I lived in Phoenix for 3 years, hopefully my information isn’t too out of date… I left in 2012
http://www.arribamexicangrill.com is excellent, I loved everything I tried on their menu.
Also, http://www.macayo.com
Well after a very long day of travel we made it and I am posting this from Scottsdale while looking out over the golf course. I looked it up before we left and saw that Gadzooks was pretty much on the way from the airport to the hotel. So by the time we got our rental car it was right at noon (we left for the airport at what would be 2:45 am Phoenix time though) and we were all starving. Gadzooks was great! More filling than I expected. I had one braised beef and one pulled pork enchilada on the corn tortillas. Son 1 had both beef but one on corn and one on 50/50. Son 3 had three tacos and I’m not sure exactly what kinds they were but I know they were an assortment. He said the Tomatilla Chicken was the best. The boys (and I) were very impressed. Son 1 asked me again how I knew about this place.
Haven’t figured out dinner though. We’re all beat and may make it something simple and close by.
It was funny… I ran to a grocery nearby (Fry’s which we don’t have at home) to grab some beer for the fridge and when the cashier found out we weren’t from here she apologized for the “terrible” weather. It was below zero when we left and 61 when we arrived. I drove there with the windows and sunroof open.
Welcome! and watch out for heat exhaustion 
I knew Gadzooks would be a hit!
Let’s hear about what else you did…
Just got back a few hours ago. Had a great time. Nice neighborhood you’ve got there beowulff. Didn’t get as much “foodie” time as I would like, but I’ve succeeded in getting the boys interested in one of my loves which is cars and I’ll work on my second, which is food later.
We hit Gadzooks on the way from the airport to the hotel which was a big hit. We had planned to go out somewhere else adventuresome that evening, but we were all exhausted. Especially me since I was running on no sleep other than the little bit of a snooze I managed to get on the plane. My daughter returned from an interim semester trip to the jungles of Costa Rica after midnight and she wanted to show me all of the pictures that they took during their 10 days there. By the time she was done it was an hour before I had to get up and I was afraid if I fell asleep I wouldn’t wake up so I pulled an all nighter. We went to a surprisingly good pizza place by the mall called Oregano’s. Decent Chicago style thin crust pizza. The boys hit the hot tub and I hit the bed.
Sunday was Barrett Jackson. Got to see more unique and classic cars than one should be allowed to in one lifetime. Also got to take a hot lap in a viper with a professional driver. Turns out my driver lives in the same city (more or less) that I do. We were chatting about the predicted ice storm when he just said “ready?” and I was pinned to the back of my seat for the rest of the run. I think it took a good 15 minutes to get the ear to ear grin off of my face afterward and longer for my boys. My oldest got to ride in the race version and they drifted through one of the corners. I don’t think a corn dog from a trailer counts as a foodie experience but it sure hit the spot at the time. Unfortunately they closed at 3 which we didn’t know before. We saw everything but wanted to go back to a few. Bought some shirts on the way out and got back to the hotel around 6.
Thought about finding a good steak place but didn’t know where to go or if we had nice enough clothes. There is a Long Horn we could walk to which I thought would be a decent compromise. But somehow I got talked into Tilted Kilt. The last time I or the boys were there they were around 12 and 13 and I remembered the food as pretty good. Either we have changed or the restaurant has. We were all disappointed. The food was average at best and what the boys remember as really hot girls were a bunch of bored girls wearing ridiculous push up bras. Ended the night in the hot tub in the rain (quite nice actually).
Today after a decent breakfast in the hotel I took the boys to Echo Canyon and they hiked to the summit. I wasn’t sure if my knee could handle it so I went back to the hotel and got a bit of work done and packed us up and went back to pick them up. They hiked it in basic shorts, tee shirts and tennis shoes. All the hikers in their full gear and poles laughed at them when they saw they were planning to hike like that until they took off running up the trail (they are both elite level athletes). They saw that a fit hiker would take 45 minutes so they took that as a challenge and did it in under 35. They spent some time at the top and took their time coming down and took in more of the scenery. They both said that it was one of the most difficult hikes they have done and also one of the most beautiful. One thing though… they forgot to take any water and each chugged a bottle of Gatorade when they met me back in the lot.
My youngest son said he had heard good things about In-N-Out and wanted to try it. I figured I would have a better base in the next ever so important thread on who has the best burger if I had one recently so I was quick to agree. I had a Cheeseburger Animal Style and it was very good but still not my absolute favorite. We have a place here that makes an In-N-Out clone and we all agreed it is very close. The fries at In-N-Out are much better though. They look about the same but the taste isn’t there.
After that it was between Kart Racing (the boys choice) or walking around Old Town (my choice). I finally convinced them that we can Kart race within a few miles of our house but this would be unique to the area (although the small upscale suburb I live in also has a downtown arts district with a ton of galleries). I also let them know that we would have a bit more flexibility on what to do there since we had to be back to return the rental car by a certain time. We all really enjoyed it and my sons even admitted that they were glad they did that instead of the racing.
After that it was your pretty standard fly back home. Arrived to a balmy 21 degrees (much better than when we left here) put our coats back on for the first time since Sat morning drove home and ate warmed up pizza that Mom picked up hours earlier. I’m up way too late right now because of the time shift but at least I work from home tomorrow so can skip the shower for a bit and sleep right up until I log in to start.
Sounds like a great trip.
I’ve never been to Tilted Kilt - but your reaction is not surprising to me. In-N-Out is good, but not the burger heaven that people claim it to be. Their fries are good, though.
35 minutes to the top of Camelback is good time. I haven’t done that hike in a long time, but I remember that the big boulders were the tough part.
We really like this neighborhood. I suspect that you didn’t get too close to our house, since we are off one of the side streets, but the great thing about it is - it’s on horse property. Amid all that shopping and golfing and restaurants is a square-mile of acre lots that have horse privileges. We think it’s like living on a farm, and still being within walking distance of civilization!
Blasphemer! Stone the unbeliever!
Tis true!
Well, based on this I at least bet I went by your neighborhood on Cactus heading to Old Town. I spotted a sign saying “Free Horse Manure” and pointed it out to the boys that I thought it was an equestrian community. A little further east we saw some corals that makes me think that was the area.
The boys loved Echo canyon. I was disappointed that they only had a “stroll in the park” easy or a double black diamond hike. After I got home I now see that I probably could have done the hike to the first saddle which is listed as intermediate with them. Oh well… another excuse to come back next year.
Yes, we live 1/2 mile north of Cactus, around 1/2 mile east of the Mall.
Glad you enjoyed your visit.
Ive visited the area 5-6 times in the last three years and have eaten at Los Olivos Mexican Patio
7328 East 2nd Street, Scottsdale, AZ a couple of times…just a couple blocks from the Sugar Bowl.
I liked it alot… kind of wonder what the localswho have been posting think of it…