We started our Girls Getaway trip at 4 am ET in Michigan, crossing time zones and landing in Phoenix, Arizona at 10am PT on a Saturday. With such an early start and a short connection through Chicago, our travel itinerary didn’t really offer much opportunity for us to eat along the way. So when we arrived, we were hungry and ready to explore the Phoenix food scene.
Lucky for us, our awesome hostess Stef, was ready with plenty of great dining ideas for us to choose between. Phoenix is a such large city that it has every kind of dining experience you can imagine. We left it all up to her and we were not disappointed.
Foodie Finds – Phoenix
Steffany suggested Federal Pizza for lunch, in order to take advantage of their Double Down Lunch Special. Every day from 11am to 4pm they offer a 1/2 pizza and salad for $10.50. They have a diverse menu of pizzas and salads that all sounded fantastic. We ordered 2 of the lunch specials so we could try a few different menu options. Our food was delicious and there was plenty for the 3 of us to share.
We also took advantage of their $5 Until 5 drink special that got us all a 1/2 price house made wine cooler. I was super excited to kick off our vacation with a Blood Orange and Cardamom cooler! Lunch for 3 with drinks came in under $40. Not too shabby.
That evening we headed over to the Desert Ridge Marketplace. When we arrived, we got on the wait list at the Yard House. Since the wait was over an hour, we strolled through the outdoor Marketplace and ended up at the Whining Pig for a beer. We were lucky enough to snag one of the picnic tables in their super cute outdoor courtyard. It was a great place to chill while we waited. The beer was good and the staff were awesome. I merely mentioned to the bartender that I liked Mosaic Hops and he went to work finding me a tasty selection.
Interestingly, the Whining Pig is also connected to Pigtails, which is a speakeasy styled cocktail bar. It was too bad we were beginning to wind down after our long travel day or we would definitely have checked that place out too. Next time for sure!
Just as we finished up our drinks, our table was ready at Yard House. Perfect. Since nobody was super hungry after our big lunch earlier, we just ordered a round of appetizers to share. I love apps for dinner anyway! Everything we tried was super tasty.
As we were preparing to leave, we noticed a gelato and macaron shop across the way. Why not get a sweet treat, afterall this was vacation. So we made our way to the Paris Rendez-Vous shop. I love a good macaron and these were some of the best I have ever had….almost as good as Paris! They weren’t cheap though, with 3 macarons costing $7.95. But we soon discovered they were well worth the price. We each got a different flavor and shared. I had the Tiramisu which was divine. I wish I lived nearby so I could visit them often and order one of their amazing macaron towers.
No Girls Getaway trip is complete without at least one stellar Brunch. So on Sunday, Stef suggested OHSO Brewing because they have great food, and good weekend brunch specials. This place was massive with several separate seating areas.
The brunch dishes were well priced and we were able to order one mimosa for a penny with our entree. Woo Hoo! As per usual, we all got a different flavor of mimosa so we could sample one another’s. The drinks were made with house distilled spirits. I chose a spicy ginger for mine, while the girls had pineapple and traditional orange.
For brunch, I selected the spicy Chorizo Skillet which was loaded with scrambled eggs, cotija cheese, onions and cilantro. It was served with warm tortillas (choice of corn or flour) and a side of their zesty salsa. Stef went with their hearty Breakfast Bowl that layered scrambled eggs, potatoes, pico de gallo, guacamole and plenty of cheese.
I raised my eyebrow a bit though when my daughter ordered the Fruity Pebbles French Toast. This did not sound appealing to me. However, when I tasted it, I was pleasantly surprised that it was really good. The french toast was covered in fruity pebbles (which have a citrus flavor), stuffed with a lemon mascarpone and topped with berries. The lemon filling really elevated this dish and all the flavors worked well together.
After spending a few hours at the local botanical gardens, we stopped in at the Frost Gelato Biltmore location for a cool treat. We were all pretty hot so we each ordered a kid sized sorbet. My daughter had the Orange Creamsicle and my friend had the Bellini, both of which were very good. But our unanimous favorite was the Limoncello flavor that I ordered. It had a wonderful citrus zing and was so cool and refreshing after our 3.5 mile mid day ramble through the desert gardens. Even though we were getting sorbet, I still had to try the Tiramisu gelato (tiramisu is my favorite dessert). It was creamy and delicious, but the sorbet was really what hit the spot that day.
Check Please!
Half the fun of travel is exploring the local food. Phoenix is a real metropolis, and even if we had a month to spend there, we wouldn’t have been able to experience all the dining options that were available. That just means there will be plenty of places left for us to check out next time we visit our Phoenix friends.
But it was time for us to mosey down the road from Phoenix to Sedona to see what FoodVentures awaited us there!
Foodie Finds – Sedona
We rolled out of Phoenix early, grabbed a coffee and headed to Sedona for our 11am check in at Pink Jeep. Somehow, we didn’t end up getting around to breakfast before our 2.5 hour tour. When we finished up our tour around 2pm, we were kind of Hangry!
Wildflower Bread Company was one of the closesest places to the Pink Jeep facility. We decided to give it a try. Although it is a chain, which I try to avoid, (it reminded us a lot of the Panera set up) it was close and their menu selections seemed pretty interesting. I ordered a salad and my daughter chose a sandwich. The list of ingredients for each of these dishes was pretty unique and I was super excited to give them a try.
- Beet Hummus & Roasted Broccoli Salad with chopped spinach, roasted red peppers, red onion & sesame seeds and a walnut-fig balsamic vinaigrette served with grilled focaccia
- Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich with goat cheese, fig confit, tomatoes, arugula, fennel & balsamic vinaigrette on herb focaccia
Now I am going to have to learn how to make beet hummus. Yummy! My daughter’s sandwich was very good as well. This was a solid stop, we made healthy food choices and the bill came in at around $25 for the 2 of us.
That evening after lounging at the pool and enjoying the local mountain views, we headed out to find dinner. We really wanted to go to the Elote Cafe for dinner. I tried to make a reservation before our trip and was disappointed to discover that they are closed on Mondays, the only day we would be having dinner in Sedona. A lot of Sedona restaurants (like the Elote Cafe and Miraposa) have specific hours or require reservations weeks if not months in advance.
My daughter really wanted a margarita so we finally decided upon 89 Agave which was a Mexican restaurant not far from our hotel. Their wait time wasn’t too bad, so we just derped around at some of the nearby souvenir shops to pass the time.
This restaurant served authentic Mexican cuisine and had a fun vibe with an interesting list of margaritas to choose from. I was boring and just ordered the Classic 89 but my daughter went for the Funky Cacti. Both were tasty and they did not skimp on the tequila! Wow!
Margarita Menu
- Classic 89 – Tequila Blanco, Orange Cordial, Lime, Agave, Salt
- Funky Cacti – Tequila Blanco, Prickly Pear, Aloe Liquor, Lime, Salt
- Spicy Snoopy – Jalapeño infused tequila, Lime, Agave, Cilantro Salt
- Rising Sun – Tequila Blanco, Cointreau, Passionfruit, Agave, Lime, Spiced Salt
- Cadillac Margarita – Tequila Reposado, Lime, Agave, Grand Marnier
For dinner I ordered Chicken Enchiladas. I couldn’t decide between the Red Sauce or the Green Sauce so they made them half and half for me. When the young man delivered them to our table, he referred to them as Enchiladas Christmas, which really made me giggle. My daughter chose the Carne Asada Tacos. Both of our dinners were served with a large dish of rice and beans on the side. The food was good, super filling and priced like you would expect in a resort town.
We had an early check out time on our last morning in Sedona. After packing up our gear, we headed out to Devil’s Bridge for a hike. Once again, we managed to skip breakfast. When we completed our hike we were starving.
My daughter had seen a shop on the way to the hiking trail that served Acai Bowls. They had about 10 different combinations that you could choose from. We decided on the Brazilian and Red Rock options and headed to a nearby table to consume them.
Another heathy dining choice for us! These bowls were perfect with tons of fruit, superfoods and nutritious ingredients. The Acai was served sorbet style, so it was very cool and refreshing after just completing a 7.5 mile desert hike. It didn’t take us long to power through them.
Later that day as we made the journey from Sedona back to Phoenix, we had time for one last food stop before heading to the airport for our red eye flight home to Michigan. It was challenging, because we didn’t have a plan and there aren’t a lot of places to stop along this route. After some searching, we found the State Route 48 Rock House which was not too far outside of Phoenix.
The State 48 Rock House had a large open air dining area that suited us just fine. My daughter got a burger covered in beer cheese sauce and I ordered the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich. We also ordered a Flight of beer (Feature Image) to share while we waited for our sandwiches. Even though I wasn’t that crazy about the beer samples I tried, my sandwich was really good and my tots were super crispy (exactly how I like them). Not a bad stop considering we just picked this place on the fly.
Final Thoughts
I would say that this was a successful Arizona FoodVenture. Although our time there was short, and we had a lot of outdoor activities planned, we did our best to try as many local delights as possible. After seeing all the dining possibilities in Arizona, I realize that we will have to plan a return trip soon to see what other amazing Foodie Finds await us.
Dream, Plan, Save, Adventure…..and try lots of local food!
The World According to Dev 
Oh, it looks like food heaven! So much yumminess in your post, I’m ready to eat whatever is available in our kitchen 😁.
And I love the look of that macaron “cake” … I’m glad there is not a macaron shop close-by where we live, otherwise I would indulge in that sweet treat every day!
Agreed on the macarons! But the tower would make a stunning special occasion desert for a party.
The food and drinks look delicious! Thanks for sharing, and I’m happy you had a nice time in Arizona 🙂
Thanks. So much to see, do and eat there.