Restaurants: Prize-winning Dishes >>

• Readers' Choices
  Best Classic Pizza Papa Johns several Valley locations Best Desserts Cheesecake Factory 15230 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-607-0083 Best Gourmet Pizza Pizzeria Bianco 623 East Adams 602-258-8300 More >>
• Best Eggs Benedict
  El Chorro Lodge
  El Chorro Lodge is a Valley landmark, lauded for its historic roots, graceful foothills setting and famous sticky buns -- massive cinnamon rolls that come with every meal. But just as worthy of fame are the most delectable eggs Benedict anywhere in Maricopa County. El Chorro doesn't... More >>
• Best Crepes
  French Ambiance
  You don't have to travel to France to enjoy crepes. Instead, stop in at our favorite bistro right here in town for a spectacular selection of entree and dessert crepes. Crepes salees are very thin, lightly salted buckwheat packets, folded around some of the most seductive stuffings imaginable.... More >>
• Best Brisket Sandwich
  Scott's Generations Delicatessen
  Brisket can be a thing of beauty. Basically, it's beef, but beef that's been seared, seasoned and roasted with vegetables and red wine for hours on end until it's tender and oh-so-sumptuously infused with flavor. Frankly, though, all that cooking jive is way too much work. So we're thrilled... More >>
• Best Turkey Sandwich
  Arcadia Farms
  If you're talking turkey, there's no better name than Young's Farm, a poultry ranch in Dewey, Arizona. Of course, such quality meat is expensive, but Arcadia Farms doesn't worry about these things. This country-cottage cafe buys its turkey from Young's, then piles it mile high on its sandwiches,... More >>
• Best Meatball Sandwich
  Nick's
  "On top of spaghetti/All covered with cheese/I lost my poor meatball/When somebody sneezed." The tragedy of this childhood parody of "On Top of Old Smoky" never quite resonated with us until we discovered the meatballs at Nick's. Now, if somebody sneezes on our supper, they're going to lose a... More >>
• Best Burger
  Chuck Box
  What makes a burger better? Just good, old-fashioned, tender lovin' care. At Chuck Box, your burger doesn't meet the grill of its dreams until you've lined up in front of the steaming charcoal broiler and asked for it by name. Try the Big Juan, a one-third-pound beauty named after Chuck Box's... More >>
• Best Belly-busting Burger
  Segal's Kosher Foods
  Big Mac? Ha, that wouldn't even begin to put a dent in our appetites. No, when we want the beef, we want the beef. Segal's stops us in our tracks, with sandwiches that stretch even the biggest stomachs. The quarter-pound and half-pound burgers are simply warm-ups. The battle burger, a... More >>
• Best Beans
  El Conquistador
  Beguiling beans. That's the only way to describe the luscious legumes at El Conquistador. It's easy to miss this place, which is hidden from the street, but to find it is to be rewarded. Here, the basic bean is elevated to a fine dish, multi-textured with the perfect balance of a creamy base and... More >>
• Best Barbecue Beans
  Joe's Real Barbecue
  What's more way-out West than barbecue beans? No self-respecting cowboy, after all, could make a meal without his trusty sidekick of beans. But they've got to be real beans -- not that canned, bright-orange stuff ladled out at tourist traps. They've got to be treated with respect, as they are at... More >>
• Best Onion Rings
  Dillon's Restaurant
  What's there to an onion ring? A little vegetable, a little batter, a whole lot of oil, and there you have it. Unless you're at Dillon's. Then you've got an onion ring that's outrageous, over the top, and oh-so-wonderful. These are absolutely some of the most delightful crispy critters we've... More >>
• Best French Fries
  Chicago Hamburger Company
  "Home of the Windy City Slider," the Chicago Hamburger Company's sign reads, and yes, the shop makes a mighty good burger. But it's worth a trip all the way to Chi-town just for this company's French fries. If you think fries are all the same, you've been sleepwalking through fast-food joints.... More >>
• Best Cowboy Steak
  Rawhide Steakhouse At Rawhide Wild West Town
  What's a cowboy steak, unless it's made by real cowboys? At Rawhide Steakhouse, the place is swarming with 'em -- manning the mesquite broiler, plucking guitars onstage in the dining room, and shooting each other to pieces in faux showdowns outside on Main Street. We think Rawhide Wild West... More >>
• Best Appetizers
  Eddie Matney's Restaurant
  The bar at Eddie's is pretty enough to eat, all fashion and fun in a "Moroccan living room" kind of style, with plush chaises and overstuffed chairs. But much better to chow down on are the best nibbles in town -- sumac-grilled lamb chops with mint hummus, spicy "mo' rockin'" shrimp with chewy... More >>
• Best Goose Liver
  Valencia Lane
  When we were kids, we couldn't stand liver. Then we discovered foie gras, and now we can't get enough. Of course, this isn't just your everyday liver, but a type that's been a prized delicacy since Roman times. The goose variety that's served here has been force-fed until the bird's liver weighs... More >>
• Best Slice Of Nightlife
  Slices
  It's 1 a.m. on the weekend, and the bars have closed. We're hungry -- and nothing helps soothe a martini-molested belly like pizza. No problem; we've got Slices, serving until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. We could scarf a whole pie, but would probably regret it in the morning. Instead, we'll... More >>
• Best Gourmet Pizza
  Pizzeria Bianco
  Pizza isn't fast food. At least not in the eyes of chef Chris Bianco. A co-founder of the Valley's only Slow Food chapter, Bianco supports the European-inspired ideal of using only ingredients available from local artisan producers. This means select produce from boutiques like Victory Farms,... More >>
• Best Pizza To Pummel Your Appetite
  Western Pizza
  When you're really hungry, don't mess around. Get a large pie from Western Pizza. The 18-inch monster will leave you pushing back from the table, gorged, happy, and with enough leftovers to feast on for a few more meals. At almost three inches thick and tipping the scales at close to 20 pounds,... More >>
• Best New York Pizza-by-the-slice
  4 Brothers Pizza & Subs
  New York-style pizza is a precise pie. It needs to be huge, as big as a bicycle wheel. Its crust must be thin and foldable. It needs to be baked fresh, and just the littlest bit greasy. It can only be basic -- red sauce, mozzarella, and traditional toppings (no barbecue chicken or pesto potato... More >>
• Best Baaad Meal
  Callaloo
  Goats in Scottsdale's posh Fifth Avenue arts district? It's true, except these curried critters reside in stew pots, waiting for the next guest to order them off the menu at Callaloo. Perhaps the most abundant comfort food to be found in the Caribbean, goat stew is a classic one-pot meal... More >>
• Best Italian Beef
  Dawg n' Bergs
  It's true that a boot on a bun probably would be fun at Dawg n' Bergs, a place full of funky, friendly atmosphere. Here's a neighborhood joint at its finest, hidden behind a Circle K but packed with regulars who actually apologize to the cook when they can't spend more time (and money) there.... More >>
• Best Pasta
  Leccabaffi Ristorante
  We can never pass up pasta, delicious and delightful in any of its hundreds of whimsical shapes. Should we ever forget why we love it so, one trip to Leccabaffi reminds us. Soft pasta in this quiet, upscale eatery is homemade, lovingly cranked out by real Italians. Sauces are fashioned from... More >>
• Best Wurst Case Scenario
  Schreiner's Fine Sausage
  This is the stuff all sausages should be made of -- homemade European-style tubes crafted from recipes unchanged by Schreiner's since 1958. And with more than 100 varieties, there are no missing links here. We're partial to Polish kielbasa, German brat and brockwurst and Hungarian kishke,... More >>
• Best Hot Dog
  Luke's Chicago Beef
  The only thing better than a good hot dog is a double dog -- twice the pleasure, you know. And Luke's has both on its menu, all pure juicy beef, and served in classic Chicago style. These tasty pups come tucked in a fresh poppy seed bun, and slathered with yellow mustard, chopped onion, and neon... More >>
• Best Soup
  Kashman's Place
  Whether it's served steaming hot to chase off a chill, or dished up cold to take the sweat from our brow, soup satisfies. And Kashman's has made soup into a year-round comfort food. When it's chilly outside, Kashman's charms with its winter seasonal menu. Selections change daily, and include... More >>
• Best Giant Wiener
  Alice Cooper'stown
  We suppose it's better to call Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson "The Big Unit" than "The Big Johnson." Still, it's more information than we want to know, thanks. Who came up with this nickname, anyway? The only such thing we're interested in exploring is The Big Unit Hot Dog served at Alice... More >>
• Best Chicken-fried Steak
  TexAZ Grill
  "Over 473,899 chicken-fried steaks served," boasts TexAZ Grill's marquee -- and we believe it. We're personally responsible for about 208,414 of those orders. That's how much we crave these jaw-droppingly good slabs of hand-cubed beefsteak, double-dipped in a sinfully milky batter and fried.... More >>
• Best Vegetables
  T. Cook's
  The drop-dead gorgeous historic Royal Palms property makes a delightful place to eat our veggies. Garden-fresh beauties are selected, whenever possible, from local, organic farmers. Boasting select seasonal dishes from Barcelona, Spain, and the Tuscan region of Italy, the menu tempts with such... More >>
• Best Prime Rib
  Don and Charlie's
  The menu at Don and Charlie's warns that its prime rib is served daily until it runs out. So we get there early. We've never been denied, no matter the time -- that's how well this kitchen knows its clientele -- but why risk missing the juiciest, most flavorful cut of rib in town? The best... More >>
• Best Edamame
  Zen 32
  So they're green beans. Soy what? That's just it. Edamame are Japanese soy beans, and they're really good for you, packed with stuff that, among other things, is supposed to help prevent cancer. There's not much to edamame -- the pods are simply steamed and flecked with rock salt, then served... More >>
• Best Spaghetti And Meatballs
  Tarbell's
  We never thought we'd pay $19 for a plate of old-fashioned spaghetti and meatballs and be happy about it. But that's before we discovered the soul-satisfying dish at Tarbell's. This is a full-flavored feast, starring a vibrant marinara made with organic tomatoes (yes, you can taste the... More >>
• Best Albóndigas (1 Comment)
  Via DeLosantos Mexican Food and Lounge
  Albóndigas is fun to say. When prepared properly, it's even better to eat. The base is simple, really, just a long-simmered blend of beef stock, red pepper, tomatoes, chiles, and herbs like cilantro, basil and oregano. But at Via DeLosantos, this orange-colored soup is terrific -- light,... More >>
• Best Mushroom Dish
  Rustico
  Sometimes we imagine owning a pig, the kind that sniffs out fancy truffles, so we could train it to seek out fabulous fungi of the mushroom variety that we love so much. But after one day in Scottsdale, the pig would simply hand us our car keys, give us a map to Rustico, and spend the rest of... More >>
• Best Antipasto
  Maria's When in Naples
  Ave Maria. Or, more appropriately, what have you, Maria? Every day is a new bounty, ours for the finding as we step inside Maria's Italian eatery, with its huge antipasto misto table just inside the door. It's a cunning display; after we've seen the gorgeous presentation, we simply have to order... More >>
• Best Sandwich
  Chompie's Delicatessen
  It's high time to recognize that Chompie's offers way more than its beautiful bagels -- as in more than 60 types of sandwiches. Chompie's does all of its baking on the premises, with choices including kaiser roll, onion roll, challah knot roll, club roll, rye, whole wheat, sourdough,... More >>
• Best Cranky Sandwich
  Capitol Coffee Co.
  Capitol Coffee Co. may call our favorite sandwich the "MeanGirl," but we don't take it personally. Surely the chef is always in a good mood when she makes ours. That's because this sandwich is always delicious, enjoyed in the cozy little refurbished home set with rummage-sale furniture, or... More >>
• Best Gyro
  Crazy Jim's
  We've met our meat maker. He's Jim Deligiannis, owner of Crazy Jim's, and he's the man behind the remarkable pressed, vertically broiled lamb and beef that is the backbone of our favorite gyro sandwich. The gyro meat has a great supporting cast, too. Every fluffy, golden-toned round of Jim's... More >>
• Best Cheesecake
  Cave Creek Coffee Company
  Cave Creek Coffee Company has a simple mission statement: to roast the best damn beans available. We've got a mission of our own: to eat the best damn cheesecake available. Luckily for us, C.C.C.C. comes through on both counts. We don't kid around with cheesecake. Our perfect piece has got to... More >>
• Best Desserts
  RoxSand
  Like fine jewels, RoxSand's desserts are kept under glass, in a "dessert walk" display case. Unlike precious stones, the desserts are small touches of luxury that even we can afford. The array, which changes daily, is dizzying. We can pretty much count on our most cherished creation, though:... More >>
• Best Ice Cream
  Mary Coyle
  There are triple scoops of ice cream. And then there's the three-foot-tall wonder served at Mary Coyle. "The Mountain" is a seven-pound Mount Everest of various flavors, sauces, nuts and toppings. But Mary Coyle isn't all about excess, even though most of its ice creams carry a whopping 19... More >>