Arizona

Around 300 author events a year happen inside one bookstore in Arizona. That’s close to one for every day the calendar flips, and the shelves still make room for new…

Two stone ovens, one kitchen, and a rule that keeps gluten and gluten-free pies from ever sharing a hearth. That setup exists in Arizona, and I love how simple and…

Jackfruit gets the full al pastor treatment at one sunny Arizona kitchen, and then it gets a drizzle of cashew crema. Not a single bite of meat appears anywhere on…

A roadside taco stand in Arizona lets you build your own tacos with grilled peppers, chopped cabbage, salsas, and lime. Then it sends you off with a cup of cold…

Hand-cut braised pork, simmered until glossy and spooned over rice, is the dish that sets the tone at one tiny Taiwanese kitchen in Arizona. It isn’t the dry ground pork…

Five different pepper sauces sit on every table, and one of them is a homemade habanero. That alone made me curious. Then I learned the doors open at 6 AM…

Pierogi dough built on a recipe more than 100 years old, carried over from Krakow, Poland, is being made fresh in a small Arizona shop. That detail alone made me…

Beef dries in cages on a restaurant roof in Arizona, right under the desert sun. That sun-dried beef is called carne seca, and it is a Tucson treasure. The chimichanga…

Three pounds. That’s the listed size of one cinnamon roll at a breakfast spot in Arizona red rock country, and I can’t stop thinking about it. It comes packed with…

Golden domes are about the last thing you expect to spot rising out of the Sonoran Desert scrub in Arizona. Yet down a quiet desert road, a community of monks…

Flaky crust has a funny way of turning a long Arizona drive into a mission. Across the state, from pine country to the desert valleys, small shops roll dough by…

A strip of busy West Valley road is the last place you would expect to find fish flown in from Japan and a bowl of udon dressed up like Roman…

Smoke drifting out of a strip mall or a mountain town side street is easy to miss when you are rushing toward the next big sight. In Arizona, that smoke…

Herbs snipped from a backyard garden end up in the takeout bags at one small Greek kitchen in Arizona, and that detail tells you almost everything. The couple running it…

Somewhere between the long stretches of sand and saguaro in southwestern Arizona, a wall of palm trees rises out of nowhere and makes drivers hit the brakes. The reason most…

A Spanish altarpiece older than the printing press in Europe is hanging in the Arizona desert, and most people drive right past it. It is not a replica or a…

Paper bags, a little sand, and a single candle sound like the start of a craft project, yet in Arizona they add up to one of the most beautiful winter…

Paper-wrapped, heavy in the hand, and often cheaper than a movie ticket, the best sandwiches in Arizona rarely come with fancy plates. They show up at counters inside strip malls,…

Seven miles of bumpy dirt road stand between the freeway and one of the calmest soaks in Arizona. At the end of that rattling drive, warm mineral water spills down…

Sunlight in Arizona usually means squinting, sunscreen, and a hunt for shade. Step through one particular set of old wooden doors in the desert, though, and that same harsh light…

Gold was the dream, but clay was what the ground gave back, and that twist still hangs over one quiet desert path in Arizona. Today the old mine sits crumbling…

Coffee tastes different when you drink it on a sidewalk built more than a hundred years ago. Arizona still has a handful of small towns where the storefronts, porches, and…

Napkins are not optional at the seven counters on this list. Arizona has a surprising number of old-school delis where the bread barely holds back the pastrami, salami, and melted…

Fifteen cents a gallon is the kind of price that sounds like a tall tale, yet one dusty stop in northwest Arizona makes it feel almost believable. Old gas pumps…

Saguaros line the final stretch of road, and then, without much warning, a wide blue lake appears in the middle of the western Arizona desert. Many visitors call it an…

A vacuum belt and a fat quarter of quilting cotton rarely end up in the same shopping bag, yet in one corner of Arizona that happens every single day. Quilters…

Pumpkins grow in the desert, and Arizona has the farm stands to prove it. Once the heat finally breaks, farms across the state roll out corn mazes, hayrides, cider donuts,…

Crispy fried chicken, fluffy pancakes, and bubbling pot pie used to be off the table for anyone avoiding gluten. Across Arizona, a group of kitchens has quietly changed that, serving…

A crafter flew all the way from Korea and called one small Arizona shop the happiest stop of her whole trip. That says a lot about a store full of…

Gold once pulled hopeful miners into the rocky foothills east of Phoenix, and a little of that shine still lingers out there today. In this corner of Arizona, a dusty…

Cool pine air hits your face the second you crack the window, and suddenly the desert feels a world away. Arizona’s White Mountains hold a scenic road that climbs past…

A faded throwback sign and a modest building rarely promise much, which is exactly why so many Arizona diners are caught off guard here. Behind that humble front sits a…

Fifteen hundred pounds of flour disappear into one Arizona bakery kitchen on a typical day, and almost nobody outside the neighborhood thinks twice about it. Bakers start around nine at…

Garlic sauce, a jar of lebni, and a box of walnut baklava can all land on the same receipt at one humble Arizona spot. Half grocery store and half counter-serve…

A sundial, a row of vending machines, and a cliff-edge sidewalk are not what most people expect from a night under the stars in Arizona. Yet one free highway stop…

Pancakes the size of dinner plates arrive under a ceiling that has watched over diners for more than a century. This Arizona breakfast spot sits inside an old downtown hotel,…

Forks are optional at one little Arizona strip-mall kitchen, and honestly, nobody misses them. Instead, you tear off a piece of soft, tangy flatbread and use it to scoop up…

Flaky layers of butter, a glass case lined with pastel cookies, and coffee served on a real saucer are not what most people expect from a plain white building in…

Creaky boardwalks, faded paint, and a wild burro blocking the road are all part of the fun when you go ghost town hunting in Arizona. Long ago, miners rushed into…

Fifteen dollars barely covers a lunch out these days, but in the right Arizona aisle it can fill a tote bag. Across the state, giant antique malls and warehouse thrift…

Model train whistles, tiny tubes of paint, and stacks of RC truck tires can swallow an entire afternoon in Arizona. All across the state, hobby shops hide shelves so packed…

Thread is supposed to be a five-minute purchase, yet somehow a single spool in Arizona can swallow an entire afternoon. Across the state, from pine country to the Colorado River,…

Two dollars rarely buys much in Arizona anymore, but at a good panaderia it can still fill a paper bag with soft, sugary bread. Grab a tray, grab some tongs,…

Dominoes on the table, salsa drifting from the speakers, and a plate of garlicky plantains still warm from the pan can make a weekday lunch in Arizona feel like a…

Noon is the magic hour at one small Arizona grocery, because that is when the fresh lunch boxes start flying off the counter. Behind a plain storefront sits a shop…

Gargoyle sconces are not what most people expect to find guarding a bookstore in Arizona. Step past them, though, and you land in a cozy world of mysteries, thrillers, and…

Carrots are the closest thing to currency at one small farm in Arizona, and the residents know exactly who is carrying them. Calves saved from a dairy farm, roosters nobody…

A pretend sheriff, a squad of grinning outlaws, and a whistle that echoes across the pines kick off one of the most charming mornings you can have in northern Arizona….

Fire agate, the gem that glows like a tiny sunset trapped in stone, can be scooped off the ground in Arizona by a kid with a sharp eye and a…

Strips of beef drying on a rooftop in the Arizona sun might be the last thing you expect to find downtown. Yet that quirky sight belongs to a family kitchen…