East Valley
Chickenhug
Opened: August 2025
Wedged into an easy-to-whiz-by space that fronts an auto repair shop, this friendly fast-casual, owned and operated by four Jordanian friends, turns out halal chicken roasted to a burnished mahogany brown. Photogenic and Insta-worthy as all get out, the barnyard bird comes in three serving options (whole chicken, half chicken or chicken sandwich) and four flavors – original, spicy, garlic-basil and barbecue. Alas, the whole chicken ($32.99) I ate was overcooked, dry and falling apart (not a plus for a restaurant specializing in chicken). One half was dribbled with smoky barbecue sauce (bottled?), the other nicely seasoned with garlic and basil. Served in a deep, disposable foil pan, the bird is set over barbecue sauce-splattered crinkle-cut fries; fluffy, sumac-dusted saffron rice; roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, white potatoes, shallots and corn); and pita. It looks like an impressive feast, but none of it actually tastes all that special.
The original chicken sandwich ($9), which is actually a pita wrap, comes smeared with garlic sauce and layered with pickles. It’s kind of fun, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it. But hey, to be fair: I’m the outlier here. Yelpers consider Chickenhug chicken heaven.
Wild Card: A dreamy Dubai chocolate bar (not made on premises, $11) is far and away the best thing at Chickenhug.
2070 E. Apache Blvd., Tempe, 602-775-1484, chickenhug.com
– Nikki Buchanan
West Valley
MT Barrel Tasting Room
Opened: June 2025
Don’t fret about the implications in the punny name at this super-welcoming wine and beer bar in Park West. The “barrels,” which are actually self-serve, on-tap wine and beer dispensers, never run empty, leaving customers free to select from four to six local beers and a rotating selection of 20 global wines measured in 1-, 3- and 5-ounce pours – the better to affordably find a favorite. Although the menu features classic wine bar fare, it leans Caribbean, offering small plates, sandwiches and, after 4 p.m., a few entrées. The standout so far? Tostones rellenos ($18), a trio of crispy, green plantain cups, filled with savory picadillo, then topped with garlicky aioli and cilantro. Creamy street corn dip ($16), a blend of roasted corn, bacon bits and salty cotija cheese served with tortilla chips, makes for irresistible munching, too, but it’s served lukewarm. Prosciutto and fig flatbread ($23), strewn with lettuce, prosciutto, apple and goat cheese, looks lovely but comes off cloyingly sweet, owing to the combo of fig spread and heavily applied balsamic.
A Cubano sandwich ($18), layered with the usual smoked ham, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles on soft Cuban bread, would be perfect if the slow-roasted pork weren’t dry. MT is full of possibility, but not 100 percent there yet.
Wild Card: Tiramisu ($11) for those who like it sweet.
9784 W. Northern Ave., Peoria
623-444-6808, mtbarreltastingroom.com
– Nikki Buchanan
Phoenix
Brasero Tacos Y Tequila
Opened: November 2025
Attention, Phoenix diners: This Modern Mexican bar and grill tucked away anonymously on Thomas Road needs your help! Despite its fashion-forward open kitchen, ample neon effects and general aura of newness and style, the place is reliably empty most afternoons, and I don’t think it has anything to do with the food. Al pastor tacos ($5), carved off a trompo (vertical spit) the way dios intended, are everything you want them to be: sweet and juicy with intermittent char, served with a house-made guajillo hot sauce so fabulous, the owner says a prominent Valley taco chain offered him cash money to sell the recipe. The lengua taco ($5) is also yummy – cilantro-flecked and almost cloyingly tender in a griddled, street-style tortilla. The quesadillas ($14-$19) – stuffed with nopales, chorizo, cabeza and almost every other Latin protein option you can imagine – are spot-on. Aguachile ribeye ($30) headlines an impressive menu of large-format specials, and it’s a winner – thin shears of citrus-cooked beef in a lively mélange of flavors and textures. So, why the empty tables?
Could be the lack of distinctive branding on its strip-mall storefront, and fulfillment might also be an issue – service can be sluggish, and they tend to run out of things: lacking the promised, emulsifying pork belly, my hamburgesa al carbon ($16) was all carbon.
Wild Card: Don’t sleep – or drive – on Brasero’s massive tequila and mezcal selection, and great cocktails like the tiki-esque Desert Flower ($12).
3911 E. Thomas Rd., 602-805-5198,
@brasero_tacos_tequila
– Craig Outhier
Scottsdale
Toscana
Opened: February 2025
You have to poke around North Scottsdale a bit to find this traditional Italian ristorante from chef-owner Angelo Mazzei. Done in white tablecloths with a semi-strict dress code, Toscana is located at SOHO Scottsdale, a hip mixed-use development cleverly concealed in a crowd of business parks overlooking WestWorld of Scottsdale. If you work up a hunger with your poking, all the better, because Mazzei employs a novel two-for-one menu model in which your appetizer is included in the price of the entrée. For example: Your fork-tender, center-cut beef filet (finished in a generously seasoned Barolo wine sauce, $66) could be preceded by roasted zucchini, tossed in a minty pistachio pesto and charred deliciously in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven. Or you might pick the chilled seafood salad in a tangy dressing of lemon, vinegar and EVOO. Or Parmigiano-stuffed beef carpaccio, or any of the other five complimentary “From the Chef” starter items.
Our favorite pairing: the house salad, defiantly strewn with strips of fresh fennel, followed by Mazzei’s hearty cioppino, aromatic with saffron and loaded with shellfish ($64). The only dish that disappoints: porchetta ($46), plated as the one-note wheel of tough pork loin we always feared it to be. Nonetheless, this place is an Ozempic buster.
Wild Card: Pig out romantically with Dine Like a Tuscano ($195) – a two-person porterhouse with a pair of starters.
16580 N. 92nd St., 480-597-7160,
toscanascottsdale.com
– Craig Outhier
