For decades, the town of Cave Creek was known for its blend of cheesy Old West charm and rough-and-tumble motorcycle joints. Where else can you ride a live bull, and then hop on a Harley and ride alongside legendary bandit, Sonny Barger, the founder of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club who’s been a Cave Creek resident for decades? But these days, this hilly hideaway located some 30 miles north of the Valley has turned into a, wait for it, highfalutin culinary hotspot.

Of course, it’s easy to trace Cave Creek’s foodie revolution to 2004, when chef Kevin Binkley, fresh from working at world-class restaurants such as the French Laundry in Napa Valley, opened Binkley’s Restaurant in Downtown Cave Creek. (And before that, Le Sans Souci, owned by the man who first brought fine French food to Scottsdale back in the 1950s.)

That said, there’s another legendary local restaurant located right on Cave Creek’s main strip that really helped drag the town out of the sawdust and saloon stage.

Named El Encanto, this family-owned restaurant has been serving up classy Mexican food in a stunning setting for more than a decade. Here, you can dine in a handsome outdoor courtyard or in a window-filled booth, all overlooking a large pond filled with ducks, turtles and one hungry white swan. In fact, El Encanto’s proven to be such a hit that the owners have added a weekend farmers market, as well as expanded to both neighboring Carefree and Fountain Hills.

However, we prefer the original, where you can savor the surprisingly-mild May weather while listening to the soothing sounds of running water, and the occasional Hell’s Angel barreling down the highway. After all, it wouldn’t be Cave Creek if it wasn’t a little funky.

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