Hamachi grapefruit and avocado from Hai Noon ... delicious!
Best is a very subjective word. It is better to say I am writing about the 5 restaurants we enjoyed the most during our recent trip to Phoenix.
Teresa and I travelled to Phoenix for a break from the Canadian winter. We enjoyed the warm weather, hiking and golf, and as a bonus, the excellent restaurants. We never knew that Phoenix was such a "foodie" town. I'm guessing that if you are a chef, Phoenix is probably a nice place to live. Warm winters (although the summers are very uncomfortable) lots of outdoor activities, all the major sports and plenty of visitors (in 2022, 19.5 million people visited Phoenix).
Here is a list of our 5 favourite restaurants, in order of preference, followed by our picks for hiking and golf.
Hai Noon - https://hainoonaz.com/home - All I can say is ... Wow! Teresa and I have eaten in many great Japanese restaurants but this ranks right at the top. The owner is the 2007 James Beard award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda who has had several restaurants in the Phoenix area. The food and service were amazing. The menu was tapas/small plates and the waiter took time to explain the dishes, answer our questions and suggest how much to order. The plates were quite small so the good news is that we got to try five items plus the special Valentine's dessert. Each plate was beautifully prepared and presented and the flavours were incredible. Below are photos of the food we chose along with a description. If you are in Phoenix and can only eat at one restaurant, this is the place!
Top Left - Hamachi grapefruit and avocado. Middle Left - left dish - tofu with papaya with curry dressing - right dish soft shell crab with rice noodles. Bottom Left - Special Valentine's Day cake, Top Right - eggplant with bacon miso Bottom Right - Tuna and burihira sashimi with homemade soya sauce and very hot wasabi
Lom Wong - https://www.lomwongaz.com/ . For both Hai Noon and Lom Wong you had to make a reservation well in advance to secure a time during the dinner seating. Lom Wong, another small plates restaurant, was packed when we arrived but the service and the food were excellent. The host while seating us gave us some history of the restaurant and the chef. Many dishes are family recipes from Yotaka Martin's grandmother. After describing each dish our server would say "That's great" or "That's one of my favourites". He blew it, however, when I asked him if everything on the menu was his favourite- he said yes (I think there was one item he didn't like).
I don't remember what we ate, but I do remember everything being delicious. Below is one of the great dishes we had.
Green Mango salad with shrimp from Lom Wong ... mmmmm
Fire at Will - https://www.eatfireatwill.com/. We celebrated Teresa's birthday at Fire at Will. I would put this restaurant in the trendy category- slick, with cool furnishings and an upbeat vibe. The restaurant is popular and loud which I felt added to the atmosphere, but if you are looking for a quiet intimate place, this is not it. During our meal, the table next to us was lingering (with no food or drinks) and the hostess came up and told them (nicely) that they were welcome to stay but would need to move to the bar. I think this is good table management and more restaurants should do this. Again, the dishes were all small plates so Teresa and I got to share a few things. The bacon-wrapped dates, goat cheese, walnuts, muhammara and pomegranate were amazing and something we had never had before. We ordered a dish called Little Gem. We didn't realize that little gem is a type of lettuce, essentially a cross between a miniature romaine and butter lettuce. It came with blue cheese, tomato, red onion and house ranch dressing-like a wedge salad but sooo much better. We split the stacked enchilada which was delicious. The only dish we were slightly disappointed in was the Iberico ham croquettes which tasted pretty ordinary. They had amazing cocktails and craft beers. It was a great place for a birthday celebration.
Hush Public House - https://www.hushpublichouse.com/ Hush Public House is the opposite of Fire at Will. The restaurant looks like it took over two side-by-side retail spots not originally designed for a restaurant. They have done their best to make the place a little more intimate adding a bar, some plants and dividers. Although the atmosphere may be lacking, it doesn't seem to matter because this popular place has amazing food. Ranking this place fourth seems unfair, but the competition was tough. Don't let the standings put you off, Hush Public House is worth visiting.
Lamp Pizzeria - https://lamppizza.com/ We always like having a pizza night as part of our dining experience. Bianco Pizzeria is probably the most famous pizza place in Phoenix often touted as the best pizza in the US (how does anyone determine that?). I had been to Bianco on a previous visit with our son Kevin, however, the menu looked less inviting. Also, I had been following a Phoenix food blogger who raved about Lamp so we decided to try it. We sat outside on the patio where these tower heaters kept us warm and comfortable. It is a great place for pizza night with delicious artisan pizzas and a good selection of craft beers.
Honourable mention
Giuseppes on 28th - https://giuseppeson28th.com/ This place appeared on the Food Network's Drive-ins, Diners and Dives (it is none of these) and we try to visit whenever we are in Phoenix. They have tasty pastas and bruschetta.
Ta Carbon Mexican Grill - https://tacarbon.com/ - It is probably unfair to call this a dive, but it is close. You order your tacos and beer at the counter then go to the topping bar where you load up a plate with pureed avocado and other delicious garnishes. Once your name is called you get your tacos, sit down and dig in. Almost like a fast food place but better tasting. We were in the restaurant for less than 30 minutes.
Little Miss BBQ - https://littlemissbbq.com/ We went to this place for a late lunch and did not need dinner! Traditional BBQ with heavenly beef brisket, pulled pork and ribs. Mac and cheese was a great side and they had draft beer. You line up, place your order and find a seat. When ready your food is brought to your table. Not a fancy place but great food.
Chelsea's Kitchen - https://chelseaskitchenaz.com/. This is one of our favourite places while in Phoenix. Unfortunately, we did not make it on this trip but we will be sure to fit it in next time. Great outdoor patio, a cool vibe and amazing short rib tacos. Worth checking out.
These nine restaurants should give you a good dining start for any trip to Phoenix. Some of them you may even want to try more than once (Hai Noon for sure).
What else did we do besides eat? Let's start with hiking. Hiking is fantastic in the Phoenix area so you don't have to drive to Sedona or the Grand Canyon. There are amazing trails just outside the city limits. Here is where we went:
Camelback Mountain via Echo Canyon Trail - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/camelback-mountain-via-echo-canyon-trail.
This hike is rated hard on Alltrails and has a 4.8 out of 5 score from reviewers. Is there something more than hard? Like very hard or very difficult? This hike is a killer. It is 4.2 km (it seems much longer) out and back with an elevation gain of 464 meters. It gets consistently harder as you progress, you are often on your hands and knees trying to pull yourself up, or at least I was, and the height of the steps you need to take will test your flexibility and strength. We had several people ask us if we intended to go all the way to the top (is that ageism?) to which Teresa replied, "Once we start we always go to the top" (right on!). We did make it and the spectacular view from the summit was worth all the effort. Like most of these steep and rugged hikes going down is as difficult as going up. There is no break until you finally make it to the parking lot. Tip: wear sturdy hiking shoes and if the temperature is going to be over 22 degrees Celcius you might want to reconsider.
Tom's Thumb Trail - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/toms-thumb-trail Rated moderate on Alltrails and 4.8 out of 5 by reviews. This out-and-back trail has an elevation gain of 371 meters. Remember I upped Camelback to very hard so Tom's Thumb moves from moderate to hard. Not as much scrambling on your hands and knees but it is still a workout with steep inclines. Great views especially from the top.
Sunrise Peak via Sunrise Trail - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/sunrise-peak-via-sunrise-trail We did not go for sunrise. If I remember correctly the trail was not even open for sunrise (which seems strange given its name). Rated as moderate on Alltrails with a 4.7 rating from reviewers this out-and-back trail has an elevation gain of 350 meters. This trail was the "easiest" of the three hikes we did. However, there are still steep inclines and some rocks. Beautiful views-a very enjoyable hike.
Ok, let's get to the real reason I enjoy going to Phoenix-for winter golf! There are tons of golf courses in Phoenix and you don't need me to give you a full review. Just google "golf in Phoenix" and you will get lots of suggestions. Golf is expensive in Phoenix, especially for Canadians paying the exchange rate, but there are reasonable rates (no bargains) to be found. Here is the list of courses we played with a few extra comments on our favourite course.
Great photo captured by Teresa. My golf lessons (see article on my blog) are paying off
Arizona Biltmore - Links course - https://azbiltmoregc.com/phoenix-links-golf-course/ The newer of the two courses at the Biltmore resort, this was our favourite course. Wide fairways made the course playable and there was a good distance from the back tees where I played to the front tees for Teresa. I enjoyed the out and back links style and although not overly difficult the course was still challenging. Range balls are included in the price. Unfortunately, the clubhouse was being renovated while we were there so there was no place to have a beer after the round. We liked it so much we played this course twice.
Wigwam - https://wigwamgolf.com/ I wasn't thinking when I booked a tee time here otherwise I would have skipped it. With its culturally insensitive name, tacky Native American decor and fake wigwam by the driving range it is a relic of a bygone age that should be updated and changed.
Ocotillo GC - https://wigwamgolf.com/?? Expensive and gimmicky I would avoid this place. There is so much water (2-3 crossings per hole) that it looks like the designers went out of their way to just have as much water as possible. Lots of better places to play.
Stonecreek - https://stonecreekgc.com/ Nice course and affordable. We enjoyed it. Also in the heart of Phoenix so no long drives to get there.
Well, that was our trip to Phoenix. We also fit in an awesome day trip to the Grand Canyon and had lots of time in the hot tub and pool at our Airbnb condo. We left before MLB Spring Training started but we did get tickets for a University of Arizona men's baseball game. Very entertaining with great food and beer at the stadium. An excellent trip doing some of our favourite activities in warm sunny weather.
Any questions or comments let me know at thethirdperiod.ca@gmail.com.
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