Best Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant, Southeast Valley 2011 | Maria's Mexican Food | La Vida | Phoenix
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Best Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant, Southeast Valley

Maria's Mexican Food

Once you hit the suburbs, it's easy to be overwhelmed by chain restaurants, so we like to support our independents out there even more. But with a place like Maria's Mexican Food, it's not principle alone that keeps us coming back for more. It's the amazing California burrito that has us hooked: steak and potatoes, Mexican-style, wrapped up with seriously mouthwatering pico de gallo and cheese. Maria is always on hand to offer a helpful suggestion. And what the restaurant lacks in atmosphere — it's a serious hole in the wall — it makes up for in flavor with caldo de res, sopes, and jamaica that would make an abuelita proud. Muy auténtico, Maria.

Best Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant, Tempe

Casa Reynoso

Natalie Miranda
Casa Reynoso is a Tempe institution that epitomizes the homey charm of neighborhood mom 'n' pop Mexican. Tucked away from traffic in the corner of a mostly deserted strip mall (where Fry's and Jack in the Box are the big-ticket attractions), word of mouth and a longstanding reputation for churning out Arizona-style Mexican food keeps business brisk. The Reynosos use the same recipes passed down from their Miami-Globe abuelitas, and the proof is in the pork chile verde. It's in everything from cheese crisps to burros and is even worth eating straight from a bowl (with a fresh tortilla on the side).

Best Neighborhood Mexican Restaurant, Scottsdale

Huauchinango Mexican Grill

When we're craving real-deal, Mexico City-style Mexican food, Huauchinango is the only way to sate the craving. Sopas, tlacoyos, huaraches, and plenty of other menu items may have you scratching your head at first glance, but pull out your best Spanglish and figure out what all of these lovely options are, because it's Mexican comfort food done right. Our favorite are the quesadillas, which are heavenly crispy bliss that's nothing like the cheesy gringo fare you expect from Taco Bell. Just remember to bring cash, because your charge cards are going to get laughed out of the place. A small price to pay for authentic Mexican food.

Best Salsa

La Condesa Gourmet Taco Shop

At La Condesa Gourmet Taco Shop, the tacos are pretty tasty, but it's the brilliant salsa bar that keeps us coming back for more. We seriously have dreams of the pecan salsa. A dozen colorful sweet and savory salsas are on full display to enhance your already gourmet eats. Tried-and-true pico de gallo, tomatillo, and chipotle salsas share space with more unusual offerings like cool cilantro crema, peanut salsa, and pretty-in-pink strawberry salsa. The only thing that's consistent across all of La Condesa's many salsas is that they're so good we could be plenty happy with just chips and free rein at the salsa bar.

Best Tamales

Molly's Tamales

Molly's Tamales is a small mom 'n' pop shop in the heart of Glendale that features a huge variety of tamales, from the traditional to the more exotic salmon or nopalito. There are even a couple of sweet tamales to satisfy the dessert-lover, like "roxy road" (choco-mallow) or pineapple with raisins. All of Molly's Tamales are made lard- and shortening-free to keep them light, moist, and not too bad for you. Molly's offers a wide variety of vegetarian tamales and even a couple of vegan options, such as the black bean, corn, and chipotle chile. It all may sound hoity-toity for the humble tamale, but the flavor of these masa bombs will more than sway your opinion.

Best Tortillas

Carolina's

Sarah Whitmire
Carolina's sets the standard for flour tortillas in the Valley. In a land where Mexican food is found on every corner, we use these giant, tender 'tillas as the baseline for excellence. It's really not fair to the competitors. Carolina's has won "Best Tortillas" more times than we can recall, and with good reason. The tortillas are made in-house and roll off the grill warm and tender. These formidable flour discs somehow manage to be so thin they're almost transparent, yet they hold up to even the sloppiest green chile filling, so you don't end up wearing the contents of your burrito. The flavor and tender texture is amazing solo, dipped, topped, or crisped. The reigning champ retains her title.

Best Chiles Rellenos

Dick's Hideaway

Patricia Escarcega
Dick's Hideaway's modern New Mexican eats include some pretty amazing chiles rellenos. You won't find any heavy, cheese-stuffed poblano peppers breaded and deep-fried here. At Dick's, the New Mexican take on the traditional rellenos come packed with your choice of five different fillings, and since you get two per relleno plate, you get to mix and match. They still have the standard (cheese-filled), but we recommend the tender, flavorful duck or smoked turkey. Beef tenderloin and pork aren't too shabby, either, smothered in your choice of red or green chile. So take a break from Dick's tasty carne adovada and indulge in a more modern take on the humble chile relleno.

Best Pollo Asado

El Pollo Supremo

Heather Hoch
At El Pollo Supremo, there are only two things on the menu: meat and more meat. You can choose between the standard carne asada or our favorite, the electric red pollo asado. This odd take on traditional grilled chicken gets its neon red color courtesy of achiote paste, and its smoky char from a quick stint on the grill. The pollo asado at El Pollo Supremo is served with a soupy pile of pintos, pickled purple onions, smooth salsa, and your choice of corn or flour tortillas. Whose pollo asado reigns supreme? El Pollo Supremo's, natch.

Best Tacos

La Salsita

Tacos may well be the perfect food — but not all tacos are created equal. Pre-formed taco shells? Cafeteria swill. Deep-fried tacos? We'll leave those to Jack in the Box. Street tacos? Now we're talking. Double-lined corn tortillas wrapped around mounds of succulent meat. And at La Salsita, there's way more than the standard chicken, pork, or beef. Skip the machaca and carnitas for a day and instead try the tripas (pork guts), buche (pork stomach), lengua (beef tongue), or cabeza (beef head) tacos. The grilled onion on the side and fully stocked salsa bar can make even the weirdest-sounding meat irresistible. Make sure to load up on the silky smooth avocado salsa, and snag some pickled carrots.

Best Carne Asada

Sonora Mesquite Grill

Sonora Mesquite Grill serves the self-proclaimed "Best Carne Asada This Side of the Border," and we're inclined to agree. Sonoran-style steak marinated and grilled to juicy perfection — the flavor is slightly sweet from the citrus marinade (laced with cumin and chiles) and smoky (from a hot mesquite grill). Create a carne asada sampler platter out of the two-taco plate with a burrito on the side. (Because a burrito on the side is kind of how we roll — get it?) Add some meaty charro beans, chunky guacamole, and a trio of flavorful salsas, and what do you get? An impromptu carne asada feast in the middle of your living room — no hard work or grilling required.

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