I had been to T. Cooks at the Royal Palms before when Gregory Casale was the Head Chef there. Hillson took over recently and I wanted to give it a try. I decided to take a business associate of mine who was here on travel. I knew I wanted to try the tasting menu before I got there. After we arrived at the resturant, my friend glanced at the menu and told me he knew what he wasn't getting. I think he was kind of intimdated by the name of the tasting menu (see below). I smiled and said that's what I was getting. After he looked at the menu closer and figured it all out, he went for it as well. All in all, I'd rate the experience as very good. Based on other tasting menu dining experiences, I'd rate it as an excellent value, excellent preparation, very good wine pairings, good presentation and good service. I'll do my best to comment on each of the five courses below. Yes, I'd go back in a flash.

The main waitress was pleasent and cheery. She seemed to know the menu well and was willing to accomodate our dining requests. Since I wasn't sure my buddy was up for the tasting menu, I asked her a bunch of what ifs ahead of time. We got tap water (with lemon) over the fancy bottled stuff. Phoenix is known for its exceptionally hard water. The bread was fresh and it came with a pesto dipping sauce which was great. I gave the service a good rating because it wasn't consistant. Sometimes the dishes were placed at the table at the same time, other times they were not. The water service started out slow but picked up at the middle of the meal. I chose to give the presentation a good as well this time, only because of a minor detail during the dessert course which my buddy noticed. The pastry chef must have made the call here hoping we wouldn't notice. I doubt I would have. The dessert had this swirling chocolate candy stick that rised above the tart. My buddy's was broken. The chef apparently tried to fix it rather than replace it. It tasted the same of course, but it made for the observation which could have been avoided in the first place.

Chef Hillson’s Aphrodisiac Tasting Menu
70 per person 35 additional for wine pairings

Flirtation
Strawberry & rose petal salad with a pear & white balsamic dressing
Chandon “etoile” Rose Champagne

I loved this salad. All the flavors worked well. The thinly sliced strawberries were a nice touch. The Rose went well with it.

Infatuation
Baked oysters with argula, bacon & grain mustard hollandaise
Gosset Brut Champagne

Another excellent course. Two oysters served as if you were at an oyster bar. No shucking here. The cheese and bacon really made this a stand out! The gosset worked perfectly with this course.

Seduction
Scallops en papillote with sweet basil & fennel
2002 Stony Hill 50th Anniversary Napa Chardonnay

My favorite course. The scallops were presented in foil rather than parchment. The servers indicated that the chef wanted to keep the scallops as hot as possible when served. I won't complain, they were delicious. The chardonnay was a tasty pairing as well. We received some sorbet after this course.

Intimacy
Grilled lamb chops with truffle potato custard & fig demi-glace
2002 Davis Bynum Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

What stood out to me here was the potato custard. Don't get me wrong, the lamb with the glace was delicious, I just really like those potatoes. The pinot noir was a good match as well.

Sweet Memories
Duet of chocolate ganache & lavender cream macadamia nut tart with a champagne berry reduction
Sparkling Brachetto d’Aqui

I have a sweet tooth and like to eat a lot, but this was a lot of dessert for me. The tart was good. I remember the macademia cream the most. Tasted almost like marsipan to me. The sweet bubbly excellent but was an okay pairing with the tart. I might have preferred a cookie with berries, ice cream or sorbet instead.

If you haven't been to the Royal Palms, worth a visit and an easy drive from downtown Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and the Phoenix/Camelback area.