Phoenix
I seem to be making up for lost time and made another visit to Phoenix. Left with some friends over the holiday weekend to Phoenix. It was an uneventful road trip to Phoenix with some easy pit stops at Carl's Jr and truck stops along the way.
Checked into the Westin Phoenix Downtown hotel. I haven't stayed at a Westin but it looked fairly new from the website. The location in downtown is super convenient to Chase Field. Unfortunately, the Arizona Diamondbacks were not in town. The rooms are huge and very comfortable. The pool was a little small for my taste but I was not here in this hotel because of the pool. The parking is a bit steep at almost $30 but expected given the location.
After checking in, made a visit to some relatives and stopped by Urban Cookies Bakeshop for some treats to bring. They did sell cupcakes but the theme was peach and it isn't a flavor I usually like in baked goods. The cookies were delicious, I had the chocolate chip. There was a crisp and chewy texture to it at the same time. I saw that they had baked doughnuts but I couldn't bring myself to try being scared off of baked doughnuts from another shop. Maybe these guys are better?
On the way back, I also stopped at Kick Ass Kakes for treats later that night. Since it was the end of the day, there wasn't much of a selection and I grabbed some popular flavors like vanilla and strawberry. I also bought some macarons. I would get the macarons again but the cupcakes were ok.
For dinner, I went to Noca. I haven't been to Noca in many years and I wanted to see if the restaurant was as I remembered. The chefs have changed quite a few times and I was only able to sample their restaurant week menu. I did not realize when it was restaurant week that Noca would not serve any of their usual menu items and only offer a set menu for this week. Overall, the food was good but I was more impressed in my first visit than this one.
The next day, I spent the day at the Waldorf Astoria Boulders Resort Spa. It is the tail end of the busy season in Phoenix and I wasn't able to get a reasonable rate to stay at the Waldorf and opted to stay at the Westin. Before heading to the spa, grabbed breakfast at El Chorro. I saw many reviews on their sticky buns and I was curious about the reputation of these buns. Overall, I enjoyed my meal of creme brulee french toast and green chile pork stew. The bread basket consisted of an assortment of pastries. I personally thought the scones were the best things in the basket, not the sticky buns which were more like cinnamon rolls to me.
After the spa, grabbed dinner at Tom's Thumb Market. It boggled my mind that it was a carwash/gas station/market/restaurant/bakery. Out of curiosity, made the pit stop here for dinner. I shared a bbq platter and it was very filling. The food was good and they have a great assortment of bbq sauces. I also bought a couple of cookies from the bakery. Overall, a good meal but not something I would go out of my way to do again. For dessert, visited Sweet Republic. They were featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Alton Brown loved their toffee banofi sundae. I love bananas, caramel, and toffee. It was all good. I also had a bite of the campfire s'mores sundae and the homemade marshmallow was super delish.
After checking out of the Westin the next day, stopped at Richardson's for brunch. I had the carne adovado benedict. No complaints, food was great and ended a very relaxing weekend in Phoenix.
Checked into the Westin Phoenix Downtown hotel. I haven't stayed at a Westin but it looked fairly new from the website. The location in downtown is super convenient to Chase Field. Unfortunately, the Arizona Diamondbacks were not in town. The rooms are huge and very comfortable. The pool was a little small for my taste but I was not here in this hotel because of the pool. The parking is a bit steep at almost $30 but expected given the location.
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| Westin Phoenix Downtown Guest Room |
On the way back, I also stopped at Kick Ass Kakes for treats later that night. Since it was the end of the day, there wasn't much of a selection and I grabbed some popular flavors like vanilla and strawberry. I also bought some macarons. I would get the macarons again but the cupcakes were ok.
For dinner, I went to Noca. I haven't been to Noca in many years and I wanted to see if the restaurant was as I remembered. The chefs have changed quite a few times and I was only able to sample their restaurant week menu. I did not realize when it was restaurant week that Noca would not serve any of their usual menu items and only offer a set menu for this week. Overall, the food was good but I was more impressed in my first visit than this one.
The next day, I spent the day at the Waldorf Astoria Boulders Resort Spa. It is the tail end of the busy season in Phoenix and I wasn't able to get a reasonable rate to stay at the Waldorf and opted to stay at the Westin. Before heading to the spa, grabbed breakfast at El Chorro. I saw many reviews on their sticky buns and I was curious about the reputation of these buns. Overall, I enjoyed my meal of creme brulee french toast and green chile pork stew. The bread basket consisted of an assortment of pastries. I personally thought the scones were the best things in the basket, not the sticky buns which were more like cinnamon rolls to me.
After the spa, grabbed dinner at Tom's Thumb Market. It boggled my mind that it was a carwash/gas station/market/restaurant/bakery. Out of curiosity, made the pit stop here for dinner. I shared a bbq platter and it was very filling. The food was good and they have a great assortment of bbq sauces. I also bought a couple of cookies from the bakery. Overall, a good meal but not something I would go out of my way to do again. For dessert, visited Sweet Republic. They were featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Alton Brown loved their toffee banofi sundae. I love bananas, caramel, and toffee. It was all good. I also had a bite of the campfire s'mores sundae and the homemade marshmallow was super delish.
After checking out of the Westin the next day, stopped at Richardson's for brunch. I had the carne adovado benedict. No complaints, food was great and ended a very relaxing weekend in Phoenix.
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