It’s hard to conceive of two cuisines more diametrically opposed than those of Canada and Mexico, but here we are – sandwiched between these odd culinary bedfellows. Throw in the combined gustatorial diversity of the Caribbean, and our hemisphere is anything but a snooze.
by Nikki Buchanan, Leah LeMoine, Craig Outhier & Madison Rutherford
The Bahamas
Seafood dominates the collective diet of this island nation, and the rubbery sea snail called conch is its national dish. Caribbean Palm Scottsdale (caribbeanpalmscottsdale.com) turns out sweet and seriously spicy curry conch, sided with stewed cabbage and coconut milk-infused rice and peas. Chopped into wee strips, the conch mostly provides texture here – it’s chewy and tough, like a cloud ear mushroom – but the dish is a flavor bonanza.
glossary
escovitch /ES-ke-vitch/
A Jamaican corruption of the Spanish word “escabeche.” Both refer to a method of marinating seafood in vinegar, herbs and onions after cooking it.
No Love for… Barbados
Mount Gay Rum – distilled on the Lower Caribbean island since the early 1700s – is arguably its most distinctive culinary contribution. Barbadians do eat roti – an Indian flatbread – but we couldn’t find their version, fashioned like a burrito, in the Valley.
Canada
It’s funny – we Americans have embraced the various cuisines of Mexico with open hearts and mouths, but when it comes to the culinary specialties of Canada, we act as if our neighbor to the north doesn’t exist. Had any bannock lately? Nanaimo bars? Maybe a tourtière? Didn’t think so. The one dish that crossed the border and stayed? Poutine, a specialty of Quebec composed of french fries, thick gravy and cheese curds. American Poutine (americanpoutine.com) – a mobile “poutinerie” with two trucks – does an admirable job, hand-cutting the spuds and frying them twice before topping them with squeaky cheddar cheese curds and gravy. Variations are also available.
Cuba
Influenced by Spanish, African and various Caribbean cuisines, Cuban cooking is heavy and starchy, often getting its characteristic balancing brightness from citrus or vinegar. Since opening in its Glendale location last June, Cubanitas Kitchen (cubanitaskitchenaz.com) has swiftly become the gold standard for Cuban cuisine in the Valley, offering delicious lessons in the style (below).
Cuban Classics
Ropa vieja
A rich stew of braised, stringy beef; name translates to “old clothes.” Served with congri (black beans and rice).
Cubano
Cuba’s iconic sandwich, made with pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard on pressed, baguette-like Cuban bread.
Coffee
Akin to espresso, served in a tiny cup with a dainty cookie.
Batidos
Tropical-flavored milkshakes topped with whipped cream.
Chef Chat
Lennis Rivas Montero of Cubanitas Kitchen
Originally a food truck, Cubanitas Kitchen rose to Cuban-cuisine powerhouse status behind the talents of owner-manager Angel Renteria (pictured, standing) and owner-chef Lennis Rivas Montero. Out of a tiny space, Cuban-born Montero (pictured, sitting) makes fabulous Cubanos and the city’s best ropa vieja.
Where did you learn to cook?
I learned from my grandma. I was about 10 years old when I started asking lots of questions. She loved sharing her recipes with me. It was our bond. Later, I studied gastronomy, then worked at a restaurant called Café Ciudad for three years before leaving Cuba. In my voyage to the States, I opened a food cart in Peru, where I sold papas rellenas [potato croquettes] every day, saving money to continue my journey here.
Describe Cuba’s coffee culture.
It’s an all-day thing! We wake up, it’s coffee time. We finish lunch, it’s coffee time. The neighbor stops by to say hello, it’s coffee time. It’s 7 p.m., it’s coffee time! I honestly don’t know how we sleep!
glossary
sofrito /soh-FREE-toh/
An aromatic blend of onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and spices used as a flavoring base for soups and stews. A staple throughout the Caribbean.
Dominican Republic
Sharing the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, the DR has one of the Caribbean’s most distinctive food cultures. Mild but flavorful, Dominican food is traditionally derived from Indigenous Taíno, Spanish and African cuisines, with modern contributions from the British West Indies and China. The Valley has exactly one dedicated Dominican restaurant: Mambo’s Dominican Kitchen in Chandler (facebook.com/mamboskitchenaz), which dishes out many of the classics (below).
Jamaica
Jamaican cuisine goes well beyond jerk chicken. It’s a delicious hodgepodge of cooking techniques and flavors, reflecting influences from native Amerindians, enslaved Africans, European colonizers, indentured Chinese and Indians, and religiously persecuted Portuguese Jews. The Valley has roughly a dozen Jamaican restaurants, with Topnotch Island Flavor Kitchen in North Phoenix (topnotchislandflavorkitchen.net) leading the way both in execution and variety (see below).
A Word on Jerk
No, silly, not your ex. It’s a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meat is dry-rubbed or marinated with a hot spice mixture that invariably includes fiery scotch bonnet peppers. Find the jerk for you among these elite Jamaican restaurants in the Valley.
Central Phoenix
Ms. Martha’s Caribbean Restaurant: Get Ms. Martha’s smoky, complex jerk chicken as wings or an entrée, served with your choice of sides, including plantains. msmarthaskitchen.com
East Valley
Island Boyz Jerk Spot: The excellent jerk served from this ghost kitchen (where dine-in is available) has a decided kick, but accompanying festivals (cornmeal fritters) help put out the fire. islandboyzjerkspot.com
West Valley
Desert Island Eatery: At this tiny, family-run eatery, the jerk has a touch of earthiness amid the sweetness and heat. Vegetarians swear by the jerk tofu. desertislandeateryphx.com
North Valley
Topnotch Island Flavor Kitchen: Tired of chicken? Smoked, molasses-rubbed jerk pork, flavored with Red Stripe and ignited with scotch bonnets, will take your breath away at this NoPho gem. 16816 N. Cave Creek Rd., 602-283-5600
Mexico
Exultant, world-class expressions of Mexican cooking blanket the Valley like so many serapes and are not exactly an unknown commodity to PHOENIX readers – we’ve devoted whole cover stories to Mexican dining on several occasions. Everybody has a “place” for great tacos or soul-centering burritos when it comes to our Mexi-centric dining culture, but new talent is constantly enriching the landscape, reviving and elevating lesser-known regional cuisines.
Map It: Mexico
Where to find regional Mexican culinary treasures in the Valley.
Sonora
Gone viral after national write-ups in Esquire and Sunset magazines, Grand Avenue micro-diner Bacanora (bacanoraphx.com) flips the beef-and-lard Sonoran cliché on its ear. Chef-owner Rene Andrade’s masterpiece: pollo asado, a farmhouse standard turned into crispy, supple, salty magic in his mesquite-burning Santa Maria grill.
Oaxaca/Pueblo
Though multi-regional, Casa Corazon (casacorazonrestaurant.com) on the Calle 16 dining drag presents a master class in Oaxacan-Pueblan cuisine via its mole negro (secret ingredient: house-ground pumplin seeds) and chiles en nogada (pork and shrimp stuffed into a roasted poblano and drizzled with a blonde almond sauce).
Yucatán
There’s hardly a style of Mexican cuisine chef Silvana Salcido Esparza hasn’t mastered at Barrio Café (barriocafe.com) in Central Phoenix. But we’ll slot her here by virtue of her incomparable cochinita pibil – a Mayan dish of pork shoulder flavored with Seville oranges and annatto (which imparts a vivid orange color) and roasted in a banana leaf.
Baja California
Baja is more of an attitude than a culinary culture, but it has one undeniable staple: crispy fish tacos. We love ’em at bougie Uptown taqueria Joyride Taco House (joyridetacohouse.com).
Veracruz
Seafood rules the dinner plate in this coastal state, and Mariscos Playa Hermosa (mariscosplayahermosa.com) in Central Phoenix is the apex of Mexican seafood in the Valley. You won’t find a better huachinango, the semi-official dish of Veracruz (fried red snapper smothered in a papaya salsa).
Michoacán/Jalisco
Birria is the most distinctive dish from this central region. Thus, we’ll refer you to Birrieria Obregon (birrieriaobregonaz.com) in Southwest Phoenix – one of the Valley’s top purveyors of sultry, adobo-braised goat.
Chiapas
Yes, Reinas De Las Pupusas (facebook.com/reinasdelaspupusas) is a Salvadoran eatery. But it also offers the best culinary analogue of this mountainous Mexican region, via the leafy, herbal chipilín baked into its silky tamales de pollo with Oaxacan cheese.
Mexico City
Mexico’s federal district is known for street-classic staples like sandal-shaped tlacoyos (stuffed tortillas), found at Restaurant Huauchinangos (1620 W. University Dr., Mesa, 480-835-2054), a delish hole-in-the-wall in Mesa.
Food for Thought
Among the many culinary gifts bestowed on the world by Mexico: the Caesar salad (invented in Tijuana in the 1920s); chocolate (a staple of the Aztec diet) and tomatoes. De nada, Italy.
Chef Chat
Javier Verdugo of Casa Carazon
A favorite of the Midtown power-lunch set since it opened six years ago on Calle 16, Casa Corazon unites multiple Mexican regional styles on one menu, with a particular emphasis on the rustic, complex flavors of Puebla. The man behind the mole is Phoenix businessman Javier Verdugo, a longtime telecom pro making his first foray into food. And we’re glad he did.
If you could only pick one regional style of Mexican food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I love seafood, so it would be Sinaloa [on the Sea of Cortez].
We’re in love with your beet sauce on the enchiladas. Is that a dish commonly found in Mexico, or one that you invented?
It is the best, isn’t it? It originated in a [Catholic] convent in Querétaro as a sauce for pasta and other things, and was called mole rosa. We incorporated it into the enchiladas. I don’t think it was tried before on enchiladas.
It’s been almost six years since you opened Casa Corazon. Any plans for another restaurant or location?
Yes, we are planning on expanding next year, in [Downtown] Phoenix. The restaurant is going to be run by my son, Ulysses.
Trinidad & Tobago
Callaloo, a green leafy vegetable, is eaten as a side dish in many Caribbean countries, but in Trinidad, crab and callaloo is the national dish. Although that yummy-sounding combo is not available (as far as we know) in Phoenix, Ocho Rios Jerk Spot (ochoriosjerkspot.com) serves a vegan callaloo meal with two sides and a festival.
U.S.A.
We’ve actually walked this road before – just last January, in fact, with our Eatin’ in the USA cover story, which endeavored to identify the quintessential dish for every U.S. state and the Valley restaurant that serves the best version of it. Italian beef for Illinois. SPAM musubi for Hawaii. Lobster roll, duh, for Maine. 50 dishes and Valley restaurants in all. See if you can match the following dishes with their appropriate states.
1. Eggs Benedict
2. Disco fries
3. Fried calamari
4. Macaroni and cheese
5. Pepperoni rolls
6. Chinese chicken salad
a. West Virginia
b. Rhode Island
c. New Jersey
d. California
e. New York
f. Virginia
Answers: 1(e), 2(c), 3(b), 4(f), 5(a), 6(d)
U.S.A. Food Redux
For a compete list of U.S. state cuisines and their Valley purveyors, visit phoenixmag.com/2023/01/07/eatin-in-the-usa/.
