Best Asian Grocery Store 2022 | H Mart Mesa | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Asian Grocery Store

H Mart Mesa

H Mart, the popular Asian grocery store with locations throughout the country from California to Illinois and New York, opened its first Arizona store in Mesa in 2020. The massive Korean grocery store offers produce, meat, fresh seafood, and lots of specialty Asian items such as Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles, Huey Fong sambal oelek chili paste, and various flavors of the Pocky sweet coated biscuit sticks. H Mart also has a food hall with options from noodle dishes to bulgogi risotto, chicken wings, kimchi, and pork belly. There's also a Paris Baguette bakery inside the store, with a vast selection of treats like croissants, sticky milk buns, and chocolate cake topped with macarons.

Best International Supermarket

Lee Lee International Supermarkets

When we travel, our favorite thing to do is eat. So we love Lee Lee's International Supermarket because pushing our cart up and down the aisles feels like taking a world culinary tour. Frozen lumpia from the Philippines. Eastern European meats. Indian spices. Countless types of noodles. We don't have enough room in our kitchen (or our stomach) for everything we want to try at Lee Lee, so we just keep going back for our favorite items and to try a few new things each time. We also like the little housewares area in the front of the store, where we can find cute bowls and cups to hold our global fare.

Best Middle Eastern Market

Summer Market

What looks like a simple convenience store from its location at Seventh Street and Thunderbird Road in north Phoenix is actually so much more. Summer Market stocks a plentiful supply of Middle Eastern goods, from garbanzo beans to fragrant spices such as Madras curry powder and fresh bread baked daily. And you won't have to break the bank at this local grocer, whether you're in search of cheese, yogurt, falafel mix, or a wide selection of bulk beans and seeds. So grab your favorite Middle Eastern friend (and their mother's stuffed grape leaf recipe) and head to Summer Market to stock up on the goods.

Best Italian Deli

DeFalco's Italian Deli & Grocery

Meagan Simmons

DeFalco's is an old-school Italian deli where you can grab lasagna, fresh pasta, imported Parmesan cheese, and homemade pizzelle (traditional Italian waffle cookies) all on the same trip. The hot food is made to order but worth the roughly 30-minute wait, so order ahead if you wish to grab and go. The Centurion Calzone is stuffed with fresh mozzarella, spicy soppressata, roasted red peppers, fresh tomato, basil, and kalamata olives. The cheese oozes out as you dip it into the accompanying San Marzano tomato sauce and take a bite. The eggplant Parmigiana is a favorite among veggie lovers, while the ravioli with meat sauce is sure to satisfy the carnivores out there. And we always pick up dessert whenever we visit DeFalco's: The cannolis come traditional and with a chocolate shell, and the cheesecakes are freshly baked.

Best Cheese Shop

Mingle & Graze

Peace. Love. Cheese. That's the motto on one of the T-shirts you can snag at Mingle & Graze, where another style features a four-letter F-word that isn't F-E-T-A. We like their spunk, and their unabashed devotion to all things cheese — and not just because they give us an excuse to use our fancy charcuterie boards. They do catering, carryout, and private events. But what we love most are the tastings and cooking workshops, because we want to truly understand and appreciate the finer qualities of cheese instead of merely stuffing our faces with it. The restaurant has plenty of options for your friends who might not revel in all things cheese, plus a kids' menu. Our favorite picks are the build-your-own boards that give you the chance to try a little of this and a little of that. Add in the eatery's charming decor and you have a one-of-a-kind culinary experience to share with locals and out-of-towners alike.

Best Hamburgers

Harvey's Wineburger

Jackie Mercandetti

Head into this unassuming dive bar to find the type of hamburgers that beefy dreams are made of. The original Cheese Wineburger features a thick beef patty with a splash of red wine topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and your choice of cheese: American, Swiss, Cheddar, or pepperjack for a nice kick. They're handmade to order, served with french fries or onion rings, and sure to satisfy even the most serious carnivore. Try one of the specialty burgers if you're feeling saucy. The Buffalo Bleu Burger is spicy and topped with blue cheese, while the Rodeo Burger is topped with barbecue sauce, jalapeño, bacon, cheddar cheese, and onion rings. And if the burger somehow doesn't satiate your appetite, the wings at Harvey's are also delicious.

Best Sandwiches

Pane Bianco

Heather Hoch

The name Bianco usually conjures up the image of a wood-fired pizza, and rightfully so — Chef Chris Bianco won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur this year for his eponymous pizzeria. But don't sleep on Bianco's lunch joint, Pane Bianco, which serves some of the best sandwiches in town. At the small, homey restaurant on Central Avenue, Bianco enlists the help of his brother Marco to create soft rounds of focaccia perfect for stuffing with top-notch ingredients. Options include chicken salad studded with green apple, or an upscale twist on a ham and cheese made with prosciutto and homemade mozzarella. Sit among artwork created by Bianco's father, sip on a glass of wine or a bottle of Coke, and enjoy good conversation over great sandwiches during a lunch that makes you slow down a little.

Best Hot Dogs

Der Wurst Hot Dogs

Something's happened to the hot dog in recent years. It's gone from a staple of Americana into the template for ongoing culinary experimentation — which may be a great metaphor for the U.S. in the 21st century. So, if we're going to make the hot dog an edible version of modern America, there's no better restaurant than Der Wurst Hot Dogs. Located inside of the delightfully divey Linger Longer Lounge, this eatery checks all the boxes for a true American dining experience. Over-the-top hot dogs? Sure, like a linguisa sausage with bacon, Doritos, and Sriracha mayo. What about slightly suggestive names? There's a dog called the French Tickler, and desserts are referred to as Happy Endings. Sure, those vaguely sexual gimmicks aren't new, but underneath the silly jokes are truly tasty dogs, made with a real culinary bent without all the resulting pompousness. That entire dynamic feels truly American — silly little gimmicks that never diminish from true quality and culinary creativity. If that's too heady for you, just order the Schnitzel Licker, drink a few cheap beers, and enjoy your evening.

Best Fry Bread

Fry Bread House

Lauren Cusimano

The iconic Fry Bread House is a modest but mighty staple of the local dining scene. The unassuming location on Seventh Avenue has been proudly serving Native American food for 30 years and is backed by an all-Native staff. The founder, the late Cecelia Miller, hailed from the Tohono O'odham Nation and set out on a mission to create a public gathering place for Indigenous people to gather and eat home cooking. Bringing traditional recipes from Miller's tribe mixed with Southwest influences, the menu proudly touts sweet and savory frybread — hand-stretched pillowy pieces of puffy dough that are both crisp and airy at the same time. Go big or go home — order the Ultimate Fry Bread Taco with spicy red chile beef to taste the delicious mixture of fry bread, beef, refried beans, onions, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce. For dessert, you can't go wrong with sweet frybread slathered in chocolate and butter.

Best Fries

Frites Street

Thick or thin, long or short, crunchy, or squishy — we're equal-opportunity french fry aficionados. But some of the best restaurants in town definitely have a preference as to where they source their fries, and that's local potato purveyor Frites Street. The company began in 2015 as a food truck serving gourmet European-style pommes frites with a variety of dipping sauces, and eventually pivoted into providing product for restaurants. Today, you can find Frites Street fries at more than 101 restaurants around the country, including local gems like The Americano, Clever Koi, and Francine. Crinkle-cut, shoestring, or thick, Frites Street fries are perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We still love any kind of fries, but Frites Street are our favorite.

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