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Hello everyone, today I’d like to share some of our favorite spots on the west side of the Valley of the Sun.  One thing I like about Phoenix is that we have a lot of really good local places that are not chains, or at least are local chains.  I think that Phoenix has really become a culinary destination of sorts in recent years.

If you follow us on Instagram you probably know by now that we spend a lot of time at Squid Ink, which is a local Sushi bar just down the road from our house.  They know us so well that last week the bartender had a bottle of wine and two glasses set up for us before we even finished sitting down. I’d say we go there about once a week on average.

One of the things I like best about Squid Ink is the atmosphere.  The place feels upscale, but people don’t feel out of sorts coming in wearing shorts and T shirts.  The staff is always friendly, and they have a huge patio area and outside bar that is great during the spring and fall.  There are misters and fans as well for the summer time, but they work best in the evening.

The sashimi and sushi here is always amazing and fresh, which is saying a lot since Arizona is a landlocked state.  We pretty much always get a Caterpillar roll, which is Taunya’s favorite, but we like to mix things up and rarely order the same set of rolls on back to back visits.  They have some really great house specialty rolls, some of which are very “Arizonan”, featuring jalapeño and habanero peppers. You can checkout their menu online. The wine list is not extensive, but they do have a few choices of both reds and whites.  The Simple Life Pinot Noir is our go to bottle.

Next up we have The Social on 83rd, which opened a few months ago, the brainchild of Joe Lucidi.  Both of the primary bartenders know us here as well, although since it’s located in Peoria’s P83 district the distance makes it a place we don’t frequent as often.  Their menu features an eclectic selection of dishes, a lot of which is an elevated take on standard bar fair. I especially like their Mac n Cheese bites and the short rib tacos.  They have a great patio and have an area where you can play corn hole or other games. They have a decent wine list, we usually drink the Quest Red Blend, or the Marietta Christo which is off-menu, so I’m not sure how long they will have it for.

Our local Fry’s food has a beer and wine bar inside the store that features eight beers, eight white wines and eight red wines that rotate periodically.  You can get a small sample for free, or pay for a full glass or a tasting flights. Unfortunately, you have to consume your glass inside the area so you can’t shop while drinking wine.  It’s a pretty popular place in the afternoon and early evening, pretty much any day of the week. We’ve been known to pop in for a glass or two before shopping, or sometimes we’ll just visit the bar (like yesterday).

Fabio on Fire is a relatively new restaurant that serves brick oven pizza and other authentic Italian fare.  We have been here close to a dozen times since we discovered it. They do not have a bar, so for us this is a strictly dinner place.  This is the best Neapolitan style pizza we’ve found on the west side (so far). Our favorites are the Tarantina and the Diavola. As a bonus their wine list is fairly large. This is a small place, and it can get busy for dinner so reservations are suggested.

Last but not least the Winery 101 tasting room is a great place to sample some good wine, and hang out for a bit.  In fact we are heading there on Friday for their release party, so there will be more to come on this particular venue.

This is certainly not a complete list, however these are the places we hang out the most on the west side.  At some point we’ll be sure to cover our favorite east side places as well, but for now join us in living, loving, drinking, and traveling for life!

— Derek

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