Jewel's has long been a favorite for gluten-free fans in Phoenix, and they continue to be the best place around for fresh-baked loaves of flaxseed bread, burger buns, brownies, muffins, and all manner of typically "off-limits" carb-laden goodness. Even those who aren't gluten-free can appreciate the indulgent, super-moist salted-caramel brownies, cranberry scones, and chocolate-white chocolate chip cookies.

Here's what our vegan friends say about treats from Treehouse Bakery: "These are really good!" Here's what our non-vegan friends say about treats from Treehouse Bakery: "These are vegan? Wow, these are really good!" Any misconceptions you may be carrying about vegan desserts being less tasty than "regular" ones can now be left at the door. Step inside the cheerful pink-and-white storefront near Roosevelt Street and Grand Avenue, and you'll see a small but enticing selection of pastries, cookies, brownies, scones, and more. We love the light, moist lemon cupcakes, the rich brownies, and the flaky house-made toaster pastries. Treehouse also does birthday cakes, wedding cakes, and large orders of cupcakes in a variety of flavors, such as red velvet, apple pie, French toast, pistachio, and peanut butter. Some can even be made gluten-free. In short, Treehouse isn't just a great vegan bakery — it's a great bakery, full stop.

It's a good thing Sweeties wasn't around when we were kids, because this place would have blown our minds — not to mention our pocket money and our teeth. Think of a candy you love now, or loved in your youth. Go ahead. Now go to Sweeties and see if they carry it. They will. They totally will! They've got everything — this place is a superstore specializing only in candy. Every name brand (and some you didn't know existed), every variation of it (although we hope the strawberry nut-flavored M&Ms we saw recently were an aberration and not a real thing). Taffy in pretty much every imaginable flavor, color-coded candy. Candy shaped like rocks and LEGOs. You get the idea. What are you waiting for? Go load up a cart at Sweeties. Just don't forget to brush your teeth after your visit.

By now, you've either seen it in Valley restaurants or you're already a big fan of Homeboy's Hot Sauce. Jacob Cutino launched his local hot sauce line in spring 2015, and there are currently three flavors (not counting seasonal offerings). The first two sauces were the bright-red yet mild-in-flavor jalapeno, and the golden-yellow habanero. The new guy is the green-hued verde — an incognito way to crank up the heat on guacamole, or to dress a hot dog as a substitute relish. The sauces are gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and include no artificial preservatives. Find Homeboy's Hot Sauce at restaurants like Pig & Pickle, The Market by Jennifer's, and La Grande Orange, as well area markets like Uptown Farmers Market and Gilbert Farmers Market and on the YouTube sensation, Hot Ones.

We always had heard great things about SoSoBa from our neighbors to the north (that's Flagstaffians, not Canadians), so we were stoked when we found out we were getting our very own location of the self-described "unabashedly inauthentic" Asian food joint down on Roosevelt Row. As it turns out, SoSoBa may not be authentic, but it is delicious, and the dish we keep coming back for is the General Tso's Cauliflower, which features a large pile of the veggie flash-fried with General Tso sauce, fresh Thai chilies, peanuts, garlic chips, and scallions. The cauliflower is cooked to just the right consistency, and the tangy sweetness of the sauce is bold without being overpowering. The dish is located on the shared-plates section of the menu, but if you're anything like us, you'll want to get your own and scarf down the whole thing. And since SoSoBa is open until midnight Sunday through Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, almost any time is the right time to spend a while with the General.

Paleo, keto, Whole30 — there are a lot of diets out there these days that tell you not to eat bread. Well, you can pry our carbs from our cold, dead, gluten-loving hands. We love bread, and in metro Phoenix, we love it best from Jerusalem Bakery. Husband-and-wife team Lior and Lily Ben-Shushan never let us down when it comes to their rotating selection of bread creations, which includes several varieties of challah, sourdough rye, French toast cinnamon loaf, pita, and our personal favorite, a round Moroccan herb bread. The bakery's storefront has very limited hours, so if your mouth is watering just reading this, try to pick up a loaf (or two) at the weekly Phoenix Public Market.

A good bagel should be chewy but not squishy, dense enough to be substantial but not so firm that it's hard to eat. It's a fine line to walk, but the folks at The Nosh Café in Ahwatukee do the best job in town. The neighborhood joint switched over from bagels only to a full breakfast and lunch restaurant several years back, and we're very glad that the expanded menu hasn't diminished the quality of the bagels. There are more than a dozen varieties to choose from, including onion, garlic, salt, spinach Parmesan, cinnamon sugar, and our favorite, the "Works" (a.k.a. the everything bagel). A Works bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomato, red onion, and capers is about as perfect a breakfast as we can imagine, but there are plenty of other things to choose from on the menu, like breakfast burros, scrambles, and French toast. And for lunch, you've got your choice from a long list of salads and sandwiches. This place is very popular on weekends, so go early for the best bagel selection.

Let's be frank: You will probably want more than just one slice when you go to My Slice of the Pie Pizzeria, a quirky Arcadia pizza joint that marries New York pizza-making traditions with Southwest-inspired flavors. But if you're looking to whet your appetite with just a slice or two, the restaurant offers pizza by the slice daily. There are two very good options: a deliciously chewy, oversize New York-style slice, and a Southwestern slice featuring the restaurant's signature jalapeno-tomato cream. Both are excellent, and for a small upcharge, you can trick out your slice with extra toppings. While you're here, though, you may as well upgrade to a full pie — might we suggest the deliciously sweet-spicy Al Pastor pizza? Just when you thought pizza couldn't possibly get any better, My Slice of the Pie proves that the form still holds many possibilities.

Forno 301 is a destination for seriously great pizza. On most nights, you'll spot Italian-born pizzaiolo and owner Luca Gagliano working the wood-fired oven, where slabs of gorgeous dough swell over the crackling heat. There are about a dozen Neapolitan-style pizzas on the menu, including the brilliantly composed Testosterone, a "ballsy" pizza that features puddles of soft mozzarella, a lovely tomato sauce, prosciutto — and a couple of eggs. The best part is using your pizza crust to sop up the runny molten yolk that drips onto your pizza pan. If egg on your pizza sounds like too much, try the Forno rendition of the classic 4 Stagioni ("four seasons") pizza, which is one of the best in town.

If there's ever a sandwich you'll need to walk off, it's the generously proportioned Crispy Chicken at Worth Takeaway. The craft sandwich consists of crispy chicken breast that is only soft or soggy in the best way where the Sriracha-honey spread and mayonnaise has been slathered on thick. You'll also find Bibb lettuce and sweet and spicy pickles made in house between those slices of Proof ciabatta bread. If you're cutting carbs, the Crispy Chicken can be served without bread at all, or on a bed of Steadfast Farm greens. When dining in, you'll be surrounded by sleek, clean, modern desert decor, and will hear the slight hum of a fridge packed with cold 12-ounce sodas and a selection of Danzeisen Dairy milk flavors. But back to the sandwich, which comes wrapped and in halves, so you can easily bring the rest home with you. If you dare eat the whole thing, or pair it with some house-made sea salt potato chips, we suggest strolling through charming downtown Mesa instead of taking a much-needed nap.