Best Enchiladas 2014 | Menuderia Guanajuato | La Vida | Phoenix
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Best Enchiladas

Menuderia Guanajuato

Enchiladas are not uncommon. Mexican or not, almost everyone knows how to put together the easy dish. So how is it possible for a restaurant to differentiate itself from the competition? For one thing, the use of housemade tortillas. Menuderia Guanajuato lines up six fresh enchiladas rolled with chicken and topped with your choice of red or green sauce, fresh sour cream, and cotija cheese. Most other restaurants forget about the chicken inside, not giving much thought to whether it's moist or flavorful, but not Menuderia Guanajuato. Special care is given to each element wrapped in and topped on those enchiladas. The cotija cheese, sour cream, and even the lettuce (usually just a space filler) all play a role in the six enchiladas hogging all the room on your plate.

Best Tamales

La Tolteca

Jackie Mercandetti

Unwrapping a moist, steaming tamale is reminiscent of ripping into a gift as a kid. The excitement that comes from the anticipation of finding out what's inside only intensifies once expectation and reality meet. Tearing into a plump green chicken and cheese tamale from La Tolteca brings excitement that doesn't have to wait until the holiday season. The moist masa engulfs melted Monterrey Jack cheese and sliced green chile accompanied by moist chicken. For those who are more enticed by those things that are sweet, order one of Tolteca's strawberry or pineapple tamales . . . or both. Don't stop with those, they also make red beef and carnitas tamales, all for only $1.99 apiece.

Best Torta

Gallo Blanco

Robrt Pela

Gallo Blanco, located in the Clarendon Hotel, isn't the hole-in-the-wall kind of Mexican restaurant you usually look to for simple south-of-the-border cuisine. But that's part of the charm of chef Doug Robson's menu — the restaurant's tacos, enchiladas, and tortas compete with some of the best. And when it comes to the Nacho Torta in particular, we're confident in saying it's the best Mexican sandwich in town. The hearty entrée is served on a fluffy telera sourced from La Sonorense bakery and comes loaded with excellent rib eye, the restaurant's addictingly good charred tomato salsa, fresh avocado, and not one, but two over-easy eggs. For smaller appetites, half tortas are available, though we usually go for a whole and save the other half for later.

Best Sonoran Hot Dogs

Nogales Hot Dog

Heather Hoch
Sonoran hot dog

Every region of this great country has its own way of serving the all-American hot dog. In Arizona and throughout the Southwest, we live and die by Sonoran hot dogs. When guests come into town boasting about the merits of a hog dog "dragged through the garden," we take them directly to Nogales Hot Dog, on the southwest corner of Indian School Road and 20th Street. Open only during the evenings, the hot dog spot — okay, it's really a makeshift stand with a tent and a few picnic tables — serves a prime example of our regional dog. Each wiener comes topped with pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, and a mayo spread. You also can hit the condiment table to add salsas, cheese, and other toppings as you see fit.

Best Pozole

Los Taquitos

Jackie Mercandetti

For those who find it hard to swallow menudo, pozole is the route to take. Thick chunks of tender, flavorful pork, along with hominy float together in the bowls of fresh pozole at Los Taquitos. The aroma of the steaming soup fills the nostrils, making it hard to resist. Pozole is not found in many restaurants, nor is it readily available any time of the day. It's also not an easy soup to construct, so when we find someone who can put together pozole without skimping on any of the flavors and charging only $6 a bowl, we hold on to them.

Best Menudo

Rosita's Place

Sarah Whitmire

No one likes being told that they can order menudo only on weekends. There are times when the day's events call for a soothing bowl of deep red or bright white menudo filled with fresh tripe and soft hominy. Rosita's Place knows about those days and caters to us the way we remember our grandmothers doing when we were young. The time spent on each batch of menudo is evident with the bold flavors that swirl in our mouth. Go ahead, squeeze a lemon wedge in it or toss some onion and cilantro — maybe even oregano — on top, but we guarantee that all you'll need are fresh tortillas to dip in the rich broth.

Best Mexican Seafood

Mariscos Altata

Jackie Mercandetti

To call Mariscos Altata loud doesn't do justice to the level of noise you're likely to encounter while dining at the West Phoenix restaurant. But if you're really looking to have top-quality Mexican seafood, then the impressive din will be worth enduring. The restaurant serves a large menu of dishes featuring shrimp, oysters, squid, scallops, and more. Your meal will always begin with chips, salsa, and a complimentary cup of briny seafood and vegetable soup that will likely leave you wanting more. One of the better entrée options is the shrimp cucaracha. Served with a side of red hot dipping sauce, it's a dish of grilled head-on prawns that arrive at your table looking like a plate of spindly insects.

Best Carne Asada

Asadero Norte de Sonora

Chris Malloy

Much of the draw of this 16th Street spot is the whole grilled chickens, which will set you back less than $10 but easily can satisfy a whole family. And they're really good. But it's not the chicken that keeps us coming back. It's the carne asada. Whether we're taking out or dining in, we almost always get an order of Asadero's street-style tacos, which come in a variety of types, including lengua and al pastor. They're all solid options, but the carne asada is the best. The restaurant does an excellent job of producing flavorful, moist grilled steak, and we've yet to find a better option in town. You also can get your carne in burrito form, though we think the tacos allow you to better appreciate the meat inside.

Best Carniceria

El Rancho Market IGA

Walk past the display of balloons, down the aisles of hot sauce, chips, and beans. It's then you'll know you've made it to the meat section of El Rancho Market. Every part of the chicken is available — all you have to decide is whether or not you want it marinated. It's beef you want? Take your pick among center shank, short ribs, and liver, and if you're really feeling it, grab some tongue. If making pozole has been on your list of things to do, El Rancho sells the right pork meat for your endeavor. And don't worry, El Rancho's seafood section goes well beyond shrimp and stuffed salmon. Whole octopus, blue crab, and catfish nuggets are a few of the more exciting choices.

Best Mexican Grocery Store

Los Altos Ranch Market

Timur Guseynov

From the giant pots to the corn husks and masa you'll need to make tamales, Ranch Market has you covered. The produce aisle offers a bounty of produce both familiar and exotic. And you can get fresh juices, baked goods, rotisserie chicken, and just about anything you can think of, including hard-to-find Mexican spices and cerveza to wash them down with.

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