Best Soul Food Restaurant 2010 | Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Soul Food Restaurant

Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe

Jacob Tyler Dunn
What's up with the quirky name of this restaurant? It's all about eating on your honor. You see, the folks at Mrs. White's aren't keeping tabs on your order, at least in the form of a check. Nor are they even handing you a menu when you sit down to eat. The list of scrumptious options is scribbled all over the walls — to-die-for fried catfish, greens, and grits among them. (You'll want to try it all once you get a taste of it.) Go ahead and splurge, but keep mental notes, because when you leave, you'll have to tell the cashier what you had. Sounds crazy, but this place has been successfully satisfying hungry souls for years.

Best Contemporary American Restaurant

Quiessence

Jackie Mercandetti Photo
You never know what chef Greg LaPrad is going to cook up at Quiessence. This tiny, romantic spot — nestled in a surprisingly lush part of town, at the back of the Farm at South Mountain — is all about eating seasonally, with a menu that changes from day to day based on what local produce LaPrad has sourced. (The selection of housemade salumi, one of his signatures, varies as well but can always be found on the menu — and it's a must-try.) His sophisticated but unpretentious American cuisine has even caught the attention of the folks at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City, where LaPrad was recently invited to show the Big Apple why he's a big deal in Arizona. We're proud to say we've been fans from the get-go.

Best Upscale Italian Restaurant

Marcellino Ristorante

Molly Smith
This past year has been a busy one for Sima and Marcellino Verzino. The dynamic husband-and-wife team left their longtime digs on Northern Avenue in Phoenix (a humble strip mall that made discovering Marcellino's incredible Italian cuisine all the more delightful) for a much swankier setting on Scottsdale's Stetson Drive, at SouthBridge. Finally, the atmosphere really matches the caliber of the food. Unlike some well-known chefs in the Valley, chef Marcellino is a fixture in his own kitchen, and it shows in jaw-dropping dishes like handmade squid ink pasta in a lightly spicy fresh tomato sauce, brimming with mussels, clams, and half a lobster. Sure, this place is one of the biggest splurges around, but well worth it.

Best Corner Italian Restaurant

Andreoli Italian Grocer

Jackie Mercandetti Photo
Part Italian deli and part casual Italian eatery, Andreoli Italian Grocer does double duty with panache. Owner Giovanni Scorzo has stocked the shelves and deli counter with plenty of tempting imported goods, but better yet, he's crafted an impressive selection of housemade breads, cheeses, salami, and sausage, so you know your panino is as fresh as can be. Memorable antipasti and salads such as fried potatoes and leeks, marinated grilled calamari, bresaola with shaved Parmesan and arugula, and creamy homemade mozzarella with tomato and basil are fun to nibble on any time of day (join the regular crowd of Italians in the lively dining room), while daily specials like vitello tonnato and handmade pastas are perfect for a casual but substantial dinner.

Best Upscale Steakhouse

BLT Steak

As the stereotypical upscale steakhouse goes completely masculine, from the ambiance to the unabashedly carnivorous menu, BLT Steak seduces in a different way, with a luxurious, varied, and French-inspired menu, as well as a surprisingly urban atmosphere (given the restaurant's location at the serenely gorgeous desert resort Camelback Inn). It makes perfect sense, though, when you learn that award-winning French chef Laurent Tourondel — who owns world-class restaurants in several metropolises — is the creative spirit behind the operation. So, yes, there are exquisite steaks, served with a choice of luscious sauces. But there are also dishes like sautéed Dover sole, juicy veal chops, and tuna tartare, giving us even more reasons to joyfully blow our budget at this fabulous joint.

Best Old-School Steak House

Durant's

Tom Carlson
The past few years have seen a serious proliferation of steak houses across the Valley, each one with a different take on enjoying a good hunk of animal flesh. It's certainly fun to try them out as if we were trying on different outfits, but when a perfect New York strip and a martini are what suit us, we head to Durant's for the vintage vibe, where we're surrounded by red velvet wallpaper and lavish flower arrangements. Cozied up in the lounge slurping oysters or hanging out in one of the big booths feasting on shrimp cocktail, we feel stylish in such a timeless way. Durant's may be old school, but it'll never get old.

Best French Restaurant

Zinc Bistro

David Holden
Seems there's always a European vacation gnawing at the back of our mind, but the reality of hopping the pond is usually a pipe dream. Good thing we can indulge in our Francophile fantasies at Zinc Bistro anytime we want. It's like a tiny patch of Paris planted in our own backyard, complete with a chic dining room, a see-and-be-seen patio that wraps around the side, and thoughtfully prepared French bistro cuisine. Delicate salads and fresh, briny oysters, flat iron steak with frites, braised lamb shank, and a lusty chocolate soufflé — there's never really a time when we're not hungry for all this and more.

Best Puerto Rican

El Coquito

We're probably not fooling anyone — our pick for "Best Puerto Rican" is, as of press time, also the only place for Puerto Rican. Yet it's no less deserving of the honor. Owner Jaime Acevedo brings his Puerto Rican heritage to the Valley via New York City, which is evident from the Yankees jerseys and memorabilia on the walls at this pint-size strip mall nook. And like the best Puerto Rican neighborhood joints in Nueva York, El Coquito dishes up island soul food like stick-to-your-ribs mofongo (mashed fried plantains topped with meat), slow-roasted pork, and an assortment of such deep-fried cuchifritos as bacalaitos (crispy salted cod, best eaten with a squeeze of lemon) and relleno de papa (mashed potato balls filled with ground beef). The food's delightful enough, but if you really want to have a fiesta, bring your own booze. The velvety coconut coquito drink is heavenly with a shot of rum.

Best Indian Restaurant

Guru Palace

Jamie Peachey
We've been in love with Guru Palace since we first set eyes on a luscious bowl of chicken tikka masala here, with moist chunks of meat soaked in buttery, tomato-ginger gravy. Even after we'd eaten the chicken, we couldn't resist spooning more of that tasty sauce over a steaming scoop of basmati rice. Turns out, everything at Guru Palace is just as enticing as that first dish we tried. Guru Palace specializes in Northern Indian cuisine, which means excellent marinated meat specialties and several kinds of bread (naan, paratha, kulcha) cooked in the tandoor, a special clay oven. The array of vegetarian dishes is impressive, although there are just as many interesting meat and seafood options, including lamb done up a half-dozen ways. This "palace" may be located in a strip mall, but it still gives you the royal treatment.

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Al-Hana Restaurant

Laura Segall
So what if this restaurant is really just a lunch counter and a handful of tables sectioned off from a Middle Eastern grocery store? That doesn't make Al-Hana — located inside of Baiz Market, next to the cash registers — any less delightful. Consider the open kitchen, where you can see white-clad cooks slice your succulent chicken shawarma right off the rotating spit, dunk falafel in the fryer, or pull a tray of hot, fresh pita right out of the oven before one lands on your plate. From the creamy, lip-smacking hummus and juicy shish taook (marinated chicken) to buttery, gooey knafeh (a dessert of melted cheese beneath a buttery crust, drizzled with sugary syrup and sprinkled with pistachios), everything here is as fresh as can be. We recommend doing your eating before you go shopping, lest you go completely overboard in the aisles.

Best Of Phoenix®

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