Besides spas and our fantastic weather, the next best thing about Scottsdale is the terrific dining scene. Luxury restaurants like J&G at The Phoenician and Lon’s at The Hermosa are two of my favorites to take my more distinguished (older) house guests, but this past week I had a group of younger, more modern visitors who wanted to see Scottsdale’s more contemporary dining scene.

As girls often do, we wanted a place to dine where we could share food, and not have to be stuck with one entree each. Immediately I thought of Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian. Asia de Cuba’s Los Angeles location has always been a favorite of mine and my friends, so we thought the Scottsdale one would have to be just as good. And it was. Maybe even better.

The white decor and live music made for a vibrant atmosphere, but it was totally the food and drink that stole the show. I started with a Grey Goose and Champagne martini, and then after some wine and my meal I also thought it would be wise to finish with  the same Grey Goose martini – probably not the best idea ever. But in between the martinis, we also indulged in loads of food. We were on vacation so we did not deny ourselves and we ordered, well, almost everything on the menu.

We chose the Beef Dumplings Two Ways, TheNoodle Box and the Pan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops to start, and then we jumped right into a wide selection of entrees like the Miso Cured Alaskan Butterfish, the Cuban BBQ Chicken, Marinated Crispy Tofu and the Grilled Strip Steak. We also ordered a bunch of side dishes that we really didn’t need after all this food.

The best part about ordering all of these incredible selection is that the meals are intended to be passed around and shared. It’s a great way to dine when you are with a group of close friends. Everyone gets to enjoy all of the flavors and foodie conversations are dominant at a dinner like this.

Now, I had been to Asia de Cuba before and had indulged in dessert here. I warned my girlfriends that the coconut cake slice was the size of my head. Well, they ordered it anyway and confirmed that indeed this slice of cake is as large as a cake slice can be. The perfect dessert to share amongst friends.

Even though we were stuffed from the food and a little tipsy from the wine and cocktails, we wandered over to the Mondrian’s Midnight Room (used to be called Sky Bar) to dance off the calories. We reserved a lovely cabana and enjoyed the evening under the stars.

Needless to say, this dinner and dancing outing was another hit with the out of towners. It’s a sure bet if you need to impress a group of people with a contemporary and delicious dinner.

www.mondrianscottsdale.com

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