Best Irish Pub 2012 | Rosie McCaffrey's | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Irish Pub

Rosie McCaffrey's

A wall of whiskey, Harp-soaked wings, beer-battered fish, a river of Guinness, and Irish music spilling out of the speakers — yep, you're at Rosie's. Since the day owner Seamus opened this fine establishment on Camelback Road more than decade ago, Phoenix folks have been packing the dark booths and well-worn bar to get their fill of properly poured Guinness, smooth shots of whiskey, and expertly made boxty, filled with stout-soaked beef and boiled potatoes. The lively bar almost always has an Irish band or two for your entertainment, and the servers are whiskey experts who can help you choose the perfect nightcap if you feel like straying from your tried-and-true Jameson.

Best Fish and Chips

Tom's Tavern & 1929 Grill

Evie Carpenter

What's the connection between Tom's fish and chips and eating them in the building that was originally the city morgue? We're not entirely sure (sleeping with the fishes?), but this 80-plus-year-old downtown landmark popular with business types and government movers and shakers (purchased in early 2011 by the Bidwill family, owners of the Arizona Cardinals) serves up a seriously good batch of them. With meaty chunks of cod fried in a light batter until golden brown, these chunky swimmers have a lovely, light crunchy taste, as do their accompanying crisp shoestring fries. Served in a portion size that won't leave you treading water, bring a friend along, grab the malt vinegar, and wash' em down with a frosty brew.

Best Seafood

Ocean Trail at Talking Stick Resort

Courtesy of Orange Sky

We wouldn't have thought the path to great seafood was lined with slot machines, but this 19-seat seafood bar serving New Orleans-style cuisine inside Talking Stick, the resort and casino in Scottsdale, has us feeling lucky. Kicking up the seafood scene with offerings such as seafood Creole, Louisiana gumbo, and Cajun-style boils, this sleek ocean oasis offers an as-you-like-it spiciness level between one and 10, as well as a front-row seat to its open cooking station. Belly up to the bar and order a giant iced seafood platter filled with delectable shrimp, crab, oysters, mussels, and clams or a steaming, hot bowl of crawfish in a rich lobster-citrus broth topped with a scoop of dirty rice. Get there for a Fat Tuesday event, and you can wash your ocean fare down with a $4 Hurricane, the signature drink of New Orleans.

Best Bring Your Own Seafood

Asian Cafe Express

Plenty of Valley restaurants are BYOB, but we can't think of too many that are BYOS (bring your own seafood). That's right. At this Mesa eatery, you can bring in your own seafood, and the restaurant does all the heavy lifting for you. There seemingly is no limit to what can be done with your very own catch of the day. For a mere $5, the cooks will take no more than two pounds of fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, even sea cucumber, then clean and prep it, and cook it via stir-fry, deep-fry, steaming, or boiling with your choice of more than two dozen different sauces, from curry to satay to black bean. And for an extra $2, they'll add veggies, other meat, rice, lo mein, or egg fried rice. The best part? Your kitchen won't smell like fish and, of course, they'll do the dishes, too.

Best Sushi

Hiro Sushi

Jamie Peachey

No flash and trendiness-free, this cozy, easy-to-love mom-and-pop restaurant in North Scottsdale with a loyal following of regulars specializes in sushi. Order up top-notch selections like mild striped bass, aji nigiri (Spanish mackerel) drizzled with ponzu, uni (sea urchin), or specialty rolls such as the Negi Toro made with fatty tuna and scallions. Better yet, try anything on the get-it-while-you-can specials board behind the sushi bar. There, you might find exotic delights such as geso (squid tentacles), jellyfish, and wasabi octopus, or even the playful Sammy Roll (named for Takashi Saito of the Arizona Diamondbacks) featuring sliced avocado over a lobster and mango roll and topped with a special homemade eel sauce. Don't forget to break up the sushi bites with sips of sake — there's no hurry here.

Best Alternative to Sushi

Gyuniku Tempura Roll at Hana Japanese Eatery

Jacob Tyler Dunn

At some sushi restaurants, you wouldn't dare utter the words "I don't eat fish." But at Lori Hashimoto's Hana, you can feel free to let your non-fish flag fly — you'll even be rewarded. On a recent trip, we happily sampled Hana's veggie rolls while our dining companion scarfed down everything from halibut to octopus, munched on a salad called tori kara age (mixed greens with crispy chicken, topped with Hana's tangy house dressing), and already were feeling stuffed when an off-menu item hit the table. The gyuniku tempura roll was so good we had to ask Hashimoto just what the heck was in it.

Her reply: "It is a thinly sliced rib eye marinated with sake, soy sauce and ginger. It is tempura-battered and deep-fried, then rolled with daikon, red cabbage, carrots, and shiso inside, then topped with sautéed garlic, green onions and tataki sauce."Now this, folks, is Japanese eating at its finest. Our biggest problem: The guy across the table suddenly lost interest in his fishy pursuits, stuck his chopsticks across the table and dug right into our steak roll.

Best French Toast

Caramelized Banana & Pecan Brioche French Toast at Over Easy

Katie Johnson

Chef Aaron May is known around town for over-the-top dishes, like the fried quail and PB&J Foie Gras at his new restaurant Praying Monk, but our very favorite May creation is still the Bananas Foster French Toast served at Over Easy. As seen on the Food Network, this decadent French toast takes soft MJ brioche, bathes it in eggs, cream, and cinnamon, grills it to a golden brown, and then smothers the decadent slices of bread in housemade salted caramel, ripe bananas, and toasted pecans. There's always a weekend wait, but it's worth it for a bite of this famous dish.

Best Sandwich

Pane Bianco

Heather Hoch

Phoenix is full of great places to grab a sandwich, but there is only one Pane Bianco. This CenPho sandwich shop has a minimal menu of just three mainstay sandwiches, three salads, and a rotating market sandwich. We've tried them all and never left disappointed. What sets these sandwiches apart from the competition is Bianco's famous bread, made with flour milled on the premises by Hayden Flour Mill (and grown in Arizona — talk about local). The chewy, wood-fired slices always arrive just slightly charred on the edges and make the perfect vehicle for fresh sandwich ingredients. Try Pane's version of a Caprese sandwich, with fresh pulled mozzarella, thick ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil, or the Sopressata, filled with layers of spicy salami and roasted red peppers. And if you happen to be in the area on a Tuesday, stop by for the delicious market combination of Crow's Dairy goat cheese with roasted ripe tomatoes and peppery arugula.

Best Grilled Cheese

O.H.S.O. Eatery + nanoBrewery

Heather Hoch

Arcadia's number-one neighborhood spot for craft beer drinking also serves up a damn good grilled cheese. No, there aren't massive amounts of exotic cheeses or 10 slices of artisan bread imported from France, and it doesn't have any sort of specialty mustard from a cave in Germany — but it does have two perfectly grilled slices of fresh Italian bread, two types of melty cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and two thick slices of juicy tomatoes. Order it with a side of rich tomato basil soup and a refreshing pint of one of the eatery's 36 craft beers on tap.

Best Fried Chicken

Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles

Timur Guseynov

The secret to amazing fried chicken is big, juicy, meaty chicken pieces, a coating that fries up nice and crispy, a secret recipe from your grandmother who's been making awesome fried chicken for more than half a century, and a whole lot of soul. It doesn't hurt to pair your chicken with a couple crazy-good waffles either. Larry "Lo-Lo" White (grandson of Mrs. White, whose own restaurant gets this year's nod for soul food) has been getting this combination right for the last decade with his addictively good "Southern-style" fried chicken and cinnamon-spiced waffles. Each plate of chicken is cooked to order and always comes out golden brown and crispy, and the waffles are the perfect vehicle for moving the sweet maple syrup into your mouth between crunchy chicken bites. It's about as perfect as fried chicken can get. Plus, Lo-Lo's serves Kool-aid — the essential beverage for your chicken and waffle experience.

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