Raves
Eggs take the starring role at Benedict’s Café by Carolyn Vega, Scottsdale Comfort Food Restaurant Examiner at The Scottsdale Examiner.
The immediate focus inside the café is the mouth watering pastry case. Some of the tempting choices include pistachio spirals filled with fresh pistachio filling, decadent chocolate chip cookies and melt in your mouth varieties of filled puff pastries. Perched on top of the case is the elegant eye catching Sour Cream Coffee Cake, a rich and moist lightly marbled cake. Benedict’s Café also offers a unique house made creation of delicious crunchy granola bars using local chef Laura’s Gourmet Granola.
For the third year, AZFoothills.com has asked readers who and what their favorites are, offering thousands of nominees chosen by e-mailed nominations from the public, editors and focus groups. After millions of votes were casted at AZFoothills.com over the past 60 days, the winners have been determined and the best of each category this year will be featured in the March 2012 issue, a tell-all guide to the coolest people and places in the Valley of the Sun.
Benedict’s Catering was selected as the winner for Best Catering!
From Radical Waitress to Creative Caterer
by Audra Le, Restaurateur of Arizona Magazine, June 2011
Dawn Kennington-Bejar, owner of Benedict’s Catering and Cafe, has one of the most remarkable culinary histories in the local industry. It all began in 1978 with a young college student, working her way through college at a local, natural foods restauran in Tempe, AZ and continues today at her own charming, neighborhood cafe nestled in a corner of Scottsdale.
Her culinary journey began in 1978, while studying at Arizona State University. Dawn worked as a waitress at a locally owned, natural foods restaurant in Tempe called Earthen Joy. She describes it as, “Really ahead of its time…this little restaurant served free range chicken, grass-fed beef, fresh squeezed carrot juice, field greens; things that are common now, but at the time were very radical.” Dawn laughs, “people at large thought, ‘oh gosh they must be a bunch of hippies,’ because it was so different than anything else that was going on at the time.”
This review about Benedict’s was posted in the Scottsdale MomsBlog blog:
So this weekend I decided to check out a little café in my neighborhood that I’ve had my eye on since it went in over a year ago. Benedict’s Café is located in a pretty unremarkable strip mall on Bell Road just west of 56th Street (in the same strip as the Circle K). I had been hoping it would be as sweet on the inside as it looks from the road (which I drive approximately 18 times a day), and it absolutely was.
My three-year-old had a gorgeous blueberry muffin and I had a cup of coffee while we chatted with Courtney, a recent culinary grad and pastry chef for the café. Turns out? Not only does Benedict’s serve a full breakfast and lunch menu, they also do full-service catering, events and cooking classes! This summer, Thursdays are ice cream nights, with home-made toppings, milkshakes and specialty sauces from 5-9pm.
This review about Benedict’s was posted in the Nature’s Garden Delivered blog:
If you can take your eyes off the pastry case, take a look at the charmingly framed chalkboard that lays out the day’s specials. Eggs Benedict is the starring house specialty and namesake for the café. It starts with a homemade biscuit topped with poached local eggs, Canadian bacon and a bright Hollandaise sauce. Indulge in the French atmosphere and enjoy freshly made crepes. For lunch trade in your usual brown bag for options like a delightful tuna fish salad made with crunchy water chestnuts on artisan bread or go for a taste of the exotic with a Tropical Curry Chicken sandwich served on sourdough.
Benedict’s Catering – 2010 WINNER Best Catering
Arizona Foothills Magazine – Best of the Valley Contest
