If you had to pick one East Valley restaurant that best exemplifies Arizona cuisine, it’s hard to come up with a better choice than Roaring Fork.

Created in 1997 by award-winning chef Robert McGrath, the much-honored Scottsdale restaurant offers creative takes on traditional Western dishes using locally grown ingredients.

Last October, though, McGrath sold his share to two longtime partners to pursue other interests. So with Roaring Fork — now under the direction of executive chef Bryan Hulihee — celebrating its 10th anniversary, we decide to check in on this East Valley institution.

A table isn’t available when our 7:30 p.m. reservation rolls around, so the hostess offers to seat the three of us on the covered patio. We’re a little hesitant because it’s well over 100 degrees outside, but a combination of ceiling fans and misters creates a near-perfect environment.

While we study our menus, a basket arrives with small dinner rolls, jalapeño corn muffins and bacon-bit biscuits. The butter has a taste of honey and a hint of chili pepper, and it takes considerable willpower not to fill up before the appetizers arrive.

First up is the Southwestern pan de campo ($9, pictured above), or cowboy “camp bread.” Similar in appearance to a flat-bread pizza, it’s topped with rotisserie chicken and finely chopped greens. Delicious.

Even better, though, is a small iron kettle of green chili pork and Jack cheese, which is served with buttered tortillas ($9.50, also pictured above). The flavorful pieces of pork practically melt in our mouths, and a subtle spiciness builds with each bite.

For entrees, we start with the “whiskey-shellac” beef tenderloin ($34, shown at right). The round cut is moist and savory, but the real reason we order it is it comes with a side of Roaring Fork’s famous green chili macaroni. How do you make Southwestern-style mac ’n’ cheese? Try using hot pepper Jack cheese, poblano chilies, red bell peppers, onion and garlic.

We also enjoy the perfectly cooked salmon ($26), covered with pan-roasted mushrooms and shallots and served with a tomatillo vinaigrette and lime cream, and the buttermilk-fried, boneless chicken ($17) complemented by a black peppercorn gravy and accompanied by a hearty side of loaded mashed potatoes.

With our stomachs nearly full, we reluctantly limit ourselves to just two selections from the tempting dessert menu: the apple-cinnamon croustada ($7.50), a Southwest version of apple pie, and the huckleberry bread pudding ($7.50). Both come with an extra-sweet scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

The green chili pork and green chili macaroni are clearly the highlights of the evening, but nothing we try disappoints. It’s plain to see Roaring Fork is as strong as ever, as a full house on a summer Wednesday night attests.

As we walk through the rustic lobby on the way to the parking lot — preparing to undo our belts as soon as we’re in the car — we can’t help but feel like we’ve been to someplace very special.

And what says “Arizona” better than that?

ROARING FORK
Where: 4800 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale (southwest corner of Chaparral and Scottsdale roads)
Open: Dinner served 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Happy hour (with special menu in bar area only) 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Prices: Appetizers $8-$12, main courses $17-$34, desserts $7.50.
Info: (480) 947-0795 or eddievs.com.