Restaurants

The Stand opened its second location in May of this year in a strip mall near Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard. We went to check it out.

A little hole-in-the-wall in Phoenix serves meaty manta ray tacos courtesy of the Yaqui tribe.

This week we are kicking things off with tequila tastings, eating bacon brittle in Tempe to get over the midweek hump, and grabbing free coffee to see us through the end of the work week. This is our Metro Phoenix drinking and dining plan for the week of July 24 to 30.

La Frontera 1, also known as La Frontera Comida Mexicana, has been parked at the intersection of 16th Street and Van Buren for a decade, where the immobilized truck has become a staple of late night dining.

There so many delicious meals wrapped, stuffed, and layered between carbs here in Phoenix that you have no excuse to go for the same old sliced bread sandwich, hoagie, or burger this weekend. Switch things up at lunchtime with these five out-of-the-bread-box sandwiches around Metro Phoenix.

Okay, so we all know these national food holidays are nonsense, but that doesn’t mean we’re above using them as an excuse to eat. National Junk Food Day is so vague. Does it mean sweet, salty, fatty, or just plain over-the-top? How about one dish that is all three?

James Beard award-winning chef Chris Bianco, owner of Pizzeria Bianco, Tratto, and Pane Bianco in Phoenix, talks about his new book “Bianco: Pizza, Pasta, and Other Foods I Like” (Ecco, 2017), which will be released on Tuesday, July 25.

The southern-style counter at DeSoto Market served its last meal this week, and the space is officially closed for business. But Chef Stephen Jones has plans for a new opening later this year.

Asadero Toro, located across the street from the Arizona State Fairgrounds, serves up some of the best carne asada and the most unique grilled pinto beans, in downtown Phoenix.

Perfect Pear Bistro, a locally owned micro-chain, is this kind of restaurant. It has quietly carved a niche for itself in the Valley as a destination for happy hours, low-key first dates, and as a place to feed your hankering for fancy grilled cheese in Metro Phoenix.

Luis Lopez and his wife Elvira opened Elvira’s Belizean Cafe in an unassuming former diner in Chandler. Homey, easy-to-love dishes like stewed chicken with coconut rice and beans and crispy fried “panadas” have made the first Belizean restaurant in Metro Phoenix an instant hit.

Every Tuesday, Grand Avenue draws crowds to Bikini Lounge’s DJ-hosted dance party, and the unique Navajo taco truck that a local chef has set up just outside the bar’s front doors.

It’s hot and the last thing most of us want right now is heavy food. Pick up some Lebanese traditional mezze including Middle Eastern appetizers, salads, dips, and freshly made pita bread, from Middle Eastern Bakery on your way home tonight.

This week, July 17-23, there are some great dining deals, as well as several opportunities to give back to the kids and the troops while dining out in Metro Phoenix. We’ll be planning our meals around these good deeds and discounts.

Paquime Street Food opened in 2014, and though they serve a wide assortment of Northern Mexican street foods, they’ve become known for their grilled-to-order ribeye street tacos.

We’ve eaten our weight in carne asada and grilled chicken tacos, but there have also been a few unusual offerings that really captured our attention. If you haven’t already, these are the five tacos you should be eating right now in Metro Phoenix.

Forno 301 Pizzeria and Bar won’t change much, the owners promise.

This year, the summer is far from a quite time for the Metro Phoenix restaurant scene. The openings keep on coming with four new spots including a Biltmore outpost of a popular Scottsdale restaurant and bar, a new doughnut shop in Arcadia, another deep dish pizza option, and a mysteriously named “900-degree” restaurant on Shea Boulevard.

Restaurant Atoyac became a cult favorite among diners looking for Oaxacan food and fried fish tacos close to Central Phoenix.

A new Aioli Burger concept has opened up in a midtown co-working space, and despite a conspicuous lack of burgers, it is extremely good.

Metro Phoenix may feel far removed from the Deep South, but Southern-style eats and traditional soul food staples long have been a part of our local food culture, and it continues to be, with restaurants like these five soul food gems.