Best Granola
Vintage Oats
Ciara Bennett says she makes “granola the cool way,” using maple syrup, coconut oil and gluten-free oats to craft her small-batch granola in Tempe. It’s certainly cool for vegan and gluten-free folks, who can nosh on her entire line, including flavors like Orange & Berries and Mango-Chile Lime, with abandon. Even nut-free folks can get in on the crunchy action with her Nut-Free Maple Cinnamon variety.
vintageoats.net
Best Bite-Size Cakes
Butta Cakes
Craving cake, but don’t want to commit to a whole sheet or layer cake? These cake-lets – more petite than even cupcakes – are the perfect size to satisfy a craving. And they come in more than 25 flavors, from fan favorites like red velvet, German chocolate and cake batter to seasonal and gluten-free options. Still want more? You can order Butta Cakes in 4- and 6-inch cakes.
Two locations, buttacakes.com
Best Locally Conceived Chevemoy
Chevemoyco
Why drink a cocktail from a glass that hasn’t first been dipped into crushed-up Sour Patch Kids? That’s the question Chevemoyco – founded in Arizona but currently operating in New Mexico – answers with an array of sweet or sour rim-dipping chamoys. Pulverized watermelon, habanero, or Skittles candies elevate every sippable. Trust us – it’s a trend that’s taking off, and it started right in our own backyard.
chevemoyco.com
Best Energy Bars for a Hike
Earth Sugar Energy Bars
Jennifer Meyer’s organic, gluten-free and vegan energy bars contain no processed ingredients or refined sugar and come in a variety of flavors, including banana bread, chocolate-cherry and cinnamon raisin. Stow one of these powerhouses in your backpack to fuel your next outing and you’ll be hooked. They travel well.
loveearthsugar.com
Best Wisconsin Cheese Imposter
Arizona Farms Cheese Curds
Pop into Milk n’ More dairy store on Thursday afternoons to pick up three varieties of cheese curds – plain, garlic-black pepper and jalapeño – made that morning with milk from local dairy farmers. You’ll know the bite-size cheese bits are fresh because they squeak when you bite into them. As good as Wisconsin cheese curds? You betcha.
2008 S. Hardy Dr., Tempe, 480-968-3992, arizonacheese.com
Best Uban Farm
Sí Cómo No
When life handed Stephanie Parker peaches and pomegranates, she made jam. The proprietor of a 2-acre property in the Biltmore area – which she named after a Costa Rican phrase meaning “Yes, why not?” – makes jams from the 40-plus fruit trees on her property and sells them at the community exchange table at Uptown Farmers Market. This summer, Parker is proffering blueberry-lavender, blackberry-rosemary and Sicilian blood orange jams that pair perfectly with baked Brie, crêpes or toast.
sicomonojam.com
Best Wisconsin Cheese Imposter
Arizona Farms Cheese Curds
Pop into Milk n’ More dairy store on Thursday afternoons to pick up three varieties of cheese curds – plain, garlic-black pepper and jalapeño – made that morning with milk from local dairy farmers. You’ll know the bite-size cheese bits are fresh because they squeak when you bite into them. As good as Wisconsin cheese curds? You betcha.
2008 S. Hardy Dr., Tempe, 480-968-3992, arizonacheese.com
Best Uban Farm
Sí Cómo No
When life handed Stephanie Parker peaches and pomegranates, she made jam. The proprietor of a 2-acre property in the Biltmore area – which she named after a Costa Rican phrase meaning “Yes, why not?” – makes jams from the 40-plus fruit trees on her property and sells them at the community exchange table at Uptown Farmers Market. This summer, Parker is proffering blueberry-lavender, blackberry-rosemary and Sicilian blood orange jams that pair perfectly with baked Brie, crêpes or toast.
sicomonojam.com
The Marilyn Hawkes Top 5
Our local-food-product czar ranks her favorites from 2022 and 2023.
Wild Rye
Sarah Chisholm’s reinvention of the cake mix is epic, but her almond flour pancake mix is next-level. wildryebaking.com
Secret Garden Magic Salt
I can’t stop seasoning my food with this handcrafted blend of organic garlic, onion, Himalayan salt and black pepper. It’s pure magic. secretgardenliving.com
Bagelfeld’s
These bagels are crisp and chewy outside, soft on the inside and 100 percent the best bagels in the Valley. bagelfeld.com
Midi Bites
If you’re looking for grab-and-go protein bites with clean ingredients that actually taste good, you’ve found your next obsession. midibites.co
AZ Lemonade Stand
One of this desert-dweller’s great pleasures in life is sucking down a frosty glass of lemonade on a hot summer day, and AZ Lemonade Stand makes the best. azlemonadestand.com
