Iβm a die-hard Tucsonan. While I would never live in Phoenix, I acknowledge that Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the country. More people means more of everything: traffic, sprawl, chain restaurants, yes, but also a bigger airport and concert venues, and more food options. As Tucsonans, we have the option to take advantage of these resources on a weekend trip β and then we get to come home.
So I teamed up with Andi Berlin, the dining critic at the Arizona Republic β and the former food writer for #ThisIsTucson β to get her best, most helpful food recommendations for Tucsonans visiting Phoenix.
So youβre going to Phoenixβ¦
Andi has spent half her life in Phoenix, and half in Tucson (with a brief stint in California). She knows Phoenix on an intimate level, and gave me the most general of generalizations to help me understand the layout of the cityβs food scene.
East Valley: βChandler, Mesa, not as much Gilbert β¦ are great. They have an incredible Asian food scene,β Andi said. βThey have a lot of big Asian markets, Korean markets, Chinese markets, Vietnamese markets. Theyβve got Lee Leeβs. Theyβve got Mekong Plaza, which is an entire mall of Asian stuff, right?
βSo if you want Asian food, thatβs the place to go, I would say β¦ You have any kind of Chinese food represented. Youβve got northern Chinese, youβve got Shanxi. Youβve got Szechuan food, youβve got all kinds of noodles,β she said.
Andi loves dim sum and is aware we are short of options in Tucson.
βIβd say go to Phoenix Palace over by Lee Leeβs in Chandler. Then thereβs Leeβs Sandwiches. Itβs a chain, itβs bΓ‘nh mΓ¬, I love it. I love going there. Thatβs the first place Iβd go if I was coming from Tucson,β Andi said.
Tempe: βI would say if you're looking for Middle Eastern food and Indian food, [itβs] in Tempe, closer to ASU,β she said. A favorite of hers, Golden Bakery, makes their own breads, different dips and spreads. You can get flatbread with zaβatar, mint lemonade, and pide β a flatbread shaped like a boat and filled with cheese and egg or honey.
North Phoenix: βThatβs actually a really good area for Eastern European food. Bosnian, Polish, Eastern European, Balkan cuisine. Cafe Balkan, oh my gosh that was incredible. Itβs similar to Alisahβs (in Tucson),β Andi said.
βIβd definitely recommend seeking out a Balkan restaurant. It kind of tastes like Eastern European, but itβs in between Turkey and the Middle East and was colonized by the Ottoman Empire. They have stuffed cabbage thatβs different than a New York deli stuffed cabbage and a bean soup called pasulj,β she said. Cafe Balkan also has borek, which is like a more refined spanakopita.
West Valley: βGlendale is really good for Mexican food. And also Cuban food is out in Maryvale β¦ Thatβs a big generalization but thatβs a great place to go,β Andi said.
She explained that what makes Phoenixβs Mexican scene different is that they represent regions from across the country, rather than specializing in Sonoran food like we do in Tucson.
If you want Mexico City food, she recommends Los Reyes de la Torta, a CDMX-style sandwich shop.
βI found a strip mall in Glendale thatβs a tour of Mexican food, in downtown Glendale. Inside this one strip mall youβve got food from Jalisco, from Mexico City, Michoacan, a Sinaloan mariscos spot. You could do a tour in just that little strip,β she said.
βPhoenix has kept me busy, and really excited. Iβm writing about an Ethiopian restaurant right now thatβs really incredible. Thereβs so much to explore,β she said.
Here are her quick picks sorted by occasion:
β¦ youβre going for a concert
βDragon Flame Chinese Grill,β Andi said. βI did this when I was living in Tucson. The concert got out at 11, and I went there because itβs open really late. It closes at 2 a.m. and has northern Chinese skewers and kabobs. Wow! It has weird balloons, stuffed animal things all over. A funky, weird restaurant. Itβs really delicious and fun for late-night eating before you go back home. Thatβs my No. 1 pick.β
But if youβre looking to keep the party going, Andi recommends you check out a Korean pub called Drunken Tiger.
βThat place is really good,β she said. βThey have this egg β Korean fried chicken, Korean egg souffle that puffs up. Itβs open late. Theyβve got soju and soju cocktails. That place is awesome. Syrupy fried chicken, popcorn chicken, cheese corn (she laughs), itβs pretty good.β
β¦ youβre going to the airport
βOver by the airport is Little Miss BBQ, which is a famous Phoenix place β¦ itβs one of the most popular Phoenix places, so Iβd recommend that,β Andi said.
β¦ youβre going to the Musical Instrument Museum
βCafe Balkan is a 10-minute drive down the highway. Itβs also right by Desert Ridge, which is kind of an outdoor mall. Thereβs an incredible fancy Korean BBQ place called Sizzle. Thatβs a little bit nicer, they have better cuts of meat,β Andi said.
β¦ youβre going to water parks
Since we figured you might be going to water parks with family, Andi racked her brain for kid-friendly eats that are easy to get to from water parks like Great Wolf Lodge.
βIβd just go to White Castle, βcause you canβt go to White Castle in Tucson,β she said. βIt probably tastes like trash but itβs kinda fun and nostalgic. I donβt want to get too into the chains, but we also have a Shake Shack, which is really good. Jollibee, which is a Filipino fast-food chain way out in South Chandler, but thatβs really good.β
βIf youβre going to Golfland Sunsplash,β Andi said, βpeople love to go to Joeβs Farm Grill. The food is pretty good. They have pretty good burgers. Itβs in this weird master planned community β¦ The restaurant is in the center of this subdivision they made to look like a farm.β
β[Gilbertβs] got a lot of second locations of popular restaurants downtown,β Andi said. βTheyβve got a second location of Belly, by the Welcome Diner guy β¦ [it has] Vietnamese, Asian food, trendy, lotta cocktails. Iβd say that. Peixoto, thatβs my favorite coffee place in downtown Chandler, but they have one in Gilbert too. Itβs like the hit list of Phoenix is there.β
β¦ youβre going for a romantic weekend
βOne place I think would be interesting to Tucsonans is this restaurant called Sottise,β Andi said. βThat is a date night kind of French restaurant, in an old bungalow that was restored. French small bites food, from a Phoenix chef. Thatβs like if youβre having a fancier night out with cocktails and such, it has a lot of charm to it. You can pop in and have an appetizer or go all out.
βItβs a sleek atmosphere like Penca (in Tucson), but itβs French. Beautiful old building β everything is perfect. The food is incredible. Itβs classy. Theyβve got snails,β she said.
When Andi visited, she liked their French onion soup. The showstopper of the evening, though, was their seafood tower, which you can order by the tier.
βYou can order a little shrimp, a little mussel conserva, then they bring it out in a big seafood tower on ice,β Andi said. βThatβs really fun.β
Another date night spot is an extremely buzzy, extremely good Sonoran restaurant.
βThereβs a restaurant that makes it on all the βbest ofβ lists. Itβs hard to get into but Iβd consider it one of the best restaurants in the whole state,β Andi said. βBacanora. Iβm sure youβve heard about it in all the lists.* Itβs hard to get into but itβs earned its place on these lists. The chef is from Nogales. He has this huge mesquite grill that takes up so much space. You have to have a reservation for (it) at night. Itβs an incredible meal.β
*Bacanora was one of five finalists for Best New Restaurant in this yearβs James Beard Awards and made Bon Appetitβs best 50 restaurants of the year.
β¦ youβre going for a staycation
If youβre looking for an area to explore over the weekend, Andi would point you in the direction of Grand Avenue.
βGrand Avenue is the emerging hipster neighborhood that runs at a right angle to downtown Phoenix,β she said. Itβs a big street that eventually turns into the AZ-60 to Wickenburg. βYou can walk around Grand Avenue and stuff, with a different scene than Tucson,β she said.
The part Andiβs talking about is the section closest to downtown, where Bacanora is β and another one of Andiβs favorite spots, Testal. Testal is a burrito spot in the style of Chihuahua.
βThe owner is from Chihuahua, Mexico, so the burritos are different than what you get in Tucson. Itβs a thinner burrito, puffier, and open on the ends. Instead of carne asada, itβs more stews.
βThe rajas stew is my favorite, but you can get just refried beans, chicharron. Itβs a cute little spot that focuses on the culture of Chihuahua, and their burritos are on the level of the Yuma place. I would travel hundreds of miles for this burrito,β Andi said.
Andi Berlin is the dining critic at the Arizona Republic. She used to be the food writer for #ThisIsTucson and has been published in the San Francisco Guardian and The New York Times.
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