As a lifelong nerd, I’ve loved visiting the local ren faire wherever I’ve lived since my early teens. Here in AZ, we’re blessed with beautiful weather and an early ren faire season, in contrast to most states’ summers. I’ve been to the Arizona Renaissance Festival every year for the past four, so I felt like it was time to share my tips and tricks for … Continue reading My Arizona Renaissance Festival Guide
If you’re looking for ramen in Phoenix, this is your guide. I don’t fully delve into the many great east valley options here, because Mesa and Chandler deserve their own post. Here are my ramen suggestions just within Phoenix city limits. Generally speaking, the prices for ramen are quite similar everywhere on this list, ranging from about $16 to $21. Mensho This Japanese chain came … Continue reading Phoenix Ramen Roundup
I am a longtime soft pretzel aficionado. When I see one, I almost always order it. Here are my thoughts and general rankings on local soft pretzels. But don’t just take my word for it, go check them out and let me know your thoughts (especially if I missed a good one)! I anticipate updating this list if and when I try new pretzels. The … Continue reading Pretzels Picks in Phoenix
This is self-explanatory. It’s not for just plain great food and/or service (although they’re all solid recommendations). Here’s my list of places I would recommend for more unusual reasons. Nino’s Greek Café: for their cherry coke from the fountain (it is the best ever, I swear) and their outdoor cat Kings Beer & Liquor: for letting people bring food into the bar area and the … Continue reading Places I love for the weirdest reasons
Usually I recommend places to eat or drink, but with everything going on in the world right now, I wanted to share my favorite places to relax and engage in self-care. Most of these are free, or low-cost. If your New Year’s resolution is to be more mindful or check out new places in your community, these are some starting points. Phoenix Cat Cafe If … Continue reading Best Phoenix Places to Relax
I’ve been seeing people forecast their trends for next year—protein will be supplanted by fiber, lab-grown meat, etc. Just for fun (and bragging rights if I get some of these right), here’s my predictions. Hojicha, matcha’s nutty, toasted sister, will grow in popularity. It’s already being offered more places in Phoenix, and that will increase in the next year. Cold foam on coffee and tea … Continue reading 2026 Food Trends Forecast
After having family come and go in the holidays, I was inspired to collect my favorite activities for out-of-towners around this time last year. This sat in my post drafts for too long, but as the weather’s cooling down, I felt I had to polish it up and share. Here’s what I would recommend to experience Phoenix if you’re here just for a weekend. You’re … Continue reading One Weekend in Phoenix
Sometimes, it’s hard to make it to happy hour. As someone who works til 5 most days, I never have a chance hit up deals that end at 5. Here are the best longer happy hours. Original Gravity Happy hour is 3-6 Tuesday to Saturday and all day on Sundays, with deals on drinks and select appetizers. My recommendation: the white sangria and the polenta … Continue reading Phoenix’s Longest Happy Hours
There are many spots to get a little spooky this October, but these are my favorites. Scottsdale offers a lot of additional options, but I think Phoenix businesses outshine anything there in terms of balanced drinks and reasonable prices. Bitter & Twisted Their menu doesn’t have too many seasonal changes, but it doesn’t need it. Their creative options and great presentation are consistent. This year, … Continue reading Where to Halloween in Phoenix
Here’s a current list of my favorite vegetarian dishes at not-exclusively-vegetarian restaurants. There are so many it’s hard to list, so I’ve broken them down by category. American Fried green tomato sandwich at Welcome Diner The roasted beets and the eggplant meatballs at Ocotillo Elote pasta at Valentine White pizza at Luana’s Anything veggie at FnB — their menu is always seasonal and rotating Smoked … Continue reading Best vegetarian dishes in Phoenix
Grace Gets Food 