While you are in Phoenix, you might want to eat. People do that here. Also, since we are a fairly large group, you might want to think about reservations for a Thursday or Friday night. Oh, and if you are already here today, you might want to head up to Scottsdale to the Arizona Taco Festival (and Tequila Expo), to get a head-to-head comparison of the city's best tacos: http://aztacofestival.com/ . Be forewarned: Although Waze recently ranked Phoenix the best city in the world to drive in, it isn't an easy place to walk around, and public transit is sparse. That said, food is easily found near the hotel. Conference Hotel If you are staying at the Embassy Suites, breakfast is included with your room, as is a beer and wine reception each evening starting at 5:30. The hotel recommends you get started fairly early (breakfast opens at 6am) as things grow increasingly crowded up until the end of breakfast at 9am. The overflow hotel also offers breakfast. There is an Omaha Steakhouse in the hotel. Conference Attendees If you are registered for a workshop on Wednesday, lunch will be provided. Likewise, lunch is included as part of your conference registration on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, you are left to your own devices. The hotel restaurant is available during this time, though it is sure to fill up. They will be stocking some sandwiches behind the bar if you want to buy one and head out to the pool or find a table in the atrium. If you signed up for the event on Thursday evening at the Desert Botanical Gardens, you will find a light meal there,including tacos and enchiladas, as well as a cash bar. I am not usually a fan of prickly pear margaritas, but the Garden's are quite good. They'll also have a few local beers available (Four Peaks' Kilt Lifter being a perennial favorite, and apparently apropos this year). Be sure to hop on the busses leaving the Embassy Suites starting at 5pm. Wear your badge--it gets you into the event. If you decide to head over earlier in the day, the DBG is a pleasant place to walk around (just tell them at the gate that you are with the AoIR IR16 group for free entrance) and is adjacent to the Phoenix Zoo. (Unfortunately, this event is now full,so if you didn't indicate an interest in going when you registered, I'm afraid it is not possible to add it.) Short Walks The hotel is adjacent to the Biltmore Fashion Park, an outdoor mall with a number of restaurants. Most of these are chain restaurants that you may be familiar with (the Capital Grille, Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Paradise Bakery, Seasons 52), and a number of local restaurant chains and groups (Stingray Sushi, True Food Kitchen, Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar), and independent restaurants that are well reviewed (Christopher's Crush, Queen Creek Olive Mill, Black Chile Mexican Grill). There's also Blanco Taco + Tequila, which is a friendly spot for a meal and a margarita (sensing a theme?). Between the hotel and Camelback Raod, there is Hillstone, a small chain that may be familiar to you (http://hillstonerestaurant.com/), which serves sushi, steak, coctails, and wines without huge restaurant markups. If you take the underpass under Camelback road, you will find Solo Trattoria, Bistro 22, and the well-liked Ten. Long Walks / Drives A bit over a half mile (1km) to the east of the hotel, at the intersection of Camelback and 32nd street, there are several restaurants, including Delux (http://www.deluxburger.com/), which serves hamburgers made from Niman Ranch beef, as well as sushi, until 2am. Also, though a bit pricy, Tarbell's is quite good. Further east of this intersection is Steak 44, one of the Valley's favorite steak houses. Another mile south of this intersection, down by 32nd and Indian School, is Frasher's Smokehouse, which has pretty decent pulled pork (assuming you aren't coming from somewhere that is a specialty!). About a mile to the west of the hotel are two of the best ranked pizzerias in the Valley, Bianco's (which Bon Appetit ranked the best pizza in the US), and Parlour. There are a whole host of other restaurants along this stretch, ranging from the surprisingly good (Grassroots, Sage Kitchen) as well as chains (Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Wendy's). Another mile out, across the 52, you'll run into Los Dos Molinos, Hula's Modern Tiki, Two Hippies Beach House, Postino wine bar, and Hana (Japanese)--the latter two a bit off the main drag. Longer Drives Long being relative. Much of the Valley is within a 25 minute drive of the hotel, though getting up to Carefree or down to visit Kai (http://www.wildhorsepassresort.com/kai), might take a bit longer. Downtown Scottsdale is a fifteen minute drive to the east, and downtown Phoenix about the same to the southwest. Both have a number of outstanding spots to eat. If you want to forgo the conference lunch on Friday, you can head downtown to the Phoenix Open Market for Food Truck Friday, a congregation of an assortment of food trucks all in one place. There's no way to get down there and back during our short hour-long lunch break, but sometimes sacrifices must be made. And, of course, if you are dying for a deep-fried... well, anything... the State Fair is on. It's been in continuous operation since 25 years before Arizona was a state: https://azstatefair.com/ Travel safely! Alex -- // Alexander Halavais, Sociologist, Semiologist, and Saboteur Extraordinaire // Associate Professor of Social Technologies, Arizona State University // http://alex.halavais.net/bio @halavais