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As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched a lot about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200-page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.

But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.

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Tacos al pastor, suadero, cabeza and lengua from Tacos El Gordo. Photo by Richard Hinojosa.

When chef Rich Hinojosa first visited Las Vegas with his family at age 13, he was not old enough to take in all that Sin City had to offer, namely: gambling, boozing and fine dining. As a full-grown culinarian, the executive chef and co-owner of CRUjiente Tacos now makes regular runs to check out the "fun stuff going on in Vegas for restaurants." From Chinatown to downtown, Hinojosa shares his favorite hot spots and up-and-comers.

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As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200-page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.

But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-size travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.

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Chef Justin Beckett takes at least one or two trips a year to San Francisco. As someone who's conquered 24 restaurants in 36 hours during "eat-a-thons" in the city, Beckett knows some fantastic food spots. "I'm a little weird; I don't go for the $300 dinner… We like to eat simple foods," Beckett says. After years of traveling with his wife and two kids, the owner of Beckett's Table and Southern Rail has racked up a handful of family-friendly foodie destinations.

https://www.phoenixmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BagbitesHeader.jpg

As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200-page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.

But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.

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Chef Jeff Smedstad

Muslims flock to Mecca, hipsters swarm Coachella and Elvis fans go to Graceland. Chef Jeff Smedstad of Sedona's prized Elote Café heads sur for his annual pilgrimage to the western Mexican state of Jalisco, particularly its capital Guadalajara and its blue agave-ensconced town of Tequila. Smedstad and Elote manager Juan Rojas venture here each year to "look for unique barrels of tequila, to spend time with the different tequila makers... kind of researching the product, the same way people would [with] wine country," Smedstad says. He shares a few of his Jalisco hot spots.

 

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Formerly a smelter site for neighboring Bisbee’s copper mines, the quaint border town of Douglas now draws birders and history buffs to its riparian areas and historic landmarks. We round up the new and notable in “Arizona’s Hometown.”

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As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200 page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.

But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.

https://www.phoenixmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BagbitesHeader.jpg

As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched A TON about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200 page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.

But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.

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Cabo San Lucas. Photo courtesy Pauline Martinez.

“There is such unadulterated beauty in Cabo,” says Pauline Martinez, owner of Perk Eatery and CHAR Kitchen+Bar in Scottsdale. Martinez visited the Baja California city with her husband this summer to draw inspiration from their culinary traditions to bring back to her restaurants – as well as to kick back a little and enjoy the view. “There’s this big juxtaposition between this party scene and this...rich beauty that is so natural,” she says. And Cabo's seafood, she adds, is delicious. Her recommendations for making the most out of this lively tourist magnet:

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It’s almost the most bone-chilling time of the year, and there’s no better way to kick off October than with some ghost hunting.

In addition to faux haunted homes and fear farms in every corner of the Valley leading up to Halloween, Arizona also has plenty of reportedly haunted historic places to whet the appetites of paranormal enthusiasts and urban explorers alike. Test your mettle beyond artificial haunted houses starring high schoolers dressed up like killer clowns — here are some ghost hunts for those brave souls wanting to stare down something a little less cheesy and a little more real.