Vibrant. Colorful. Vegan.
Karma Tsepal | Assistant Director of Food & Beverage
There are many compelling reasons to devote your life to being a vegan or vegetarian – and we celebrate you for that! There are also countless delicious recipes floating around tiktok and the internet that ensure proper nutrition with a banging taste, and can bring a fun, new energy into your weekly meal prep. However, do you often find while traveling or dining out that your meal options are quite slim and usually limited to a basic house salad with oil and vinegar or plain, tasteless, steamed broccoli? One of the most celebrated parts of traveling is getting to eat at new, sumptuous, and taste-defying restaurants – and you shouldn’t be limited to plain vegetables while enviously watching your dining companions chow down on their endless, butter-soaked, meaty options. Food brings us together, and enhances our moods and connections – and the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess has a plethora of tasteful accommodations at all of our concepts on property to leave you feeling satisfied and not lacking.
Each of our restaurants has a menu specifically designed with dietary restrictions in mind, and many of the dishes have already been consciously created to be able to be modified without particular ingredients to make them compliant to any diet. This ensures that as a vegan or vegetarian, you won’t be met with, “let me go ask the chef”, and can simply enjoy one of the creative culinary dishes made specifically with you in mind! Let’s take a tour of the property and see some of the highlights at each outlet.
To satiate that classic American cuisine craving, head to Ironwood American Kitchen. For your breakfast needs, we recommend snagging the Purple Barley Waffle – made completely vegan, as-is. A heaping portion of Hayden mills purple barley waffles are then topped with fresh berries, smoked almonds, coconut shavings, and complimented with vegan caramel sauce and coconut butter. If you have less of a sweet tooth and seek a savory start to the day instead, perhaps you check out our avocado toast. Artisanal vegan bread topped with perfectly ripe avocados, zesty arugula, shaved heirloom carrots, watermelon radishes, preserved lemon, and an enticing English pea pesto. Pro tip: order the 24 Karat fresh pressed juice to complement your meal – carrot, Fuji apple, pineapple, turmeric and orange – or opt for a mimosa flight if you’d like more of a boozy-brunch. What more could you ask for?
For lunch, we recommend you head over to Toro Latin Restaurant & Rum Bar overlooking the 18th green of TPC Golf Course. As a pan Asian-Latin infusion restaurant, they focus on a seamless blend of both cultures resulting in delightfully surprising culinary creations. If you’re wanting to keep it on the light and refreshing side, check out Toro’s Watermelon Heirloom Tomato Salad. Juicy heirloom tomatoes and watermelon segments, topped with shaved fennel, baby watercress and finished with tajin and a balsamic reduction. The tang and spice of the tajin brings the acidity of the dish to the forefront of your palate and is then immediately tamed by the sweetness of the balsamic reduction. For something a little heartier, try the Vegan Fried Rice. Upon taking your first bite, you’ll have one thought: this is impossibly vegan. Filled with tangy, buttery, salty goodness, and just enough Asian greens to make you not feel guilty, it’s better than any takeout fried rice we’ve ever had. We promise, you’ll have a hard time putting down the chopsticks and refraining from licking up every grain of rice left in the bottom of the bowl. It starts simple with perfectly fluffy, sticky jasmine rice, adds snow peas, bean sprouts, carrots and is tossed in a Peruvian staple: sweet and savory Chifa sauce. This Asian-Latin infusion carries over into their wine and cocktail list, and we urge you to try one of the delectable rums from their extensive menu!
Dinner presents two very contrasting options: Bourbon Steak and La Hacienda. Since “steak” is in the title, you may think that you’ll be dragged by your dining partner to yet another restaurant where you’ll only be able to eat the side dishes – but we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. For the perfect vegan meal, start with the Farm Salad - yes, we know, a seemingly boring green salad, but Chef Michael Mina takes greens to the next level! A delightful mix of seasonal farm greens and vegetables mixed with crunchy Marcona almonds, fennel pollen and all tossed together in a luscious champagne vinaigrette. It’s just what you need to whet your appetite for the main dish: Seasonal Vegetable Risotto. Made with vegetable stock and with absolutely no dairy, this creamy risotto is then topped with all of the ripest veggies of the season. When we tried it, it was a colorful array of heirloom carrots, canoe-style sugar snap peas, a roasted mushroom medley and for the pièce-de-resistance, shaved black truffles. To kick this meal up a notch, explore Bourbon Steak’s Wine Spectator Award Winning wine list and pair your risotto with one of the world-class Barolos or Barbarescos in our wine cellar. Don’t worry – if the wine list intimidates you, one of our sommeliers will gladly help you select the most delicious bottle for your palate.
Finally, for an authentically southwestern vegan experience, head to La Hacienda. Only open for dinner, La Hacienda explores traditional Mexican cuisine, and puts an original and upscale spin on it. A surprisingly hearty dish we recommend is the Caramelized Cauliflower. Lightly browned rainbow cauliflower garnished with pistachios, pepitas, pomegranate seeds and micro greens sitting on a bed of notably velvety herbed avocado pesto. To contrast with this dish, executive Chef Forrest Hamrick created the Calabacitas Enchiladas. Calabacitas, or “little squash”, is a classic Mexican squash dish made predominately of squash and a variety of seasonal vegetables. In this rendition, Chef Forrest has chosen to feature zucchini, corn, mushrooms and spinach all tucked tightly into artisanal corn tortillas to create enchiladas that are then covered in a blanket of salsa roja, avocado crema and topped with zesty corn and tomato pico de gallo. Compliment your meal with one of our signature margaritas, or if you’re on the adventurous side, one of our Tequila Goddesses will pair your meal with the best tequila you’ve never heard of.
As many dishes as we highlighted here, this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are so many more vegan and vegetarian dishes available at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princes, and we simply can’t wait to see you on property to try out all our delectable options for your wholesome diet.