Juba Restaurant

The prize of the Somali community in Phoenix, located in a strip mall they should start calling Little Mogadishu to reflect not only the demographics of the shop owners, but also of the residents of the surrounding area. The recently refurbished interior is clean and pleasant, and the food is outstanding with a two-section menu: a large Middle Eastern section with kebab, hummus and so on; and a smaller, yet more popular Somali section with exotic combos such as sukhaar (stewed chunks of beef served with aromatic basmati rice) or pasta saldatto (spaghetti served with a similar stew of beef and tomatoes), which reflects the Italian colonial influence on Somali culture. Two must-tries: the cinnamony-sweet Somali iced tea, and the sanbusas (Somali versions of Indian samosas). Goat meat is good here, too, but may not be for everyone.