Best Dumplings 2022 | Happy Baos | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Dumplings

Happy Baos

Happy Baos

Located inside the Mekong Plaza shopping center, Happy Baos offers dine-in service and takeout in a small, bright restaurant between the food court and the supermarket. Large posters line the walls with explanations of some of the dishes and dumplings found on the menu. The restaurant serves recipes from Northern China and specializes in handmade bao and dumplings. Lamb and squash steamed dumplings have a chewy shell and fragrant filling, xiao long bao provide the essential mouthful of steaming hot soup, and fluffy steamed custard bao carry the theme through to dessert. Sampler plates help first-time customers find their favorites, but nothing is a miss on this menu.

Best Kabobs

Kabob Grill N' Go

Kabob Grill N Go

When arriving at Kabob Grill N' Go, a tiny takeout joint next to a Middle Eastern market and a pawn shop, a thick cloud of smoke lets you know you're in the right place. Inside, a deli counter displays medieval-looking skewers of marinated chicken, spiced beef, and plump tomatoes awaiting their fate. The skewers are grilled to order and served over aromatic rice in portions large enough for multiple days of leftovers. Our favorite is the koobideh plate, the long cylinders of spiced meat accompanied by pleasantly charred tomatoes and peppers. The flavors get in your head. This little kabob shop is obsession-worthy.

Best Oysters

Buck & Rider

Jackie Mercandetti Photo

Buck & Rider has fresh seafood flown in daily from around the world, with oysters from both the East and West coasts. Pull up to the seafood counter in Arcadia (and soon, north Scottsdale and Gilbert's Agritopia) to watch skilled hands work. Shucked oysters large and small are served with fixings including the standard cocktail sauce and horseradish, plus Thai dipping sauce, mustard, and a refreshing mignonette made with minced shallots in vinegar. The selection changes daily, but sweet and mild Kusshis from British Columbia are on it from time to time. Deep-cupped Blish Point oysters from Massachusetts also come and go, with their creamy consistency and briny flavor. Grab a dozen or splurge on a seafood platter with other goodies like king crab and tuna tartare. Happy hour offers a discount on oysters: weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. and Sundays from open to 7 p.m. in select parts of the restaurant.

Best Bakery

JL Patisserie

Bahar Anooshahr

At both locations of the celebrated JL Patisserie, the options are overwhelming in the best way. A small pastry case displays delicate desserts, macarons, eclairs, and cake slices. Next, a large counter is covered with breads and pastries, mostly everything made with flaky, crunchy, butter-filled croissant dough. The pain au raisin is a favorite, a big swirl of flaky dough, crunchy on the outside and soft within, brightened with bursts of flavor from juicy raisins. The ham and cheese croissants blur the line between breakfast and lunch, and the cream-stuffed cruffins make a decadent dessert. We like to keep up with what the bakery is doing on their TikTok account, which is full of light-hearted videos that never fail to make us hungry.

Best Bread

Proof

Proof has been a staple at nearly every farmers' market in the Valley for a reason, and it's not only because they operated out of a converted garage until last year. Jon Przybyl and Amanda Abou-Eid create their pastries and decadent breads from a single sourdough starter named Harriet that they've perfected since her start in 2010. Using a sourdough base for all their breads and pastries has additional health benefits (because of fermentation) and adds an extra dimension to the flavor. In addition, Harriet balances sweet pastry fillings in a way that a grocery store bakery could never. Przybyl and Abou-Eid also make a point to use seasonal ingredients when available. The bakers constantly rotate pastry fillings, such as a cinnamon pear danish in the spring or lemon curd filling a few weeks ago. Other must-tries at Proof, which you can find at farmers' markets in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Gilbert, include the pain au chocolat, morning buns, and the classic country sourdough.

Best Bagels

Bagelfeld's

Bagelfeld's has officially put Phoenix on the bagel map. Started by Charles Blonkenfeld as a pandemic pivot, the Brooklyn-born chef grew up on bagels, but it wasn't until 2020 that he started making them. The process takes three days and uses old-world traditions like slow-fermenting, hand-rolling, boiling in malt syrup and honey water, and baking to a burnished exterior, for a New York (chew and flavor) meets Montreal (size and sweetness) finish that's all Phoenix. Not only do Bagelfeld's bagels bookend both the bomb breakfast sammies at Stoop Kid and the sell-out Saturday sandwich at Nelson's Meat + Fish, loyal followers line up at farmers' markets and the recently opened brick-and-mortar on Thomas Road. Standout flavors include asiago, jalapeño cheddar, and fennel raisin, and all pair perfectly with their house-made schmears (lemon and herb cream cheese on an everything bagel — yes please). The only downside is they sell out quickly.

Best Pretzels

The Salted Knot

If you feel like getting twisted, The Salted Knot has you covered. Sure, "getting twisted" could be defined in many ways, but in this case, it means you have a hankering for a soft, hot, buttery pretzel. This Tempe-based business was founded during the pandemic by Maria Vassett and Chad Day for a couple of reasons. They were interested in starting a new side-hustle business, and they liked the idea of providing patrons with something that would make the challenging world events feel a little less stressful. The pair developed a signature recipe through trial and error until they got their perfect blend. Nowadays, folks are lining up at their booths at area farmers' markets to get their fix. Covered in butter and salt is one way to enjoy these mouthwatering doughy delights, or maybe you'd dig one that's buttered and topped with a heady everything-seasoning blend. Sweet pretzels are on the menu, too — cinnamon sugar blends with the melty butter to make you downright giddy.

Best Ice Cream

Sweet Republic

Evie Carpenter

Owners Jan Wichayanuparp and Helen Yung of Sweet Republic are always pushing limits when it comes to ice cream. And it is this reason why Sweet Republic has become a local favorite, as well as a nationally recognized bucket list item for tourists who visit the Valley. The peppermint ice cream has hints of real mint that taste natural and not manufactured. If you're looking for an ice cream adventure, order the s'mores sundae — a scoop of vanilla and chocolate in a homemade waffle bowl, topped with the softest marshmallow. Kids will get a treat as the cashiers will torch the marshmallow right in front of them. The ice cream isn't made with any preservatives, sweeteners or additives — there's a deliberate choice to make everything taste natural. In the summertime, there's a guaranteed line out the door and while patrons wait, they can play any number of games, like Jenga or tic-tac-toe. Locals may want to make it a goal to try as many flavors as they can. There's a decidedly friendly vibe at Sweet Republic, and along with the rotating flavors on the menu, it'll keep you coming back for more.

Best Lactose-Free Ice Cream

LIX Uptown Ice Cream

Driving through central Phoenix's Melrose District, you can't miss LIX Uptown Ice Cream — the colorful shop, which is a recent addition to the neighborhood, has a giant inflatable unicorn on the roof. LIX makes ice cream with the lactose removed, meaning it still includes dairy, but is friendly to those who are lactose intolerant. The result creates creamy, silky flavors such as rosemary butter pecan, mint chip, s'mores, and Gansito, a Mexican snack cake with strawberry jam and cream. The mango sticky rice flavor combines rich ice cream with a tart mango sorbet for the perfect refreshing treat. We love to make LIX the culmination of an afternoon spent hitting the Melrose District's many fascinating vintage shops.

Best Gelato

Cool Gelato Italiano

Some people turned to Stanley Tucci's Searching for Italy TV show as an escape this year, but we found a far simpler way to beat the doldrums and bring a little bit of Italy into our lives. We just slipped inside Cool Gelato Italiano, where friendly faces and fabulous flavors make you forget all about the heat and the hustle. Whether we're craving something light and fruity like a sorbetto or something richer, like Italian custard or hazelnut, we always discover way too many tempting options. It's all about the taste here, rather than fancy decor or upscale presentation, yet everything about the shop is clean, bright, and beautiful. Best of all, we can sit indoors and enjoy small paintings by local artists, or head outside to sit under cafe tables shaded by umbrellas to watch people and their pets parade by.

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Best of Phoenix 2022

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