When we found out the other night that some of our absolute best friends were flying all the way from Washington to see us, we almost couldn’t contain ourselves!! They are the types of people we can do anything with, so it got us talking about all of the fun places we wanted to introduce their Northwest hearts to here in the desert! It was tough to narrow down our list, but it inspired us to put together our top five go-to places! These are our unconditional, non-negotiable places to hit, so consider this our highest recommendation to try these places for yourself!
Blanco Taco & Tequila
This definitely takes the number one spot on our list every. single. time. We literally craved Blanco Taco when we lived in Washington, and made sure to hit it every time we visited AZ! If you know us at all, you know that we LOVE chips, salsa, and white queso. So when we find a place that nails all three just right, we are hooked! Their tacos are amazing too! Jon usually gets their Slow Cooked Pulled Pork BBQ tacos and Erica gets their Nachos! If you haven’t been, make sure it gets on your list of places to eat!!
Ruze Cake House
We’ve had the pleasure of working with Jessica at Ruze Cake House a handful of times! Her shop and her macarons are absolutely adorable! Whenever we walk into Ruze, we say how much we want our kitchen to look like their shop! It is super clean with white walls, white herringbone tile floors with black grout, and white crown molded ceiling vaults! The copper accents in the shop and the pops of fresh color from the greenery and macarons tie everything together to make such a relaxing place to stop in! You will HAVE to buy some of their macarons and try one of their fun boba drinks! Oh, and make sure you have them top off your drink with a shot of cotton candy!!
Peixoto Coffee Roasters
Jon is an absolute coffee fanatic. As in, drinks coffee all day, every day, any time fanatic. But he is also bordering on being a coffee snob! Living in the Northwest spoiled us with local coffee options and freshly roasted boutiques! So we were completely thrilled to find out that Arizona stepped up its coffee game!! Peixoto (pronounced ‘Pay-Sho-Tow’) is our favorite! They are unique because they not only roast and serve the coffee, they also own the farm! The Peixoto family has owned the coffee farm in Brazil for over 100 years, and their philosophy is ‘crop to cup!’ Our personal favorite is ‘Familia Peixoto,’ a Brazilian roast that we love as an iced pour over!
Pita Jungle
Another one of our favorite places to eat is Pita Jungle! We (especially Erica) typically aren’t very adventurous eaters, so it’s not everyday we would recommend a restaurant that serves Mediterranean food, simply because we probably wouldn’t have tried it! But this place is absolutely delicious! Not only do they have amazing food like their Chicken Lavosh Shawarma Wrap, but their iced tea is to die for! We’ve been known to stop in just for a to go order of iced tea! Our kids also love eating here which is a huge plus! It’s a frequent request of Brody’s when we are going out to eat. That’s a huge win because they have really healthy options!
Gilbert Farmers Market
We may be cheating a little bit with this one since it encompasses so many things, but the Gilbert Farmer’s Market has quickly become a favorite stop for us! Downtown Gilbert has exploded over the last few years! There are so many good restaurants and shops that have moved in, but the Farmer’s Market has been a fun place to stop in for over seven years! We love being able to drop in, especially once the weather cools off in the fall! There are so many fun vendors to stop by! Some of our favorites are Mama’s Cold Brew and Bites Mini Donuts – healthy choices!! And the kids LOVE the face painting and balloon animals. It’s a solid hit for the whole family on a Saturday morning.
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