Best Place to Take a Foodie 2012 | Distrito | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Place to Take a Foodie

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At the recently rehabbed Saguaro Hotel, celebrity chef Jose Garces, a former Iron Chef America contestant and James Beard Award winner, has created a vibrant, colorful, and tasty paean to Mexico City street food that has caught not only the attention of local diners but the national media, including Food + Wine magazine. Despite a few misses, the "modern Mexican" small plates at Garces' restaurant are spectacular. Start with the rich gourmet version of green pozole, featuring pieces of crispy pork belly, smoky chorizo, and littleneck clams, or the citrusy yellowtail tuna ceviche, a sashimi-like twist on the beloved Mexican seafood cocktail. For a main course, dig into outstanding mahi mahi and pulled pork tacos or a tender piece of rotisserie chicken topped with a tantalizingly complex brown mole. It's nearly as good as just about anything on the barbacoa portion of the menu, especially the slow-roasted pork dish cochinita a la pibil, served in a small pool of achiote and pineapple barbecue sauce. There certainly is no shortage of local star power and top-notch culinary geniuses in Scottsdale, which makes it all the more special that someone of Jose Garces' stature chooses to bring his distinct vision to this thriving culinary scene.

Best Place to Take a Scenester

Lux Central

Dominique Chatterjee
Desert at Lux

This coffeehouse/bar long has been popular with the see-and-be-seen crowd, and why not? The place is consistently hoppin' with MacBook-wielding, dressed-to-impress, urbane 20-somethings. Whether you're there for a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, a craft cocktail, a bite from the ever-changing menu (we love the mac 'n' cheese), or just to chat with friends, you'll be rubbing shoulders with a clientele that is the very definition of "cool." Among the vintage typewriters, artfully placed burlap sacks, mismatched reclaimed furniture, and electronica music playing overhead, you'll find a crowd of young professionals, boho types, downtown students, and people who dig the joint's ability to be upscale without seeming nouveaux riche, esoteric without being pretentious, and tasteful without being bland. In other words, it's our kind of place. And, apparently, yours as well.

Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner

Kai

Jackie Mercandetti Photo

Lots of restaurants boast star and diamond ratings, but only one in Arizona has five of each. This fact, in addition to its unique Native American cuisine, makes this one-of-a-kind restaurant located in the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler, the perfect go-to when you've got out-of-town guests in tow. From its beautiful interior and outdoor patio overlooking a dreamy, desert landscape, to exceptional service, to executive chef Michael O'Dowd's stunning fare mixing indigenous ingredients like heirloom squash, saguaro seeds, and nopalitos with gourmet components such as chanterelles, truffles, and foie gras, Kai is an indulgence worth the price. Plus (bonus!), your guests give you the credit for taking them there.

Best Food Truck

Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food Truck

As the food-truck scene in the Valley evolves at a rapid pace, this mobile eatery continues to be one of the best. Joe Webb, a Scottsdale Culinary Institute graduate, and his wife, Margita, a native of the Philippines, cook up Filipino street food on a near-daily basis at various locations around the Valley, including Food Truck Fridays at the Phoenix Public Market and Luhrs Lunch, also in downtown Phoenix. They specialize in lumpia, the delicious fried spring rolls popular on the Southeast Asian islands. Also spectacular is the lechon kawali, or four pieces of pork belly braised for 15 hours and then deep-fried, and pancit, a stir-fried dish consisting of juicy chicken, vegetables, and rice noodles. Much of the meat is cooked on a Filipino-style robata grill and served to you with a mound of rice and sweet-and-sour sauce. The Webbs have a good thing going with their truck, already a mainstay of the Valley's burgeoning food-truck scene.

Best Steak House

J&G Steakhouse

Courtesy of J&G Steakhouse

Steak dinner and a sunset? Yes, please. Celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's stylish steakhouse at The Phoenician resort serves up spectacular views of the Valley as well as a selection of premium meats. In an atmosphere more pleasant than posh, diners can enjoy a range of exceptional grilled beefy fare from juicy 18-ounce rib eyes to perfectly prepared 10-ounce, peppercorn-crusted New York steaks to surprisingly tender and wallet-friendly hanger steaks. The cocktails are as remarkable as the meat, so it's best to order both while kicking back and taking in the views from the dining area with its wall-to-ceiling windows or outside on the inviting patio. Okay, you can cue the sunset now.

Best Old-School Steak House

Pink Pony

Jackie Mercandetti

"Above all, you have to honor the Pony," says Tim Smith, owner of the landmark restaurant in Scottsdale. How so? By keeping what's had folks coming to the baseball-themed-meets-renovated-cosmopolitan restaurant for more than 60 years: slabs of juicy steaks. There's the popular Pink Pony special — a top sirloin with a choice of soup or salad — but the traditional prime rib is still the restaurant's shining star. Available in three cuts, crusted with a pastrami-spice rub, and perfectly pink in the middle, it's a meat lover's dream. And the beef's side of creamy mashed potatoes is just as delectable.

Best Authentic Arizona Restaurant

House at Secret Garden

Jackie Mercandetti

Don't blame us if this historical, Spanish-style South Mountain mansion built in 1929 is one you never want to leave. Outside, the tucked-away gem surrounded by stately trees and lush vegetation boasts a barn turned wine bar, perfect for al fresco dining by a roaring fireplace under a star-studded sky. Inside, the cozy, wood-floored dining area, with a stately wooden bar, coved ceiling, and subdued lighting, is sit-back-and-relax perfect. And thankfully, its contemporary American cuisine, made with local and organic ingredients courtesy of chef Dustin Christofolo (who owns the restaurant with mom Pat, who operates the Farm at South Mountain), is impressive enough to justify frequent visits.

Best Contemporary Arizona Restaurant

Citizen Public House

Tirion Boan

From former Cowboy Ciao chef Bernie Kantak, this stylish yet relaxed Scottsdale establishment serving classic American fare — with a twist of the unexpected — is pure culinary bliss. From standout starters like the luscious pork belly pastrami and the Original Chopped Salad (so popular it has its own Facebook page) to perfectly plated entrees like pan-seared scallops and coffee-rubbed short ribs in cherry barbecue sauce to dreamy desserts courtesy of Tracy Dempsey, few dishes fall short of exceptional. And with its late-night hours, pairing dinners, and the new Citizen R&D (the restaurant's upstairs speakeasy, where partner and mixologist Richie Moe carries on his reputation of making some of the most inventive and supremely satisfying cocktails in the Valley), there are even more reasons to make Citizen Public House one of your favorite go-tos.

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

Woodlands Vegetarian South Indian Kitchen

Heather Hoch

If you'd rather bite into a hunk of raw meat than pick away at another dish of tofu pudding, perhaps it's time to beat the vegetarian blues with a spicy little trip to this quick-serve and crazy-cheap vegetarian South Indian eatery in Chandler. If the fact that the clientele is mostly Indian doesn't sell you on the place, the dishes will. From the familiar to the give-it-a-whirl strange, choose from a selection of items like vadas (deep-fried patties), curries, dosas (gigantic rice and lentil crepes), rice specialties, and uthappam (rice and lentil pancakes) — or go sample-style with a combo special at lunchtime. There's even a chutney bar to have a little fun with. Most everything's got heat to it, but not so much that the flavors are sacrificed — or that a few sips from a glass of the yogurt-based drink mango lassi won't extinguish. Ahh, now isn't that better?

Best Vegan Restaurant

Pomegranate Cafe

The best thing about this cute little eatery in Ahwatukee, owned and operated by mother-daughter team Marlene and Cassie Tolman, is the emphasis on tasty, healthy food. The fact that everything is vegan just happens to be a bonus for those who eat that way. Sure, the Tolmans source locally from surrounding farms and Valley businesses, ensure their fruits and vegetables are organic, offer gluten-free options, and make their vegan pastries and raw treats from scratch using natural sweeteners, but it's the deliciousness of the dishes that keeps us coming back for more. Open for breakfast and lunch, vegans and non-vegans alike can fill up on a.m. eats plus stellar sandwiches, soups, salads, and bowls washed down with primo smoothies in jars. We're especially partial to the wrap made of collard leaves called the Rainbow; the Grilled Cheese Napoleon with a lovely macadamia basil pesto; and the Super Green Kale Salad topped with crispy flax crackers. What, no meat or cheese? We hadn't even noticed.

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