Best Panadería
Champis
The pan dulce at this Mexican bakery might be the best thing you’ll ever eat: light and flaky, subtly sweet. Then you’ll try the cream-filled mantecadas (buttery and spongy), the orejas (puffy cinnamon delights) and the polvorónes (perfect crumbly shortbreads) and you’ll realize you’ve actually never had a good pastry until Champis.
10575 W. Indian School Rd., Avondale, 623-248-5854, orderchampisbakery.com
Best Mochi Doughnuts
Paris Baguette
Paris Baguette offers visitors a visual, oral and olfactory feast, with scores of perfectly crafted cakes, breads and pastries, but its most popular item by far is its mochi doughnut: fried, bulbous rings of gelatinous rice cake topped with raspberry, citrus or green tea icing and sprinkled with powdered sugar. No wonder the South Korean franchise sensation has nearly 4,000 locations worldwide and counting.
parisbaguette.com
Best Crème Brûlée
Zu & Pocha
Don’t get us wrong – we love vanilla custard and caramelized sugar just as much as the next bon vivant, but sometimes crème brûlée feels a little too vanilla, you know? We have this ASU-adjacent Korean kitchen to thank for coming along and diversifying the classic French dessert with barley tea, miso and pineapple compote, while maintaining the taste and texture of torched sugar we know and love.
1212 E. Apache Blvd., Tempe, 480-590-2903, zuandpocha.com
Best Cheesecake
Chilte
Chef Lawerence “LT” Smith has been getting plenty of buzz for his innovative takes on classic Mexican cuisine – squid ink tortillas, chorizo Bolognese. But he surpassed himself with the guava tart, a seasonal riff on the restaurant’s regular cheesecake offering. Creamy, velvety epazote cheesecake is a luscious foil for zesty cured lemon, tangy guava curd, coconut tres leches and two surprising savory ingredients: white cheddar and dried shrimp dust. Trust us, it works.
765 Grand Ave., Phoenix., 602-807-5226, chiltephx.com
Best Cool-off on a Summer Day
Mahalo Made
Owner Lastassia Eidson has a grandmother in Japan and family in Hawaii, giving her serious street cred for Hawaiian shave ice, which migrated to Hawaii from Japan. A special machine shaves the ice into light, fluffy sheaves that readily soak up Mahalo’s intensely flavorful syrups made with puréed organic fruit and sugar cane. The pièce(s) de résistance are layers of rich, sugary condensed milk and (for an extra $2) a creamy core of vanilla ice cream tucked under the ice.
1215 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, Instagram: @mahalomadeit
Best Fruity Dessert
Pavlova at BASE Pizzeria
Named in honor of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova following her tour of the Antipodes in the early 1920s, this pretty, meringue-based morsel originated in either New Zealand or Australia, depending on who you believe. What’s beyond debate: BASE does it spectacularly well. Crowned with whipped cream and dappled with fresh fruit, the meringue gets an extra dollop of luscious fruit compote and is available daily until it sells out.
3115 E. Lincoln Dr., Phoenix, 602-535-8914 basepizzeria.com
