I had a superb dinner at Kai on June 27th, 2024 while I was on a business trip in Phoenix, Arizona. Located in the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass resort, Kai is a La Liste Top 1000 restaurant that highlights Native American cuisine and ingredients sourced from the Sonoran Desert. The dining experience was incredibly immersive as our host provided detailed explanation of the local flora and fauna that comprised each dish. Watching the sun set vividly over the Sierra Estrella mountains made the evening more magical.
Kai means “seed” in the language of the Akimel O’odham, the Native American peoples that lived along the banks of Salt, Gila, Sonora, and Yaqui Rivers prior to European contact. All of the ingredients used at the restaurant are foraged, grown, or raised from local farms, wineries, and purveyors. Kai also partners with Native Seeds Search Foundation, which focuses on conservation of Southwestern biodiversity and traditional crops, seeds, and farming practices.
The $195 prix fixe dinner consists of seven courses, four of which we got to pick between three options. My dining companion and I opted to choose different choices for each course so we can sample the most flavors.
Unfortunately, it’s been a year since I’ve eaten the food, so I can only give vague impressions like “flavor bomb of creamy risotto, pepper, and picked onions”.
The Birth
A delightfully arranged dish with lots of contrasting textures. The white asparagus was juicy and sweet; there was also pickled ramp, purslane, and pansies. Our utensils were chilled to optimize the freshness of the dish.
Bread Service
A soft fluffy bread roll with spreadable butter. I appreciated the slate plate and butter knife being heated to keep everything as warm as possible.
The Beginning
A fancy interpretation of “liver and onions”. The foie gras was so oily and buttery that I appreciated the many different presentations of onion to cut through the richness. The hazelnut tart was crunchy. I felt a little guilty eating such an indulgent dish, but my god was it delicious.
The Journey
This course was interesting because I enjoyed everything *but* the rabbit rillettes. Not because the rillettes were bad, but my brain kept clocking the seasonings used (juniper, lemon zest, and peppers?) as lemon-scented Clorox wipes. All the other components were so cute though — I loved the baby squash and their blossoms, fresh snap peas and their shoots, and little pillows of nettle-infused pasta.
My companion’s bison steak was so tender and flavorful that he teared up.
Cheese Course – Fry Bread
Frybread is a Native American flat dough bread deep-fried in oil and has a complicated history intertwined with colonialism. To many indigenous people, it simultaneously is a comfort food representing resilience and a reminder of the brutal colonial displacement. The flavor reminds me of Chinese youtiao (油條), and went perfectly with the sweet honey foam and creamy goat cheese.
The Afterlife
A well-balanced dessert with summer garden flavors — floral/herbal notes paired with strawberry and citrus, mellowed with creamy and rich custards. Crunchy tuiles and basil leaves added even more texture.
A dessert that emphasizes the more bitter and fruity aspects of chocolate. My partner was slightly disappointed because he was expecting a more traditional and decadent chocolate dessert, whereas this dish contained more bitter and sour elements. As a dark chocolate enthusiast, I enjoyed it very much.
We left feeling contentedly full and enriched with new flavors and culinary knowledge. Highly recommend those with a large dining budget in Phoenix.