The Spotted Donkey is located at Pedregal, the deserted South West Style Shopping Plaza in North Scottsdale that borders Beautiful Care Free Arizona. Pedregal is part of the Boulders Resort that is owned by Hilton.

A few years back there were around 50 luxury shops and cafes. Pedregal hosted special events like live music and salsa and wine tastings that used to bring in crowds of people. This was at one time not to long back a happy fun upscale place to visit that happens to be in a gorgeous area. I used to enjoy the kitchen store, the rock shop and the upscale footware  store and the special events….

Currently (2017) Pedregal is next to deserted since Hilton’s purchase. Even the goldfish and koi have left the Pedregal Pond.

As we stroll the once lively mall it seems that we are living the twilight zone. The episode were there was one last man on earth by himself.

Is this a precursor of things to come?

The only life left is one small shop that sells interesting trinkets and The Spotted Donkey Restaurant of Pedregal.

We enter and it’s pretty quiet but the restaurant has an interesting kind of charm to it. The walls and floors are inlayed with interesting vintage tiles. The ceiling holds detailed beautiful vintage looking fixtures.

The interior is a mix of Mexican, South West, Leather and Wood.

Our waitress seems chipper and friendly. Our orders arrive in reasonable time.

I decided to try the Mexico City Carne Asada.

I look at my plate and my eyes zoom in on old looking picco.

I see a large side of cow with a side of pond scum…What did I order????? This place is owned by Hilton….This plate looks unappetizing……I’m thinking.

My husband sees the look on my face and suggest that we leave and eat out someplace else. I look at him and I say I’ll try the food…….

Maybe it taste better than it looks?

First I taste a piece of steak. It’s chewy….and doesn’t taste delicious…I’m hoping that it might be aged..?……..There are a few poblano pepper strips and onions…I taste them….um…..I don’t know if the chef added too much vinegar and lime juice because they have a sour taste to them…I asked my husband to taste the poblano peppers and onions…he said, “they are weird”….”they taste funky.” I bravely taste the green that looks similar to something that reminds me of the movie Poltergeist. It taste like a blend of honey, lime juice, avocado and tomatillo….it’s on the sweet side…and it needs something….It doesn’t seem seasoned enough and has an off-putting  texture similar to pond slime…….(possibly left behind from the goldfish and koi that vacated Pedregal)………..Off to the side I had some potato cakes that were suppose to contain chile. These were the best things on my plate and I am thankful I had something to eat…. Oh JOY!…… I don’t mean to stick it to the Donkey but the potatoes in the cakes are gluey. However the cakes are fried to perfection and seem oil free with a nice clean panko crunch. The chile is missing but maybe it’s for the better.

My husband tried the Poblano Chile Relleno.

He said his Poblano Pepper contained mushy pork mixed with greasy rice that was topped with weird tasting tomato sauce. He said as mediocre as it was that it wasn’t as bad as my plate.

Donkey Chow………

www.TheBoulders.com

The Forking Truth is that your opinion may or may not differ and everything is subject to change.