Scott's Chicago Pizza in downtown Flagstaff, AZ

Scott's Chicago Pizza
103 Birch Ave.
Downtown Flagstaff
Menu & coupons on their website: scottschicagopizza.com

We finally made it to Scott's new location downtown Flagstaff.
This restaurant is in a great spot, walking distance to everything downtown and NAU's North Campus (and right off the new bus line). It has a nice little patio to sit and enjoy Flagstaff's weather and inside is quaint.
You must start with the house-made pepperoni rolls. They are delish - and really could be a meal of their own. The yummy crust rolls up around pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and some of their tasty sauce like a pizza eggroll or mini calzone. I'm getting these every visit. They could be a whole meal if you don't share. The kiddos will love them too.
Another great option - due to Scott's wonderful thin crust and flavorful sauce is the calzone. They do calzones of the day or build your own.
The Chicago-style deep dish isn't my fav pizza pie in town. I much prefer stuffed Chicago pizza, not the cornmeally crust that Scott's deep dish has. But the ingredients are quality. They have slices of the day for a quick lunch or get a whole pie for a nice family dinner. Scott's also makes a thin crust, which is the way to go if you're ordering a pizza here.
The menu also features soups, salads, Chicago dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, chicken parmesean subs and other goodies.
Check out Scott's coupon page on the restaurant website for some good deals.
All in all, Scott's new expanded menu (and restaurant) has some delish options for the whole family and the space is great too. I'll be going back here much more often now that I've discovered their calzones and pepperoni rolls - some of the best in town!

Where to celebrate September food holidays in Flagstaff

Mmm mmm mmm. September is National Breakfast Month. Plus it includes an homage to bacon (with International Bacon Day falling on September 3rd), a whole week for waffles (the second week of the month), a month of celebrating biscuits plus another (September 26^th) and it wouldn’t be complete without a day dedicated to coffee, the breakfast beverage of choice (September 29^th). Flagstaff has so many good spots for celebrating breakfast (La Bellavia, Brandy’s, Martanne’s, Mike and Rhonda’s all pop to mind instantly). Here’s a look at more food holidays this month and where to celebrate them in Flagstaff…

September 5: Cheese Pizza Day

New Jersey Pizza Company (2224 East Cedar Ave.), despite the incredibly long wait that seems to come with ordering from them, has the most delectable cheese pizza with house-made, hand pulled mozzarella. I often ignore the wait because it is just so mouthwatering! For a different take on this classic – try Pizza Furiosa’s (2500 S Woodlands Village Blvd) cheese pizza which includes mozzarella, asiago and parmesean cheeses. Delish and different!

September 10: TV Dinner Day

Who says a TV dinner needs to be frozen and subpar? Not me! Make it much better with a delivery from Hot Wok Express. (1000 N Humphreys St -928-226-1007). The Chicken Lo Mein, Orange Chicken, Moo Goo Gai Pan and Broccoli Beef are can’t fail options. Order up and plop down on the couch with some college games on the tube – and you’re good to go!

September 13: National Peanut Day

Thai peanut sauce lovers go crazy… celebrate national peanut day with your favorite peanutty dish. My choice – Chicken Pad Thai level three with a side salad at lunch at Dara Thai  (14 S San Francisco) for just $6.95. Hard to beat all around!

September 15: National Linguine Day

Go for Cottage Place’s (126 W. Cottage) “Twilight Menu” for some ultimate linguini. They’re serving up a smoked salmon linguini and a beef stroganoff over linguini –on this special menu, served between 5pm and 6pm.

September 16: National Guacamole Day

Who says you have to go Mexican for delish guacamole. I love Oregano’s (605 W Riordan Rd) Guaca Tony. It’s an Italian take on this classic mushy green dish made with basil, roasted garlic and avocado. It’s served in a heaping mound on their pizza crust 'chips.' It’s a meal or an app and it’s G-O-O-D!

September 18: National Cheeseburger Day

No question I my mind – make the trip to Diablo Burger (120 N Leroux), the joint that made me a true lover of burgers. Order up a Marilyn (aka cheeseburger) with one of the many cheeses on hand – from Pepper Jack to Swiss.

September 28: Drink Beer Day

Only one day dedicated to beer (what a shame) and it’s on a Wednesday. But go on a pub crawl anyway (with a designated driver in tow, of course) from the Flagstaff Brewing Co. (16 E. Rte. 66) to Beaver Street Brewery (11 S Beaver St) and on over to The Lumberyard (5 S San Francisco). All make delish house-crafted brewskis to enjoy all day long.

Check out even more food holidays in September at TheNibble.com.

*This story was originally written for Flagstaff Live, also by me!*

11 of my favorite patios to relax in Flagstaff

Peak Side Cafe

I love dining outdoors and Flagstaff is an awesome place to enjoy good food and good weather at the same time. Here's my favorite 11 patios to relax on... (click to read previous articles I've mentioned these restaurants in, including reviews)

1. Cafe Ole
2. Diablo Burger
3. Tinderbox
4. Josephine's
5. Peak Side Cafe
6. The Lumberyard Brewing Company
7. Ski Lift Lodge
8. Brix
9. Wildflower Bread Co.
10. Flagstaff Brewing Co.
11. The Cottage Place

Peak Side Cafe at the Snowbowl in Flagstaff, Arizona

Peak Side Cafe
Top of Snowbowl Road (by the Snowbowl Sky Ride) (off Hwy 180)
Flagstaff (about 7 miles north of downtown)
Menu
Open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

The Peak Side Cafe at the Snowbowl is a relaxing restaurant to take in beautiful scenery and fresh mountain air. The patio is expansive - and very family friendly. (There's even sidewalk chalk in the concrete portion of the patio to enjoy.)
This casual eatery has some solid dishes, not the best in town by any means, but good enough to make for a nice casual meal with the whole family before or after a hike, disc golf, or ride up the Skyride to the top of the peak.
Try their house made soup. I had a big bowl of the roasted red pepper soup. It was spicy and flavorful - and complimented the view nicely. The weather up there is always soup weather!

Celebrating National Food Holidays in August in Flagstaff, AZ

Everything from s'mores to steak is honored in August. Check out these highlights of where to enjoy national food holidays this month in Flagstaff...

National Mustard Day: August 6 (1^st Saturday)

Perfect day to try RisingHy Honey Mustard. It’s made right here in Flagstaff. You can buy it at the local Farmer’s Markets or enjoy it at several local eateries. Find a bunch of RisingHy’s recipes that incorporate their devilishly hot mustard on their website.

National Zucchini Day: August 8

Celebrate your favorite squash variety with the tasty stylings of Buster’s (1800 S Milton) zucchini muffins that come in their yummy baskets of bread! They’re reason enough to go to Buster’s. Or go the opposite route, by getting this green veggie fried right up at the Ski Lift Lodge (6355 N Hwy 180). Their fried zucchinis are so fresh and delish. Perfect “disguise” for getting your veggies in.

National Filet Mignon Day: August 14

If you’re looking for the best steak in town, head to the Cottage Place (126 W. Cottage Ave) and order up the filet mignon. The aged tenderloin cut of beef is always perfectly prepared with bearnaise sauce and is accompanied by fab whipped potatoes. Truly mouthwatering.

National Potato Day: August 19

All hail to this most delicious day, celebrating a hardy and often under-appreciated but never under-consumed edible tuber. Some of the best potatoes in town are found fried up and tossed in herbs at Diablo Burger (120 N Leroux). Chef Richard Fernandez’s housemade potato chips at the new Pizza Furiosa (2500 S Woodlands Village Blvd) are another good way to enjoy your taters today. They come with all of his paninis.

Eat a Peach Day: August 22

Prepare for both Eat a Peach Day and National Peach Pie Day (two days later) by doing some shopping at the Flagstaff Market (Sundays 8am-noon in the City Hall parking lot, Wednesdays 4-7pm at 2257 E Cedar Ave). Biting into a juicy peach is just about as close as you can get to natural perfection. But it never hurts to bake them up in a pie a la mode, either!

Banana Lover’s Day: August 27

“Go, go bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!” Treat yourself to some of Wildflower Bread Company’s (530 East Piccadilly Dr.) banana bread in celebration of Banana Lovers Day. This sweet, sticky bread will have you cheering. Another must-stop for banana lovers – Jospehine’s (503 N. Humphrey’s). Their brunch menu includes Brioche French Toast with Bananas Foster (bananas drenched in a rum brown sugar sauce and flambéed).

Eat Outside Day: August 31

Wrap up the summer by celebrating this day outdoors at one of the best patios in town. There are several good ones to choose from along San Francisco. You can never go wrong with Café Ole’s (119 S San Francisco) laid back oasis. Tinderbox (and The Annex) (34 S San Francisco) has a nice outdoor space – perfect for enjoying one of their delightful Shandys. Just up the street you can take in the sun at The Lumberyard (5 S San Francisco) while sipping one of their homebrews or sangrias with fresh fruit. Head up the street a bit more and tuck into the small, secluded patio of Brix (413 N San Francisco). Where you can wine, dine and toast the end of another fabulous Flagstaff summer.