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Each month, we of the PHOENIX magazine creative team ask ourselves a different question about our favorite dining and drinking experiences in the Valley. Our picks are usually hidden in the back of the magazine among our Dining Guide restaurant listings. Not any more. Our picks are going digital! Feel free to follow us on social media (at least, those of us who tweet) and be sure to tag us (@PhoenixMagazine on Twitter and @PHXMagazine on Instagram) on pics of your favorite picks.

In honor of our first Escape to the Coast cover story in the May issue we're asking ourselves, Which Valley dish screams "California"?

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When Executive Chef Chuck Wiley designed the breakfast menu for Hearth ’61 at the sparkly-new Mountain Shadows Resort in Paradise Valley, he looked for some healthy options. "Breakfast is usually so unhealthy and I wanted to put a different spin on it," he says. An unabashed grain lover, Wiley decided on a multigrain pancake. “I like food with texture.”

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This Sunday we celebrate the most important woman in our lives — Mom, of course. Finding a present worthy of her sacrifices and generosity is tough, especially if you’ve waited this long to start shopping. (Although, take a look at our Mother’s Day Gift Guide for local goodies that’ll please Mama in a pinch.) That’s why the gods invented brunch, which gives the moms what they really want – time with their kids. Plus, mimosas.

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If your mom's Mother's Day wishlist falls somewhere in between handmade macaroni necklace and expensive handbag, consider baking her something sweet and pretty – handmade but still photoworthy = nailed it.

Country Velador, owner of Super Chunk Sweets & Treats in Old Town Scottsdale, has an easy yet elegant recipe for meringue teardrops that, when paired with a sentimental card, will bring a tear to Mom's eye, no prob.