Five-Diamond Restaurant Closes Down In Arizona

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Sep 5th 2009 at 12:08AM

The lack of interest in fine dining has doomed the fancy fare in Tucson. The Arizona Daily Star reports that Tucson's only five-diamond restaurant, the upscale Ventana Room at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, has closed. The restaurant had closed for the summer as it usually does but now won't reopen. The resort's public relations director said that people prefer the gourmet comfort food to dress-up dining. The elegant restaurant was on the top floor of the hotel. Earlier this year prices were reduced and the requirement that gentlemen wear coats was dropped but it was not enough to stop diners from migrating to the more casual dining experiences available at the resort.

The Ventana Room served entrees including seared New England diver scallops with salsify and artichoke barigoule, Alaskan black cod with caramelized green apple, parsnip puree and currant balsamic reduction and Australian Wagyu beef tenderloin with Tohono O'odham white tepary beans and pomegranate port reduction. The Ventana room space will be converted to high-end meeting and banquet space for parties and special events. There is now only one five-diamond restaurant open in Arizona, Kai, at the Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona.

Gallery: Restaurant Woes

Tags: arizona, fine dining, FineDining, gourmet fare, GourmetFare, restaurants, tucson, ventana room, VentanaRoom

Filed under: Dining

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

Amboydude Sep 9th 2009 10:47AM

I'm Sad To Here The Ventana Room Has Closed. They Made a Great $30.00 Grilled Cheese Sandwich!!

amconnor125 Sep 9th 2009 10:57AM

Personally, I don't care about some restaurant in Arizona that I probably would never eat at anyway. AOL needs to find more important things to write articles about. And before someone says "why'd you read it if you think it's pointless?" or something like that, I thought it might have been about some famous chef's (like Gordon Ramsey or Rocco DiSpirito) restaurant was closing, not this....

Trish Sep 9th 2009 11:09AM

JM...I find it highly amusing that you assume that it's conservatives railing against fine dining establishments. That is the role of LIBERALS...thanks to BO...who has done NOTHING but encourage Americans to be jealous of one another and who hate EVERYTHING anyone with more money than them can afford. Oh, EXCEPT the Hollywood elite and THEIR politicians! Same with the dress code. Fine dining restaurants in the conservative areas of my city have people who dress appropriately. We have stopped going to the fine dining establishments in the liberal areas of town because it is difficult to enjoy your meal sitting next to the hairy jean and tank top wearing, dirty haired, smelly hippie type...who can obviously afford the $100 meal but not suit...or water...or soap!

D.J. Sep 9th 2009 11:19AM

ONE MORE "OBAMA-NATION-BUSTING" JOB DESTROYING F-A-I-L-U-R-E...SOOO SAD SO M-A-N-Y "S-T-I-L-L LOSING THEIR JOBS" SUCH AS T-H-I-S!!!

LovelyHoney Sep 9th 2009 11:46AM

AHH..SHUT UP ya "Let's-blame-everything-on-Obama" CRY BABY! LOL!

Wah, wah, wah. Must be a frickin' Repuke-blican!

Kevin Sep 9th 2009 11:37AM

JM:Wow got a little time on your hands? liberals usually do, they are on the dole most of the time.

LovelyHoney Sep 9th 2009 11:43AM

WOW - this country and it's people are amazing. We will FIGHT about anything - won't we? LOL!

OH!--except for national healthcare for all American citizens - oops!

nicole Sep 9th 2009 11:53AM

There is nothing wrong with eating at a 5-star restaurant if you have the money and the food is good.
Where I have a problem is when I go to a supposedly "OUTSTANDING" eatery and I find out that the decor maybe outstanding but the food is not. Just because your restaurant as an updated look does not mean that the dishes are up to par.
I understand that in this day and age money is tight but unfortunately for some and fortunately for others, there is still a need for upscale restaurants and faraway vacations spot because some people still have money.

Domenic Sep 9th 2009 1:17PM

It is pretty sad that the uneducated and unrefined masses on the internet can not appreciate fine dining such as this. The meny looks elegant and delicious and the closing of this place is truly an area loss. So many of you are just sheep to the McDonald's around the corner and wouldnt recognize good food if it was force fed to you like the trough that you currently consume from.

Very sad...

Lori walker Sep 9th 2009 1:54PM

Love Sheriff Joe LOVE THAT MAN

Jim Fedullo Sep 9th 2009 2:19PM

I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THIS once GREAT COUNTRY, KANSAS CITY, MO.'S DOWNTOWN IS ALMOST A VACANT PARKING LOT. BERWICK, PA -ALMOST ALL OF THIS TOWN IS GONE, RENO, NV-THE DOWNTOWN IS A SHAMBLES. SACRAMENTO, CA IS VIRTUALLY DEAD, ESPECIALLY THE DOWNTOWN AREA. PHOENIX, MESA , SCOTTSDALE,TEMPE AND A FEW OTHERS ARE A KNIFE & GUN CLUB ATMOSPHERE ANYMORE.KIDS ARE DROPPING OUT OF COLLEGE, NOW JUST TRYING YO SURVIVE, PEOPLE ARE LIVING ON THE STREETS, IN THEIR CARS OR IN TENT CITIES.SUICIDES ARE UP, PEOPLE ARE KILLING THEIR OWN FAMILIES UNDER THE STRESS, CRIME IS WAY UP, VIOLENCE IS UP.

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