Heartline Café
and Gourmet Take-Out & Market
West Sedona
1610 W. Hwy 89A 928.282.3365 www.heartlinecafe.com
Chuck and Phyllis Cline own and personally
operate the fabulous Heartline Café,
one of my top three restaurant favorites in
Sedona. I've been a loyal patron since they
opened in 1991. Their cuisine is legendary around
town and many of my Jeep tour passengers were
advised to dine here....and to their great satisfaction.
The atmosphere is blissful, featuring both indoor
and outdoor seating (weather permitting), and
the service and dining experience is exactly
the kind you'd expect from a superior restaurant
- attentive, efficient, and friendly. Chef Chuck
Cline, co-owner along with his wife Phyllis,
presents masterful culinary treats that you
will be remember fondly as an important facet
of your Sedona visit. The quality is superb.
The recent addition of their gourmet market
is just another example of "Dreams Coming
True" in Sedona. The market's opening has
answered dreams many of us did not realize we
even had. A wide selection of quality imported
and locally-produced gourmet foods lines the
shelves in addition to the Heartline's own divine
food products. Once again I am going to advise
you to visit this establishment. You may email
your applause later.
Chuck has collected his favorite recipes and
assembled them into a fantastic cookbook called
Recipes From Sedona's
Heartline Café. Originally published
in 2000, the second printing followed in 2004
due to the hearty response of readers and food
aficionados. You can find a link to Amazon through
our bookstore under "Restaurants &
Food" or pick up a copy at the Heartline
Café in Sedona when you come by to sample
the fine cuisine and ambiance.
Sedona has over 70 restaurants,
many offer world-class gourmet cuisine, others provide
good home-cooked quality, and then of course there are
the usual assortment of fast-food joints. My
tour passengers frequently asked questions like, “What’s
the best restaurant in Sedona?” or “We want
a nice place for dinner, where should we go?”
My first response was, “What kind of food do you
want. Narrow it down to American, Continental, Mexican,
Italian, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Greek,
or Southwestern and then I can give you a few recommendations.”
After a quick laugh, they choose their style of cuisine
and I gave them my two cents worth.
Here’s another tip for improving your
Sedona feasts: The spectacular beauty of Sedona’s
natural surroundings makes it possible to enjoy the
red rock cliffs and stunning views while you dine. Only
a few restaurants have excellent landscape views from
their windows, fewer still offer outside dining (weather
permitting), and only two or three venues safely permit
you to dine outside during the summer thunderstorm season
(the Monsoon - July/August) in an all-out pounding thunderstorm
and stay dry and refreshed by the moist, cool air. Outdoor
tables with umbrellas just don’t do it. You need
decks with plenty of coverage. Imagine this sunset experience:
sipping a glass of your favorite wine, eating a fine
meal, watching bright flashes as lightning outlines
rugged red peaks, and the sensory joy of fresh mountain
air, cooled by the pouring rain. Sure you can sit inside
and enjoy dining in Sedona; why not amplify your experience
when you have the choice? Bon appetit!
