^^Westgate is almost 100% chains which he seems to want to avoid, and is more or less a glorified mall. I suppose its worth hitting up if you're over there taking a Cardinals stadium tour, but otherwise its nothing special or worth seeing.
*please note, the place names in the post are links for your convenience
If you're willing to wait around,
Pizzeria Bianco is great. However its tiny, and often has up to a 3 or 4 hour wait. You put your name in, and sort of wander around, calling them on your cell once and hour to hold your spot in line. Its easy enough to do though, they have a bar adjacent (Bar Bianco) and its near the small but nice
Phoenix History Museum and the
Arizona Science Center, both good places to kill time.
If you want really good unique pizza, but not such a wait, try
Cibo. Its maybe slightly outside of walking range depending on the heat and your physical condition, but its a very short drive.
Matts Big Breakfast is a delicious hole in the wall place, nothing fancy, just hearty breakfasts made from quality ingredients.
For Mexican food, drive your car through the bario over to the
Phoenix Ranch Market on 16th St and Roosevelt. Its a huge Mexican grocery store, once you enter ,youll feel like youve been transported across the border. Wander through the market, its wonderful, they have their own tortilla factory, a delicious lunch counter, an Aguas Frescas stand ('fresh waters'), a huge bakery with tasty treats and an ice cream stand.
For Asian food, try
Sens Sake and Tapas bar or 905 an Asian fusion restaurant also owned by local favorite chef Johnny Chu, its at 905 N 4th St.
For an Irish pub try
Seamus McCaffreys in the ground floor of the old Hotel San Carlos. Or for a more upscale, contemporary Irish experience, try
The Turf, which is owned by the same folks.
For Soul Food go to
Mrs Whites Golden Rule Cafe or for a more specialized Soul Food experience, drive south to Mrs Whites sons place,
LoLos Chicken and Waffles
Thai Elephant has excellent Thai which will probably be within walking distance to you.
The District restaurant and bar in the Sheraton is much nicer and more unique than most hotel eateries.
The Breadfruit is a great hole in the wall Jamaican place, get the jerk chicken and save room for the desert that has jello and ice cream in it.
Pasta Bar is a unique little pasta place in the same complex as Sens and the Turf, they use really quality ingredients.
I don't like sushi, but I hear
Moira is good from those who do.
The Roosevelt
and
The Lost Leaf are hip bars in historic houses with a variety of microbrews and locally crafted beers, like local favorite from 4 Peaks Brewery, Kiltlifter.
For a more traditional sports bar, go to
Majerles (owned by the former Phx Sun of the same name) or
Alice Cooperstown
Arcadia Farms Cafe is a good place inside the Phoenix Art Museum, so you can grab a bite and sit viewing a beautiful sculpture garden.
For a museum, take the Light Rail (or drive) up to the
Heard Museum. Its the premiere museum of the history of the Native Southwestern people.
If you want to experience the desert and a great mountain top view without physical exertion, drive South (unfortunately, through the ghetto, but don't worry, youre safe) to
South Mountain Park. Its the largest municipal park in the world at over 19,000 acres and has a road to the top to a lookout called Dobbins Point (dont forget your camera).
If you're up for a hike, get up early to beat the heat, grab a big water bottle and hike
Camelback Mountain. Its an extremely popular hike and you won't get solitude, but youll get a heck of a view (of the desert, the city and probably some hot ladies asses).
Then, like I said, check out the events calendars on the Phoenix New Times site and AzCentral.com, theres usually stuff going on. If you get lost downtown and need help, look for people in orange shirts, its their job to point you in the right direction.
