188 LA VIDA getting, well, stale. Drop by around Día de los Muertos to see bone-shaped pan de muerto on the altar near the register. Christmas calls for tamales. And back when the Suns made their last serious playoff run (sigh), the conchas turned orange and purple. i i i BEST MARGARITAS BARCOA AGAVERIA 829 N. FIRST AVE. 602-980-0788 BARCOAPHX.COM For an agave aficionado, Phoenix offers no equal. Suave, bohemian and cool, Barcoa is devoted to tequila and mezcal, which it keeps stocked in plenty behind its two bars. One is a casual cantina at the main level, but the real pleasure is venturing downstairs into a darker, moodier basement practically made for a smoky cocktail. The cantina’s house margarita — made with just tequila, lime and agave — is simple hot-weather refreshment. Other fruits like guava, passionfruit, straw- berry and watermelon provide a fresh angle on the margarita if you aren’t feeling the classic. Whichever way you turn, you can’t go wrong — especially before 6 p.m., when these babies are just $7. i i i BEST CHEAP MARGARITAS MI PATIO 3347 N. SEVENTH AVE. 602-277-4831 MIPATIOAZ.COM Mi Patio opened on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Thomas Road in 1984, and its soul remains trapped there. Wooden parrots still hang from the ceiling, Christmas lights stay up year-round and the booths are filled with the regulars who’ve been coming for years. The banner out front still advertises the headline feature: margaritas for $4.19. All day, every day. It’s not a typo, even in a city where a cocktail downtown runs four times that. Make no mistake — nobody goes to Mi Patio for subtlety. It’s not trendy. It’s a family- owned establishment that, since the Reagan administration, has kept prices fair. The food holds its own, too, when you’ve inevitably had your share of margaritas and too little sustenance. i i i BEST MEXICAN GROCERY STORE LOS ALTOS RANCH MARKET 5802 W. THOMAS ROAD 623-873-0189 3415 W. GLENDALE AVE 602-841-0346 AND OTHER VALLEY LOCATIONS SHOP.LOSALTOSRANCHMARKETS.COM Your first stop inside a Los Altos Ranch Market should be the hot food counter: You’re going to need the energy, and it’s never a good idea to shop hungry. Order a well-priced burrito, taco, platillo or caldo, then settle in at one of the brightly painted picnic tables. Once you’re full, grab a pastry for dessert. It’s time to shop. Los Altos Ranch Market has whatever you need to cook Mexican food of the highest caliber (or lowest — we’re not here to judge your cooking skills): dried chilis, hibiscus leaves in bulk, beef tripe, hominy, fresh peppers that bring the pain. Los Altos’ multiple locations around the Valley mean you’re never too far from getting everything you need for a feast or just your regular groceries. On your way out, swing by the rotisserie chicken section to grab a bag of their Hatch roasted chiles. You won’t regret it. i i i BEST MEXICAN PRODUCE MARKET LUIS PRODUCE 6550 W. GLENDALE AVE., #2, GLENDALE 623-666-0898 TIKTOK.COM/@LUIS_PRODUCE1 No country on the planet makes better food than Mexico, which grows a preposterous diversity of fruits and vegetables. Push yourself beyond lemons, limes, Valencia oranges and Hass avocados and you’ll encounter flavors and textures foreign to the produce sections of Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Luis Produce has the slightly off-kilter feel of a genuine mom-and-pop operation and a catch-as-catch-can atti- tude. If you want to know what’s freshest, scope out their extended TikTok rundowns of the week’s offerings. In any case you know you’re in for something rad. Flavors most Americans know only through gelati and imported soft drinks, if at all, are here in the flesh: guava, chipilin, chicozapote, chirimoya (a.k.a. custard apple), coyules, arrayanes. Round out your fridge with other