Easter Brunch at Westin Kierland (Scottsdale, AZ)

For the past several years, Carli and I have enjoyed going out to celebrate Easter with a nice brunch in the Phoenix area.  This year, we decided to try the brunch offered at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale.  Brunch was served in the new Trailblazer Ballroom overlooking the Kierland Golf Course.  The Westin offered a buffet-style champagne brunch, so once we sat down, got our champagne, we were off.

There were a number of dishes (mainly breakfast and the salad/cold stations) that we did not try, but there were clearly plenty of options available for us.  Two more items we tried were the Lobster Claw over Apple Jicama Slaw with Lemon Creme Fraiche and Caviar and the Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper Marinated Alaskan King Crab.

My favorite dish was the beef wellington with the mushroom ragout.  The beef was nice and tender, if not slightly overcooked (which could be expected as it was a buffet style meal), and the mushroom ragout was a nice, earthy complement to the beef.  Carli's favorite was the Rosemary & Cracked Black Pepper Marinated Alaskan King Crab.  It was a refreshing light dish as compared to a lot of the other heavier dishes served.

In addition to the brunch items, a dessert station was set up with a variety of cakes, pies, cookies, chocolate fountains, fresh fruit, ice cream, and more.  We sampled the following:

The favorite dessert (and easily the most impressive in my mind) was the belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream, fruit, walnuts, and warm chocolate sauce.

The meal was quite delicious and we left full and satisfied, with the unlimited flowing of champagne definitely helping.  The ballroom was nicely setup but a little large and open for our liking for an easter brunch.   We will definitely try a different venue for easter brunch next year (as we have tried a different restaurant each year) and will probably go to a more intimate venue.