Most Interesting Late-Night Combo
Chickadees + Rise & Grind Coffee Bar
Nothing goes better together than fried chicken sandwiches, french fries and cappuccinos, right? If this is your winning combination, hightail it to Scottsdale’s Entertainment District for a belly-filling late-night snack and a quick pick-me-up to get you home. Open Thursday through Sunday until 3 a.m.
4435 N. Buckboard Trail, Scottsdale, 480-687-7319, eatchickadees.com; rgespresso.com
Best New Bread Virtuoso
Mark Bookhamer of Nice Buns Bakery
Before the pandemic, Nice Buns founder Mark Bookhamer was a chef looking for the perfect hamburger bun. He started baking at home, eventually perfecting and selling his “nice buns” to his chef friends. The secret to the intoxicating contrast between his crisp crusts and marvelously soft middles? So-called “high-hydration” dough, achieved via an Asian baking technique called tangzhong, in which Bookhamer makes a kind of roux of water and flour. The chef moved from his garage to a wholesale operation at Hayden Flour Mill and may go retail soon. Get a taste of his flour power at Underbelly (for take-home baguettes), Sottise, Little Rituals, Gertrude’s, Virtù, Bacanora and Central Records.
nicebunsbakery.com
Best emerging Mexican Food hub
Grand Avenue (between Van Buren and Roosevelt)
Whether you’re hankering for Chihuahua’s rustic, open-ended burritos; Sonoran-style beef, sizzling on a mesquite-fired grill; or the silky moles and crispy chapulines of Oaxaca, Grand Avenue provides an eye-opening mini tour of fabulous regional Mexican cooking at Testal, Bacanora and Chilte, all within blocks of each other.
Best Lunch Special
RigaTony’s
This cherished neighborhood Italian joint has made a valiant effort to keep things affordable for customers in an era of ever-increasing inflation. Lunch specials regularly clock in at $10.95 and include fresh ciabatta, antipasto salad and an entrée like grilled chicken and artichoke linguine, stromboli, shrimp all’arrabbiata with gnocchi or seafood pesto pasta. You’ll definitely get full, and you may even have leftovers.
1850 E. Warner Rd., Tempe, 480-899-1111, rigatonys.com
Best Facelift
32 Shea
The itty-bitty restaurant – a locally owned favorite – lost a few walls and doubled its size in the wake of a recent refresh, providing more seating, more natural light and a new bar. What remains: crowd-pleasing (and now crowd-accommodating) features like the dog-friendly patio and speedy drive-thru coffee service.
10626 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, 602-867-7432, 32shea.com
MOST CLEVER Business Name
Shea Cheese
A new cheese store is cause enough for celebration, but a punny name, too? We’re here for it. Good thing Shea Cheese offers more than just clever marketing, with 80 artisanal, small-batch cheeses from the greatest dairy destinations in the country: Iowa (Maytag Blue!), Wisconsin (gouda!) and Vermont (cheddar!).
10880 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, 602-666-0431, sheacheese.com
Best Rehab of a Vacant Dry Cleaners
Proof Bread
Mesa bakery Proof recently took over an abandoned laundry and dry cleaners on the corner of a strip mall in North Phoenix. It’s here the owners plan to open a second outpost of their popular East Valley shop this summer – this one a warehouse, mill, flour storage and full-service bakery. There’s a new ciabatta in town, folks.
3110 E. Shea Blvd., Phoenix, proofbread.com
Best West Valley Revivalists
The Twist Hot Chicken, et al Guys
If you’ve visited Twist, Then Burger, Easy Tiger or Driftwood Coffee Co. – all cool, locally owned spots in Glendale and Peoria – know they’re all related. Various configurations of a network of friends and relatives anchored by principal Lance Linderman owns each of them. Their quest to make a better West Valley for themselves is our gain.
Best Candy Store
Earls Old Time Candy
Everybody from toddlers to their diabetic Boomer grandparents will relish this assortment of modern and vintage goodies, from fruit slices to gummy ramen noodles to the holy grail of socially unacceptable confections, the candy cigarette. In the cooler months, they show drive-in movies out back, Saturdays at sundown.
6141 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, 480-575-7889
Best Comeback
Grand Avenue Pizza Co.
Previously a bare-bones pizza parlor known for its late-night slices, Grand Avenue Pizza Company closed its storefront on Historic Grand Avenue last spring. A year later, it reemerged in a dynamic, 11,000-square-foot space in downtown Glendale. Indoors, patrons will find a pool table, arcade, photo booth and full bar, while the outdoor area boasts lawn games, picnic tables and a stage for live music. Same mouth-watering pies, more room to enjoy them.
6729 N. 57th Dr., Glendale, 623-937-3004, grandavenuepizzacompany.com
Best Place to Get Weird Snacks
Desert Drinks & Exotics
American snack companies would never dare to bring us banana-flavored Snapple or sauerkraut-dusted potato chips – but this zany shop does nothing but. Craving an apricot-strawberry Red Bull or a sleeve of White Peach Oreos? You’ll find them here, along with other out-there international versions of your favorite drinks and snacks. Do Turkey Leg Cheetos from China go well with a Fanta Mango from France? You decide.
1902 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, 602-529-6805, desert-drinks.com
Best Restaurant with “The” in the name
The Gladly
It’s a thing: Local restaurants with a definitive article in the name. The Collins, The Henry, The Vig. The Womack and The Parlor are all great, but none of them have The Gladly’s chimichurri chicken or whiskey bread pudding. Big-city views, friendly service and desert landscaping all scream “The Phoenix!” to locals and visitors alike.
2201 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, 602-759-8132, thegladly.com
Best New Butcher
Underbelly
At their pristine shop, housed in an atmospheric 1940s building, partners Dustin Dahlin and Karen Martin specialize in local, sustainable meat, selling pig trotters, house-cured pastrami, house-made sausages, insanely good bacon, local artisanal products, sandwiches of the week and creamy, life-changing French butter.
1605 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix, 602-316-5348, underbellymeatco.com
Best Takeout Deal
25 Percent Tuesdays at Fly Bye
The Detroit-style pizza, wings, chicken tenders, fries and other sides at Sam Fox’s Fly Bye are premium takeout options – with consequent pricing. Defray the cost on Tuesdays with 25 percent off all takeout orders. This deal takes a summer hiatus, but you can get 50 percent off curbside orders placed online from June 1-August 31 with the promo code TOOHOT (Monday-Wednesday until 6 p.m.; Arcadia and Desert Ridge locations only). Offers and other discounts cannot be combined.
Multiple locations, flyebye.com
Best Horror-themed bakery
Spooky’s Swirls
At this gluten-free horror emporium, patrons can find creepy cupcakes adorned with the Demogorgon, brownies glazed with fake blood and a slew of other pastries glorifying all things gory and horrifying. It’s also home to a small archive of costumes, props and memorabilia.
3029 N. Alma School Rd., Chandler, 707-776-6597, spookysswirls.com
Best Haphazard Hodgepodge
Captain Bill’s Submarine
This classic sub shop opened in 1981 and is stuffed to the gills with former proprietor Bill Whalley’s collection of humorous ephemera, toys and arcade games, creating a fun atmosphere for guests and staff alike. Bill has since sailed on, but current owner Lisa Upsahl has kept it just the way the captain left it, where you can board his vessel, savor a 17-inch sub and take a pleasure cruise back to the 1980s.
10645 N. 35th Ave., Phoenix, 602-993-5290, captainbillssubmarine.com
Best South Asian Snacks
Turmeric Indian Cash & Carry
Militarily, the U.S. may be the most powerful country on Earth, but India has us beat when it comes to international snack technology. A trip to one of Turmeric’s four Valley locations reveals row after row of English-style biscuits, tandoori-baked treats, spicy masala peanuts, endless varieties of sev (a thin crunchy noodle made from chickpea flour) and heaping bags of murukku, fried crunchy swirls of flour, sesame seeds and spices. Will the U.S. ever bridge this colossal snack gap?
Multiple locations, turmericgrocery.com
