Food & DrinkCarne Asada Clinic
Madison RutherfordJune 25, 2020
Need something to make with that prime skirt steak you just bought? This star chef has a few pointers.
Pending, as with all things, the conclusion of the coronavirus saga, Sedona’s famed Elote Cafe is reopening in a new location just a mile and a half away from the original. Chef Jeff Smedstad says he couldn’t imagine moving the restaurant outside of Sedona. “This is my home. It’s important to me that we maintain the Sedona vibe,” Smedstad says, defining said vibe as a “laidback lifestyle” and time spent in nature. The menu at...
As I took a bite of Chef Jeff Smedstad’s "pay de queso" (Mexican cheesecake), my mind took me back to my childhood’s kitchen. I pictured my mom baking pays for the holidays and a younger me eager to eat. This is the real deal I told Smedstad. The chef and owner of the reknowned Elote Cafe in Sedona says he was influenced by a trip to Veracruz where he learned about the craft of homemade Mexican cheesecake sort of a lighter, less sweet, less dense version of our beloved New York cheesecake. He put a spin on the traditional Mexican dessert with goat cheese from Fossil Creek Goat Farm in Strawberry, Arizona, near Payson. The result is absolutely exquisite.