Pupusas, Chiles and Chocolates: Fall Food Festivals You Won’t Want to Miss

(Featured Photo: Desert Botanical Gardens)

By Isabel Byfield

The local food scene in Phoenix is growing by leaps and bounds – from new restaurants opening everyday, to blooming farmer’s markets and specialized food festivals, Phoenix is giving foodies a lot of new cuisine options from all over the world to explore and enjoy.

Fall is definitely a great time for outdoor gatherings around comfort food, and we have a list of events that you can’t miss. They not only offer great food, but also family fun, live music and entertainment. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season:

Pupusas Festival

One of the countries that is gaining visibility in town thanks to its fantastic cuisine is El Salvador and the now famous pupusas, a corn masa patty similar to a tortilla but with more texture and thickness to it, griddled and stuffed with cheese, beans, pork, chicken – you name it! Creativity is the name of the game when crafting your pupusa.

While other countries like Colombia and Venezuela have arepas, which are very similar to pupusas, we definitely have to give credit to our Salvadoreno friends for making this amazing dish famous. Even the government from El Salvador has declared the second Sunday of November “National Pupusa Day” and it is celebrated around the world, including cities like Phoenix and Washington DC.

If you haven’t tried pupusas yet, this upcoming Sunday November 13th, from 11 am to 7 pm, is the best opportunity to do so at the 2016 Arizona Pupusa Festival in Tempe. Bring an appetite – and open mind – to try these delicious creations while enjoying family-friendly activities and live entertainment.

Chiles and Chocolate Festival

Chile and chocolate are the base of decadent dishes like the world famous Mexican Mole. Mayans knew hundreds of years ago that this was blissful mix; the combination of sweet and spicy is one of those unexpected, yet addicting food pairings that is hard to resist. So how does a chocolate or a spicy cucumber martini sound?

Photo Credit: Desert Botanical Gardens

From November 11-13, from 10 am to 5 pm, the Phoenix Botanical Garden will celebrate the Chiles and Chocolate Festival, this event offers not only a decadent selection of treats, but also great entertainment like Capoeira dance shows, Cuban percussion and Bachata performances. Let your palette indulge in some sweet and spicy creations at the Chiles and Chocolate Festival, and enjoy the variety of musical performances offered during this event.