Uptown Magazine December 2018

Reimagined RESTAURANTS
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The bar at La Hacienda by
Richard Sandoval, steamed clams at Bar Pesce, and the
interior of The Macintosh.
LA HACIENDA BY
RICHARD SANDOVAL
La Hacienda by Richard Sandoval at the
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess unveiled an
impressive multimillion-dollar facelift, not
to mention a new cocktail program and
dinner menu, in September. The update
includes an expanded bar and lounge,
the addition of both indoor and outdoor
lounge seating featuring fixtures directly
from Mexico, a new tequila display, and
an artistic agave wall. To help develop
new features on the menu, executive chef
Forest Hamrick and Sandoval traveled
to the hottest restaurants across Mexico
over the past year and brought back
some inspired recipes. The cocktails,
which include 21 new options plus extensive
tequila-tasting flights, are similarly
spectacular. www.scottsdaleprincess.com.
BAR PESCE
In October, chef and restaurateur Cullen
Campbell transformed his award-winning
Crudo into Bar Pesce. Visually, the re-envisioned
restaurant includes contemporary
lighting and striking, gold-hued wallpaper,
and the addition of a partition wall to add
variation to the main dining room. There
is also now an on-site wine cellar and
a menu of 10 all-new creatively crafted
cocktails. Of course, the most sweeping
changes are to the menu, which now
combines the twists on modern Italian
cuisine that Crudo was famous for, plus
exciting new dishes inspired by Japan,
Vietnam and South America. Don't miss
the fan-favorite crispy pig ears, the crab
mi roll with lobster roe aioli, or the squid
ink risotto with crab, chilies and uni (yes,
sea urchin). www.barpesce.com.
THE MACINTOSH
As of October, The Macintosh replaced
Grassroots Kitchen & Tap in Phoenix’s
Town & Country shopping center at 20th
Street and Camelback Road. Originally
opened in 2014, the initial restaurant was
a spinoff of Common Ground Culinary’s
Grassroots concept in Scottsdale, which
continues to operate. The new venue
pairs bold, brassy and energetic decor
with a hearty yet approachable menu of
modern comfort classics with distinct
Southern influences — and nothing is over
$24. The central bar was redesigned to
feature soaring library shelves brimming
with more than 30 different whiskeys;
20-plus domestic beers; and a smaller,
more refined domestic wine program,
accented with cocktails barrel-aged
in-house. www.themacintoshaz.com.
Uptown December '18 53