If you think you can't get great seafood in the Southwest, then you clearly don't know about Mariscos Playa Hermosa. Since 2002, Jose and Maria Maldonado have used the restaurant to bring the beaches of Mexico directly to central Phoenix. The restaurant has certainly nailed the vibes — there's a mariachi band weekly as well as general easygoing beach decor and whatnot — but most certainly the appeal is in the absolutely stacked seafood menu. Mexican seafood is all about taking great fish, oysters, crabs and the like, and preparing them with spices and fresh veggies to bring out the nuance and soul of these continually underrated cuts. And if that isn't enough, the restaurant has enough cocktails to get a shark woozy. But MPH isn't just a place to "play tourist" — it's very much inserted a vital bit of culture into our own hometown. The end result is a lush melding that's made MPH a proper institution and evidence of the truly engaging and adventurous local food scene.