I will be spending my 40th bday in the Scottsdale, Az area. Any reccommendations for a fabulous place to have dinner?
I would like soemthing very special, great atmosphere, incredible food...You know...Its my 40th I want it memorable.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Scottsdale is filled with luxury spas but we ate at a cowboy theme place..I think it was called Rawhide. I'm sure the hotels have great places but Rawhide was fun.

Ohmygosh.....if "xx" took that advice and went to Rawhide to celebrate the big 40 he or she would be fuming furious.
Rawhide is for kids and tourists and the opposite of a special occasion restaurant.
Phoenix/Scottsdale's best are:
Mary Elaine's (French) at the Phoenician
Vincent's at 40th and Camelback (Southwestern)
Michael's at Pima and Pinnacle Peak (American)
T. Cook's on Camelback
Roxsand at the Biltmore shopping center

A dearth of 'elegant' restaurants in this desert town. Quite a few upscale casual.

Michael,
Thankyou for your advice on choices. Just the sound of "Rawhide" makes me wonder!!That is definitely not the type of place I was thinking.
I appreciate your insight. I am looking forward to seeing that part of the country... never been there.
thanks

I can second Michael's suggestions for Vincent's and Roxsand's. We spend Christmas in Phoenix, and the two of us will slip away for a quiet, wonderful dinner while the grandparents happily care for the children during the hectic holiday season. I would add that the upstairs tables at Roxsands are coxy, but all of the tables at Vincent's are nice. Enjoy!

You definitely don't want to do Rawhide for your 40th birthday. It is just a tourist spot to make you feel like you are in the old west. It can be a fun thing to do for a couple of hours, but you definitely wouldn't celebrate your 40th birthday there.

Well, Rawhide sounds like fun to me, and one fancy french restaurant with sauteed goose liver and a too-small steak is pretty much like another.

And when you put them in the middle of Arizona, well....

When I was last in Scottsdale my client wanted to take me to the best combination of SW food, and Scottsdale desert atmosphere, so chose the Hyatt at Gainey's Ranch. My host was a gourmet food buyer for a major supermarket, and knows food well, and it was a memorable meal.

The key to the celebration is your own definition of great atmosphere and incredible food.

If you want some sort of imitation Euroopean experience transplanted across the ocean, and then most of the way across the USA, you can perhaps pick from the lists already supplied.

When I turned 40, a friend took me to a great steakhouse. If you want a steakhouse, try the Stockyard. But maybe a great steak isn't fancy enough.

Another approach is to pick an atmosphere, tell us about it, and then see if you can get an other set of suggestions.

By "great atmosphere" I can see on the one hand quiet elegance, with clothes bought specially for the event, quiet classical music in the background, and four different servers looking after the table. But someone's elses definition would include all the waiters and wairtresses, plus customers from some other tables, gathering around you and singing happy birthday when a cake is brought in, candles blazing.

But, since you have not seen that part of the country before, I'd suggest you avoid a Phoenix imitation of a European restauarnt. You can find those everywhere. Look for South Western Cuisine if you like spicy foods, or something that is at least western and desert-oriented in mood and spirit.

BAK

Guess I'm thinking too much like a mom. I'm from the east coast so the Rawhide theme was fun for me. We have lots of fancy restaurants in Miami so I tend to go for fun, over the food. I'm not very adventurous with food. Next time I go to Scottsdale I'll ask you guys for opinions, I'm sure you will be blunt. Let us know where you end up going and how the experience was.

Hey everybody! Thanks for all the suggestions. You know I would love to try a themed restaurant while there(cowboy, etc..)just not on the big 4-0!
I like the ideaq of cozy, classical music in background, expensive seafood or steak.... So thanks for the tips!
I'll give some of these a try on other evenings.
WE love southwestern food and I can't get that in St. Louis!!!

Happy Birthday! Thank goodness there are many types of restaurants out there to meet our varied likes and intersts.

I still thought Rawhide was fun, and the food was good but I will check some of the other suggestions if I go back again.