Flagstaff has some excellent restaurants, an inordinate number for its size owing to the cosmopolitan make-up of its population.

American

Beaver Street Brewery

(11 S. Beaver St., 928/779-0079, www.beaverstreetbrewery.com, 11:30 a.m. - 1 a.m. daily, $7-$18)

There’s something about drinking a dark, hand-crafted pint of beer in the piney mountain heights that makes one feel as good as can be—maybe it’s the alcohol mixed with altitude. The best place to get that feeling is the Beaver Street Brewery were they have excellent beers made on-sight, and delicious, hearty food of the bar and grill variety.

Brandy’s Restaurant and Bakery

(1500 E. Cedar Ave. #40, 928/779-2187, www.brandysrestaurant.com, 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Tue. Sat., 6:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Sun. Mon., $7-$14)

Brandy's often wins the “Best Breakfast’ in town honors from readers of the local newspaper, and those readers know what they’re talking about. The homemade breads and bagels make everything else somehow taste better. Try the Eggs Brandy, two poached eggs on a homemade bagel smothered in Hollandaise sauce. They serve an eclectic mix of sandwiches, soups, and salads for lunch, and a creative menu of entrées for dinner—the chili balsamic marinated steak is particularly good.

Buster’s

(1800 S. Milton Rd., 928/774-5155, 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily, $5-$23)

Buster's has been a local favorite for years, serving up good steaks and burgers and such, and offering the hang-over assuring Buster Bowl to any hard drinking college student who happens in.

Downtown, Charley’s Pub and Grill

(23 N. Leroux, inside the Weatherford Hotel, 928/779-1919, www.weatherfrdhotel.com, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Mon. Fri., 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Fri.Sat., $5-$15)

A great place for lunch, with thick sandwiches and great soups.

Josephine’s Modern American Bistro

(502 N. Humphrey’s, 928/779-3400, www.josephinesrestaurant.com, 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Mon.- Fri. for lunch, 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. Mon. Sat. for dinner, $8-$30)

Josephine's offers a creative fusion of tastes for lunch and dinner, like the roasted pepper and hummus grilled cheese sandwich and the chili relleno with sun-dried cranberry guacamole, from a cozy historic home near downtown.

Mexican

The Kachina Downtown Restaurant

(522 E. Route 66, 928/779-1944, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sun. Mon., 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Tue. Thur., 10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Fri.Sat., $6-$18)

This  is a good place for good, old Sonoran dishes at a fair price.

Asian

The Himalayan Grill

(801 S. Milton Ave., Suite A, 928/213-5444, 11 a.m. -2:30 p.m. daily for lunch, 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. daily for dinner, $8-$20)

Serves excellent Indian food, and a special Himalayan Margarita, mixed an icy blue.

Sakura

(1175 W. Route 66 in the Radisson Woodlands Hotel, 928/773-9118, 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. for lunch Mon. Sat., 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. for dinner daily, $8-$30)

Sakura is a favorite with locals for sushi and tepanyaki, often busy on the weekends.

Italian

NiMarco’s Pizza

(101 S. Beaver St., 928/779-2691, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily, $5-$20)

In the Southside neighborhood serves the best pizza in town in a casual space, and they’ll deliver to most hotels.

Vegetarian

Café Express

(16 N. San Francisco, 928/774-9541, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily, $2-$8)

A favorite with Flagstaff’s new bohemians, and is a gathering place for college students and locals alike, with excellent, all-natural creations and a laid-back atmosphere downtown.

Macy’s European Coffee House

(14 S. Beaver St., 928/774-2243, 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily, $5 - $10)

South of the tracks is the best place to get coffee and a quick vegetarian bite to eat, or just hang-out and watch the locals file in and out, many of them dreadlocked and hippified.