East Valley
Chaat Express
Opened: January 2026
Chaat – India’s endless array of snacky street food – is ostensibly the raison d’être for this pleasant, full-service Indian restaurant, which is not the fast-casual concept the word “express” suggests. The menu offers about a dozen chaat as well as plenty of Northern Indian standards. Samosa chaat ($7), decidedly sexier than plain samosa, is a sweet, tangy, spicy and altogether heady combo of crispy smashed samosas combined with chickpea curry, yogurt, tamarind chutney, cilantro-mint chutney, spices and sev (dry, crisp chickpea noodles). Bhel puri ($8), a classic chaat from Mumbai, is even more stunning: a light, bright powerhouse of flavors and textures composed of puffed rice, sev and puri (crispy deep-fried flatbread) as well as tamarind chutney and a chutney of tomato, onion, cilantro and mint.
Give me this one all day. Chicken tikka masala ($16), a rich curry built upon tomatoes and cream, is wonderful with fluffy, lightly spiced basmati rice and green onion-flecked garlic naan. Ditto for goat curry ($20), earthy and intense. There are a handful of desserts, but the dreamy ultimate might be ras malai ($5), a delicacy of paneer (soft disks of mild, spongy cheese) afloat in a sweet, velvety milk sauce perfumed with cardamom and rose water. Food of the gods.
Wild Card: Kesar doodh ($5) – sweet, soothing saffron-infused milk served piping hot with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios.
2051 W. Warner Rd., Chandler, 480-786-3333, chaatexpress.com
– Nikki Buchanan
Scottsdale
Baragi
Opened: December 2025
The latest in a pleasant little outbreak of Korean restaurants in the East Scottsdale/Fountain Hills area, Baragi is not a high-energy pocha tavern like Seoul Burger (reviewed last November) or you-grill-it fusion playground like Kimchi Korean BBQ (reviewed on the next page). No, this homey, 28-seat strip-mall eatery is a bit more austere than that. It doesn’t even have fountain drinks, much less a beer or wine list. What Baragi does have: a tight, lovingly prepared roster of Korean classics like bulgogi (marinated, grilled beef), macjeok (braised pork shoulder in bean paste and plum sauce) and tteokgalbi (beef-pork patty), inventively served as platters alongside a selection of banchan side dishes. Honestly, it’s the banchan that make Baragi fun.
I happily slurped up a large bowl of yukgaejang – brisket, mushrooms, glass noodles and long, meaty shoots of bracken fern in a ruddy, moderately spicy bone broth ($21) – on one visit, and nibbled my way through a plate of underseasoned-but-OK LA Galbi beef ribs ($23) on another, but it was the half-dozen wee bowls of banchan that really carried the meals, including oi muchim (spicy, lightly fermented cucumber), kongnamul (soybean sprouts), danmuji (sweet, pickled yellow radish) and a medallion-size vegetable fritter known as jeon. Collectively, they’re a meal unto themselves.
Wild Card: Counter-intuitively placed at the end of the menu, succulent cod roe dumplings ($7) will swimmingly begin your otherwise seafood-free meal.
11219 E. Via Linda, 480-743-1619
– Craig Outhier
West Valley
Kimchi Korean BBQ
Opened: September 2025
Located in the former Takamatsu space, this humble mom-and-pop hangs its hat on Korean barbecue and fantastic Korean classics while also turning out a handful of Mexican-inflected dishes for fusion-y fun. Korean tacos (two per order, $13.95) are a perfect example of the latter. Spicy, saucy bulgogi, packed into flour tortillas and drizzled with spicy mayo, make a deliciously drippy change-up on carne asada. Korean fried chicken wings, an evolution from the fried chicken introduced by American soldiers in the ‘50s, are golden brown, crispy and completely addictive after a dunk in sweet chili, Asian sesame and miso-ranch sauces ($14.99).
Buffalo who? Classic dol sot bibimbap ($17.95) arrives sizzling hot in a rice-filled stone bowl neatly arranged with slivers of beef, spinach, carrots, bean sprouts, seaweed and egg. Stirred together with funky gochujang sauce, the dish would be perfect if only the rice at the bottom of the bowl had more of that famous crunch. However, kalbi ($29.95) – grilled short ribs, charred and faintly sticky from a soy-based marinade redolent with garlic – are simple but mind-blowing with plain white rice. I can’t wait to explore the soups, savory pancakes and DIY barbecue.
Wild Card: Fried pork mandoo ($9.95) – akin to Japanese gyoza, but with a thicker dough and a whiff of sesame oil.
4214 W. Dunlap Ave., Phoenix, 480-234-5375, kimchikoreanbbq.com
– Nikki Buchanan
Phoenix
LeDu Thai
Opened: January 2026
Given the precedent of Glai Baan, Mae-Khong Thai & Tapas and Lom Wong, where chef Yotaka Martin recently netted a James Beard Award, the bar for elite Thai cuisine sits pretty darn high in Phoenix – and this family-run restaurant on the Seventh Street dining drag (there’s also a Roosevelt Row location) mostly clears it. The culinary emphasis is on the Andaman Sea region in Southern Thailand, manifested dreamily in dtom ka-ti ($20), a rich coconut-shrimp soup loaded with shallots and fava-like sator beans, which spar lusciously with the caramel-kissed broth. Also from the “small bites” menu: dtom som pla ($20), a hot-and-sour fish soup full of lemongrass and bright aroma, with kaffir lime leaf and tamarind for mouth-watering tang. Stunning.
Hang pu moo crop ($22) is LeDu’s signature dish, an attractively deconstructed bowl of dried egg noodles with crispy, caramelized pork belly, fried garlic, marinated jalapeños, half-boiled egg and a clean, succulent knot of crab meat, served with a mild, peppery broth on the side to freshen your palate after each flavor-packed bite. As at Glai Baan, the more familiar Thai standards are less sensational: kao man naa nuer (New York strip over fried rice with a ramekin of spicy-sweet jaew, $24) is tasty but two-note, while the pad Thai ($19) is goopy and bland. But, hey – plenty of places to find pad Thai. Not so with dtom som pla.
Wild Card: Order a LeDu Old Fashioned (rye, cognac and crème de banana, $17) from the illustrated cocktail menu and be disarmed.
5813 N. Seventh St., 480-292-8172, leduthai.com
– Craig Outhier
