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.

Tiger Woods, just back from knee surgery, and Rory McIlroy, a teenage phenom from Northern Ireland, weren't the only ones making a high-profile return or debut on the PGA Tour this week at the Accenture Match Play Championship. The cactus-studded course on which the tournament is being played, Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, is brand new. It's the centerpiece of a Ritz-Carlton resort and residential community in the Tucson suburb of Marana, Ariz., that's scheduled to open in the fall. The desert setting -- a saguaro forest shadowed by the Tortolita Mountains -- is picturesque. The pros may be grumbling about the slow putting surfaces on the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout (above) but certainly not the scenery.

The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain is to include a 250-room resort and 450 home sites spread across 850 acres (roughly the size of New York's Central Park). It will be the largest Ritz-Carlton project in the country. Guests will have access to 20 miles of hiking trails plus routes for mountain biking and Jeep tours. A limited number of golf vacation packages can be reserved now at www.ritzcarlton.com/dovemountain.

In terms of real estate, charter memberships bestowing special discounts on property and services are being offered to the first 25 buyers. The benefits include, among other things, up to $175,000 off the price of a pre-designed custom home; 20 percent off the cost of a custom estate home site; free membership at the golf club ($125,000 value); and tens of thousands of dollars in credits that can be applied to costs such as home upgrades, hotel and spa charges and the purchase of a "neighborhood electric vehicle." For full details, see www.theresidencesdovemountain.com.

Another high-end home is being auctioned off in Arizona. This 5,100-square-foot home was built by Chicago architect Jack Moses and was the market at $2 million but is now being auctioned off by Sheldon Good. The home has two master suites, mahogany floors and a rooftop observatory. The home is located in the gated community of Mountain Cove Estates in Tucson and is on 1.13 acres. The home is 5,370 square feet of living space with five bedrooms plus study and four and a half baths and a natural wood burning with gas connection fireplace is located in the living room. To buy this home show up at on June 19th at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador at 6pm with a certified or cashier's check for $85,000. The minimum bid is $1.399 million.

A new wine and cigar bar has opened in the growing town of Tucson, Arizona. Stogie & Vine offers a 1,000-bottle wine cellar, a large selection of scotch and a retail humidor as well as a 2,000 square foot lounge. Private lockers are also available to store cigars. Because the store is also expected to be a place to do business there will be a copier, a fax machine and wireless internet. The club's modern and bright decor is meant to appeal to both men and women and they plan to offer a wide variety of wine, whisky and cigar tasting events.

[via Arizona Daily Star]