May/June 2026

PHOENIX dining critic Nikki Buchanan is hanging up her trademark wig disguise for good.

Anti-masking, glamour-maxxing media provocateur Melissa Rein Lively is back after romps in Mar-a-Lago and Europe. And she wants to do PR for you.

Looking to cool off – and do cool things – in the Grand Canyon State this summer? From Patagonia to the pines of Flagstaff, use this diverse lineup of boutique hotels, vintage motels and glamping basecamps to gear up, refuel and crash out.

Staycation season is once again nigh! For our 2026 roundup, we’ve biased our coverage in favor of new resorts, reimagined pools, upgraded menus and all things fresh for your in-town summer escape.

Reach for the stars – or, at least, Texas Hill Country – in 2026 with this lavish buffet of boffo summer destinations in the U.S. West.

Celebrate 100 years of the Mother Road with our eight-state summer exploration guide – all 2,448 miles of America’s premier road-trip highway, and all the best landmarks, motels and historical curios along the way!

Anti-masking, glamour-maxxing media provocateur Melissa Rein Lively is back after romps in Mar-a-Lago and Europe. And she wants to do PR for you.

Overflow Pools owner Dane Palmero has been designing, building and repairing pools in backyards across the Valley for nearly five decades.

Every week, we present a curated list of live music in a wide range of genres around the Valley. This week, we feature artists with a lot to say.

After fronting the beloved Tempe indie band Jared and the Mill for a decade, Jared Kolesar went solo – and in a more country-fied direction – in 2021 as Wheelwright. 

In 2017, the Musical Instrument Museum recruited him to serve as its conservator, where he inspects, repairs and catalogs thousands of historical and contemporary instruments from around the world.

From a Vietnamese refugee boat to The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Bishop Peter Dai Bui has blazed a singular life path.

Every week, we present a curated list of live music in a wide range of genres around the Valley. This week, we feature a performance that blends hip-hop with classical music. 

Looking to cool off – and do cool things – in the Grand Canyon State this summer? From Patagonia to the pines of Flagstaff, use this diverse lineup of boutique hotels, vintage motels and glamping basecamps to gear up, refuel and crash out.

Staycation season is once again nigh! For our 2026 roundup, we’ve biased our coverage in favor of new resorts, reimagined pools, upgraded menus and all things fresh for your in-town summer escape.

Reach for the stars – or, at least, Texas Hill Country – in 2026 with this lavish buffet of boffo summer destinations in the U.S. West.

Celebrate 100 years of the Mother Road with our eight-state summer exploration guide – all 2,448 miles of America’s premier road-trip highway, and all the best landmarks, motels and historical curios along the way!

The famously well-mannered Mormon metropolis is not all that it seems.

Our monthly mix of travel stories from around the globe.

Long overlooked by Valley dwellers in favor of larger, more brewery-dense destinations in Arizona’s high country, Payson stands out as an ideal day trip.

The Painkiller is the No. 1-selling tiki drink at Tropic Thunder in the Roosevelt Row district, and once you taste this voluptuous cocktail confection, the reasons for its popularity will be numbingly obvious.

The best deals and don't miss menu items at three Valley hot spots for happy hour.

Our local products guru samples salsa, cultured dairy beverages and bean-based nutrition bars.

Our food writers test new restaurants in Scottsdale, Peoria, Mesa and Phoenix.

This new Modern Mediterranean offering from the Buck & Rider brain trust is more than the sum of its baba ghanoushes.

Besieged by admirers since its debut, this breakfast-lunch oasis in Midtown heroically lives up to the hype.

In her farewell review, our critic luxuriates in the suddenly vital Downtown steakhouse scene.

Though a staple of modern Asian menus, crab rangoon was most likely invented in the 1950s at the original Trader Vic’s in California – an addictive nosh that became a central actor in the restaurant’s theatrical tiki milieu. So, despite being named after the former capital of Burma (now Myanmar), the crispy, cream-cheese-filled wonton is a patently American creation.