Arizona Vacation. Part 1: the Food

A few weeks ago my whole family went on a "Pearson Family Vacation." For those of you who don't know what that is, it's when my dear old dad plans a rockin' vacation with awesome things to do, places to see, food to eat etc. He is a master vacation planner. And I have such fond memories of our family vacations all growing up. This one did not disappoint. In fact, I would say it was one of the best ones, because all of us siblings are grown, so we don't fight with each other like we did when we were 10 lol I remember many a vacation where a friendly game of mini golf ended with a few choice words and golf clubs flying across the air haha Come on, your families are a tad dysfunctional, too, right?! ;) This family vacation was so much fun. The destination was Phoenix, Arizona.

A vacation wouldn't be complete without some good food. And good food we did eat! My dad did his research and found a handful of places in the Phoenix area that were featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. We ate at three of them. The first was Los Taquitos, a dive. They had delicious and authentic Mexican food.

 Guy Fieri spray paints this logo on all the restaurant walls.

The next place we went to was called Matt's Big Breakfast, definitely a dive! Outside the restaurant was a yellow legal pad and you wrote down your name and you would sit outside till they called your name. Then they would cram you into this tenny tiny place. But the food was worth it. I got the most delicious waffle, and the bacon was seriously the best I've tasted.

The other place we went to was called Joe's Farm Grill, and this was a diner. This place had the BEST ambiance. The setting looked like the country, with lush trees and greenery. And surrounding the diner were all the orchards and farms where they grow the produce used on their menu. It was my fave of all the places we went to.

 These onion rings were to die for--breaded in homemade breadcrumbs and rosemary. And the sweet potato fries were yummy and had a mango dipping sauce. The burger was bigger than my head!

 Love this picture.

 Not to worry. Just a sign posted at every tree warning of the dangers of falling and scorpions! Atleast it wasn't warning about falling scorpions!

We went to Joe's Farm Grill's sister restaurant called Joe's Real Barbeque. I've actually been there once before when I visited AZ a few years ago. And it was as good as better than I remembered. They had a great outdoor space with picnic like tables, kids were running around, a guy was singing with his guitar nearby. Such a fun atmosphere.

Another place we ate at was Alice Cooperstown. Wow, quite the place! If you know who Alice Cooper is, well let's just say this is a place he would love. There were guitars all over the walls, signed album covers, insanely loud music, spider webs, reapers. You get the picture. This place is home to the "Big Unit"---a 24 inch long hot dog! As in 2 feet! Of course we ordered it.

Liam was tired exhausted/sleep deprived at this point. He had been up for 9 hours straight. Far too long for him to remain a happy baby. So I attempted to rock him to sleep. In Alice Cooperstown. With the insanely loud music. And tons of televisions. And people yelling.

I am a baby whisperer.

An AZ native recommended we eat at a place called Spinato's. It's a pizzaria, and Oh. My. Gosh. they have ah-mazing pizza!

They even gave Liam a Spinato's t-shirt :)

Can you tell that food was an important part of this vacation? I am surprised amazed that I didn't put on 10 pounds!! I would be willing to gain 10 pounds for this food, though! Delish.