Open Haus…
Tonight the newest member of the Haüs family opens – and I couldn’t be more excited! The Taco Haüs is the brainchild of Chef Payton Curry and Dave Andrea, the duo who created the Brat Haüs. Sean, Aidan and I got to have a preview dinner to sample the new menu last week and it will knock your socks off! They brought the same wonderful vibe from the Brat Haüs but with a totally different direction in flavors.
The three of us had a hard time keeping up with all of the dishes Payton sent out for us to try – and an even harder time sharing. The tacos are amazing – or so I heard, Aidan ate them too quick for me to get a bite. And then he ordered more and did it again. I forgave him, mostly because I was hoping he would stay distracted while Sean and I dove into the ceviche. We tried the Halibut, the Scallops and the Ahi versions and all were outstanding. The Halibut came with a mix of kohlrabi, radish, green onions and corn over the top and hint of citrus. The Scallops had a warm vinaigrette of serrano peppers, with grilled corn, shallots and garlic. And the Ahi, oh the Ahi, had a mix of mango, apple, sprouts and celery. Unbelievable!
As you would expect from Payton, the Taco Haüs serves only all-natural, hormone and antibiotic free meats and natural line caught fish, along with using our organic produce. Even their tortillas are handmade on premise and are gluten free. Eating tacos and ceviche this fresh feels like it should come with a sea breeze through the windows and the sound of waves crashing.
And make sure to leave a little room at the end of the meal, because the desserts are not to be missed. My favorite was the Tres Leches, made by the lovely Mrs. Shantal Curry who is a formidable talent in the kitchen. They also offer a wonderful flan and a chocolate bar covered in pomegranate seeds, sea salt, pecans and citrus zest, that I may have squirreled away for later.
I already have plans to go again… and again after that. As does my son, who took his time filling out the comment card to lavish his own praise.
In Aidan’s own words, “this may sound like a car commercial, but this is great food at low prices.”
Well, okay then.
Taco Haus
7318 E. Shea Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Haus: 480.991.3437
Tacout: 480.991.3122
www.TacoHausAZ.com
Happy New Years from the farm…
Happy 2014 from McClendon’s Select! Everything is so beautiful on the farm right now. We will be back in Scottsdale this coming Saturday and back to Town & Country next Wednesday through the rest of the season. There is so much coming up for the new year, I had to share a few photos…
All sorts of baby greens…
And some beautiful fully grown ones…
There are rows coming to life everywhere…
And the citrus trees are heavy with fruit…
It is no wonder that we had a family of javelinas running around this morning.
See you at the markets!
Holiday Market Schedule…
McClendon’s Select would like to wish all of our customers a very Merry Christmas!
We wanted to let you know of our holiday schedule for the end of December. The Town & Country Farmers’ Market will not be held on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25th nor on New Years’ Day, Wednesday, January 1st. We will return to the Town & Country market on Wednesday, January 8th.
McClendon’s Select will be at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market on December 21st and 28th as normal. We thank you all for your support of McClendon’s Select during 2013 and look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Happy Holidays~
Bob, Marsha, Sean, Kate and Aidan McClendon
Happy Thanksgiving!
We just want to express our sincere thanks to all of our customers for your continued support and good will over the years. We truly love this farm and it is a joy to have it so well received at the markets and by the restaurants and chefs. We are busy getting ready for tomorrow’s market at Town & Country. The market right before Thanksgiving is a personal favorite of all of us. Hearing everyone’s stories and plans for what they will be cooking and how they plan to spend the holiday feels like the pinnacle of what we do all year long. Sharing good food and traditions with family and friends is at the very heart of this farm. We wish you a wonderful holiday and will see you bright and early tomorrow at Town & Country!
P.S. As a reminder, we will not be at the Old Town Farmers’ Market on Saturday to give our employees time off to spend with their families. We will be back in Scottsdale on Saturday, December 7th.
Thanksgiving planning…
The forecast is calling for showers later today and tomorrow, but not to worry, we will be harvesting everything you need for Thanksgiving tomorrow to bring to the Old Town Farmers’ Market in Scottsdale this Saturday. There will be plenty of potatoes, yams, greens, pecans, squash, cranberries and all of the other fixings to create a spectacular meal. The rain should let up by early Saturday (trust us, no one checks the forecast more than Bob), but either way know that we will be ready for you this weekend.
For our Town & Country shoppers we will be ready for you too next Wednesday, November 27th. The market before Thanksgiving is always one of our busiest, so make sure to come early. (It is also always one of my favorites, I love hearing what everyone is planning to cook.) We are bringing extras of everything to help you prepare for your Thanksgiving dinner.
Marsha is also sending bundles of herbs to each market with fresh sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and sage.
McClendon’s Select will not be at the Old Town Scottsdale Market the Saturday following Thanksgiving, November 30th. There will still be many vendors at that market, so make sure to stop by and support them while you are out for your holiday shopping. We will return to Scottsdale on Saturday, December 7th.
But do not worry about planning for your holiday meal, because rain or shine we will be at both Old Town on Saturday, Nov. 23rd and at Town and Country on Weds., Nov. 27th.
See you there!
Town & Country Shopping Center
From 8:00am to 2:00pm
4881 North 20th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market
From 8:00am to 1:00pm
Located on the Southwest corner of 1st Street and Brown in Scottsdale.
Brown is one block East of Scottsdale Road. 1st Street is two blocks South of Indian School Road.
More this Saturday…
A big thank you to everyone who came out for our first market in Scottsdale last weekend! It was an amazing turnout and a lovely welcome back!
And it was CRAZY!
We have never had that kind of turnout before on an opening market for the season, but no worries, with two farms planted and ready for harvest, we have even more of everything coming this weekend! There will be some new items too, including Crimson Gold apples, new organic apple juice (that is out of this world!), and red and green Salanova bib lettuces, to name a few. There is also a new crop harvest of popcorn that will be coming with us, and Jason and Claudio from Noble Bread will back again as well.
Trust me, there will be more of everything this coming Saturday. More produce, more cashiers, still more produce…
See you Saturday!
Town & Country Shopping Center
Wednesdays from 8:00am to 2:00pm
4881 North 20th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market
Saturdays from 8:00am to 1:00pm
Located on the Southwest corner of 1st Street and Brown in Scottsdale.
Brown is one block East of Scottsdale Road. 1st Street is two blocks South of Indian School Road.
This Saturday in Scottsdale…
McClendon’s Select will be back at the Old Town Farmers’ Market in Scottsdale this weekend. We will have a wonderful selection with us, including beautiful baby bok-choi, Forono red beet bunches, i’itoi onions and all sorts of vibrant root vegetables and fresh greens. It will be great to be back in Scottsdale, we can’t wait to see you!
And…. Noble Bread will be with us! Jason Raducha from Noble Bread has a new member on his team, Claudio Urciuoli, who many of you may know. Claudio comes from Italy and has graced many fine kitchens throughout the Valley. Together they are creating some magic, using organic, GMO-free flour. You can read more about Noble Bread here, but trust me, the best thing way to appreciate what they are doing is to pick up a loaf for yourself.
See you at the market!
Town & Country Shopping Center
Wednesdays from 8:00am to 2:00pm
4881 North 20th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market
Saturdays from 8:00am to 1:00pm
Located on the Southwest corner of 1st Street and Brown in Scottsdale.
Brown is one block East of Scottsdale Road. 1st Street is two blocks South of Indian School Road.
Organic S.E.E.D….
The Madison Improvement Club is a fantastic health conscious cafe that is disguised as a workout club. Actually the club itself offers both yoga flow classes or “Phenomenal Flow” as they are called and killer spin classes called “Party on a Bike” that will get your heart pumping, while their cafe S.E.E.D. offers a mouth-watering menu. We have been supplying their cafe S.E.E.D. for quite some time and I had been hearing rave reviews about that they are doing. The cafe may be tiny, but they are big on organic and have a huge menu of options that is worth the workout. Deciding that I needed to work for my lunch, I tried the “Party on a Bike” class this past weekend. I love yoga, but thought it would be fun to try something different and this was class was amazing. New to spinning, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the class was high intensity and a lot of fun. And they were serious about the party, it was a crazy, rowdy good time complete with laser lights, energetic music and an instructor who kept you moving. It was also a workout that I am still feeling.
After working up a sweat, their cafe is the perfect place to cool down and refuel. S.E.E.D. offers a case filled with pre-made salads to go that were freshly made with options like “The Calvin” filled with organic baby arugula, white beans, seedless grapes, walnuts and parmesan, which was wonderful. They are happy to mix up the salad for you and serve it in a bowl, if you want to stay there to enjoy your lunch. There is also a long selection of freshly pressed juices and smoothies to choose from. The Will Power smoothie was a nice treat after working up a sweat that didn’t make me feel like I had just undone all of that hard work. But the menu is more than salads and smoothies, there are a number of options including sandwiches, flatbreads, breakfast burritos and veggies dishes with many vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. They serve breakfast thru dinner, with a beer, wine and cocktail menu available as well.
While the class was a lot of fun, it is not mandatory to enjoy the cafe. S.E.E.D. offers plenty of to go options, as well as on-line ordering and even delivery. They are also available for catering. A friend who is a regular told me that she often stops in to pick up her lunch for the day before heading into work. I would too.
So, if you haven’t been, I would definitely encourage you to go. Both the workout and the food were wonderful, and with the first class offered for free you have nothing to lose!
S.E.E.D. Cafe
602.626.7307
www.seedcafephoenix.com
The Madison Improvement Club
3802 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85018
602.296.7118
www.themadisonphoenix.com
(A big thank you to Alexis, my favorite workout partner, for encouraging me to try new things.)
Returning to the markets…
McClendon’s Select is coming back to the markets and we can’t wait to see you! Sean has been busy the last several weeks planting away at both the farm in Peoria and the one in Goodyear and there will be all sorts of beautiful veggies coming out of the ground just in time for the farmers’ markets. We will be back at Town & Country on Wednesdays starting Wednesday, October 2nd and back at the Old Town Farmers’ Market in Scottsdale on Saturdays starting October 19th. See you there!
Town & Country Shopping Center
Wednesdays starting October 2nd, 2013
From 8:00am to 2:00pm
4881 North 20th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market
Saturdays starting October 19th, 2013
From 8:00am to 1:00pm
Located on the Southwest corner of 1st Street and Brown in Scottsdale.
Brown is one block East of Scottsdale Road. 1st Street is two blocks South of Indian School Road.
We went to Tucson!
McClendon’s Select has been working with restaurants in Flagstaff, Sedona and even Winslow for some time now, but we are happy to say that we are now working with restaurants in Tucson as well. Some of our favorite restaurants from Flagstaff have opened new outposts in Tucson. The owners of Brix and Criollo started a new concept called Proper on Congress Street, across from the Hotel Congress. A few doors down, Diablo Burger also originally from Flagstaff, opened along with the Good Oak Bar. Congress Street has become quite the hot spot in downtown Tucson. This past weekend, Sean, Aidan and I had the chance to go down and see for ourselves. It is quite the scene, especially on Second Saturday, when Congress Street comes alive with music on the streets with everything from mariachis to bagpipes, along with pop-up stores and food vendors and a whole array of performers. Just people watching was entertaining.
We had an amazing dinner at Proper, which was made all the more fun by running into an old friend. As a vegetarian, she was thrilled when Proper opened and said that she eats there a few times a week. Everything we had was outstanding. I would definitely be there a few times a week if it was possible.
The Diablo Burger is on the same block and had that incredible aroma of their burgers and famous fries that fills the air, just like the one in Flagstaff. This one is open to the sidewalk with a ton of indoor seating, and is definitely on our list to visit next trip. They also opened the Good Oak Bar next door, which specializes in Arizona beer and wine and serves from the Diablo Burger menu.
On Sunday morning we stopped by the St. Philip’s Plaza farmers’ market, which has an incredible selection of locally grown produce, meats and artisan foods. It is a wonderful market with a huge variety and number of vendors.
Also very exciting, Chris Bianco is opening a Pizzeria Bianco’s on Congress Street later this fall. We can’t wait! He has been a long-time friend and supporter of the farm and we are excited that Tucson will get to enjoy his genius now too!
Guess we will have to make another trip!
(Special thanks to Bernd for being our host and Tucson tour guide!)
Proper
300 East Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-396-3357
www.propertucson.com
Diablo Burger/Good Oak Bar
316 East Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-882-2007
www.diabloburger.com
McClendon's Select 