Restaurants: Prize-winning Dishes >>

• Best Appetizers
  Ridge Cafe
  11675 North 136th Street, Scottsdale
  480-551-1018
  The status of appetizers has changed in American restaurants. It used to be that most starters were mild-mannered offerings, designed to keep diners quiet while the kitchen had time to work on the main event. Appetizers used to be little more than tossed salad, soup, deep-fried veggies and, in a... More >>
• Best Frozen Custard
  Ritter's Frozen Custard
  657 North Gilbert Road, Gilbert
  480-632-0122
  It's all a matter of priorities. Do you want to live 90 years eating Dairy Queen, or 40 years eating Ritter's? When given the choice to Live (fat) Free or Die, we and our Dionysian fat friends invariably choose the latter. Ritter's gourmet custard (glorified ice cream) is sumptuous, voluptuous... More >>
• Best Couscous
  Bravo Bistro
  4327 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
  480-481-7614
  All couscous is not created equal. Some are achingly dry, like herby dust. Some are sadly sodden, like seasoned moss. Some, like the kind served at Bravo Bistro, are spectacular. Bravo's couscous is Moroccan, which means it's larger and moister than the tiny seffa variety served around town.... More >>
• Best New York-Style Pizza
  Pizzafarro's
  36889 North Tom Darlington, Carefree
  480-488-0703
  (and 7120 East Mercer, Scottsdale, 480-991-0331)
  Why are pizzas in New York so insanely large? It's not like there's a lot of spare room in this crowded city. The typical Gotham City pie is so immense that even someone the size of the Statue of Liberty would have difficulty scarfing down more than a few slices. But the real head-scratcher is... More >>
• Best Macho Pizza
  Western Pizza
  4801 East Indian School
  602-954-1333
  This primo pie is not for wimps. The large pie (18 inches) is about two and a half inches thick, and weighs almost 20 pounds. The big and tall men among us may be able to wrestle the huge slice into their mouths, but the rest of us are forced to use utensils to avoid muscle strain in our... More >>
• Best Gyro
  Super Gyros
  340 West University, Mesa
  480-844-1111
  After eating too many fair-to-middling versions of this Greek standard to remember, we were inclined to agree with Tina Turner when she sang. "We don't need another gyro." Or something like that. Of course, that was before we discovered the Hellenic heroes served up at Super Gyros. A... More >>
• Best Smoked Salmon Appetizer
  Houston's Restaurant
  2425 East Camelback, Suite 110
  602-957-9700
  (and 6113 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 480-922-7775)
  Last year, Houston's unceremoniously removed its signature smoked salmon appetizer from the menu for a trial period. The reaction from customers was not a pretty thing. Folks whined and ranted to the waiters. They e-mailed nasty-grams to the corporate powers that be. Some even threatened to... More >>
• Best Sweet Potato Pie
  Chez Bubba's
  801 North First Street
  602-254-5477
  Got a hankerin' for a real slice of sweet potato pie? Hightail it down to this cozy Cajun hole-in-the-wall where Chef Bubba Stephenson bakes a pie fit for Queen Ida herself. Bubba lines a delicate homemade pie crust with a hearty, spicy filling made from fresh, not canned, sweet potatoes.... More >>
• Best Southern Greens
  Marcella's Chicken & Fish
  6339 East Greenway Road, Scottsdale
  480-367-9144
  Mention "greens" in Scottsdale and most people will think you're talking about a golf course. But that was before Marcella's opened for business, dishing out the verdant veggies that are a hallmark of any soul food menu. Kale, cabbage or collard, they're all prepared essentially the same way.... More >>
• Best Barbecue
  Honey Bear's BBQ
  5012 East Van Buren
  602-273-9148
  (and 2824 North Central, 602-279-7911)
  Honey Bear's owners Mark Smith and Gary Clark started cooking their mouth-watering barbecue out of their apartment almost two decades ago, based on recipes from their grandmother. Later, they moved to their dimly lighted, no-frills digs on Van Buren. A few years back, success led them to open a... More >>
• Best Barbecue Beans
  Joe's Real Barbecue
  301 North Gilbert Road, Gilbert
  480-503-3805
  This is the Southwest. How could we not honor the region's unofficial steak-house side dish? Particularly when they're as seductive as the barbecue pit beauties served at Joe's? Forget those canned baked beans of backyard weenie roasts of yore. This is a killer combination uniting kidney,... More >>
• Best Use of Batter
  Texaz Grill
  6003 North 16th Street
  602-248-7827
  You haven't eaten chicken-fried steak until you've had it here at this 15-year-old bastion of beef 'n' batter. Smothered in thick, white gravy, this pair of pounded beef patties crackles with crunchy, deep-fried cholesterol nirvana. The chicken-fried chicken is also incredible, as are several... More >>
• Best Soup
  Arizona Bread Company
  7000 East Shea, Scottsdale
  480-948-8338
  Good soup is more than a meal; it's comfort. When the Soup Doctor prepares it, it cures whatever ails you, too. The Soup Doctor is Gilles Desrochers, a wild-haired, rumpled chef who makes some of the most magical soups (72 homemade varieties) we've had the pleasure of slurping. That's him... More >>
• Best Fry Bread (1 Comment)
  Angelina's Mexican Food Restaurant
  Inside SwapMart,
  5115 North 27th Avenue
  602-973-2344
  Fry bread is a part of Arizona's heritage, a symbol of Indian intertribal unity. Unfortunately, however, this obscenely caloric totem is usually found only at state and county fairs. Or at least that used to be the case before this fry bread fortress pitched tent inside the west Valley's... More >>
• Best Rotisserie Chicken
  Hearty Hen Cafe
  10830 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
  480-951-1151
  Hearty Hen Cafe boasts that it serves home-cooked meals. Perhaps, if your home includes a huge brick oven, speared by gleaming steel rotisserie wands stacked with a dozen twirling chickens over a roaring, gas-fed fire. The birds are lightly rubbed with paprika and spices, then roasted in... More >>
• Best Potato Salad
  Sabuddy Israeli Restaurant
  825 West University, Tempe
  480-894-8387
  Being an Israeli restaurant, this exceedingly cool little place features, logically enough, a variety of European dishes rethought in Middle Eastern terms. It's very likely the only place in town where you can find schnitzel and falafel on the same menu. You can also find our favorite riff on... More >>
• Best Vegetables
  Quiessence Culinary Center
  6106 South 32nd Street
  602-305-8192
  One of our favorite Lost in Space episodes of all time is when Dr. Smith is turned into a stalk of celery by an unfriendly planet dweller. When his space shipmates come to his rescue, he demurs, waxing on how lovely it is to be a vegetable -- "so cool, so green." After tasting the produce of... More >>
• Best Domestic Liver
  Don & Charlie's
  7501 East Camelback, Scottsdale
  480-990-0900
  Let others worry about cholesterol and such: We want rich, satisfying foods. We want to line our gullets with the good stuff. The higher the fat, the better. That makes Don & Charlie's pāté a winner in our world. The fact that it's served free as a prelude to a gut-busting steak dinner... More >>
• Best Pasta
  Il Pescatore
  13802 North Scottsdale Road, Suite 151, Scottsdale
  480-951-8450
  We almost broke down in tears when, at a recent food show, we saw vendors hawking the "newest trend in spaghetti for upscale restaurants seeking convenience" -- premade, precooked gourmet pasta that's vacuum-packed and ready to serve after two minutes in the microwave. It's reassuring to know... More >>
• Best Sandwiches
  D'Atri's Cinema Paradiso
  10303 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
  480-348-0377
  A hero may be nothing but a sandwich, but at D'Atri's Cinema Paradiso, a sandwich is nothing short of a feast. With her compact menu of eight hot sandwiches, bubbly owner/TV personality Jan D'Atri has elevated a simple meal to an art form. How else to describe massive monuments of D'Atri's own... More >>
• Best Brisket Sandwich
  Miracle Mile Delicatessen
  1949 East Camelback
  602-776-0992
  (and other Valley locations)
  Where's the brisket? In the Valley, at Miracle Mile Deli. A Valley tradition since 1949, Miracle Mile understands the importance of slow cooking for optimum flavor -- and of lightning-fast service when the crowds arrive. By the time the doors open for lunch in this '60s-style deli, the... More >>
• Best Aardvark Pot Pie
  Mary Richardson's Country Pot Pies
  3188 East Indian School
  602-468-9862
  Well, okay, we haven't actually tasted the aardvark. It's right there on the menu, though, under "Special Order Pot Pies": "Aardvark (in season)." The man behind the counter of this eccentric little joint in an East Indian School strip mall, who claims the Mary R. of the name as "me sainted... More >>
• Best Meatball Sandwich
  Pasta Brioni
  4416 North Miller, Scottsdale
  480-994-0028
  There are sandwiches, and then there are sandwiches. And then there's Pasta Brioni's meatball-and-bread concoction, which, while billed as a sandwich, is actually an entire meal that just happens to be tucked into a roll. The sandwich is huge, of course. But it's a gentle giant, showcasing... More >>
• Best Black Bean Soup
  Havana Cafe
  4225 East Camelback
  602-952-1991
  (and Havana Patio Cafe, 6245 East Bell, Scottsdale, 480-991-1496)
  Fidel Castro-style fatigues, bad hangovers from Bacardi rum, Elián Gonzalez -- these are a few of our favorite Cuban things. But none can hold a candle to good Cuban black bean soup, a Caribbean classic raised to a memorable art form by Havana Cafe. Originally hailing from Havana... More >>
• Best Cheese Steak
  Uncle Sam's
  3217 East Shea
  602-996-3511
  The actual home of this Philly fave is the City of Brotherly Love. But here in the Valley, the local cheese steak fraternity pledges allegiance to Uncle Sam's. The red-white-and-blue sandwich shop never lets us down, no matter the time of day, no matter how busy. And it gets very, very busy as... More >>
• Best Turkey Sandwich
  Arcadia Farms
  7014 East First Avenue, Scottsdale
  480-941-5665
  Arcadia Farms likes to promote itself as the place for "ladies who lunch." No argument there -- if the ladies in question happen to eat like lumberjacks. But even an ax-swinger with XY chromosomes is going to have his work cut out for him with the Farms' hefty turkey sandwich. Delectable,... More >>
• Best Italian Beef Sandwich
  Luke's
  1602 East Indian School
  602-264-4022
  (and 2240 North Scottsdale Road, Tempe, 480-970-5693)
  The DelPrincipe family first introduced its Italian beef recipe back in 1968, at a little store in Chicago. Fortunately for us, some of the family decided to escape the snow and set up shop in the Valley. Today, the Phoenix and Tempe locations are run by different family members, with friendly,... More >>
• Best Burger
  The Chuck Box
  202 East University, Tempe
  480-968-4712
  (and 7215 East Shea, Scottsdale, 480-998-2327)
  There are plenty of places around town that make fancy hamburgers. They stuff them with exotic cheeses, lay them on designer buns and present highfalutin condiments like crushed mustard seed, garlic-infused mayonnaise and wasabi ketchup. That's all well and good, but we prefer a far simpler... More >>
• Best Iced Tea
  The Coffee Plantation
  Biltmore Fashion Park
  24th Street and Camelback
  602-553-0203
  (and other Valley locations)
  If The Sound of Music had been set in Phoenix instead of Austria, Rodgers and Hammerstein would surely have scuttled the "a drink with jam and bread" lyric in favor of "ti -- a drink that's filled with ice." And for our do-re-mi, you won't find a better glass of the ubiquitous chilled brew... More >>
• Best Cheesecake
  Christopher's Fermier Brasserie
  2584 East Camelback
  602-522-2344
  Under most circumstances, "cheesy" is usually a pejorative term. But when applied to a description of the cheesecake at Christopher's, it's the highest praise possible. The rival of any similar dessert in its New York deli homeland, this model is decadence on a plate -- huge, delectably creamy... More >>
• Best Desserts
  Galileo Bread Emporium
  9619 North Hayden, Suite A-108, Scottsdale
  480-998-7280
  Chef-owner Giovanni Scorzo studied baking in Alassio near Genoa, Italy. He continues his craft in this magical little bakery tucked next to his award-winning restaurant Lecabaffi. Everything here is to diet for, with sinfully rich tiramisu, zuppa inglese, cannoli, almond puff pastry, fruit... More >>
• Best Mushroom Dish
  Morton's of Chicago
  2501 East Camelback
  602-955-9577
  (and 15233 North Kierland, Scottsdale, 480-951-4440)
  The Chinese have long considered mushrooms to be aphrodisiacs. After tasting the seductive 'shrooms at Morton's, you may well agree. Morton's takes an exotic blend of crimini, oyster, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, sautés them in a heady garlic herb butter, and serves them steaming... More >>
• Best Garlic Dish
  Garlic Custard at Cafe Terra Cotta
  6166 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
  480-948-8100
  Garlic custard?! Leave it Chef Donna Nordin to come up with something as innovative as this mystical, addictive flan. Impossibly silky, this breathtaking use of the stinking rose is abloom with mellow garlic. Served warm, the custard wobbles and shimmers as you poke it with your fork, then... More >>
• Best Antipasto
  Va Bene Ristorante Italiano
  4025 East Chandler Boulevard, Phoenix
  480-706-4070
  If you're sneaking off for an intimate dinner with someone you're seeing on the sly, under no circumstances should you order the antipasto platter at Va Bene Ristorante Italiano. The minute your server ferries the gigantic appetizer platter out of the kitchen, every eye in the house will be on... More >>
• Best Frogs' Legs (1 Comment)
  Bistro Provence
  8900 East Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale
  480-473-2884
  The disturbing image of frogs on crutches won't go away, even years after seeing Kermit battle an evil fast-food frog-leg czar in the original Muppet movie. The vision is resurrected at Bistro Provence, which serves the legs intact, showing knobby knees and all. It takes just one bite,... More >>
• Best Real Arizona Buffalo
  The Arizona Kitchen
  The Wigwam Resort
  300 East Wigwam Boulevard, Litchfield Park
  623-935-3811
  A long time ago, buffalo roamed the vast prairies of the West. Until someone killed most of them. Today, most people have to see their buffalo at the zoo. But you can also find the beefy beast on the menu at the Arizona Kitchen, served in delicious glory. This buffalo is so good, it almost... More >>
• Best Hummus
  ZakeE Mediterranean Eatery
  5055 West Ray, Suite 8, Chandler
  480-785-8483
  The Middle East is famous for its soothing dips, and ZakeE serves its hummus with creamy finesse. Owner Sal Alqardahji takes pride in this dish, and it shows in every silky bite of garbanzo beans, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and tahini (sesame seed paste), served with pita bread... More >>