Best Fried Fish
Espiritu
At his new East Valley gastropub, Bacanora mastermind Rene Andrade puts a chef-y spin on whole fried red snapper that’s a mind-blowing meld of moist, sweet flesh and ultra-crispy skin. Glazed in an oily finishing sauce of salsa macha (chiles, fried garlic, fried onion, toasted sesame seeds), this blissfully crunchy dish is kinda like the chicharrones of fish. 123 W. Main St., Mesa, 480-398-8129, espiritumesa.com
Best Enchiladas
Casa Carazon
If you haven’t visited this gem on the Calle 16 dining corridor yet, for Pete’s sake stop depriving yourself and go – and order the incomparable enchiladas with (and this is critically important!) the signature Corazon beet sauce. Faintly sweet and preposterously smooth, it does for the eponymous taproot what mole did for the cocoa bean. It’s a beet that can’t be beat. 2637 N. 16th St., Phoenix, 602-334-1917, casacorazonrestaurant.com
Best Tamales
The Tamale Store
What kind of cretin doesn’t like tamales? No one. That’s why The Tamale Store should be your favorite place on the planet. The family-run outlet serves every type of tamale known to mankind, all better than your abuela makes: green corn and cream cheese, Tex-Mex style, pork green chile, chicken chipotle, sweet corn with Jack cheese, you name it. The best of the lot, in our humble opinion? Chicken mole, featuring shredded pollo with that classic, faintly sweet Oaxacan sauce made with sesame, cinnamon, cocoa and chiles. It’s worth the drive to Cave Creek and Greenway, caballeros. 15842 N. Cave Creek Rd., Phoenix, 602-435-2604, thetamalestore.com
Best Puerto Rican Restaurant
Phoenix Coquí
Juan Ayala and Alexis Carbajal put their beloved food truck on blocks and moved to a brick-and-mortar location last February, taking over the former Crazy Jim’s location. Customers come in droves for their garlicky shrimp, pernil mofongo (braised pork shoulder), buttery picadillo-stuffed empanadas, jibarito platters, lasagna-like pastelón, terrific alcapurria and blissful dessert quesitos. It’s a Puerto Rican playground. 4041 N. 15th Ave., Phoenix, 602-248-3153, phoenix-coqui.square.site
Best Mexican Pizza
Elote Pizza at Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen
It’s no Taco Bell Mexican pizza, but we’re just as besotted by this pie, with its crisp crust smothered with garlic butter sauce and topped with mozzarella, herbed Parmesan, corn, red onions, spicy chipotle drizzle and fresh cilantro. It’s gluten-free, too! Multiple locations, picazzos.com
Best Sonoran Restaurant
Bacanora
We took Sonoran cuisine for granted until chef-owner Rene Andrade showed us how exciting it could be. Using a mesquite-burning grill, local chicken and vegetables, fiery chiltepins and Sonora’s own rustic spirit Bacanora, he gives us delicious object lessons on its richness and complexity, and we’re his eager students. 1301 N.W. Grand Ave., Phoenix, 602-612-4018, bacanoraphx.com
Best Fancy Empanada
Vecina
Vecina transforms the rustic empanada into something elegant and fork-worthy, tucking juicy Duroc pork – confited, shredded and sweetened with onion – into a blistered, rough-hewn pie, made with incredible masa dough and sprinkled with Manchego. And for the denouement: a puddle of salsa verde and bright yellow dots of manzano chile sauce, for a sharp, spicy accent. 3433 N. 56th St., Phoenix, 602-675-2000, vecinaphx.com
Best Enmoladas
Los Sombreros
Enchiladas get all the love – red, green, white, yada yada. We dream of a world where their mole-smothered sibling, enmoladas, is as omnipresent on Mexican menus. At Los Sombreros, corn tortillas are dipped in mole poblano, rolled around shredded chicken and topped with more mole, jack cheese, onions, sesame seeds and cilantro. You’ll want to lick up every drop of the rich, complex sauce. Three Valley locations, lossombreros.com
