From indulging in a one-of-a-kind soda to dining in a playground, feel like a kid again at one of these East Valley hot spots.
Taste savory shrimp bruschetta at Recreo in Chandler. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDS
“Although everyone may have different strengths in school, one thing everyone could easily excel in is recess,” says Morgan Bischoff, general manager of Recreo, a new recess-inspired restaurant set in a 100-year-old building in the middle of Downtown Chandler. “We designed Recreo as a place where people can reminisce on a simpler time.” A yellow school bus art installation sets the mood as diners enjoy this playground featuring live entertainment, a bar with swingsets for seats and twinkling lights to bring its guests back into the schoolyard. Guests can choose from a menu of comfort food dishes with a fun twist, including high-quality, locally sourced fare such as ribeye-n-mac and a fried Georgia peach sandwich, and can top off their dish with a garnish from the edible garden. Its cocktail menu also features fun notes derived from the restaurant theme like the Slug Bug, a mixture of añejo Tepozan, blanco Tepozan, Ancho Reyes, prickly pear, watermelon and lime juice. We saw it first! 28 S. San Marcos Place, recreoaz.com
Above the outdoor playground is also an indoor bar. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDS
Choose from 58 soda combos at FiiZ Drinks in Mesa. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDS
What two couples in Utah started as a way to serve sodas amid an influx of coffee shops has now made its way to Downtown Mesa. FiiZ Drinks blasts its guests into the past at an old-school soda shop with vintage-style Coca-Cola and Pepsi signs that decorate the walls. Guests have dozens of unique soda combinations to choose from like the locally inspired soda for all the Arizona State fans, the Sun Devil Drink mixed with Coke, grenadine and cinnamon, and topped off with a maraschino cherry. Outside of its 58 soda combinations, FiiZ Drinks has smoothies, Italian sodas, “Choffy” flavored coffee and a select menu of snacks like soft pretzels, nachos and “Chonuts” (a cross between a churro and a doughnut) for guests to enjoy. “Though we may be serving wonderful, delicious, unique drinks,” says Jefferey Hogg, general manager, “what we are really in the business of is providing a fun and friendly atmosphere where families and individuals can come and have a good time while enjoying great refreshments.” 52 S. Mesa Drive, Mesa, fiizdrinks.com
Photography by: PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDS
