chef to prepare them correctly. This was delicious and the perfect plate for sharing. The sweetness of the apple butter and date-walnut jam complimented the scallops perfectly.

Mains:

AZ RED RISOTTO: Maynards Arizona Red wine, risotto, caramelized root vegetables, pickled pearl onions, sage whipped goat cheese

I won’t lie to you – this is one of the prettiest dishes I’ve ever eaten. It was just so colorful! I was a little surprised by the color of the risotto at first, but this was easily one of my favorite dishes! The goat cheese perfectly complimented the flavor in the risotto, but I’m always a fan of goat cheese.

VEAL CHOP: Bourbon brined veal chop, caramelized root vegetables, cauliflower puree, malted Maynards Garden kale, onion jam

Honestly, you can’t ever go wrong with a veal chop. I usually only eat veal on very special occassions, so I’m always excited when I get to try it. This one was perfectly prepaired too and the vegetables complimented it perfectly.

BEER-BRINED CHICKEN: Barrio Blonde brined chicken, creamy semolina, roasted brussel sprouts, pickled mustard seeds, tamarind-lime glaze, baby greens

For those of you who don’t know, Barrio Blonde is a beer produced right here in Tucson. It’s one of my favorite local beers, so of course I was excited to see it made an appearance in this dish!

Chicken is one of those things you order on the menu when you don’t know what else to order. At least, that’s how I feel. It’s safe. It’s oen of those dishes you can order on a first date so that you don’t feel bad about ordering the most expensive thing on the menu but you don’t have to get a salad either.

All I can say is, if you’re ordering this “safe dish,” you certainly won’t be disappointed. It’s some of the best chicken I’ve had!

Side note: I usually don’t eat brussel sprouts, but I went back for seconds on these!

Desserts:

We finished the meal off with my favorite part of any meal: dessert. Even though most of the girls were viciously fighting over the pecan tart, I went for seconds on the cheesecake. Usually, I find that cheesecake is too rich, but I could’ve finished this whole thing by myself!

LEMON GOAT CHEESE CHEESECAKE: lemon curd, lemon peel, honey-sugared thyme, fresh berries

DARK CHOCOLATE WHISKEY PECAN TART: with Whiskey Caramel, Vanilla Bean Gelato, and Pecan French Macaroon

So, if you’re planning on going to Maynards now to try some of these dishes, which one are you most excited to try? For those who aren’t in the area, which dish do you wish you could try the most?