Arizona

Phoenix

To Eat

  • Dick's Hideaway - hole-in-the wall bar with great Southwestern cuisine

  • Vincent Market Bistro

  • Pizzeria Bianco

Sedona

To Do

  • Vortexes - these supposedly exist all over Sedona, and often are at very pretty places. LoveSedona probably has the best guide to the vortexes.

    • Airport - not much of a hike, but the easiest to access of the vortexes

    • Red Rock Crossing / Cathedral Rock - most people approach this from the river side, where there is a "Buddha beach" full of rock piles

    • Boynton Canyon - you can hike all the way into the canyon, but the vortex is near the evocative "Kachina Woman", from which there is a fantastic view

    • Bell Rock

    • Chapel of the Holy Cross

  • Hiking - in addition to the vortexes listed above, there is lots of good hiking in the area

    • West Fork - a relatively cool trail with shade most of the way, that crosses back and forth across the river; especially popular in the fall when the trees change color

  • Shopping

    • Native American Jewelry at Oak Creek Canyon Dairy Queen - there is a bunch of American Indian / Southwest jewelry for sale from booths in the parking lot, 4551 N Hwy 89A

    • Tlaquepaque - a mall made to look like a Mexican village

    • Crystal Stores and Art Galleries - lots of these all over Sedona

  • Montezuma Castle National Monument - it's not a castle and has nothing to do with Montezuma, but it is an ancient Native American site

  • Jerome - a mostly-abandoned "ghost" town that is weird and creepy

To Stay

To Eat

  • ***Mexican Gourmet: Elote - Dinner-only 5 PM to close Tues-Sat (closed Sun/Mon), no reservations so get there early to avoid a wait, their eponymous Elote appetizer is fantastic as is pretty much everything on the menu (including the chips & salsa).

  • ***Intimate Locavore: Garland Lodge - a cute place to stay with its own orchard/farm/chicken coop...that allows a small number of outsiders to join for a no-choice, fixed-price (~$45/person) dinner. Call 928-282-3343 for reservations.

  • Enchantment Resort - at the mouth of Boynton Canyon, we ate at their Ti Gavo restaurant which was nice but nothing special

  • Heartline Cafe - rec'd by some Chowhounds

  • L'Auberge - fancy hotel that has a beautiful restaurant overlooking the river

  • Dahl & DiLuca - part of a group of restaurants (including Mariposa, Pisa Lisa, and Cucina Rustica) owned by the same family

  • Picazzo's - the name lets you know that this Arizona chain isn't "authentic" (to an Italian speaker, it sounds roughly like "Fucky's") but they do quick, relatively nice organic Italo-American pizzas (including a gluten-free version)

  • Chocolatree - vegan place with an interesting menu; their back patio transports you to a relaxing oasis of hippiedom

  • A Taste of Marrakech - nice Mediterranean-inspired stuff

Tucson