Best Caribbean Restaurant 2024 | Cool Vybz Jamaican Restaurant | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Caribbean Restaurant

Cool Vybz Jamaican Restaurant

Caribbean restaurants are popping up everywhere right now. Some of them are quite good, but we find ourselves returning to Cool Vybz Jamaican Restaurant. While the dining room is more functional than fancy, this little joint brings the sizzle where it counts. Chef Nakia Raymond was a seasoned hand back on the island, and here he keeps the focus on developing layers upon layers of flavor in a short list of dishes that pack a wallop. Raymond's curry goat is sensational, so tender and flavorful you'll want to slurp it off the bones, and his oxtails are a thickly spiced, gelatin-loaded umami bomb. The brown stew snapper plays a little like a complex, spiced sweet and sour dish. And jerk chicken might be a predictable selection, but it's also a wise one. This is no barbecued chicken dipped in sauce. Raymond's jerk is deeply imbued with a wild mix of herbs and spices, kicked up with a significant blast of Scotch bonnet peppers, then charred and smoked until you can smell it from across the room.

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

Broken Rice

Timur Guseynov

No doubt, some will squawk at a selection that doesn't serve pho. But let this be a reminder that the cuisine of an entire nation — any nation — isn't defined by one dish. Broken Rice, until very recently known as Com Tam Thuan Kieu, has been around the block, an anchor restaurant at Mekong Plaza for 15 years. That's because it boasts a menu that's reliably delicious — an extensive list headlined by their titular dish, com tam, or broken rice. Permutations abound, though the titanic Com Tam Thuan Kieu 10 Mon is a great place to start. This sampler platter includes vittles such as imperial rolls, grilled pork sausage, shrimp paste wrapped in tofu skin and cha trung, a sort of eggy meatloaf. There's an abundance of brightly dressed salads, and those who just have to have soup would do well to give the hu tieu a spin. Clear and silky, it's loaded with your choice of meats, vegetables and noodles. But there's no pho here. And Broken Rice is no lesser for it.

Best Korean Restaurant

Ban Chan Korean Cuisine

Ban Chan is hardly new. Irene Woo's "country homestyle" Korean restaurant in Mesa has been around for a decade, and Woo has owned and operated Korean restaurants since the 1970s. But a refreshed menu emerging from the pandemic coupled with a sudden burst of influencer interest have turned 2024 into a banner year for the East Valley stalwart. Ban Chan was always good, but Woo's cozy little joint has found a deliciously comfortable groove as its grandma-style Korean fare finds a new generation of fans. Ban Chan's strengths lie in soups and stews such as kal guk su, thick flour noodles in a clam and seafood broth; or maeun galbi tang, a complex, spicy broth loaded with beef ribs. Large-format hot pots like Woo's outstanding pork belly and kimchi are great for a crowd, while the influence of her time in Hawaii is felt in dishes such as her excellent, tender meat jun. What's more, her namesake banchan is top-notch — unfussy, simple and full of flavor.

Best Thai Restaurant

Lom Wong

Allison Young

Is there any restaurant in Phoenix that has altered the public's perception of an international cuisine as suddenly and drastically as Lom Wong? Perhaps Barrio Café, when it opened diners' eyes to a world of regional Mexican cuisine. But transformative restaurants like this are rare, and they deserve to be celebrated as such. Yotaka and Alex Martin continue to refine their microregional Thai fare, taking suspicious customers accustomed to Bangkok-style food on a ride through both Chiang Rai and the Moklen villages of southern Thailand, introducing them to dishes like boo pad pong garee, stir-fried crab with slivers of sweet onion in a turmeric-rich curry; and yam hua plee, a sweet and pungent banana blossom salad dressed with freshly squeezed coconut milk and an abundance of toasted coconut. For those raised on Americanized Thai fare, a visit to Lom Wong can be like seeing the world in color for the first time — a bit shocking and unfamiliar at first but bursting with new experiences that can be absorbed only with wide-eyed wonder.

Best Korean Barbecue

Sizzle Korean BBQ

Tirion Boan

For those used to cooking their own dinner at Korean barbecue restaurants, Sizzle flips the script a bit. Here, the servers place slices of meat on the grill, flip when necessary, cut and serve, all right in the center of your table. For those a little unsure how long to sear each style of meat, the help is welcome. Pick individual cuts or one of the combos from the menu which include multiple varieties of either beef or pork plus a side of kimchi or soybean stew. All of the meals come with banchan, small plates of pickled veggies and toppings to enjoy with bites of meat. Sizzle offers an experience that is upscale yet fun, interactive yet intimate. The high-quality cuts of meat paired with noodle dishes and creative cocktails make the Old Town and Desert Ridge restaurants a standout for Korean barbecue in the Valley.

Best Japanese Restaurant

ShinBay

Jackie Mercandetti Photo

It's been less than a year since Shinji Kurita left the restaurant that still bears his name, and while Kurita's departure stings, what's remarkable is that ShinBay hasn't lost a step. We shouldn't be surprised. Restaurateur Hyunwook Lee has a nose for talent, and Kurita's replacement, veteran Chef Ken Tanaka, has the skill to carry on ShinBay's legacy while putting his personal mark on the city's most impressive omakase counter. Though the format remains the same — a lengthy multicourse tasting menu concluding with an eight- to 10-piece flight of nigiri — Tanaka's style hews more traditional than Kurita's, but only just slightly. ShinBay continues to source truly exceptional seafood, painstakingly crafted into delicate, minimal morsels that focus the senses and extract every bit of natural flavor. And while the nigiri is only half the meal, Tanaka's is exceptional — excellent shari topped with a panoply of fish prepped by the touch of a master.

Best Traditional Chinese Restaurant

Old Town Taste

Jackie Mercandetti Photo

The past few years have taken their toll on the East Valley's Chinese restaurant scene. Between the pandemic, visa restrictions and a shrinking Chinese student population at ASU, the engine that was roaring in 2019 is now idling. But through all of the difficulties and a significant retooling, Old Town Taste remains a go-to spot for folks seeking sharply executed traditional Chinese fare. Evolving away from its original Shandong- and Beijing-centered menu, Old Town Taste has leaned more fully (though not exclusively) into Sichuan cuisine, and classics such as the homey mapo tofu and crispy fried Chongqing chicken pack a satisfying mala punch. Signature dishes like pungent, fish-flavored eggplant and crispy Sichuan fish filets still sizzle, and there's plenty of tendon, pig ears and intestines on the menu for those who prefer their Chinese food unadulterated rather than tailored to American tastes.

Best Canto-American Chinese Food

George Yang's Chinese Cuisine

At the front entrance of George Yang's, a steady stream of customers and delivery drivers pick up bagged takeout orders. But this Chinese restaurant offers much more than delicious food to go. Beyond the host stand, a large, dimly lit restaurant unfolds. A glass-enclosed bar displays specialty bottles of wine and spirits. Large tables spin their feasts on lazy Susans, while couples enjoy cocktails on date night. The menu offers a wide selection of dishes ranging from familiar classics, such as Mongolian beef and orange chicken, to more unique house specialties. We love the Kung Pao 3 Seas, which includes shrimp, scallops and crackly, crispy fried fish in a spicy, rich sauce. The giant menu has something for everyone, whether you prefer to dine in or enjoy the flavors from your couch.

Best Upscale Indian Restaurant

Feringhee Modern Indian Cuisine

Jill McNamara

We'd wager to guess you've never had Indian food like this before. Feringhee, a bold restaurant in Chandler, puts a fine-dining twist on classic dishes, infusing fragrant spices into unique preparations. It's the perfect spot for Indian food fans to try something new, special and wildly different. Start with a trio of pani puri, bursting with the flavors of mint, blackberry, pineapple and passion fruit. Then try Kandhari pork ribs with pomegranate glaze and fennel pollen and Feringhee's version of saag paneer made with layers of cottage cheese and spinach brightened with red pepper jam. The Black Dairy Dal is good enough to drink, and when it comes to actual cocktails, continue on your spice-filled journey with a Masala chai-infused vodka or a turmeric-essenced Jack Daniel's tipple. Feringhee often features special menus and prix-fixe dinners that level up the experience even more.

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Golden Restaurant & Bakery

"Middle Eastern" can be a clumsy catch-all term, but in the case of Golden Restaurant, it's not entirely inappropriate. The owner is Palestinian, and the menu is primarily Levantine, but the kitchen reaches its tasty tentacles into a number of Arab cuisines. The result is a busy — and large — menu filled with an awful lot of delicious food. Baked-to-order flatbreads are the focal point of this popular, inexpensive joint, whether topped with sizzling za'atar and sesame, fresh vegetables and pungent cheese or a myriad of seasoned sausages and meats. But the extensive menu is loaded with delicious dishes — thick, rich mezes loaded with olive oil, meaty wraps and kebabs deftly seasoned and grilled, and crisp, honeyed desserts. Start with a cup of gratis mint tea, grab a date on the way out the door during Ramadan, and whatever you choose in between will make for an excellent meal.

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