The 6 best bites we tasted around Phoenix in November

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The Mushroom Calamari is a surprising, savory starter that shouldn't be missed. It gets added zip from a kimchi-infused dipping sauce.

Sara Crocker

Mushroom Calamari at the Guadalupe on Main

1526 E. Main St., Mesa

There’s a charming mix of traditional Jalisco-inspired fare and new-school dishes infused with Mexican ingredients at the Mesa restaurant Guadalupe on Main. One that stuck with us after a recent visit was the Mushroom Calamari. Clusters of marinated mushrooms are breaded and fried, served with lemon wedges and a spicy kimchi-spiked dipping sauce. The mushrooms offer the characteristic chew of fried calamari, but the breading is a bit heavier, almost like a chicken fry. It’s a savory treat that has warm notes of sesame oil. A squeeze of lemon brightens each bite and the accompanying sauce offers even more zip that keeps us coming back for more.

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The New Yorker is a vegetarian pie from Yo Pauly's that infuses the taste and texture of eggplant parmesan, down to crispy chunks of eggplant.

Sara Crocker

The New Yorker at Yo Pauly’s New York Pizza Co.

8880 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale

Yo Pauly’s New York Pizza Co. has served pizza, wings and comforting pasta dishes in Scottsdale since 2006, just next door to fellow Italian institution, Andreoli Italian Grocer. Yo Pauly’s offers New York-style pizzas in sizes ranging from personal 10-inch pies to gargantuan 24-inch versions that can feed a family. The crust is light and has just the right amount of chew that you’d expect from the East Coast-style dough. No matter what size you choose, don’t miss The New Yorker. This signature pizza has all the best notes of a classic eggplant parmesan, featuring tomatoes, a kick of garlic, fresh basil and wonderfully crisp, breaded chunks of eggplant. Sometimes vegetarian pizzas can feel like an afterthought, but that’s not the case with this stellar pie from Yo Pauly’s.

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The aromatic flavors of lemongrass and ginger permeate perfectly grilled chicken at Tambayan.

Tirion Boan

Chicken Inasal at Tambayan Filipino Food

1534 W. Camelback Road

At Tambayan Filipino Food, find a spot at one of the neon yellow booths, order a purple ube horchata and prepare for a meal as bright as the space. The menu is filled with Filipino classics, and it’s hard to make a wrong choice. But on a recent visit, the Chicken Inasal was a favorite. Chicken legs are marinated with lemongrass and grilled to perfection, with crispy edges and tender, juicy meat. The flavors of garlic, ginger and lemon permeate deep into the meat which is served with rice and sawsawan, a vinegar-based sauce to add extra tang. Pair it with a plate of noodles topped with lumpia in the Pancit Overload for a flavor-packed feast.

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The yuca and potato pave at Valentine is flush with technique and flavor, boasting a creamy texture, rich manchego crema and a bright tomatillo pico de gallo.

Sara Crocker

Yuca and Potato Pave at Valentine

4130 N. Seventh Ave.

The team at Valentine continues to iterate pieces of its dinner menu, to delicious effect. Case in point, the Melrose-area restaurant’s yuca and potato pave. The dish is akin to a gratin, where root vegetables are sliced paper-thin. But what makes a pave different is that it’s compressed and cooked to ensure each uniform rectangle of shingled potato and yuca gets a crisp exterior while remaining luxuriously silky inside. Valentine’s pave is served with a tomatillo pico de gallo and a manchego crema. The rich cheese bursts forth in each bite, but is balanced out by the brightness of the pico and crumpled, dried epazote – a bright green Mexican herb artfully dusted atop the dish.