Okra

Okra Cookhouse & Cocktails is the sophomore effort from Chef Cullen Campbell, wife and co-owner Maureen McGrath-Campbell and co-owner/mixologist Micah Olson, the team behind Phoenix’s beloved Crudo. The menu delivers modern updates of classic Southern dishes, with the occasional Italian flair. Small plate highlights include the fried chicken skins, crispy bites slathered in an irresistibly […]

Old Dixie’s Southern Kitchen

Killer Southern-style eats in the form of sandwiches and sides made with locally sourced ingredients. Because of Old Dixie’s home in the Welcome Diner in Central Phoenix, there are burgers, too — one even topped with peanut butter — but they are not why you come here. You come here for chef Michael Babcock’s fried […]

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Even budget-minded diners get the real deal at this downtown mainstay: All of OSF’s entrees come with hot, fresh-baked bread; soup or salad; coffee or tea, and authentic spumoni ice cream for dessert. Match that generous rule with your choice of classic pastas, and top it with one of several delicious sauces, and you’ve got […]

Old Station Sub Shop

The walls are lined with Phoenix memorabilia, license plates, and old-timey shop signs, but we go here for the shocking variety of subs, soups, salads, fruit bowls, and desserts (speaking of which, don’t miss the Rice Krispie Treat-just like Mom used to make!). Subs are enormous, jammed with fresh ingredients and wonderful with the soup […]

Caffe Sarajevo

This hidden gem of Bosnian food tucked into an aging strip mall on the city’s west side comes courtesy of Bosnian-born owner and chef Seida Turulja, who makes some of the best lepinja (housemade Bosnian bread) in the Valley. Featuring a small and affordable selection of some of the country’s favorites (nothing on the menu […]

Ole Brass Rail

This east Phoenix dive, located on Thomas Road across from perhaps the most chaotic Walmart in the Valley, opens at 6 a.m. and possesses many of the qualities one associates with a tavern that caters to morning drinkers. The crowd is casual bordering on haggard. The bar serves what we’ve come to call “personal pitchers” […]

Ollie Vaughn’s

It’s far too easy to get lost in the pastry case at Ollie Vaughn’s. If the sky-high slab of peanut butter cheesecake drizzled in chocolate doesn’t get you, the caramel-drenched pecan sticky bun or powdered sugar-dusted lemon bar on buttery shortbread will. So many choices. But beyond the beckoning display, owner Lindsay Magee has created […]

OP-tic

Turning an old chemistry lab into a destination art space isn’t exactly rocket science but did take artist David Therrien quite a bit of work. When he purchased the former home of the Arizona Testing Lab, which used to analyze crime evidence for the Phoenix Police Department, the building needed quite a bit of TLC. […]

Oregano’s

From jaw-droppingly generous portions to swingin’ big-band music, Oregano’s is all about livin’ large. Delicious, piled-high salads and appetizers like the kickbutt garlic bread or toasted ravioli could make meals unto themselves, but somehow we always find room for double-size sandwiches (like the old-school Italian sausage and the goofy-sounding but gourmet-tasting Veggie Wedgie) and heaping […]