With music tours and festivals postponed until further notice, Hello Merch – a local business founded by Sam Means of Valley rock band The Format that creates apparel for bands – launched a line of fashionable attire that highlights the need for increased hygiene titled “Maybe Next Year.” These shirts are the finest in living room casual.

The world is doing a lot of baking this year, making flour almost as hard to find as toilet paper. We were pleasantly surprised to find that, when we couldn’t put our hands on flour anywhere else in town, Hayden Flour Mills was well-stocked – and offering free shipping if you order enough. From flours designed to make bread, pizza and pastries, to fancy heirloom grains, cornmeal and crackers, Hayden Flour Mills has your carb...

A 6-foot-tall beaded statue with doll faces in its butt seems like the weirdest thing in a trendy restaurant – until you go down to the basement and see the assembly of decrepit dolls around a table behind a chain-link fence.

Between the crowds, scaffolding and flat earthers, First Friday on Roosevelt Row stopped being about art years ago. For those looking for artists with provocative points of view, head west to Grand Avenue. It’s less hectic, parking is a breeze, and visitors find it easier to engage with the visuals and the creative minds behind them.

As a Tea Partier from Prescott and a Democrat from Phoenix, respectively, U.S. Congressmen Paul Gosar and Ruben Gallego typically don’t agree on much. But they both voted “yea” on the $2 trillion pandemic relief package in March, and on the flight together to D.C., they collaborated on something else pretty meaningful: reviving a diabetic man who went into shock in mid-air. Not exactly Frank Capra, but in this era of partisan alienation, we’ll take...

It’s impossible to feel anything but unalloyed joy while baby goats wearing shimmery unicorn horns clamber over you as you do downward dog. Arizona Goat Yoga offers twice-weekly chances to say “baamaste” with goats and nuzzle with fluffy alpacas.

Want to support Arizona vintners but wary of plonking down $30 on plonk? This Downtown Phoenix shop’s self-serve machines allow you to buy tasting-size pours, so you can sample any (or all) of its 20-odd Arizona wines before deciding on a bottle. Their ever-changing selection includes hard-to-find vino from Rune, Four Tails and Deep Sky vineyards.

Why would you order chips and salsa at Gallo Blanco, given the deliciousness of Doug Robson’s two gratis salsas? Because the chips-and-salsa tray is that good, featuring a rotating cast of specialty salsas. Robson has cycled through standouts like an A-plus pico and a petal-smooth habanero salsa deepened with turmeric. You’ll need a chips refill, stat.

We were heartbroken to learn that Galeana 39 proprietor Curtis Parhams closed up his little McDowell Road shop earlier this year. But you can still order his candles, the best-smelling in town. We are partial to the melon + green tea candle, which has hints of lavender. Someday we might create our own custom scent – if we can ever decide on a fragrance.

Charleen Badman may be the veggie whisperer, but she makes some pretty spectacular dishes that are a bit less, shall we say, heart-healthy. Her shatteringly crisp spring rolls, stuffed with shredded chicken, Peruvian peppers and pecans, then set atop a luscious puddle of aji amarillo aioli are just such a dish: bad for the bod, but good for the soul.

Let’s face it: The Esplanade hasn’t been the same since Houston’s became Hillstone and moved across the street a few years back. But recovery finally seems afoot. FLINT by Baltaire, a buzzy Mediterranean restaurant serving up well-crafted food (e.g. the pitch-perfect roasted whole chicken) and drink with a sexy rooftop bar, moved into the old Houston’s spot last year. Tony digs + crowd-pleasing contemporary menu = Esplanade rebirth.

Ironically, touching a 20-inch-long blue tongue can cure the blues. You can’t help but forget your troubles when you’re up-close with giraffes’ distractingly long anatomy, from their signature necks to their prehensile tongues to the luscious lashes framing their enchanting eyes.

In the backyard of his 2-and-a-half-acre property in Gilbert, Bill Knutson raises poultry. He sells around 100 birds a week, mostly chicken, but also a few ducks. Those limited, ultra-fresh birds lay large eggs (also available) and pack so much flavor that elite shops like Arcadia Meat Market and Nelson’s Meat + Fish can have trouble keeping them in stock. They fly off the shelves, so to speak.

Feeling spiritually stuck? Find healing stones, incense, essential oils, tarot cards, talismans and handmade chakra kits at this one-stop metaphysical shop. Fantasia also offers services such as psychic readings and divination workshops for those who are seeking a source for spiritual wisdom or want to learn how to harness their own.

This sweet spot, specializing in the no-frills barbecue style of Central Texas, mesquite smokes some of the best barbecue in the Valley. Naturally, the fatty brisket (a Texas signature) is a standout, but – surprise! – so is the succulent pulled pork. Factor in wonderfully soupy pinto beans and dandy desserts, and you’ve got a westside winner.