2005 Eating and Drinking Awards By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
Get Out
What’s for lunch? Better yet, what’s for dinner?
Everywhere we look, there’s another restaurant popping up in the East Valley, making the options seemingly endless. Finding the most appetizing answers takes time, faith, a hollow leg and a boss who’s willing to fund your culinary quest.
Here are 55 such finds. Keep this gastronomic guide handy and you’ll never need to ask those nagging, age-old questions again.
Best salads
Pizza Picazzo
Dressing makes or breaks a pile of roughage, and this Sedona import whips up a blissful, biting balsamic vinaigrette. With 10 salads to pick from and not a wilted spinach leaf in the house, lettuce lovers will find perfection at Picazzo.
440 W. Warner Road, Tempe, ; 7325 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale, , or www.pizzapicazzo.com
Best shrimp tacos
Rancho de Tia Rosa
These messy-but-marvelous tacos ($3.49) are stuffed with small, sautéed shrimp cooked just right (no tough, rubbery bites), then drizzled with a honey-butter sauce and topped with a citrusy, chunky house pineapple salsa and Mexican white cheese. They drip deliciousness, so grab some extra napkins.
3129 E. McKellips Road, Mesa, or www.tiarosa.net
Best chicken cheese steak
Zero’s Subs
This East Coast chain throws finely chopped marinated chicken shavings, diced onions and white American cheese on a grill, mixes it up until the cheese becomes a liquid and scoops the hot stuff onto a freshly baked, not-too-doughy sub roll. Never soggy, always piping hot. My mouth waters just thinking about it ($5.13-$8.11).
3014 N. Dobson Road, Chandler, ; 920 E. University Drive, Tempe, ; www.zeros.com
Best lunch deal
Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta
A two-topping calzone so big it falls off the plate for a mere $4.99? That’s with a drink and full service, mind you! Too expensive for ya? Go with the two-topping personal pie and drink for a buck less.
590 N. Alma School Road, Chandler,
Best chain
The Keg Steakhouse
This 30-year-old Canadian upstart has 85 locations, but its standards remain stellar. Steaks are succulent, salads aren’t shortchanged, the giant twice-baked potato is a carb-cutter's worst nightmare and one of the tastiest things — the crusty, steaming hot sourdough round — doesn’t cost a dime. With a warm and comfy mix of cushy booths, roaring fireplaces, dark wood, stacked stone, leather club chairs and dim lighting, you’ll hardly notice you’re at a corporate-cookie-cutter creation.
3065 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler, or www.kegsteakhouse.com
Best brewpub
Four Peaks Brewery
Great beer, fab food, cool old brick building, fun atmosphere, friendly prices. It’s everything you could ask for in a brewery, and then some. Additional location in Scottsdale.
1340 E. Eighth St., Tempe, or www.fourpeaks.com
Best prime rib
The Chart House
Prime rib never really turned me on until I had a bite of my husband’s succulent steak at this waterfront Scottsdale seafood restaurant. The large, thick cut of slow-roasted meat was rubbed with herbs and spices and dripping with flavor. I ended up eating half the hubby’s dinner.
7255 E. McCormick Parkway, Scottsdale, or www.chart-house.com
Best no-frills burger
Giant Hamburgers
The Get Out crew hits this greasy grill so often it’s become a running joke around the office. Laugh all you want, brown-baggers. These juicy -pound patties are good enough to make In-N-Out cooks cry.
2753 E. Broadway Road, Mesa,
Best Mexican restaurant
Los Sombreros
The Oaxaca-influenced menu at this charmingly rustic red-brick cantina is creative and enticing, with enough daring dishes to get any foodie’s taste buds fired up. Highlights include the pepita crusted snapper with roasted red salsa, cabbage and cilantro crema ($12.95); crepes filled with fish, shrimp and crab in a poblano chili sauce ($14.95); and beef short ribs braised in a guajillo chili sauce ($16.95). Don’t miss the awesome outdoor bar and patio in the back with twinkle-lit trees, roaring elevated fire bowls and heat lamps galore.
2534 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, or www.lossombreros .com
Best thin crust pizza
Classic Italian Pizza
After eating pizzas across the country for a year, a New York Times food writer recently deemed Phoenix’s Pizzeria Bianco the best pie palace in the country. I guess he never found his way to the northeast corner of the strip mall that houses Classic Italian Pizza and its gourmet wood-fired, thin-crust pies.
1030 E. Baseline Road, Tempe,
Best barbecue joint
Joe’s Real BBQ
The aroma of pecan-smoked meats grabs you at the door of this 75-year-old brick building and pulls you down the long dining hall past the John Deere tractor toward the ’cue counter. Once there, good luck choosing between the brisket, pulled pork, St. Louis-style spareribs, thick homemade beans, chunky-cheesy potatoes, baked mac ’n’ cheese and moist, dense lemon cake. It’s no easy task! 301 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert, or www.joesrealbbq.com
Best Mexican dish
Cantina Laredo’s camaron poblano asada
Shrimp sautéed with mushrooms, onions and melted Monterey jack cheese would make a fine dish. But stuff all that into a poblano pepper, wrap it in a tender 10-ounce carne asada and pour a scrumptious pool of chimichurri sauce (Mexico’s parsley-infused version of pesto) over the top and you have one of the most savory south-of-the-border creations in town.
7361 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale, or www.cantinalaredo.com
Best chips and salsas
Rancho de Tia Rosa
Forget the South Beach Diet! I’m eagerly awaiting the day some fat-fighting chump declares the Chips and Sauce Diet as the way to shed pounds. When that day comes, you’ll find me stockpiling Tia Rosa’s warm, light, gently salted chips along with gallons of their addictive tomatillo salsa and gringo-beware, thick hot salsa (by request only).
3129 E. McKellips Road, Mesa, or www.tiarosa.net
Best neighborhood Italian
Arrivederci Trattoria
Arrivederci’s winning combination of authentic Italian ambience, fabulous food, nouvelle menu and reasonable prices have made this cozy Ahwatukee restaurant an instant hit. I don’t think there’s a miss on the menu — from the pretty and plentiful antipasto plate to the tantalizing tomato-cream-sauce-covered pastas to the complimentary foccacia bread.
4221 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee Foothills,
Best gourmet sandwiches
Arcadia Farms
If you have $10.95 to spend on a sandwich, Arcadia Farms is the place to go. My fave is the herb-roasted chicken breast version on a baguette with oven-cured tomatoes, roasted artichokes, fresh basil, goat cheese and organic baby spinach.
7014 E. First Ave., Scottsdale, or www.arcadiafarmscafe.com
Best Thai north of U.S. 60
Thai Pan
Fresh, flavorful and fast Thai whipped up by a kitchen that takes the time to make its own curry paste and consistently nails the perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. If I didn’t live 40 minutes away, I could live off chef-owner Mark Gerding’s garlic noodles and spicy cashew nut chicken.
7605 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale, or www.thaipan.com
Best Thai south of U.S. 60
Swaddee
With a legit five-star spice index, Swaddee is the place to go for a fire-in-the-belly meal. The massaman curry (tender stewed beef, peanuts and potatoes) and spicy noodles (fried flat noodles, chicken, onion, jalapeño and fresh basil) are two of the best Thai plates I’ve ever had. Save room for the homemade coconut ice cream.
5055 W. Ray Road, Chandler,
Best 2004 addition
Binkley’s Restaurant
Last year, Kevin and Amy Binkley built a culinary house of worship on a quiet, cactus-dotted street in Cave Creek. Their congregation continues to multiply with each bold-tasting menu they create. Sensations include the sweet potato soup, bacon-wrapped quail, vanilla zabaglione and the best foie gras around. If you’re gonna splurge, this is the place to do it.
6920 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, or www.binkleysrestaurant.com
Best 2005 addition
Caffe Boa
The year is young, but Caffe Boa’s gorgeous new Mill Avenue home and beefed-up (literally) menu are shining examples for the rest of this year’s restaurant newbies to follow. Create a little character (stucco was stripped off to reveal 100-year-old red-brick archways) and offer a well-rounded menu (paninis and salads were joined by filet mignon and a daily fish dish) with plenty of vino (eight wine flights are now offered as well as 80 bottles and 40 by-the-glass options), and you’ll have a line out the door. 398 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, or www.cafeboa.com
Best orange chicken
TOTT’s Asian Diner
A big pile of jagged, plump pieces of heavily breaded, deep-fried chicken smothered in an orange-molasses-hued sticky sauce — it’s sweet and spicy poultry perfection.
1817 E. Guadalupe Road, Tempe,
Best wine bar
Kazimierz World Wine Bar
With its speakeasy style, hidden entry (oh-so-coolly marked with a mysterious “The truth is inside” sign), plush Z Gallerie-esque furnishings, rustic wooden wine barrels, ceilings of stone, near-ban on light bulbs, intriguing small plates and 1,850 wine options, Kazimierz continues to crush the ever-growing competition.
7137 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale, or www.kazbar.net
Best cookies
Sweet Cakes
Paradise Bakery & Café works magic with its milk chocolate chip variety, but cookie for cookie, this downtown Mesa lunch spot takes the cake. The huge snickerdoodle and chewy oatmeal raisin varieties are my go-tos, but others lust after the oatmeal butterscotch, frosted sugar and peanut butter with M&M’s.
21 W. Main St., Mesa,
Best place for sushi virgins
Malee’s at Desert Ridge
Not only does Malee’s Wasabi Room provide a vegetarian/raw/cooked coding for its sushi menu, but they design the best-looking and best-tasting specialty rolls in the East Valley. The $12 Vegas Roll (salmon, crab, cream cheese, avocado and asparagus rolled and deep-fried in a light batter, served with sticky-sweet eel sauce) rocks.
21001 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix, or www.maleesonmain.com
Best-kept secret in Scottsdale
Orange Table
This Scottsdale Center for the Arts neighbor is hard to find, but easy to love. Whether you opt for the fried egg with bacon sandwich ($5.50 for two eggs over easy, three pieces of meaty bacon and American cheese on grilled sourdough), the chipotle chicken melt ($7 for seasoned, grilled slices of tender chicken breast, melted cheddar and provolone, tomato, red onion, romaine lettuce and chipotle mayo on grilled sourdough) or the funnel-cake-like Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries, I’m betting you won’t take the time to wipe your messy mug until after your last bite.
7373 E. Scottsdale Mall, Scottsdale,
Best-kept secret in Tempe
Plaid Eatery
If restaurants were bands, Plaid would be indie all the way. It has an eclectic menu (pesto chicken sandwich, pad Thai, turkey omelette, etc.) with customers and furniture to match, impossibly cheap pints of quality quaffage ($1 after 4 p.m., $2 before) and it draws a small, in-the-know crowd. Hope this Tempe treasure never sells out.
1044 S. Terrace Road, Tempe,
Best soup
Crackers & Co. Café
If it weren’t for this Tuscan country kitchen’s industrial-park surroundings, you’d probably never score a table. Crackers’ crew whips up an assortment of brilliant breakfast items and puts loads of love into lunch, but the made-from-scratch soups (10 offered daily) are the real stars. Partly because a hearty bowl of steamy goodness is tough to come by in our sunny cities, but mostly because a spoonful of the chicken dumpling soup will have you praying for more rainy days.
535 W. Iron Ave., Suite 131, Mesa, or www.crackersandcompanycafe.com
Best first date restaurant
House of Tricks
This charming date destination has been courting couples for nearly 20 years! What’s not to love about dining in a cozy cottage that dates back to the early 1900s? Little touches like napkin-stuffed wine glasses and beautiful fresh flowers on each table add to the romantic ambience. The vine- and tree-shaded patio is legendary.
114 E. Seventh St., Tempe, or www.houseoftricks.com
Best fish tacos
Salsa Cabana
Generous portions of grilled mahi mahi are folded into two thick, warmed-till-oily corn tortillas, then sprinkled with shredded red cabbage, cheddar cheese and a few diced tomatoes. The tacos ($3.75) are tasty, but it’s the perfectly paired tangy lime-and-cilantro sauce that takes them to the next level.
1309 N. Greenfield Road, Mesa,
Best place to take your mom
Arcadia Farms
Moms like pretty things, and this charming Scottsdale cafe overflows with beauty. The patio looks like a Sunset magazine spread with its ficus trees, ferns and flowering oleander bushes. Best of all, the food is fantastic, in part because the cafe grows its own veggies and herbs on a small patch of dirt across the street. My mom still gushes about the warm mushroom, spinach and goat cheese tart ($10.95).
7014 E. First Ave., Scottsdale, or www.arcadiafarmscafe.com
Best concentration of independents
Downtown Chandler
Do I want El Zócalo’s green chili plate or a light, crunchy panini sandwich at Kokopelli Winery? Or maybe a bubbling skillet of baked pasta from La Stalla Cucina Rustica would hit the spot? Ooh, but that seared escolar at 98 South Wine Bar & Kitchen is so tasty. It’s enough homegrown culinary goodness to make my head spin!
Arizona Avenue, roughly between Buffalo and Chicago streets
Best fast Mexican
Someburros
This locally owned, casual Mexican restaurant is so quick I’ve had my lunch delivered mere seconds after dipping my first chip into their spicy red sauce. Not only is this place fast, but burros are all under four bucks, with a few falling under $3.
1335 W. Baseline Road, Gilbert, ; 101 E. Baseline Road, Tempe, , or www.someburros.com
Best ribs
Famous Dave’s
The spareribs at this barbecue behemoth are hickory-smoked and flame-kissed in the last few minutes of cooking, leaving a sticky layer of caramelized sauce and a gorgeous glossy burnt red coating. Tender, juicy and delicious.
3250 W. Frye Road, Chandler, or famousdaves.com
Best fight by the little guy
Sanguigni Pasta
On Sept. 1, a significant rent increase forced Tom Sanguigni to move his authentic Italian deli and pizzeria from its prominent spot at Power and McKellips roads in Mesa to a temporary, tough-to-find location at an industrial park a few miles west. The move has nearly killed the beloved mom-and-pop, but Sanguini continues to sell the same fantastic thin-crust pies and sourdough-roll sandwiches he has for years while hunting for a new home.
4722 E. Ivy St., Mesa, or www.sanguigni.com
Best slices
NYPD Pizza
The Long Island brothers who brought us NYPD say they created a filtration system to make water chemically identical to the soft stuff in New York. The result? Consistently perfect thin, crunchy crusts — there’s no droop when you grab one of these tasty, always-hot slices. Try the Brooklyn Family (thick pepperoni, sliced sausage, fresh basil) for $2.35. It’s good enough to make homesick East Coasters smile.
Multiple locations, www.aznypdpizza.com
Best steak and seafood
Drinkwater’s City Hall Steakhouse
Whether you’re a fish fiend or a red-meat maniac, this swank-yet-unstuffy steakhouse serves a dish you’ll be dying to pay $30 to dive into again. Perfection (for some a bone-in fillet, for others Chilean sea bass) is platted solo on a 400-degree white platter.
6991 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale,
Best Chandler restaurant
Cyclo
There was a time when I shied away from Vietnamese vittles; hope you’re not making the same mistake. This country’s dishes are some of the most fragrant and flavorful in the world, and Chandler’s charming Cyclo (pronounced “see-clo”) is the place to experience them. The casual BYOB — opened and run by the stylish, spunky, friendly Justina Duong — prepares a menu full of palate-pleasing plates, each for $8 or less.
1919 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler,
Most authentic
Mexican restaurant
El Tlacoyo
You want a truly traditional Mexican experience? I’m talking worm tacos, beef head burros and a gringo-free, no-frills setting. Leave the passport, but pack your Spanish-English dictionary. Good food, good fun.
2535 E. University Drive, Tempe,
Best pulled pork sandwich
Waldo’s BBQ
Watching someone take their first-ever bite of this slow-cooked, juicy, sauceless pulled pork sandwich is like seeing someone discover chocolate — their eyes get big, a smile creeps across their mug and “mmmmm” is the only sound you’ll hear until every last savory morsel is gobbled up. Waldo’s, a sawdust-covered shrine to swine, also makes an amazing barbecue sauce served warm in a hot iron skillet.
4500 E. Main St., Mesa, or waldosbbq.com
Best-looking restaurant
Sassi
I’ve tried to move into this Scottsdale stunner several times, but the owners — who dropped more than $10 million to build this beautiful villa-meets-castle southern Italian restaurant — just keep tossing me out toward neighboring Pinnacle Peak.
10455 E. Pinnacle Peak Parkway, Scottsdale, or sassi.biz
Best unfussy cocktail
Famous Dave’s spiked lemonade ($4.99)
A huge glass of iced-down homemade raspberry lemonade, jazzed up with Absolut Citron and chambord. It’s the most bodacious backyard barbecue beverage ever.
3250 W. Frye Road, Chandler, or www.famousdaves.com
Best simple-yet-genius idea
Pop-Tarts at The Counter
On Monday, Sam Fox of Bloom/North/Sauce success will open a shiny new aqua-tiled diner with 25-cent cups of coffee, cupcakes, milkshakes and — in a brilliant nod to Kellogg’s toaster pastries — homemade Pop-Tarts. If he makes a frosted brown-sugar cinnamon version, I’m in serious trouble.
15215 N. Kierland Blvd., Phoenix,
Best thick-crust pizza
Lil’ Pizzazz
It’s the only pizza I’ll gleefully drive 20 miles to have. This mom-and-pop pizza shop makes the best pan crust I’ve ever had — a thick, oil-brushed, crunchy golden dream. Smother that flawless foundation with slightly sugary tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, chopped white onions and mini meatballs and I guarantee you’ll become as addicted to Pizzazz’s pies as I am.
20740 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, or www.lilpizzazz.com
Most anticipated strip-mall completion
The Villages at Las Sendas
The much-delayed Villages at Las Sendas project has me and my 20,000-odd noshery-deprived neighbors champing at the bit for exciting new concepts like Zocalo Spanish Fusion, Manny’s Original New York Deli & Restaurant and D’Vine Wine Bar & Bistro. We’ll gladly take Cali import Indigo Joe’s and my favorite place for strawberry waffles, Mesa’s Egg & I Cafe, as well. The wine bar looks like it’ll open first; they’re shooting for late March/early April.
Northwest corner of Power and McDowell roads, Mesa
Best nachos
El Paso Bar-B-Que Company
I had my first tequila chicken nacho experience back in the mid-’90s — the addictive creamy tequila sauce, the crisp tri-colored chips, the smoky shredded chicken, all that melted Jack cheese. It was nacho nirvana. Nothing’s topped it since.
Multiple locations, www.elpasobarbeque.com
Best breakfast
Farm House Restaurant
Housed in a homey space (mismatched chairs, checkered tablecloths, porcelain roosters) on the west side of historic downtown Gilbert’s main drag, Farm House gives me a reason to get up before noon on weekends. Don’t be surprised to find a line out the door for its famed omelettes and berry Belgian waffles.
228 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert,
Most memorable meal
Fusion Restaurant & Lounge
The view from Elements is unparalleled, the setting at Sassi is sublime and chef Kevin Binkley raised the Valley’s culinary bar in 2004 with the opening of his namesake restaurant. But my dreamy dining experience at the husband-and-wife-run Fusion continues to be my mind's — and mouth’s — most memorable. The ginger jerk escolar and Buckboard shortcake scone are superb.
4441 N. Buckboard Trail, Scottsdale, or www.azeats.com/fusion
Best panini sandwich
Bistro at Kokopelli Winery
The small cafe’s eight panini sandwiches ($6.50 each) are served on either long, thinly pressed slices of demi ciabatta or crusty French bread. My fave is the ciabatta layered with salami, fontina cheese, roasted bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and capers.
35 W. Boston St., Chandler, or www.kokopelliwinery.com
Best pies
Pie in the Sky
The flaky, buttery crusts and fresh fillings make these mom-made pies tough to beat. They’re just as delightful to look at as they are to eat. Daily dessert selections include apple, berry, banana cream, chocolate cream, lemon tart, pear streusel, coconut cream, chocolate praline cream, Italian almond tart, ricotta and roasted butternut squash. Or make a meal of it with a free-range chicken pot pie, quiche or Italian rustic torte.
7609 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale, or www.mypieinthesky.com
Best hummus
Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar
I didn’t expect to find the best hummus in town at a wine bar, but the thick, garlicky version at Tapino is tops. Maybe it's the dash of smoked paprika? Whatever it is, the results rule.
7000 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, or www.tapino.com
Best neighborhood pizzeria
Oregano’s Pizza Bistro
It’s the whole package — a casual-cool vibe; funky, handpicked Chicago antiques; crowd-pleasing pies in thin, pan or stuffed styles; scrumptious skyscraping salads; a cookie dessert that’s so popular that half the restaurants in town have added it to their menu; and a fun-loving young staff. Best of all, it’s locally owned. Look for a new one in Mesa by late March.
Multiple locations, www.oreganos.com
Best wings
Native New Yorker
Ohio’s overhyped Buffalo Wild Wings flew into the E.V. last year, but the small, crisped wings at the Native still rule the roost. The locally born bar — which is, appropriately enough, the brainchild of a Buffalo, N.Y., family — opened its first chicken-wing joint in Tempe more than 25 years ago and has continued to slowly expand throughout the East Valley, including their most recent opening on Power Road in Queen Creek.
Multiple locations, www.aznativenewyorker.com
Lushest patio
El Zócalo
Owner Obed de la Cruz estimates he’s spent more than $50,000 on his gorgeously green back patio. The high-walled, thoroughly misted enclave is a desert jungle hidden in downtown Chandler.
28 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler, or www.delacruzeateries.com
Best tapas
Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar
Tired of being served impossible-to-finish portions of so-so food? Go tapas-style — specifically, go Tapino-style. The wine bar, one of many to open in 2004, has put together 22 small plates ($4-$7) divided into greens, meat and fowl, and seafood categories. Cheeses, bruchetta and soup are also offered. Try the piquillo pepper relleno with Spanish chorizo and saffron rice or the pulled pork empanada with rosemary and mango chutney. Both are exquisite.
7000 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale,
Best calamari
Venice Ristorante Italiano
These barely breaded, lightly fried curly pieces of calamari ($7.95) are served with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a side of marinara. Never chewy or greasy, this classic appetizer was impressive enough to have three Monterey Bay natives fighting for scraps.
4747 E. Elliot Road, Ahwatukee Foothills,
Best crème brûlée
Anzio Landing
This sugar-crusted custard is one of my favorite ways to end a meal, and this 16-year-old Falcon Field Italian restaurant burns a superb berry version. It’s lick-the-bowl-clean caramel-and-cream joy for $6.
2613 N. Thunderbird Circle, Mesa,
