A surge of culinary creativity has been growing in recent years in the Phoenix metro area, where chefs excel equally at Southwestern, Mexican, Native, Italian, Japanese, and other cuisines. This itinerary takes travelers who love food on a six-day tour of gourmet highlights around the state’s capital. Explore some of the best culinary experiences in the Valley of the Sun, from the humble Sonoran dog to a knife whisperer and Basque cheesecake.
Itinerary / 6 Days
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Camelback Mountain
Courtesy of Visit Arizona
Day 1:Check Out Indigenous Culture and a Chic New Hotel
If you’re flying into Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), rent a car. Drive six miles north to check into the Global Ambassador, a 141-room hotel “carefully curated for the jet-setting traveler.” Expect patinated metal ceiling panels, French botanical wall coverings, leather benches, and woven area rugs on white oak flooring. The food shines just as brightly, thanks to the hotel’s owner, the restaurateur Sam Fox, who earned 12 James Beard Award nominations. Time allowing, grab a paloma cocktail and ceviche snack at the poolside patio of the Pink Dolphin, which serves Mexican- and Peruvian-inspired dishes.
Don’t fill up, though, because Fry Bread House lies six miles west. In 1992, Tohono O’odham chef Cecelia Miller founded the restaurant, which is a James Beard America’s Classic. She brought her tribe’s specialties—fry bread, beef chili, and chumuth (big buttery tortillas cooked on a stone grill called a comal)—to the table.
Continue connecting with Indigenous culture at the Heard Museum three miles south. It presents first-person perspectives from Native people and exhibitions honoring traditional and contemporary art. Then, hop over to Pretty Penny for a passionfruit spritz and small plates like black garlic hummus and lamb neck biryani.
Return to the Global Ambassador to dine at Théa, Arizona’s largest rooftop restaurant, as the sunset ignites the red rock of Camelback Mountain. Mediterranean flavors reign here, from muhammara (walnut and red pepper dip) to Turkish meatballs, sumac yams with harissa, and salmon a la plancha. Finish strong with a chocolate malabi (Middle Eastern milk pudding) or Basque cheesecake (lighter, creamier, and torched on top).
Don’t fill up, though, because Fry Bread House lies six miles west. In 1992, Tohono O’odham chef Cecelia Miller founded the restaurant, which is a James Beard America’s Classic. She brought her tribe’s specialties—fry bread, beef chili, and chumuth (big buttery tortillas cooked on a stone grill called a comal)—to the table.
Continue connecting with Indigenous culture at the Heard Museum three miles south. It presents first-person perspectives from Native people and exhibitions honoring traditional and contemporary art. Then, hop over to Pretty Penny for a passionfruit spritz and small plates like black garlic hummus and lamb neck biryani.
Return to the Global Ambassador to dine at Théa, Arizona’s largest rooftop restaurant, as the sunset ignites the red rock of Camelback Mountain. Mediterranean flavors reign here, from muhammara (walnut and red pepper dip) to Turkish meatballs, sumac yams with harissa, and salmon a la plancha. Finish strong with a chocolate malabi (Middle Eastern milk pudding) or Basque cheesecake (lighter, creamier, and torched on top).
Bacanora
Courtesy of Visit Arizona
Day 2: Hike or Bike the Sonoran Desert
Go on a scenic hike at McDowell Sonoran Preserve after breakfast (or before for fewer crowds). Take a picturesque stroll on the relatively flat, 2.2-mile Thash Kavid Loop in South Mountain Park/Preserve for something more low-key. Serenity seekers especially enjoy car-free Silent Sundays on the fourth weekend of the month when only walkers, cyclists, and emergency vehicles occupy the roads. (The park runs a similar, less-intensive program from 5–10 a.m. on other Sundays.)
Finally, enjoy open-flame Sonoran-style dishes at Bacanora, captained by chef Rene Andrade, the Nogales-born 2024 James Beard Award-winner for Best Chef: Southwest. Menu standouts include elote (Mexican street corn) with spicy and lime crema and absolutely anything involving peppercorn-sized chiltepíns, “the mother of all chiles,” from his family’s ranch. While there, pick up an artisanal pinata or handmade Bacanora dish set dusted with valley sand and grill ash.
Finally, enjoy open-flame Sonoran-style dishes at Bacanora, captained by chef Rene Andrade, the Nogales-born 2024 James Beard Award-winner for Best Chef: Southwest. Menu standouts include elote (Mexican street corn) with spicy and lime crema and absolutely anything involving peppercorn-sized chiltepíns, “the mother of all chiles,” from his family’s ranch. While there, pick up an artisanal pinata or handmade Bacanora dish set dusted with valley sand and grill ash.
A Sonoran dog
Courtesy of Visit Arizona
Day 3:Try Sonoran Dogs and a Food Tour
Pay your respects to the mighty Sonoran hot dog today. Invented across the border in Hermosilla, Mexico, this street snack involves a bolillo bun—think crunchy crust and fluffy interior—usually with pinto beans, avocado, pico de gallo, and a bacon-wrapped hot dog. Grab one at Nogales Hot Dogs, along with a champurrado, a hot chocolate atole (drink thickened with corn).
Other restaurant options include rising Mexican star Chilte, where playful plates include yuca frites, tacos de birria with squid-ink tortillas, and flautas with mole and chipotle-cashew crema. Or sample the state’s beloved “cheese crisp” at Comedor Guadalajara. This dish resembles a thin flour tortilla, buttered and grilled, then topped with cheese and returned to the oven for melted perfection.
Next, stop for tea and tranquility at the Japanese Friendship Garden. Stone bridges arch gracefully over streams, and a 14-foot waterfall cascades into a pond with more than 300 koi.
In the evening, catch a sharpening class from knife whisperer Eytan Zias at Phoenix Knife House or browse the shop’s collection, ranked among the top three in the U.S. You could also try a sampler session with Arizona Food Tours. Options include a progressive dinner and a wine and cheese class.
Other restaurant options include rising Mexican star Chilte, where playful plates include yuca frites, tacos de birria with squid-ink tortillas, and flautas with mole and chipotle-cashew crema. Or sample the state’s beloved “cheese crisp” at Comedor Guadalajara. This dish resembles a thin flour tortilla, buttered and grilled, then topped with cheese and returned to the oven for melted perfection.
Next, stop for tea and tranquility at the Japanese Friendship Garden. Stone bridges arch gracefully over streams, and a 14-foot waterfall cascades into a pond with more than 300 koi.
In the evening, catch a sharpening class from knife whisperer Eytan Zias at Phoenix Knife House or browse the shop’s collection, ranked among the top three in the U.S. You could also try a sampler session with Arizona Food Tours. Options include a progressive dinner and a wine and cheese class.
Taliesin West
Photo by Steve Minor/Visit Arizona
Day 4:Picnic at Taliesin West
Consider shifting to the Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows for minimalist mid-century style inspired by the iconic architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who wintered in the Valley of the Sun. Either way, celebrate this genius with a picnic at his home and desert laboratory, Taliesin West, now a museum, National Historic Landmark, and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Stock up first at Andreoli Italian Grocer. Its impresario Giovanni Scorzo was a semifinalist in the 2022 James Beard Awards for Best Chef: Southwest, and it shows. Takeout options that travel well include bresaola, consisting of salted air-cured beef over arugula; a spicy soppressata and smoked mozzarella panino; and a Caprese sandwich on house-made focaccia.
Afterward, scout for souvenirs among the 1930s adobe structures of Cattle Track Arts Compound. The creative colony inspired influential Native painter Fritz Scholder and sculptor Louise Nevelson.
Then, enjoy locavore plant-centric cuisine at FnB Restaurant, helmed by chef/owner Charleen Badman, a “veggie whisperer” and the 2019 James Beard Award winner of Best Chef: Southwest. Co-owner Pavle Milic pioneered the first Arizona-only wine list here, which the James Beard Awards recognized twice as an Outstanding Wine Program. (He also makes wine at Los Milics Vineyards in Elgin, Arizona, where guests can stay overnight, enjoying an onsite dinner, tastings, sweeping views, and starry night skies.)
Badman lets vegetables take center stage, flanked by artful supporting ingredients. She enhances grilled okra with hazelnuts and lime labne while pomegranate, crispy prosciutto, and blue cheese transform fig salad. The chef also has a deft hand with Sonoran delicacies like slow-cooked summer squash topped with salted ricotta and pepitas.
Stock up first at Andreoli Italian Grocer. Its impresario Giovanni Scorzo was a semifinalist in the 2022 James Beard Awards for Best Chef: Southwest, and it shows. Takeout options that travel well include bresaola, consisting of salted air-cured beef over arugula; a spicy soppressata and smoked mozzarella panino; and a Caprese sandwich on house-made focaccia.
Afterward, scout for souvenirs among the 1930s adobe structures of Cattle Track Arts Compound. The creative colony inspired influential Native painter Fritz Scholder and sculptor Louise Nevelson.
Then, enjoy locavore plant-centric cuisine at FnB Restaurant, helmed by chef/owner Charleen Badman, a “veggie whisperer” and the 2019 James Beard Award winner of Best Chef: Southwest. Co-owner Pavle Milic pioneered the first Arizona-only wine list here, which the James Beard Awards recognized twice as an Outstanding Wine Program. (He also makes wine at Los Milics Vineyards in Elgin, Arizona, where guests can stay overnight, enjoying an onsite dinner, tastings, sweeping views, and starry night skies.)
Badman lets vegetables take center stage, flanked by artful supporting ingredients. She enhances grilled okra with hazelnuts and lime labne while pomegranate, crispy prosciutto, and blue cheese transform fig salad. The chef also has a deft hand with Sonoran delicacies like slow-cooked summer squash topped with salted ricotta and pepitas.
Cosanti Originals
Courtesy of Visit Arizona
Day 5:Shopping, Spa Treatments, and Sushi
Strengthen your culinary skills today at Scottsdale’s Sweet Basil Culinary Center. Hands-on courses range from plant-based cooking and sheet pan magic to Asian street foods and a Southwest appetizer and margarita party featuring recipes such as avocado-tomatillo salsa and crab-and-corn cakes with red chunky Sedona-style salsa.
Next, stock up on hand-crafted pottery 13 miles southeast at Cosanti Originals, a nonprofit studio continuing the traditions of the late visionary architect Paolo Soleri. He built an experimental village, Arcosanti, that blends urban density and environmental sensitivity. Many of its science fiction–like structures rely on earth-casting—pouring a concrete shell over mounded dirt, later excavated.
Artisans at both locations still use a similar sand-mold technique to create stunning ceramics and bronze wind bells, oxidized to speed up the verdigris patina. Weather permitting, catch a metal pour at the Cosanti foundry, take a guided tour, book a tile-making workshop, or browse the gallery. (Pro tip: Cosanti closes on weekends.)
Grab a bite at Mountain Shadows Resort’s Hearth’ 61 restaurant, which has views of Camelback’s peak. Executive Chef Charles Wiley designed the menu, demonstrating why the James Beard Foundation recognized him as one of America’s best hotel chefs. Standouts include dishes like za’atar meatballs and parmesan-crusted salmon with mustard gnocchi. Check out its mid-century-chic bar, hailed as Arizona’s most beautifully designed by Architectural Digest and set near the lounge’s cozy suspended fireplace.
Enjoy a refreshing afternoon by your hotel’s pool or at its spa. Then, dine in the state’s only omakase room at ShinBay. Chef Tanaka Ken’s improvised dinners typically begin with veggies like Okinawan seafood topped with mountain yam before moving to slivers of cured fish and bites of fresh fish, often overnighted from Japan. (If you’re staying at the Andaz, take advantage of its complimentary house car for transport.)
Next, stock up on hand-crafted pottery 13 miles southeast at Cosanti Originals, a nonprofit studio continuing the traditions of the late visionary architect Paolo Soleri. He built an experimental village, Arcosanti, that blends urban density and environmental sensitivity. Many of its science fiction–like structures rely on earth-casting—pouring a concrete shell over mounded dirt, later excavated.
Artisans at both locations still use a similar sand-mold technique to create stunning ceramics and bronze wind bells, oxidized to speed up the verdigris patina. Weather permitting, catch a metal pour at the Cosanti foundry, take a guided tour, book a tile-making workshop, or browse the gallery. (Pro tip: Cosanti closes on weekends.)
Grab a bite at Mountain Shadows Resort’s Hearth’ 61 restaurant, which has views of Camelback’s peak. Executive Chef Charles Wiley designed the menu, demonstrating why the James Beard Foundation recognized him as one of America’s best hotel chefs. Standouts include dishes like za’atar meatballs and parmesan-crusted salmon with mustard gnocchi. Check out its mid-century-chic bar, hailed as Arizona’s most beautifully designed by Architectural Digest and set near the lounge’s cozy suspended fireplace.
Enjoy a refreshing afternoon by your hotel’s pool or at its spa. Then, dine in the state’s only omakase room at ShinBay. Chef Tanaka Ken’s improvised dinners typically begin with veggies like Okinawan seafood topped with mountain yam before moving to slivers of cured fish and bites of fresh fish, often overnighted from Japan. (If you’re staying at the Andaz, take advantage of its complimentary house car for transport.)
Pizzeria Bianco
Courtesy of Visit Arizona
Day 6:Eat Award-Winning Pizza
As the trip winds down, make one last stop at James Beard Award–honored Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix’s Heritage Square or the Shops at Town & Country. Try the masterpiece, the Rosa, a white pie topped with pistachios, red onion, rosemary, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. (For a quick bite, try Cibo or Pomo.) Then, fly out of PHX or drive home.
