PHX/Scottsdale/Grand Canyon Thread....

[Mr Brian 904]

Heading out West for 5 days, will be staying in Scottsdale for 4 nights. Driving last day and evening to the south rim of grand canyon before heading back home.

Any recommendations of things to do, places to eat in Phx/Scottsdale?

Any advice or pointers for spending 24 hr at the Grand Canyon?

Appreciate you all!

 

[seminoledq]

Hey we know you. So......

1. Make your way to bottom of Grand Canyon
2. Stay there

 

[semihawk]

check out Sedona on way to canyon as well as Taliesin in Scottsdale. if you are into climbing, hike up camelback mt also in Scottsdale. I only got up trail to where boulders started since I had just had total replacement hip surgery and was not in mood for a "redo"

 

[Mr Brian 904]

check out Sedona on way to canyon as well as Taliesin in Scottsdale. if you are into climbing, hike up camelback mt also in Scottsdale. I only got up trail to where boulders started since I had just had total replacement hip surgery and was not in mood for a "redo"

What to check out specifically in Sedona?

 

[fsunole025]

The scenic drive from Sedona to the canyon is nice. The local restaurants in Sedona are also worth checking out. A recall a tamales shop that was awesome.

 

[Bartdog]

The scenic drive from Sedona to the canyon is nice. The local restaurants in Sedona are also worth checking out. A recall a tamales shop that was awesome.

Also if you have any time to stop for a couple hour's hike there are some nice walks along the way.

 

[F4Gary]

What to check out specifically in Sedona?

Drive up Oak Creek Canyon on the way to Flagstaff.
At the top there is usually a Navajo flea market if you are into Indian jewelry.

 

[Noleguy06]

Live in Phoenix. Where you staying at?

 

[Noleguy06]

check out Sedona on way to canyon as well as Taliesin in Scottsdale. if you are into climbing, hike up camelback mt also in Scottsdale. I only got up trail to where boulders started since I had just had total replacement hip surgery and was not in mood for a "redo"

There are better hikes than Camelback. This is peak tourist season and that place is an absolute s*&t show with the amount of people who hike it.

 

[Hayduke GW]

Live in Phoenix. Where you staying at?

What part of town you in? I’m Downtown/midtown around McDowell and central

 

[amckinnon317]

If you are trying to party old town is where you want to be. PM I can set you up with the right people one of my friends is the owner of El Hefe and Whiskey Row.

 

[Mr Brian 904]

Live in Phoenix. Where you staying at?

Around the corner from the Scottsdale stadium in an Airbnb. Where would you recommend we watch the FSU/UF game at?

 

[Noleguy06]

What part of town you in? I’m Downtown/midtown around McDowell and central

Good spot and mix of culture.

I'm a little north of Deer Valley and Cave Creek Rd.

 

[Noleguy06]

Around the corner from the Scottsdale stadium in an Airbnb. Where would you recommend we watch the FSU/UF game at?

Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers and Zipps are my go to spots. Half Moon I believe in the Biltmore area is where Seminole fans go to watch games.

 

[Mr Brian 904]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am traveling with a group of 14 to see the Jaguars v Cardinals game that Sunday.

Some things we have considered doing in PHX/Scottsdale before heading to the GC are as follows:
Suns v Pelicans NBA game
Toms Thumb Trail
ATV/UTV 2-3hr excursion
The Comedy Spot
Sports bar for FSU v UF game

 

[FSUTribe76]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am traveling with a group of 14 to see the Jaguars v Cardinals game that Sunday.

Some things we have considered doing in PHX/Scottsdale before heading to the GC are as follows:
Suns v Pelicans NBA game
Toms Thumb Trail
ATV/UTV 2-3hr excursion
The Comedy Spot
Sports bar for FSU v UF game

If your group is sophisticated then there are a ton of great wineries about two hours from Phoenix on the way to the GC in Cornville, Cottonwood and Jerome including two owned by the lead singer of Tool, Puscifer and Perfect Circle (Caduceus in Jerome which is higher end and has a little restaurant attached and Merkin in Cottonwood which is within a single block of four other winery tasting rooms). The best wineries imo in order are 1) Arizona Stronghold in Cottonwood, 2) Page Springs in Cornville, 3) Chateau Tumbleweed in between Jerome and Cottonwood at the base of the mountain, 4) Javelina Leap in Cornville and 5) Caduceus in Jerome.

There are a couple of good Casino resorts in the area. I absolutely loved Casino Del Sol in Tucson, but the Wild Horse Pass Casino in southern Phoenix is above decent as well. You can usually get a decent rate and I didn’t find the two casinos (plus Twin Arrows outside of Flagstaff) to be that tight despite being “Indian casinos”, definitely far looser than those in Florida as I walked out up $270 at Casino Del Sol and $600 at Wild Horse Pass (up $100 one day and up $500 on the return trip).

Make sure you eat a lunch or dinner at Fry Bread House in Phoenix. It’s amazingly good Navajo food, get the Indian taco or Ko Ji (pan fried masa cakes crispy on the outside and soft on the inside) with the green Chili beef. It was good enough we did two meals there on a six day trip. Their chicken tamales are also hands down the best tamales I’ve had anywhere.

Also Flagstaff is a must stop off on the way to the GC for the amazing Mexican breakfast food at MartAnnes, the cheap but authentic handmade Navajo, Apache, Zuni and Pueblo art at Pucheca (good place to pick up cheap but handmade and great quality turquoise jewelry if any of you have women) and some decent breweries (the best is Dark Sky which is similar to Wicked Weed in Asheville for its innovative brews).

 

[Noleguy06]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am traveling with a group of 14 to see the Jaguars v Cardinals game that Sunday.

Some things we have considered doing in PHX/Scottsdale before heading to the GC are as follows:
Suns v Pelicans NBA game
Toms Thumb Trail
ATV/UTV 2-3hr excursion
The Comedy Spot
Sports bar for FSU v UF game

I know Phoenix isn't a BBQ destination but try out Little Miss BBQ. Has won a bunch of National Awards and is absolutely incredible. Note it's only open a few hours daily and there is a line prior to opening but that's part of the fun. The owner walks around and talks to people and also gives out water and samples.
https://www.littlemissbbq.com/

Don't know if any of your parties golf but you should while you're here considering the amount of courses in the area and weather should be great.

Even if the Suns are terrible, they are still usually fun. Cards stadium is out in the middle on nowhere FYI.

 

[goldmom]

Drive up Oak Creek Canyon on the way to Flagstaff.
At the top there is usually a Navajo flea market if you are into Indian jewelry.

One of my favorite places ever.

 

[Hayduke GW]

I know Phoenix isn't a BBQ destination but try out Little Miss BBQ. Has won a bunch of National Awards and is absolutely incredible. Note it's only open a few hours daily and there is a line prior to opening but that's part of the fun. The owner walks around and talks to people and also gives out water and samples.
https://www.littlemissbbq.com/

Don't know if any of your parties golf but you should while you're here considering the amount of courses in the area and weather should be great.

Even if the Suns are terrible, they are still usually fun. Cards stadium is out in the middle on nowhere FYI.

Great call - I’ve been telling @FSUTribe76 to check out little Miss next time he’s in town. I think a new one is opening up your way somewhere soon.

We just placed our bulk order with little miss for thanksgiving week...

 

[FSUTribe76]

Great call - I’ve been telling @FSUTribe76 to check out little Miss next time he’s in town. I think a new one is opening up your way somewhere soon.

We just placed our bulk order with little miss for thanksgiving week...

I tried to go this past trip, even waited in line about 45 minutes to an hour and gave up because it looked like another hour or more before we would be served. I just do NOT understand the Austinites (and apparently Phoenicians in this case) being willing to wait 2-3 hours for what is essentially barely smoked meat. Is it good? Sure, but you know what was good or even better? The Indian Taco with green Chili beef on Frybread I got at the Frybread House with a ten minute wait to order and maybe 15 minute wait for food. We didn’t even bother the next day we were in Phoenix, we just went back to the Frybread House and got some Ko Ji and chumuth/“burros” instead.

Hopefully when they open other locations it won’t be ridiculous.

I did try the pizza at Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix which the “failing” New York Times said was the best pizza in the US and honestly...I was a little disappointed. They’re small individual Neapolitan style pizzas so we got a margherita version and one with prosciutto, onions and fennel sausage. It was perfectly fine but honestly and without exaggeration I preferred the pizza at Isabella’s Pizzeria Napoletana in Tallahassee. The pizza at Pizzeria Bianco was decent and a good example of the style but wasn’t mindblowing like some of the pizzas I’ve had across the country (my favorite is Papa’s in Trenton New Jersey which does a great pepperoni topped pizza but it gilds the lily, the best is their tomato pie which is just dough, mozzarella, tomatoes, oil and garlic...sounds boring but it’s mindblowingly good. As is the clam pizza at Pepe’s in Connecticut.). So for me, it was good even excellent but nowhere in my top ten probably not even top 25 when I’m honestly saying a Tally place is better at the exact same style of pizza.

So I’d skip Bianco’s unless you lived in the area and are just looking for a good pizza, it was underwhelming even at the original location. It’s definitely not a destination pizza place to actively seek out on vacation like Papa’s in Trenton, Pepe’s in New Haven, Totonno’s in the Bronx, Lombardi’s in Manhattan, Regina’s in Boston, Pequod’s in Chicago, etc...

 

[Mr Brian 904]

If your group is sophisticated then there are a ton of great wineries about two hours from Phoenix on the way to the GC in Cornville, Cottonwood and Jerome including two owned by the lead singer of Tool, Puscifer and Perfect Circle (Caduceus in Jerome which is higher end and has a little restaurant attached and Merkin in Cottonwood which is within a single block of four other winery tasting rooms). The best wineries imo in order are 1) Arizona Stronghold in Cottonwood, 2) Page Springs in Cornville, 3) Chateau Tumbleweed in between Jerome and Cottonwood at the base of the mountain, 4) Javelina Leap in Cornville and 5) Caduceus in Jerome.

There are a couple of good Casino resorts in the area. I absolutely loved Casino Del Sol in Tucson, but the Wild Horse Pass Casino in southern Phoenix is above decent as well. You can usually get a decent rate and I didn’t find the two casinos (plus Twin Arrows outside of Flagstaff) to be that tight despite being “Indian casinos”, definitely far looser than those in Florida as I walked out up $270 at Casino Del Sol and $600 at Wild Horse Pass (up $100 one day and up $500 on the return trip).

Make sure you eat a lunch or dinner at Fry Bread House in Phoenix. It’s amazingly good Navajo food, get the Indian taco or Ko Ji (pan fried masa cakes crispy on the outside and soft on the inside) with the green Chili beef. It was good enough we did two meals there on a six day trip. Their chicken tamales are also hands down the best tamales I’ve had anywhere.

Also Flagstaff is a must stop off on the way to the GC for the amazing Mexican breakfast food at MartAnnes, the cheap but authentic handmade Navajo, Apache, Zuni and Pueblo art at Pucheca (good place to pick up cheap but handmade and great quality turquoise jewelry if any of you have women) and some decent breweries (the best is Dark Sky which is similar to Wicked Weed in Asheville for its innovative brews).

thank you x100 for this post. I plan on following all of your recs minus the casino options as my housing is already solidified and I have so much I want to do in such a small time-frame already.

 

[Mr Brian 904]

I know Phoenix isn't a BBQ destination but try out Little Miss BBQ. Has won a bunch of National Awards and is absolutely incredible. Note it's only open a few hours daily and there is a line prior to opening but that's part of the fun. The owner walks around and talks to people and also gives out water and samples.
https://www.littlemissbbq.com/

Don't know if any of your parties golf but you should while you're here considering the amount of courses in the area and weather should be great.

Even if the Suns are terrible, they are still usually fun. Cards stadium is out in the middle on nowhere FYI.

will try and check out the bbq. We are staying in scottsdale and currently trying to get a tee time for TPC stadium or champions course.

 

[FSUTribe76]

will try and check out the bbq. We are staying in scottsdale and currently trying to get a tee time for TPC stadium or champions course.

If you do try, know this. It’s the exact same as Austin BBQ places ie you can’t just show up and expect to get food in a reasonable amount of time or to have seats or to easily find parking. We showed up at 10:15 to it on a Friday when it doesn’t open until 11 and there was a huge line wrapped back and forth beside the building. We gave up at 11:15ish as the line had barely moved and it was clear we were going to be stuck there for at least another hour or more and might not even get the food we showed up for. So if you’re going to decide to do it, I’d say you need to show up at least by 9:30 in hopes of getting food at 11 or else plan on being trapped in line a LONG time. Who knows, maybe Friday was just a busy day, my only experience was this one attempt as we didn’t bother with it on the return portion of the trip we just went straight to the FryBread House for a second lunch.

Supposedly Little Miss is opening another location soon and a third in the not too distant future so unlike in Austin I don’t think they’re planning on staying 2+ hour wait for MAYBE getting bbq. So since you’re already stretched for time, I’d probably advise you to skip it this trip (and you’ll want to make a return trip, I love visiting Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) regardless of how great it is because there’s tons of other great food in Phoenix that has reasonable wait things, ample parking and real sitdown dining areas with staff.

I’d also really suggest checking out Kai. It’s a high end Navajo/Pueblo foodie fusion cuisine that is frequently the highest rated restaurant in Phoenix.

http://c12d8f7925c6939ef765-6912841..._dinner_Spring-2017---New-Garden-and-Soup.pdf

When I went to Phoenix 2 or 3 years ago I was able to sample three different versions of Navajo/“Indian” food in the one trip. The foodie/fusion/“modern” cuisine at Kai; the James Beard award winning reservation era Navajo food at FryBread House; and the pre-Reservation tribal food at the unfortunately closed Sacred Hogan. It was really cool to try food from essentially the same culture (Kai isn’t just Navajo but pulls from other tribes as well) but from three different points in time. I got to try the native and local ingredients only ancient food where I enjoyed roasted pinyon seeds, ground blue corn porridge with ash instead of salt, stewed venison, ephedra tea and more. Then stepped up in time to US government supplied flour, butter, beans and cheese and had “Indian tacos” using mainly reservation system supplied ingredients. And then finally at Kai you got an interpretation of what Navajo and other Native Tribe inspiration could do with access to all current ingredients but with a preference for introducing old now almost “lost” ingredients.