Binkley encourages questions, and there’s no lack of them. Where is Perigord? What’s a marionberry? Is the Ivory King Salmon still coming from Ketchikan? What’s the difference in texture between seared and poached fish?  What is tapioca? What’s in the persimmon coulis?  Read the full article here….

But choosing a “best” restaurant isn’t nearly as straightforward.

The decision depends on so many variables that have nothing to do with quality, such as what kind of food you’re in the mood for and how much you want to spend. Your “best” restaurant today may not be your “best” restaurant tomorrow.

So for the first time in more than a decade of The Republic’s annual best-of awards, we have a three-way tie for best restaurant in Greater Phoenix.

Sharing the 2011 honor are Binkley’s Restaurant in Cave Creek, Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa on the Gila River Reservation and Nobuo at Teeter House in downtown Phoenix.

These restaurants offer entirely different dining experiences, but they do share one trait: they stand out from the crowd, representing the very best of their class.

Which one is the “best”? I’m not able to say. But you can’t do better. Read the full azcentral article

Chef Kevin Binkley isn’t a Food Network celebrity. He doesn’t have a high-powered publicity machine or run a restaurant empire. He’s just going all-out five nights a week, sourcing the finest ingredients and putting out the most imaginative, sophisticated, flat-out delicious food it may ever be your good fortune to enjoy.

The best way to appreciate his range and talents is through the six-course tasting menu, which changes daily. But you’ll be wowed long before the first course arrives, because Binkley sends out at least a half-dozen amuse-bouche as a prelude. We’re talking one-bite mini masterpieces like chorizo with honey and mascarpone, sherry-tinged duck consomme, homemade kielbasa with bacon cream, bacon and egg puff pastry, a sloppy Joe sandwich and butternut squash with crystallized ginger and pancetta. Go to azcentral article

For the full article go to click here.

Cold Appetizer*

Heirloom Potatoes – 16

pickled purple, Alturas, red thumb, ruby crescent, la ratte

Cobia Carpaccio – 18

daikon, sea beans, Fresno chile, delfino cilantro, iitoi onion, baby beets

Arugula Salad – 14

pancetta, candied pecan, dried cranberry, dates, blue cheese, cabernet vinaigrette

Steak Tartare – 17

red onion marmalade, frisee, garlic, wasabi, caperberry, crostini

Hot Appetizer*

Crème Fraîche & Potato Soup - 20

salmon caviar, German potato salad

Crispy Seared Foie Gras – 27 (add 14 on tasting)

vanilla cream biscuit, gooseberries, watercress, pear

Scallop in the Shell – 21

baby artichoke, menegi onion, edamame, sunchoke, French round carrot, preserved lemon

Slow Cooked Black Truffle Farm Egg – 32 (add 18 on tasting)

shaved Perigord black truffles, horseradish dumplings, baby leek, black truffle consommé

Cheddar Bratwurst – 16

choucroute, pickled peanuts, cippolini onion, apple

Short Rib Ravioli – 18

parmesan, bone marrow, wild mushroom ragout

Fish*

Brown Butter Crusted Grouper – 42

baby carrots, white beans, braised spigariello, lemongrass broth

Black Cod en Papillote – 45

mussels, bacon, swiss chard, baby turnip, couscous, white wine roasted tomato broth

Blue Crab – 44

gnocchi, wax beans, blue lake beans, rutabaga, orange, fines herbes

Meat*

Mesquite Charred Elk Loin – 45

celery, sweet potato, braised red cabbage, miso

Ribeye – 44

mushroom bread puddin’, Oregon white truffles, broccoli, red wine shallot

Guinea Hen² – 42

breast, rillette popover, baby bok choy, ginger, pomegranate vinaigrette

*All items on our menu are cooked to order.

Consuming raw or undercooked eggs or meats may increase your risk of food borne illness.

Although the tiny township of Cave Creek is known mostly for being cowboy chic and chock-full of Old West honky-tonks, there’s at least one restaurant where you might want to wear your dress boots. Under the guidance of chef-owner Kevin Binkley, Binkley’s offers contemporary American cuisine that changes frequently – based on the availability of fresh, local ingredients and the seasonality of items the chef must order in. So while one evening’s cold appetizers might be hickory-smoked halibut with three beet salad or Wellfleet oysters with marinated fingerling potatoes, the next week’s entrees might include blue cheese encrusted rib-eye or bacon-wrapped port tenderloin. 6920 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, 480-437-1072 or binkleysrestaurant.com.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” wrote the poet.
Chef-proprietor Kevin Binkley has some of the longest reach in the Valley, and nothing seems beyond his grasp. The county will have to add another lane to Cave Creek Road to accommodate Valley foodies making the trek to his stunning new place.
They’ll find a very sophisticated menu, rewritten daily. You might see such appetizers as crispy sweetbreads lined with quince marmalade, duck confit pierogi, lightly battered calf brains or a fig salad with fried prosciutto and blue cheese. Main dishes may include breast of pheasant, braised veal cheeks, pepper-crusted marlin or herbed sturgeon. The ambitious cheese course ranges through Taleggio, Epoisses de Bourgogne, Fleur du Maquis and Stilton. Such desserts as mocha brown butter pot de crème, white chocolate risotto and Sambuca cheesecake bring one of the Valley’s best meals to a triumphant conclusion.

Early in his career, chef Kevin Binkley had stints at two Mobil five-star shrines, the Inn at Little Washington and the French Laundry. In the future, the résumés of star chefs may boast of stints at Binkley’s.

Binkley knows that great cooking starts with great ingredients. When you build on great ingredients with masterful technique, a cultivated imagination and attention to detail, the results are phenomenal.

The best way to do justice to the classically influenced seasonal fare is to opt for one of the tasting menus. Look for appetizers like “lobster & lobster,” a clever mix of lobster meat and lobster mushrooms with gnocchi; magnificent sweetbreads in a perfect sauce gribiche; and duck confit pierogi with purple potatoes.

Fish dishes are magical. Among recent highlights were delicate tilefish in a Cabernet vinaigrette, meaty, pepper-crusted marlin and sublime walleye paired with fresh salsify and morel mushrooms. Binkley’s also works wonders with meat and poultry. Veal cheeks intensely braised with Szechuan peppers and teamed with Chinese long beans, cauliflower puree and crispy shiitake mushrooms create a symphony of flavors. Captivating breast of pheasant paired with blackberries, grits and edamame takes you on a head-spinning whirl.

The kitchen sweats the small stuff. Take the cheese list. The usual fine-dining beauties – Taleggio, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Roquefort – are here. But Binkley’s tracks down hard-to-find treats like Fleur du Maquis from Corsica, Edel de Cléron from southeastern France and fantastic Bianco Sottobosco, a truffle-infused Piedmont cheese.

There are plans to open a more casual Binkley’s spinoff by the end of 2006. That should give local foodies something to dream about.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/best2005/diningout/articles/1117best1117restaurant.html

Like most people, I’m wary about trying a pricey restaurant in some out-of-the-way place—even if it has received a high degree of local acclaim. For a native New Yorker like me, rural Cave Creek, Arizona, is such a place. But when my wife and I recently visited friends in Scottsdale, they suggested that the four of us go to Binkley’s, a restaurant they had not yet eaten at but had heard only good things about. To my delight, I found it to be an exceptional restaurant, well worth a special trip.

Chef Kevin Binkley graduated from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 1995. Within four years, he became the executive sous chef at Patrick O’Connell’s renowned restaurant in Virginia, the Inn at Little Washington. In 1999, Binkley further developed his skills working under the legendary chef Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in Napa Valley. Kevin and his wife, Amy, opened Binkley’s in 2004, and he soon achieved recognition as a culinary virtuoso.

In his French-inspired, modern American fare, the chef demonstrates a true talent for pairing ingredients in surprisingly delicious combinations, such as a roasted rib eye cap with blood orange or a pheasant breast with pineapple. Anything on the frequently changing menu can be ordered as an individual item or as part of a four-, five- or six-course tasting menu, which varies in price from $60 to $77 per person (with wine pairings, add $35 to $45). My companions and I opted to have the six-course tasting menu, which includes a cheese plate and a dessert.

There were 12 hot or cold appetizers to choose from. Our favorites included a butter-soft lamb carpaccio with caperberry, wax beans, frisee, shaved red onion, haricot vert, and a black-pepper vinaigrette; an ethereal curried pear soup made from pears poached in white wine and sprinkled with pistachio dust; a crispy seared foie gras with Szechwan pepper, date compote, sunflower sprouts, and gooseberries ($12 extra); and a moist Spanish mackerel with cilantro, garlic confit, and preserved lemon, sitting in a white wine broth. A hard-boiled, petite quail’s egg with its off-white color and elegant appearance gave this dish an additional layer of stylish complexity. After enjoying these palate pleasers, we agreed that we were having a first-class dining experience. Our attitudes collectively shifted from cautious optimism to joyful expectation.

Among the eight fish and meat entrees, I opted for a delicately textured Australian barramundi fish filet served with spring garlic, salsify, and sunchokes, encircled by a roasted sweet pepper vinaigrette. The nutty, sweet sunchokes, when combined with the slightly salty, oyster-like taste of the salsify provided the relatively bland fish with an intriguing depth of flavor, making for a very satisfying second course. For my meat selection, I enjoyed a veal chop topped with a demi-glace and accompanied by sweet potato tortellini, Brussels sprouts, slow-roasted shallots, and bacon. Both entrees were enhanced by sous vide cooking, a technique in which vacuum-packed ingredients are slowly simmered in 180- to 200-degree water. This results in increased succulence, rich taste, and velvety textures. My sous vided veal chop was finished by being rapidly browned at high heat to provide an attractive, crunchy exterior. When the dish arrived, the juicy chop looked and tasted wonderful.

Instead of the six courses we expected, to our amazement we actually were served 16 courses, the additional 10 made up of amuses-bouches delivered to our table throughout the meal. These small one- or two-bite portions further excited our taste buds and showcased the chef’s imaginative and diverse repertoire. Early on, we were given a shot glass containing a splendid butternut squash soup with a maple syrup and creme fraiche glaze. Prior to dessert, we were presented with a small orange-vanilla milkshake inspired by a traditional creamsicle but made with blood orange syrup and vanilla ice cream topped with a dab of huckleberry whipped cream. Alongside it sat a mini green apple soda float made from the restaurant’s own carbonated green apple juice, creating a play on color and subtle variations in sweet and tart accents. All the amuses were among the most clever and flavorful I have ever eaten.

At Binkley’s I experienced inspired and sophisticated cooking, reliance on local, organic, and seasonal ingredients, and strikingly beautiful presentations. Amy Binkley runs the front of the house and has assembled a friendly and knowledgeable wait staff. Our waitress, Rebecca, answered all of our questions about the food and wine with courteous proficiency. Our courses were deftly delivered in a timely manner, even though the restaurant was fully packed. If you plan to be in the Scottsdale area and dine at this restaurant, make your reservation well in advance because it is among the finest in the country and local food enthusiasts have embraced it.

Chow Town: Chronogram’s online resource for the latest restaurant openings, hidden gems, and food news.

http://www.chronogram.com/blogs/Chow-Town/show/A-Gastronomic-Oasis-Binkley-s