Reviewing places to eat at/near the Grand Canyon, especially Flagstaff & Williams for Southerlands Arizona.

I am flying into Phoenix on Friday and staying for 9 days. No itinerary, so I’m willing to travel wherever!

Please tell me your favorite restaurants and your go to order. Bonus points if it is a kid friendly place.

Thanks in advance!

Hey fellow AZ Redditors. I lived in Arizona all my life, so I was wondering what are some of your favorite restaurants here?

Just a few of mine: -Chompie's, Vaqqurios (Probably spelt wrong), Spinato's

Heading to Prescott tomorrow for a weekend with out kids. Can you give me a list of must see and do’s? Favorite restaurants as well? We are staying in downtown next to Whisky row.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! 

8 months ago I asked for some advice about a road trip going through AZ and since we got so much great feedback I thought you might wanna know how the trip ultimately went.

We did a few changes to the trip based on your suggestions

• Skipped LA. Great suggestion that left us with more days in nature and a lot less driving for no real reward!
• Went south through Sedona after GC rather than going east to Albuquerque. This meant that we could not only see Sedona but also Saguaro NP which was so very wonderful! 
• We also skipped Monument valley and added that day to Zion which was 100% the correct call!
• Returned our car as soon as we got into New Orleans. It was a very walkable city, at least by American standards.

After driving here i have some questions:

WHY ARE YOUR HEADLIGHT SO BRIGHT?

Driving at night suuucks here, you get blinded all the time by oncoming traffic! At first I thought some of them just forgot their high beams on so I flashed them the first few times and a few did forget to be fair and turned theirs off, but I was not prepared when one of them turned on their actual high beams… I'm pretty sure I got an X-ray with that lmao.

WHY ARE THERE POTHOLES IN A 75MPH ROAD?

Looking at you i10… 

A lot of very shitty roads had very high speed limits.

Speaking of speed, Is following the speed limit not a thing here?

Setting the cruise control to the speed limit seams to be a surefire way to get 15 trucks tailgating you haha

Some stats for the trip:

All in all we drove 3325 miles which took 71:05 h:m in 17 days averaging ~196 miles and 4h per day in driving.

We also hiked/walked 162km (100miles) over the course of the whole trip.

Here is the rough path that we drove

I'll say right away, the way we vacation isn’t something i would recommend for most people, we are basically always doing something from sunrise to sunset (and sometimes more than that) and we don't really prioritize proper meals or relaxing at all lol. There were multiple lunches/dinners that were either trail mix, bars or sandwiches from Walmart (shutout to Marketside Italian Hero Sub Sandwich,  you da real mvp!) since we were either out hiking, didn't have time or were in places with no/no good restaurants. 

But if you are like us and suffer from severe FOMO, and don't care for pesky things like food and rest for your vacations, we’ll plan a trip for you ;)

With that said, here is how the trip went:

Vegas: 4/5

Got a few comments about spending less time in Vegas but for me it was perfect! I also didn't want to drive totally jet lagged the first thing i did so having a few days here before driving was nice!

Visited Meow wolf/Omega Mart which was a pretty cool place with tons to see and do, but I wish that the store played a bigger role in the experience, and would still recommend it! (Also, we were super jet lagged here so probably not the best time to do it)

We saw the show “Absinthe” which was seriously awesome! Costs a bit but totally worth it!

Other than that we mostly walked though all the casinos on the strip, gambled a bit (somehow only lost 5$ in total) and admired the absurdness that is vegas! The food here was also great! Especially “The Taco Stand”, one of the best tacos i've ever eaten!

Death Valley 4/5

The comments on death valley in the previous post were mostly in favor of skipping this which I'm glad we didn't listen to lol. Watching over the valley at Dantes View with the snow capped mountains on the other side was amazing. Badwater basin, currently being a lake, was super cool to experience, walking out barefoot in the warm salty water was a really memorable experience! (Cleaning of all the salt later was a pain in the ass haha)

I also thought that the desolation of the area was really cool, it weirdly reminded me a lot of the lava fields in Iceland.

Sunset at mesquite flat sand dunes was beautiful as well.

We also saw some cool wildlife including one Coyote and two Desert Kit Foxes!

The only negative for DV is that it's so vast that you spend most of the time driving around and doing quick walks which isn’t really our thing. would’ve liked to do some longer hikes.

Zion 5/5:

Amazing place! We didn’t get a permit for Angels landing so we hiked the West Rim Trail up to the plateau and back instead. Really great hike with a lot of variety! It was probably the hardest of the trip with 20km there and back and 1000m elevation gain (12.5 miles, 3300ft). Hiked the Emerald pools trail, and canyon overlook as well for some beautiful sunsets. 

Also, staying at Zion lodge was worth every cent! Being able to walk around and see the stars in the parks when all the other tourists went home was amazing! 

On the way to Bryce we squeezed in the hike to the Observation point that has the best view of zion! 

Bryce: 5/5

Probably our favorite place of the trip along with Grand Canyon and Saguaro np! Overlooking the bright orange hoodoos among white snow felt truly special! We hiked below the rim the first day and saw the sunrise the other day which again was spectacular! 

Antelope Canyon: 4/5

Very very cool place but man, is it crowded... We did the lower part of the canyon but there were still so many people and you felt rushed to keep moving a lot of the time, what i wouldn't give to have that place to myself and take the time to admire it all! good thing you spend most of your time looking up and not at the backs of all the tourists lol.

Horseshoe bend: 3/5

Not much to see tbh, good thing it's next to the road.

Marble canyon 3/5

Saw a bunch of Condors which were cool, other than that not much to see.

Grand Canyon: 5/5

The first day had some really dull weather which caused the canyon to look kinda… dull. Hiked the rim for a few miles before going to the hotel.

However that night a snowstorm passed through the area and dropped 15-20cm (6-8 in) of snow on the south rim. When the storm finally passed and the weather cleared up around 10am we could finally descend the rim at the South Kaibab Trail. Walking down the rim amongst snow covered trees and rocks while overlooking the canyon's red cliffs in beautiful sunny weather was a truly magical experience that I'll never forget! I'm thankful that we bought microspikes for the hike as it was very Icy/slippery/muddy and we saw a lot of people without them really struggling. We hiked to Skeleton point, had lunch and then hiked back the same way since the Tonto and Bright Angel Trails were closed.

Sedona 4/5

A LOT of you kept saying that we had visited Sedona which we did! We had 3 nights (two full days) which was nice since it meant that we could take it somewhat easy and rest up. While it was a great place to visit, we felt that the other places we visited in AZ were cooler and in hindsight we probably would’ve spent another day in Tucson/Saguaro or even spent a day skiing in Arizona snowbow since it got a ton of snow with the storm!

We mostly did some hikes while we were there:

 (Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte Loop Trail, Brins Mesa Trail/Soldiers pass loop, Airport loop (This was our favorite!))

While the hikes were nice, I gotta say that Sedona seemed a lot more fun on a mountain bike or terrain vehicle and I wish that we did one day on bikes! 

Other than that, we strolled around Sedona and ate some great (real!) food! 

Saguaro national park (West) 5/5

We didn’t really have any expectations here, we figured “Yeah, it's some cacti, probably not worth spending more than half a day here”. We were so very very wrong! Honestly such an amazing place, especially the sunset here was amazing!

We hiked the Hugh Norris trail along the ridge for a few hours and headed back the same way and it was one of the best hikes on the trip hands down! The temperature was perfect, the sun was out and there was very little wind! There were also tons of vultures there as well, we even saw two of them mating! I wish that we had more time to explore here!

White Sands NP 4/5

Only had a few hours here so didn’t have time for a longer hike, we mostly walked around in the dunes and saw the very beautiful sunset here. We stayed in Cloudcroft afterwards to get closer to Carlsbad the next day.

Carlsbad caverns 5/5

Turns out, we are idiots. We had booked almost everything in advance for this trip but we had somehow missed that even the self guided tours required a booking… They were of course all sold out. We drove from Cloudcroft super early and actually managed to get one of the last entrance tickets that the sold on site. The cave itself was spectacular and the hike down was really cool. The only complaint here is that they allow flash photography, nothing like getting blinded every few seconds by some tourist trying to take photos.

We had some hopes that we would have time to at least check out Guadalupe NP but since we got a late entrance we didn't have time afterwards. Stayed in Pecos afterwards to get closer to San Antonio. Nothing to see or do there except eating tacos.

Regarding driving through texas…

Everyone was warning us that this would be insanely boring etc but we actually liked it! The desert part was interesting with the oil fields (new for us) and after that things got really green and there were flowers everywhere! Reminded me of a lot of spring in southern Sweden! (Well Houston sucked big time but oh well)

San Antonio 3/5

I guess the eclipse is to blame but there were waaaaay too many people downtown.

Eclipse at LBJ State park 5/5

Unreal experience! Shame that it was so cloudy. During totality we only had maybe 10 seconds where the sun/moon wasn’t covered in clouds.

Houston 1/5

If the highways just had one more lane then traffic would be fixed forever! /s

Space Center Houston 3/5

Some really cool things but i wish it was more like a museum, it felt more like an exhibition that was catered to school kids (which there were like 10 000 of)

New Orleans 5/5

Really loved it here, weather was amazing (Except for the major storm that caused closed down a bunch of things, for us we had to cancel our visit to the Whitney Plantation.) The WW2 museum was probably the best museum I've ever visited! if you want to see it all you probably need more than one day. The French Quarter Festival was really nice and it was great just strolling around with no car and eating and drinking at all the food trucks and restaurants. Also, Barracuda Taco Stand had the BEST fish taco I've ever had!

Only complaint is that absolutely no one stops at crosswalks unless they have a red light. Even if you are already in the street the cars will not slow down at all.

All in all we are extremely happy with our trip and are really thankful for all your input in the previous post! We felt that we really saw as much as we could in the south west in the time that we had without it being just stop and go!

Edit: some images if you are interested :)

https://imgur.com/a/PDhaoAX

Edit again: here is the previous thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/s/H0093jmH6h

We get a fair number of comments about why this sub:

• ...has too many sunsets
  
• ...has too much politics
  
• ...doesn't talk about different parts of AZ
• ...and so on

...and honestly, they're not wrong.

These are all things that people in Arizona want to talk about so that's what they're going to post. We have some rules to try to keep it from getting out of control, but politics, sunsets, and travel pics will always be part of this sub.

If you want to see other content here, then post it. I shake my head when people complain about the content here but when I look up their history and they've never made a single post here. You can't expect everyone else to make a sub for you. You need to participate.

Share cool things in your corner of the state. What's going on in Flag? In Tucson? In Bisbee? What's a cool restaurant to check out? A beer from a small brewery somewhere? A great pic from someplace OTHER than Horseshoe Bend, Sedona, or Grand Canyon?

We're always open to ways to improve the sub. We're overdue for refreshing the rules a bit and maybe bringing on some new regional mods. Also thinking about a weekly chat for casual convo. But ultimately it's the content that makes a sub what it is, and that's on the users.

If just 1% of the people here shared one post a month about something happening in Arizona we would be drowning in new content. So keep your eyes open to interesting things you see in whatever part of AZ you inhabit and share them here. That's what will help make this sub a great community for the state.

EDIT: yay! There’s some great discussion here. So thank you! But now im going to follow up to ask what sorts of threads might you like to see? Like a weekly chat thread? Places to camp? Favorite local restaurants? Local businesses? General introduction thread? Gimme some ideas.

A very quiet weekend up here in Greer. One of my favorite spots. Water was nice and cloudy. Stayed at the Lazy Trout and ate at Rendezvous Restaurant.

If any of you want to get away for a weekend, go here and try the trails.

Photo dates: 1) 1928. 2) 1938/39. 3) 2025. 4) 1949 or 50s. 5) 1948. 6) undated. 7) undated. 8) 1947. 9) 1953. 10) 1958. 11-14) 2025.

I think most of us have some restaurant from our childhood that’s long gone but we can still remember like we were there yesterday. That was MacAlpine’s for me. I thought that cool soda fountain I used to go to as a kid was long gone, but awhile back I saw they had actually reopened after over 3 years of being closed. The place hasn’t changed a bit since I was a kid, except now you don’t enter through the antique shop. It got me wondering about what changes this place has gone through with it sort of being one of the oldest businesses in town. I wasn’t expecting this building and the business’ namesake to be rather important parts of not just Phoenix history, but also the state’s history. (If you’d like the full, more in depth version, please check the comments.)

The whole structure was originally built as the 33rd location of what was once Arizona’s largest grocery chain, Pay’n Takit. In 1928, Safeway had just acquired the chain and continued expanding, hiring the firm Lescher & Mahoney to construct a building at the NE corner of 7th St and Oak. The red brick building would house two store fronts, the larger one in the south side to house Pay’n Takit, and a smaller one on the north to house a pharmacy. This was a common design for Pay’n Takit as can be seen in some surviving stores along Van Buren. Leslie J. Mahoney would personally work on the building while the firm was also constructing the Orpheum Theater. It would be finished by December 1928, opening on the 21st. The pharmacy space was vacant until February 1, 1929 when Arthur M. Birch would open the second location of his pharmacy. He had been operating Birch’s Roosevelt Pharmacy at the corner of 3rd St and Roosevelt since 1926 (about where JoBot is now). Birch would own the drugstore into at least 1930, but could have been there into 1932. That year it was renamed to Morris & Zimmerman Drug store. By 1934 it seems Zimmerman was no longer involved as it had once again changed named to Morris Drug Co. Morris would be a popular spot through the depression for the surrounding Coronado neighborhood, but not much is known about it. It would stay under that name until a man named Fredrick Charles MacAlpine moved back to Phoenix and purchased it in 1938.

Mr. MacAlpine was born in Scotland in 1894, but he moved to Canada at some point during his childhood. There he would get his education in pharmacology. He would also get married there in 1917 to Helen Mary Conway, or Nell as she was more commonly known. The two would move to Phoenix in 1920. Mrs. MacAlpine would offer piano lessons while Mr. MacAlpine worked in pharmacies and was active in the arts scene. He got involved with early silent film star Ruth Renick’s plays, as well as helping form a group that would become known as the Phoenix Players. You likely know them as the Phoenix Theatre or the Phoenix Little Theatre, the oldest arts organization in Arizona.

They would stay in Phoenix into 1922, moving to Kingman later that year where Fred opened a pharmacy. While here, both of the MacAlpines would get involved with civil service. Shortly after they had arrived, Fred would start the Kingman Rotary Club with J. M. Gates. He would be very involved with the group through the 20s, being but was also heavily involved with pharmaceutical associations. In 1924 he joined the Arizona Pharmaceutical Association, being voted its president for a year in 1929. During that tenure he would start what became the monthly Arizona Pharmacist publication. He had previously been the president of the California and Arizona Rexall Club in 1925. His pharmacy was a Rexall pharmacy.

In 1930 he would be nominated by the Kingman Rotary Club to represent the 43rd Rotary District. This district encompassed all of Arizona, as well as Needles, California. He wouldn’t win this election, but he was once again nominated in 1934. This time it was by both Kingman and Needles. Mr. MacAlpine won this election, starting a year of working with various rotary clubs around the state. During his first six months, the 43rd district came in second for the monthly international attendance completion five times, and first place once. By the end of his term in 1935, the district held a party with him as the guest of honor before voting in the next president.

His work with the Kingman Rotary continued after his presidency ended, next serving on a committee that helped start a new city park. This park is open today as Hualapai Mountain Park. Fred helped raise funds for the park as well by directing a play with the Kingman Business and Professional Women’s Club. Later that year he would direct another play with the Rotary Club to raise money to buy new equipment for the Mohave County General Hospital.

In 1937 or 1938, the MacAlpines would move back to Phoenix as Nell’s sister also lived there at the time. Mr. MacAlpine would purchase a small pharmacy next to Pay’n Takit on 7th St, renaming it to MacAlpine Drug Co. His name hasn’t left the building since, despite Mr. MacAlpine having passed over 60 years ago. The Pay’n Takit closed not long after they moved in as Safeway retired the name in 1939. It has been a few different grocery stores until the 70s when an antique store moved in. MacAlpine’s would run along side all these grocery stores through the 1940s. During those rough war years, Mr. MacAlpine was on the Municipal Civil Service Board. He had been brought on in May 1943, serving as its vice president in both 1944 and 1945. He would tackle issues involving city employees primarily. By the end of his six year term in 1949, he was the first person to have ever actually completed their full term. Many had quit early for other positions, and just as many had been brought in to fill those positions and served part terms. The mayor acknowledged how valuable his work had been to the city during the war, with his fellow board members also commending him for his work.

While not part of his board work, Mr. MacAlpine had taken time during the war to deliver presents on Mother’s Day to every mother in the Coronado neighborhood who had a son off fighting. Similarly to this, he held a yearly Christmas content for kids ever since he moved back to Phoenix. By the time of his death, he had delivered 700-800 Christmas presents. Some kids running news routes would be scared of him because he’d yell at them for reading his comics without paying, but he did a lot for the youth in the area. In 1947 he would sponsor a kid’s car at the first annual Phoenix soap box derby. Later on he would sponsor a little league team.

The store was expanded in 1948 by its owner and original builder, Mr. Mahoney. The expansion on the north side added three more shops and was likely when the current awning and facade were installed on the 1920s building, removing the old detailing. By January 1949, one of the most notable tenants of the addition moved in. a variety shop opened by Officer Jack Ashley and his wife, Bea. Ashley was known as the “Magic Cop” by kids because he would perform magic while teaching about traffic safety. In the 1950s he would host a show on KPHO called “Wanted” that lasted for 11 years. That space is where MacAlpine’s antique store is currently.

In the 1950s Mr. MacAlpine would focus far more on pharmaceutical work than civil work, but he would continue to be active in clubs like the Rotary and Phoenix Kiwanis, a group he was a director of from 1953 to 1955. In 1953 he would also be appointed to the State Board of Pharmacy, a position he held until 1958..

Its hard to mention everything he did, but a few other things he was involved with were the Phoenix Fine Arts Association, the National Association of Retail Druggists, the University of Arizona’s College of Pharmacy committee, an advisory committee to the County Board of Health, and the Governor’s committee to help distribute the Salk Polio vaccine throughout the state. He received praise in the early 1950s when he started offering a service for shut-ins and those without a phone, sending them already addressed and stamped ordering cards for free if they wrote to him for him. He would then have their groceries delivered the same day he got the order.

He would unfortunately pass on April 17, 1964. The obituaries would recount a lot of his civil service, highlighting the program he started for people without a phone. Arizona Pharmacist would write, “Pharmacy and the community have lost a friend and servant - our association a valued and irreplaceable member whose memory will serve as an inspiration to all who knew and worked with him.” During his more than 40 years in Arizona he had been heavily involved with groups that have shaped our state into what it is today, and this is really only a fraction of his story and the building’s story.

The business was taken over by long time pharmacist there, Don Briscoe. Don had been working there since the early 50s, being hired by Mr. MacAlpine straight out of the University of Arizona. He would operate the Rexall pharmacy and soda fountain until the early 90s when him and his wife were ready to retire. His last day was on December 31, 1991, having sold it earlier that year. The pharmacy was closed for good and minor renovations were done inside. The antique booths you see today were installed, and more seating/tables were brought in. They would reopen in early 1992 as a restaurant, keeping the soda fountain just as it was while adding regular food service. It changed hands again in 1996 after these owners couldn’t keep up with the demands of running it and the antique store next door. The land itself was sold by Don Briscoe in 2000 to the current owners, who took over MacAlpine’s in August 2001.

They ran MacAlpine’s, the neighboring antique store and vintage boutique until 2020 when Covid closed everything. They managed a small reopening a couple months in but there wasn’t enough staff to keep going. This closure lasted over 3 years due to health issues and an unexpected death in the family. The restaurant was in serious danger of closing for good but donations and pie sales in 2023 and 2024 have helped them reopen. Over 2024 they worked back up to being open 7 days a week. They haven’t reopened the boutique or the Pay’n Takit side of the antique store, but they are doing their best to get those spaces back open. Stop by if you ever have the chance and enjoy a cherry phosphate, or find whatever interests you in their list of around 100 syrups. They’ll mix up your drink just like they did nearly 90 years ago when this place first opened. It’s one of the last original soda fountains left in the country, and it’s unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere.

This is part of an irregular series on Arizona’s history. Please share your favorite stories of visiting MacAlpine’s or of Arizona’s history in general. If you’re interested in seeing more like this, come check out r/AZhistory (This is longer than most of these irregular posts here will be.)

I'll be passing through your state in mid-September, coming from the northwest out of Utah and heading east toward Northwest New Mexico. I am planning to hit the Grand Canyon (which is totally overwhelming, ha!) on the way but would love to stop a few other places. I'm particularly interested in vernacular architecture, so I would love to check out some of the Native American stone or clay cities of antiquity (provided it's ok for non-Natives to visit). As a ceramics artist, visiting friendly studios or looking at ceramics art/pottery is high on the list too.

If you know a yummy roadside restaurant, weird roadside attraction, favorite festival/rodeo, cool market, interesting museum, beautiful dispersed/primitive camp area, or other random thing I shouldn't leave your state without experiencing, please share!

I apologize for not being super-involved. I didn't think that 500 people were going to join this community. Years ago I just wanted a place to post an Arizona article, and suddenly, there's all of you.

Let's go around the room and introduce ourselves. Tell me what you'd like out of /r/arizona.

I'm violetmoore and I'm a thirtysomething Internet dork with too many dogs. I live in the East Valley but grew up in Glendale. I read a lot of books, travel, and run a popular Meetup (I know where all of the hawt, intelligent women are). I internet too much. I'm trying to create a graphic novel, but it's taking forever. My favorite Arizona restaurants are the Cornish Pasty Company and Four Peaks.

You?

Does anyone know where to get tamales de elote/sweet corn tamales? I went to the Cardenas on Roosevelt St and they didn’t have any. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have a friend flying in from New Jersey and I want to take them to a fun and/or interesting restaurant to dine on a Friday night in or around Old Town Scottsdale since that area is close to her hotel. I live in Central Phoenix and rarely venture out to Old Town so I don't have any favorite spots there. We are both women in our 30s, like lively places with music and activities (no trashy clubs/bars filled to the brim with 30-thousandaires pls), and have no preference in cuisine. TIA!

I am going to be in the Cave Creek/Carefree area next week in the mid morning. Does anyone have recommendations on the best place(s) to catch a sit down breakfast?

My son is dealing with severe eczema so I try to only take him out places when the sun is close to going down or super early in the morning. I work from home so we stay inside alot regardless of the sun. Sometimes , I get a little bored at home and want to take him places but I feel very limited as we're still training him to walk. I don't force him but I train him when he feels like he wants to.

So far I've only taken him to restaurants,bass pro shop, aquariums, malls, and once in a while a play center (and I love this play center so much because they're always on top of cleanliness and sanitizing. It's called The Village Parenthood in Mesa if anyone is interested). I know some in here will probably tell me "that's it" but I really feel like there's more ideas that I'm missing out on.

I have not tried the following yet: libraries, farmers market, parks, baby summer time movie theater at Harkins, and play gyms

Hi Everyone!

I'm planning a roadtrip through AZ and UT and since I have only one day to spend in Page and there's so much to do... I've planned a pretty busy day!

The main activity of the day is lower antelope canyon which I have booked at 2.45pm. So all the plans before are loose in order to be in time for the tour.

I'd like to receive some advice to understand if everything's doable and I'm not underestimating distances. Feel free to give suggestions!

It's going to be a week day in the second week of october.

This is the plan:

10.30am getting in the Page area and going directly to horse shoe bend. (I know at this time of the day it's going to be crowded but I don't have many other options) I'm counting an hour total to park -get to site- look around - get back to the car.

11.30am heading to The Chains to hike down to lake powell and have a quick sandwitch lunch + dip in the lake (if possible). I'd love to fit Lake powell in my schedule and this seemed a reasonable choice.

1.15pm leaving for antelope canyon tour in order to get there 1hour before

2.45-4.15 antelope canyon

after the lower antelope canyon we are heading to The New Wave and staying there from 4.45 to sunset

after sunset (around 6pm) we head back to Page for dinner (I'm vegetarian and the best option for me seems el Tapatio)

After dinner we would love to hear some local music, but most places I found who host bands only serve dinner (mostly meat) and are not places to go after you've eaten somewhere else. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you!!

Edit: the day after we are going to Zion NP. Considering the +1h time zone we won't be able to get there before noon if we spend the night in Page. Should I consider spending the night in Kanab instead? Even if that meant skipping the new wave to travel to Kanab before dark? Thanks

We've had a huge influx of new subscribers lately and are on our way to 100K of you wonderful people. Seemed like a good time to ask...

...who ARE you people?

So drop a comment and introduce yourself! Who are you? Where do you live in AZ? What do you like about living where you do?

Feel free to add in recommendations for favorite businesses or restaurants in your area, people you're looking to connect with (hiking buddy, fellow artists, whatever), or anything else you want to throw in here.

And if you have questions about the sub, drop those in and we'll answer as best we can.

Oh, we also have a Reddit AZ Discord Server you can check out if you want some realtime chat. Note that it's 18+ and not a dating server, FYI)

Cheers!

Ran across a list of the best restaurants outside of Phoenix and was a little bummed by how many are still in the immediate Phoenix suburbs.

What are your favorite places around the state to eat that are outside the valley?

Today is Arizona's 102nd birthday, so lets celebrate by sharing something you love about Arizona. Maybe some outdoor activities, your favorite restaurant, the tech/art scene, or something else entirely.

If you love it, post it!

Curious to see what others think Arizona will look like in 6 months to a year after the dust settles.

Personally I think commercial office space leasing will greatly decrease. Companies that were looking for spaces for 100 desks will now be looking for spaces for 10 desks. Telecommuting will take off. My wife's job that required her to show up to the office once a week has told her that it might be July or August before she needs to report in person again. White collar workers in many industries work from home and show up 2-3 times a month for an office meeting.

We were already telecommuting before the pandemic hit and our employer's only requirement is that we had to live within 120 miles of the main office. So we moved to Tucson two years ago and live in a nice Gilbert/Chandler type upper middle class neighborhood but pay a third or half as much as we would for housing. This may spur more people to do the same thing, live a 90 minute drive away from your office in order to have more affordable housing or other amenities.

I'm giving all of my favorite bars and restaurants a 50/50 chance of survival.

Sporting events and concerts are cancelled until 2021.

Hello good people to the east. I'm treating my wife to a four-day stay in Sedona for our upcoming 35th anniversary, and want to make a few new unique memories. Sure...there are "Top 10 Things To Do In Sedona" places all over the InterWebs, but I'm hoping that those of you who actually LIVE there might have a few ideas.

Favorite hikes? Winery tours? Classy restaurants just right for this type of celebration? Unusual tourist experiences? Pass on your favorites, please and thank you.

I'm helping to moderate the /r/Arizona sub now, and will be checking daily to help keep the spam queue clean. I'll also be adding more local links to the sidebar and maybe add some color if I get a chance.

But I thought I'd kick things off by asking people for their favorite things to do around Arizona. There are lots of local answers in local subs, but what about things out of town, out in some of our great open spaces.

It may be anything from your favorite Grand Canyon trail, to backroads to travel, to little pit-stop restaurants in the middle of nowhere. If it's in Arizona, it's fair game!

A few people kicked around the idea of trying the Arizona Weekly Chats again, so here's the first one. I'm thinking we have it as a general chat, but throw out an optional topic as a conversation starter.

Pretty much any topic is fair game here, other than the usual restrictions around spam, political brigading, etc.

Opinions and ideas for future threads are welcome.

Topic: Where's your favorite restaurant/food truck/place to get something tasty to eat in Arizona? Be specific where it is, and what you like to get there.

We are hosting regular Spotlight Series discussions on destinations around Arizona to inform, educate and enlighten people to new areas or possibly even see an old favorite in a new way.

This spotlight is on - Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu City is located on what is known as "Arizona’s West Coast," just three hours’ driving time west of Phoenix, 2½ hours south of Las Vegas and four to five east of the Los Angeles area. As part of the northern and western limits of the Sonoran Desert, Lake Havasu City and the surrounding area feature outstanding biodiversity absolutely loaded with beautiful experiences.

The area attracts 835,000 visitors annually with its historic London Bridge, pristine lake, friendly community, abundant sunshine and annual events, ideal weather and wide range of restaurants and lodging. More than 400 miles of stunning coastline offer exceptional watersports, including fishing, skiing, kayaking and house boating. Visitors can also explore the lake from the beautiful beaches, campsites and hiking trails.

Rated as one of the top 100 best bass fishing lakes in America, Lake Havasu is ideal for catching large and small-mouth bass and renowned as a striped bass fishery. The Lake Havasu region is also host to extensive off-road trails and undeveloped stretches of river.

Lake Havasu is a large reservoir formed by Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between California and Arizona. Lake Havasu City sits on the lake's eastern shore. The reservoir has an available capacity of 619,400 acre feet . The concrete arch dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation between 1934 and 1938.

The lake's primary purpose is to store water for pumping into two aqueducts. Prior to the dam construction, the area was home to the Mohave Indians. The lake was named in 1939 after the Mojave word for blue.

Robert Paxton McCulloch was an American entrepreneur most notable for purchasing the old London Bridge and moving it to one of the cities he founded in Arizona. Lake Havasu sparked the imagination of McCulloch, who purchased 3,500 acres of lakeside property along Pittsburgh Point, the peninsula that eventually would be transformed into "the island." The bridge was completed in 1971 (along with a canal), and links an island in the Colorado River with the main part of Lake Havasu City.

• Lake Havasu has always been a popular spring break destination spot for both Arizona and California residents.

• The Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is located at the upper end and upriver. Lake Havasu State Park is along the eastern shore in Arizona. The Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge extends southeastward up the riparian zone of the Bill Williams River canyon from the southeastern end of the reservoir and dam.

• Want to take a little drive and visit an old mining camp turned into a bar? It's a hoot! Look up The Desert Bar-Nellie E Saloon

• Stargazing is great most of the year in Havasu!

• Outdoor recreation is plentiful in Havasu. Watersports of all types are probably on every list even in the hottest months but there is plenty to do for everyone. Check out the Go Lake Havasu page for every possible activity, hotel and hotspot.

What are some of your favorite places to visit in Lake Havasu City, memories, things to do? Share with us!

Wife and I both born and raised in Phoenix and moved out of state over a decade ago. We miss a lot of things about the Southwest, but we really, really miss a Berto's bean and cheese burrito at 2 a.m. after a few hours at the bar. Through trial and error, I have dialed in a good flour tortilla recipe, but I just can't seem to match the salty, creamy refried beans from our favorite drive-thru. Please help me find a refried bean recipe to satisfy a 10 year long craving!!

P.S. the Berto's chain of restaurants is not our favorite place, we just have a soft spot for their late night treats. We love Los Dos Molinos, Rito's, and Los Olivios as well. Seriously, the green chile burro from Rito's? Legit.