Best Use of a Pumpkin 2011 | Pumpkin Porter, Four Peaks Brewing Company | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Use of a Pumpkin

Pumpkin Porter, Four Peaks Brewing Company

New Times Archives
We can't think of another beer more anticipated then Four Peaks' seasonal Pumpkin Porter. In fact, we know people who actually plan their Arizona vacations around its release. Every year, we count down the days 'til the outstanding blend of sweet pumpkins, roasted malt, and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg shows up on the towering blackboard of beers at this popular Tempe brew house. Not only does it taste amazing, but it has the power to turn just about everybody in town into lovers of craft beer. The Pumpkin Porter shows up right around Halloween and, to our dismay, disappears much more early than we would like.

Best Use of Prickly Pear Fruit

Flancer's Caf�

Lauren Saria
Instead of chancing an errant thorn in the thumb, let Flancer's Café in Gilbert take the ouch out of harvesting and preparing prickly pear fruit. The sweet, red fruit has a flavor almost like kiwi-strawberry and goes great with chicken. Try Flancer's crispy sweet-and-spicy chicken wings doused in sticky prickly pear sauce. Or snag a Caesar salad with a twist: a sweet and tangy prickly pear-glazed chicken breast to balance the salty Cesar dressing. The same prickly pear-marinated chicken breast also makes a mean sandwich slathered with green chile mayonnaise. If you haven't overdosed on prickly pear yet, order fresh squeezed prickly pear lemonade spiked with vodka to wash it all down.

Best Use of Pork

Pork Chile Verde, Casa Reynoso

Natalie Miranda
It's a staple of dining in the Valley, and when it's done well, it makes you thrilled to be a resident of the Southwest. At Casa Reynoso, the pork chile verde is done just right, whether it's in a burrito, on a plate of cheese enchiladas, in a chimichanga, or simply served in a steaming bowl with a side of fresh flour tortillas. This old-school joint has been around for decades, part of an empire of Mexican restaurants that became famous in the Globe-Miami area (many locals say these cities east of the Valley are among the best places in Arizona to get Southwest-inspired Mexican grub). Sizable chunks of pork, slices of jalapeño, and an aromatic blend of spices in a green sauce (not too spicy, but not too mild, either) are what has made the homey, traditional Casa Reynoso a longtime destination for generations of Tempe residents.

Best Use of a Peanut

Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Churn

David B. Moore
We've tried several of the ice cream flavors at this sweet new little shop adjacent to hip gastropub Windsor, but the peanut butter ice cream is truly a transcendent experience. We don't know what they put in this ice cream — and don't tell us, or we'd be making it at home and consuming it by the gallon. Better it require a trip across town and interaction with another human being to get our fix. Rich, creamy, flavorful — it's your best peanut butter dream come true. Order it in a pretzel cone and try not to swoon in public. Or weep.

Best Use of Bacon

I Heart Bacon, Sweet Republic

Courtesy of Sweet Republic
Like it or not (and we like it), the bacon trend isn't going away anytime soon. Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp, owners of Sweet Republic, one of the best ice cream shops in the Valley and, according to Bon Appetit magazine, the entire U.S. of A., have a fondness for the meat candy as well. Made in small batches and available when it's available, Sweet Republic's "I Heart Bacon" is a cool creation made with addictive bits of caramelized smoked bacon and crazy-fresh ingredients. And if snagging a scoop or picking up a pint isn't an option that day, a bag of Sweet Republic's chocolate bacon brittle is a satisfying substitute.

Best Use of Salted Caramel

Bite Me Brownie's Salted Caramel

602-688-2483
We're salted caramel fanatics. There's something magical about how a pinch of sea salt adds new dimensions to our sweet and tacky caramel favorites. Bite Me Brownie realizes the harmony of this pairing and offers up one of the best choco-caramel nibbles we've had in ages. Crispy, crunchy chocolate brownie batter is topped with a luscious caramel spread and a sprinkling of fancy sea salt. Every bite is the ideal combination of sweet, salty chocolate. Plus, each brownie comes in its own cute little tin. Portion control and freshness all wrapped up in a ready-to-go container.

Best Flan

El Coquito

Like many of our favorite finds in the Valley, El Coquito is located in a nondescript strip mall, which masks the soulful Puerto Rican food within. Indulge all you want, but make sure to leave room for a bit of something sweet to end it right. At El Coquito, the vanilla flan is that perfect end, a light and eggy custard surrounded by a dark caramel sauce that's not too sweet and has a slightly burnt, nutty flavor. We suggest you pair the flan with the house café con leche, which will truly help push you into sugar-high territory. If you were smart enough to BYOB, you could even add a nip of something special to your coffee to accentuate an already delightful flan.

Best Doughnuts

LaMar's Donuts and Coffee

Dunkin and the Kreme are well and good, but when we're looking for more than just a fried lump of dough, we look to LaMar's. At LaMar's, they have perfected doughnut artistry with gigantic 'nuts that are bready, soft, and doughy, with a slight crisp and a liberal coating of glaze. Apple fritters, chocolate iced crullers, raspberry-filled Bismarcks, glazed cake doughnuts, buttermilk bars, or the original glazed — whatever your donut of choice is, they've got it. Our favorite is the maple bar, a perfectly sweetened pillow of dough coated in the best maple glaze outside Vermont. We also recommend the cinnamon bun, a pastry so huge you should split it with someone else. That way you can justify a second doughnut (fairly) guilt-free. Variety is the spice of life, after all!

Best Pie

Fig and Pecan, Beckett's Table

Jackie Mercandetti Photo
We like them fruit-filled; we like them filled with nuts or cream. We just like pie. Chow Bella, New Times' food blog, likes pie so much we sponsored a Pie Social last November on Roosevelt Row. A last-minute entry in the social's celebrity chef contest was Chef Justin Beckett's fig and pecan pie. His combination of fruit and nut filling took the prize for best taste, most creative, and most memorable. We liked Justin Beckett's pie so much we had to mention it again. Turns out, Southern, Cajun, and Texas bakers have led the way, dressing up pecan pie with an addition of figs for some time. Now, Arizona has a place on the pie map — specifically, at Beckett's Table, where Beckett adds a scoop of cream cheese and citrus zest ice cream, enhancing the balanced texture of the smooth and crunchy slice, which already was a winner.

Best Cookies

Bertha's Cafe

Forget about their awesome sandwiches — we'll make a special trip to Bertha's just for the homemade cookies. Beth Goldwater and her team are busy baking up rich chocolate chip, peanut butter, and — our personal favorite — the Sinfully Good cookies. The mix of oatmeal, chocolate, and other deliciousness will make you crave them just as much as we do. Okay, so every sandwich does come with a tiny chocolate chip cookie — but that will only make you want to spring for the full-size version or grab a bag of the miniature white chocolate double chocolate cookies to cram in your face on the drive home.

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