The Best Places to Eat and Do in the United States

Sangria in towers and a drink menu that lists "mimosas" as the soup of the day sets the tone fast at this sports bar on Greenville Ave. Every seat inside, on the patio, or up on the rooftop faces a TV, which makes the place essentially one large, well-lubricated viewing party. Best for a sunny afternoon when the patio fills up and someone's local team is on.

Coral Club is a cocktail bar on the East Side, a short walk from Five Points, that goes for beachfront in a spot where Gallatin Pike is the only shoreline. It manages with mellow lighting, low-key decor, and a rooftop patio. The list runs from a gin-lemon Seasonal Fix to a straightforward Old Fashioned, plus a zero-proof option. It took Best New Cocktail Bar from the Nashville Scene.

A single-owner operation in a bare-bones space where new and unpublished plays get staged because no board exists to say otherwise. Dangerous Theatre leans into sketch, improv, and stand-up on Fridays alongside original works the rest of the week, the kind of scrappy, intimate venue where the person who wrote the show might also be taking your ticket. Westword named it Denver's boundary-pushing comedy club of 2024.

A crystal shop tucked inside a warehouse that shares a building with a storage facility, so easy to walk past that finding it feels like half the ritual. Inside, the scale surprises: room after room of crystals, including one dedicated entirely to amethyst. A resident cat roams the floor. Weekly sound healing and yoga sessions run under lighting made entirely of crystals, which is either very on-brand or a fire code conversation waiting to happen.

An outdoor amphitheater in the Denver suburbs that has cycled through enough corporate sponsors to fill a naming-rights hall of fame, Fiddlers Green is now back to its original name and hosting around 17,000 people a summer night. The fixed seats up front give way to a general-admission lawn behind, where blankets and lawn chairs fill in for anything from country headliners to metal festivals. AEG Live books the big touring acts that still fill sheds.

A tabletop game store that doesn't charge to use its gaming space, which tells you something about the vibe before you even walk in. Funkatronic Rex stocks tabletop, card, miniature, and role-playing games, with a packed event calendar and staff who clearly play everything they sell. The place landed a segment on "Critter Hug," the Critical Role talk show, which tracks. Phoenix New Times named it Best Game Store in 2024.

A wine bar where you skip the sommelier entirely and pour your own glass from a sleek, self-serve kiosk loaded with 24 options, several of them from Arizona. You fund a chip card at the bar, pick your wine, choose one, three, or five ounces, and push the button. Former schoolteachers run the place, which might explain why the whole system is genuinely easy to figure out after one drink, or even before.

Floor-to-ceiling windows that actually let daylight in make this casino feel less like a submarine than what you're used to. The outdoor gardens drive the point home. Inside, there's a large sportsbook with a long LED wall, 800-plus slots, table games, and 40 craft beer taps. Honey & Vine handles sit-down dining. Don't skip the perimeter walk: the walls display artwork by Gila River Indian Community members, and it's worth the detour.

The Stormrider drops you roughly 70 feet into the water, which is one way to spend a Tuesday in Mesa. Golfland Sunsplash is a full-scale water and amusement park with a wave pool holding 450,000 gallons, a raft ride that starts nearly seven stories up, a lazy river, a toddler pool, miniature golf, and an arcade big enough to lose an hour in. Bring the whole chaotic family; the park has something for every age group and nerve tolerance.

The sushi menu here is organized by skill level, from "Beginner Rolls" up through "Intermediate" and into house specials, most of which are named after something you wouldn't say at a work lunch. Hapa is a casual fusion sushi bar that also does sliders, nachos, and a Fuji apple salad for anyone dragged there under protest. The kitchen is more capable than the cheeky menu suggests, and somehow a DJ fits into the whole equation too.

A former automotive garage on Grand Avenue that now holds whatever washed up in one retired fire captain's decades of hunting. The category is "industrial vintage," but that undersells the weird old dolls and model airplanes sharing space with vintage photos and art books. It keeps Thursday-through-Saturday hours, so the First and Third Friday artwalks on Grand are a natural excuse to stop in and see what's appeared since last time.

The 9-foot bong is reserved for special occasions, and the staff will tell you so with a straight face. This Tempe smoke shop has been around forever, and while the name got a subtle refresh somewhere along the way, the mission hasn't: walls of glass pieces, a deep vape section, grinders, rolling trays, hookah supplies, and a staff that actually knows the inventory. Phoenix New Times named it Best Smoke Shop in 2024.

A Victorian mansion that once housed Nashville's mayor now houses a Southern restaurant with a commitment so strict on local sourcing that the menu can change daily. Wood-burning ovens do heavy work, meaning plenty of smoked, grilled, and barbecued dishes done in the classic style. Tables downstairs look out over the vegetable gardens, which, given how directly those gardens inform your plate, feels less like a view and more like disclosure.

An ice rink in the Sonoran Desert is a bit of a flex, and Ice Den Scottsdale leans into it. Free skate sessions run most days (advance registration required), and lessons are available for anyone still holding the wall. A bar and restaurant called 18 Degrees handles the spectators. When the Phoenix Coyotes development squad uses the ice, you get a side of actual hockey. It is, without question, the coldest place for miles.

Five stages, three bars, and over a hundred performers make Jaguars one of the larger adult entertainment clubs in the Southwest. The kitchen runs a full lunch and dinner menu, so you can show up hungry in more than one sense. Rap and pro-athlete sightings raise the energy on big nights, and the annual pole competition draws serious talent from across the region. The Phoenix New Times named it Best Strip Club in 2024.

Seven Diamond pool tables anchor this no-frills West Phoenix bar and billiard hall, where draft beer and chips and salsa keep things moving for hours. Darts, UFC nights, and a genuinely laid-back vibe round out the options. The one catch: JJ's hosts tournaments but has no website to post them on, so call ahead before making the trip. The Phoenix New Times named it Best Pool Hall in 2024.

A compact gear shop in north Phoenix run by former Grand Canyon outfitters who wrote the book on rim-to-rim hiking, not metaphorically but as an actual published guide. The selection leans toward boutique and sustainable brands rather than big-box standbys, and the staff will talk you through your next trip with the enthusiasm of people who just got back from one. They also organize group hikes and workshops if you need a push to get outside.

The floor-to-ceiling rose bouquets here run a hundred stems deep, which is why they photograph better than most wedding venues. La Ocasion is a full-service flower shop with two climate-controlled rooms at the McDowell Road location, where arrangements range from classic long-stems to roses bundled with gold-wrapped Ferrero Rocher. There's also a grand piano and a pool table on site, apparently for scale, or for the photo op.

Eight screens tucked into Scottsdale Quarter, so you can browse a dozen shops, debate dinner, and then settle into a reclining seat for something that might actually be good for you culturally. Landmark leans toward indie and arthouse programming alongside mainstream releases, plus classic film screenings at prices that feel almost apologetic. The sound is solid, the picture sharp, and the crowd skews toward people who checked the reviews before buying the ticket.

The lounge here is comfortable enough that you could forget there are lanes out back, which is either a design triumph or a problem depending on how serious you are about bowling. This Sunnyslope alley has been independently owned forever, and the bar leans into the Big Lebowski energy hard enough that ordering a White Russian feels basically mandatory. Plush seating, warm lighting, geometric walls, and plenty of beer on tap round it out.

Natural fabrics and neutral tones dominate the racks at Local Nomad, a lifestyle boutique tucked into Uptown Plaza that stocks women's clothing, accessories, bath products, home goods, and a small kids' section. The edit skews breezy and warm-weather-ready, which makes sense given the setting. Buy online and pick up in hours if you'd rather not browse in the heat, though the store itself is worth the stop.

A loop trail inside Phoenix city limits that puts you face-first into the sunset if you walk it clockwise. The Lookout Mountain Preserve trailhead sits off 16th Street, and the climb is moderate enough to do on a weeknight after work. The west side of the loop opens onto distant peaks going orange, and the north stretch flattens out into scrubby brush where quail and the occasional roadrunner do their thing. Dogs on leash are welcome.

The floor bar sits right next to the stage so you never have to choose between a drink and the show. This mid-size live music venue on Mill Avenue holds around a thousand people, which is somehow both big enough to book national touring acts and intimate enough that there isn't a bad spot in the house. A Perfect Circle, Social Distortion, and the Black Keys have all played here, and local showcases keep the calendar full between the headliners.

Martha My Dear is a neighborhood cocktail bar on Gallatin Ave, in a space that spent a short, theatrical stretch as a WWII-themed Euro bar before closing without much mourning. The new owners kept some of the Old World bones and swapped the concept for something calmer, with drinks built by a bartender who came up through Attaboy. It's casual and low-key, with cocktails that take their job seriously and nothing else around them does.

Nearly 180 cars fill a converted big-box store in Glendale, ranging from a 1909 REO touring car to muscle cars that look like they're still angry about the gas crisis. The collection rotates regularly, since the owner keeps classics stashed all over the Valley, so repeat visits turn up something new. A vintage carousel and a 1929 Chevrolet popcorn truck keep younger visitors occupied while the gearheads linger over the Hot Rod back issues.

A 17,600-square-foot pool area anchors this sprawling dayclub and nightclub on Scottsdale's main party corridor, where the outdoor scene runs on cabanas, three bars, and a taco stand beneath what's reportedly the Valley's largest LED video wall. When the sun goes down, the indoor club takes over with a vortex-shaped dance floor and the kind of bottle service that keeps the staff very busy. The crowd skews young, attractive, and aware of both facts.

Over 31,000 acres of Sonoran Desert spread across Scottsdale's northern edge, with trails ranging from gentle wanders to climbs that will remind your calves they exist. The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy runs training and education programs alongside the hiking and biking, so you can leave knowing more than just that saguaros are tall. It reads less like a city park and more like the desert reminding you it was here first.

A specialty grocery in Mesa stocking Michigan imports that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere in the Valley: Koegel's meats, Amish cheese curds, Mackinac Island fudge, and enough Faygo flavors to fill a Detroit corner store. The staff are Michiganders themselves, so commiserating about the Lions is entirely on the table. If you moved here from the Mitten and have been quietly suffering, this is the place.

Tucked behind a well-known restaurant in the Melrose District, this midcentury antique shop packs teak dining chairs, Eames loungers, boomerang coffee tables, and a rotating cast of kitschy lamps into a showroom that rewards slow laps. Everything is properly restored and priced accordingly, though a more affordable layer of vintage clothing, jewelry, and bric-a-brac runs underneath. Somewhere in there might be a 1970s Thomas electronic organ, unless someone got there first.

A century-old Baptist sanctuary that survived a fire, decades of abandonment, and a near demolition date has reopened in downtown Phoenix as an event and wedding venue. The vaulted shell of the place is the draw, and concert promoters are already circling to bring live music into the space. A restaurant is reportedly in the works too, making this one of those rare civic second acts worth watching unfold in real time.

A small neighborhood Japanese grocery where the edit does the work: one or two quality options per ingredient instead of an aisle of noise. Pantry staples, fresh miso, mackerel, and myoga fill the shelves, and the snack aisle runs deeper than the usual suspects. A rack of Japanese DVDs in the corner handles dramas, anime, and language study for anyone planning a longer project at home.

The shop stocks tour merch from acts that recently played the Nile Theater down the street, so if you missed the show you can still walk out with the shirt. It's a small record store inside The Greenbelt building, selling vinyl, tapes, CDs, and apparel, with a tightly curated mix of rock, country, punk, indie, and hip-hop. The selection runs new and used, and the rotating band merch gives it a reason to check back in that most shops can't offer.

Bike racks out front, canal path out back, and enough cold beer in between to make the math work. OHSO on Central is a casual brewery and pub where cyclists roll in mid-ride for burgers, sandwiches, and whatever's on tap, then roll back out again. The walls are covered in bike decor, the patio is built for lingering, and nobody is keeping score on how long you stay.

Sixteen courts, good lights, and lines you can actually see make Pecos Park the default answer when someone in the Phoenix area wants to play pickleball. It's a public park in Ahwatukee, so turnover happens fast even on packed weeknights. The rest of the family has no excuse to stay home, either, since there's a skate plaza, splash pads, a dog park, and courts for basketball, soccer, and volleyball waiting for them.

A West Valley brewpub that treats its kitchen with the same seriousness as its taps, Peoria Artisan Brewery makes its bar food from scratch, which is not a given at a place where most people came for the pint. Expect thick Arizona Angus burgers, dry-rubbed wings, and fat pretzels with cheddar fondue. Behind the kitchen, a speakeasy-style chef's table runs a separate, more ambitious menu for nights when a burger won't cut it.

The Lone Tree at the trail's end looks genuinely out of place, a single pine against the bone-dry Superstition Wilderness like someone forgot to finish the landscape. This 5.4-mile out-and-back near Gold Canyon earns its reputation through steep incline and payoff in equal measure, with Weavers Needle, Battleship Mountain, and Canyon Lake all in view. Pack a lunch and hold out for the shade under that tree, or climb the boulders beside it for the full panorama.