Croissant from Essence Bakery Cafe

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email [email protected]. 94: Croissant...

By Amy Silverman

May 20, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email [email protected].

94: Croissant from Essence Bakery Cafe

You can can get them in chocolate or almond -- we even spied Meyer lemon in season one morning -- but for our money, the extra flavors just get in the way of the buttery perfection that is Eugenia Theodosopolous' original croissant.

Most chefs would be content with mastering one impossible French baked good. Not Theodosopolous. Don't worry, you can still purchase the to-die-for macarons at Essence. But now you can alternate the sweet caramel confection with flaky, slightly salty, totally buttery bites of croissant.

Ooh la la. Miss a dish?

100: Beckett's Original Grilled Cheese from Beckett's Table

99: Golden Gazpacho from Rita's Kitchen

98: The Med Plate from La Bocca

97: Cash Sandwich from Main Ingredient Ale House

96: Sonoran Hot Dog from Nogales Hot Dogs

95: Fattoush Salad from Al-Hana Restaurant at Baiz Market

Stomach full? Get some eye candy for dessert over on Jackalope Ranch with our Imagine PHX series.

Follow Chow Bella on Facebook and Twitter.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Amy Silverman is the former managing editor of Phoenix New Times. She is a two-time winner of the Arizona Press Club’s Journalist of the Year award. Her work has appeared on the radio show This American Life and in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Lenny Letter, and Brain, Child.