Month: July 2026

ArizonaFilipinoRating: OutstandingUnited States

Tambayan Filipino Food – Mesa, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When my Kim required physical therapy after a brief hospitalization, extraordinary physical therapist Lana Ramos was dispatched to our home where she worked with my Kim for several weeks.  Lana was wonderful–a superb and patient coach for my injured bride and a knowledgeable and patient source of knowledge for me.  Having been around many Air Force colleagues married to Filipino women, I developed a fondness for both the culture and cuisine of the Philippines.  Lana reignited that fondness by answering my questions and clarifying a few misconceptions I had.  When my Kim successfully completed her physical therapy, Lana prepared lumpia for us.  It had been a long time since we’d had lumpia. Lana told us that she and several compatriots journey to the Phoenix area periodically to get their fix of Filipino cuisine which–until September, 2024 could not be found at an Albuquerque eatery.  Then came Cindy Recile, an effusive and radiant personality who named her take-out establishment “Barkada’s ABQ” for the Filipino word for “friends” or “group of friends.”   Barkada’s is not a sit-down restaurant in which you can linger to enjoy fabulous flavors.  Instead, you’ve got to use social media to order food which you can pick up…

AmericanArizonaBreakfastRating: Very GoodUnited States

Butters Pancakes & Cafe – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno7:01 AM

“Spread your tiny wings and fly away And take the snow back with you Where it came from on that day So, little snowbird take me with you when you go To the land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow.” ~ Anne Murray Every autumn, gaggles of geese, flocks of ducks, kettles of hawks and constructions of cranes begin their long, arduous migration from the continent’s northern regions to warmer climes in the South. They fly in formation to more idyllic and much warmer locales such as the Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. Similarly, large numbers of pasty-skinned human migrants from Canada and the northern tier of the fruited plains leave behind the rigors of snow shoveling, sub-zero temperatures, dark winter nights and bitterly disappointing fall television schedules. They journey by every motorized conveyance known to man to the southern United States and Mexico, toting their golf clubs, swimming trunks, SPF-400 suntan oil and bags of money. In polite company, we call these heat-seeking seasonal migrants “snowbirds.” Many of them, especially the blonde ones of the XX chromosome pairing, seem to favor Scottsdale, Arizona. We had thought the concept of snowbirds applied solely to migratory avian and…

ArizonaMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

El Pollo Correteado – Mesa, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“El Pollo Correteado” translates literally to “the chased chicken” or “the run-after chicken” in English.  It’s been my experience that anyone can chase a chicken, but chasing a rooster is an entirely different story.  Roosters can be very aggressive, even mean.  An aggressive rooster can be dangerous to humans, pets, and other chickens.  Roosters are the “wife beaters” of the animal kingdom. Rooster pecking can be normal courting or a sign of aggression. During courtship, a rooster will gently peck a hen’s head or neck to signal her to squat for mating. However, targeted pecking that causes injuries, bald patches, or bleeding requires immediate intervention to protect the hens and establish boundaries. An angry rooster can peck their human keepers mercilessly with their beak after digging their spurs into your leg.  To this day, my friend Captain Escalante Tuttle is traumatized by Cousin Leandro’s posturing roosters ruthlessly having attacked him with sudden bursts of speed, sharp spurs and a fuscillade of pecking.  It’s something I can relate to.  My Grandma Piedad kept a brood of chickens.  Kids being kids, we thought we could get away with playing near their coop.  The rooster didn’t appreciate our proximity to its girlfriends and…

ArizonaAsianChineseRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Kofu Dumpling House – Mesa, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In 1993, The New York Times named Din Tai Fung one of the top ten restaurants in the world, turning a local favorite into an international destination. Since then, it’s been wildly popular around the country and globe.  Known for their upscale-casual restaurants serving up delicious Chinese food, with a particular emphasis on the Xiao Long Bao (steamed soup dumplings) it’s a global phenom. On 20 April 2026, the Taiwanese chain opened in Scottsdale’s Fashion Square Mall. The Scottsdale store occupies 10,000 square feet, features a dumpling expo viewing kitchen, 340 seats and has a full bar. According to the Phoenix New Times, “as of mid-July, the next available reservations are in mid-September. There’s no doubt, the Taiwan-based company’s dumplings, handmade at each location, are excellent. But for some dumpling cravings, two months is too long to wait.” Count me among those who wouldn’t wait two months for reservations to any restaurant.  I won’t even wait until 2027 when Din Tai Fung launhes a Chandler store.   Not when there are several dumpling restaurants throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area renowned for not only their dumplings, but for excellent Chinese food.  Among them is the Kofu Dumpling House in the heart of…

ArizonaDonutsIce CreamRating: N/R (Not Rated)SpecialtyUnited States

Novel Ice Cream – Mesa, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the Season 8 finale of Seinfeld, Kramer attends the Tony Awards (for Excellence in Theatre) ceremony as a seat filler for a nominee who leaves his seat. When the musical Scarsdale Surprise wins, the excited actual winners surge past his row and pull him onto the stage. Kramer accepts the award, starts celebrating, and famously declares that “the Tony is taking me to Sardi’s!” Producers of the show find Kramer and tell him he can only keep the award if he fires the show’s star, Raquel Welch, because she does not move her arms when she dances. Kramer nervously goes to fire Welch, but she attacks him and destroys the Tony Award. Seinfeld was a television comedy show?  In “real life” prestigious awards aren’t handed out in error,  are they?  Hmm, who can forget Steve Harvey announcing the wrong winner at the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant?  Or the 2017 Academy Awards when La La Land was mistakenly announced as the “Best Picture” winner instead of the actual winner, Moonlight?  Those two examples came to mind when Novel Ice Cream was ranked as the number one donut shop in the U.S. by Yelp Elite members–despite actually being an artisan ice…

ArizonaFine DiningItalianRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Sexy Roman – Scottsdale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The Sexy Roman restaurant inside the W Scottsdale (a vibrant, luxury lifestyle hotel) was christened to reflect its identity as a “mischievous,” sultry, and high-energy take on Roman and Mediterranean dining. Created by the Alliance Hospitality Group, the name signals a playful, glamorous nightlife vibe rather than a traditional, quiet trattoria.  Uh oh, as a culinary historian, those terms conjure images of “dining” taken to extreme.  At its immoderate peak, the Roman dining lifestyle hearkens back to the days of baccanalian excess, wild and rowdy celebrations dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine. A bacchanalian feast involved  massive wine-drinking, chaotic dancing, and a total breakdown of normal social rules. Chronicled some 200 years after the peak of the practice, writings offers a scandalized and extremely colourful account of the bacchanalia. Frenzied rites, sexually violent initiations of both sexes, all ages and all social classes were all part of the celebrations. Large amounts of wine and food apparently prompted participants to lose all inhibitions. Wild, chaotic parties featuring heavy drinking, loss of normal behavior, and unrestrained physical or sexual celebration were more than commonplace; they were expected.  Hmm, much as I love to eat, I probably would have limited my participation…

2026 James beard Foundation: "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistArizonaDiners Drive-Ins and DivesMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)TacosUnited States

Tacos Chiwas – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The city of Phoenix has a population of approximately 1.66 million residents, making it the fifth most populous city in the United States.  As anchor for the broader Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler-Scottsdale-Tempe, etc., etc.  metropolitan area, more than 4.8 million people call the Valley Of The Sun home.  So no, it’s not glutted with designer taco shops competing with modest mom-and-pop taco joints.  As in Austin, Texas, there can’t be nearly enough taco shops to appease denizens and visitors who believe tacos should be on the USDA food pyramid–maybe at the top right above pizza and burgers. At the risk of delving (or devolving) into a potential political miasma, one term I’ve not heard used about tacos is “cultural appropriation,” the adoption of elements from a minority or marginalized culture by members of a dominant culture, often in exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical ways. Online and print critics bandy about such terms as “gringo tacos” as freely as they ascribe “authenticity” to tacos proffered by scions of Montezuma. It dawned on me when researching Tacos Chiwas just how often the term “authentic” or some derivative thereof was used. Obviously, Tacos Chiwas is several somebodies exemplar of the real thing. Tacos Chiwas was launched in…

ArizonaDog FriendlyRating: OutstandingSandwichUnited States

PANE BIANCO – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When she lived in Tucson, Arizona Republic dining critic Andi Berlin would drive nearly two hours  to Phoenix to enjoy foods that can’t be found anywhere else in Arizona.  One of her five favorites held such sway over her that she actually moved to the Valley of the Sun so that she could enjoy it more often.  Now that’s a gastronome after my own heart!  Among the cinquefoil restaurants was Pane Bianco, whose sandwiches Andi says “are so perfect that they’ve achieved cult status.”  Perfect sandwiches!  Hmm, that’s a good reason to relocate and maybe the reason the Phoenix real estate market is among the nation’s top 10 hottest markets. During dozens of trips to Phoenix over my eighteen-year tenure at Intel, I would have described Phoenix as a culinary wasteland.  That’s based largely on well-intentioned colleagues taking me to their favorite restaurants–usually chains that hadn’t yet made their way to the Land of Enchantment or worse, Arizona-style Mexican restaurants.  There were exceptions, of course, but those were few and far in between and in every case, those few were restaurants I discovered myself, usually on my way to the airport.  To abet my culinary explorations, I would actually schedule a late flight…

ArizonaMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)SteakTacosUnited States

Huarachis Taqueria – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

There are a number of restaurants across the globe for which reservations are notoriously difficult to get. Securing a table at The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine, for example, is widely considered the hardest reservation in the world. Instead of going online or calling, hopefuls must mail a physical postcard to the restaurant just to enter a lottery. From a mountain of mail, only a lucky few are drawn for a chance to dine at the 40-seat restaurant.  Then there’s Rao’s in New York City, an old-school Italian spot where tables are privately “owned” by regulars and newcomers can only dine through personal invitations.   For sheer exclusivity, you can’t beat (or get reservations to) Kawamura in Tokyo, Japan. This exclusive, seven-seat Ginza steakhouse is effectively booked entirely by regulars who reserve their next meal before leaving, making it virtually inaccessible to outsiders In comparison, you might find it easier to make reservations for Bacanora which in 2026 is consistently ranked as the single hardest restaurant reservation to secure in Phoenix. Secure your spot by booking on the OpenTable Bacanora Page. Tables are extremely difficult to get.  They are released on the 1st of each month at 9AM for the entire…

ArizonaBarbecueRating: GoodUnited States

Honey Bear’s Barbecue – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno2:40 PM

Depending on the type of egg, the minimum temperature for frying an egg has been measured to be 144-158F.  That’s only a few degrees from the ideal “low and slow” temperature of smoking meats–225°F to 250°F. On scorching summer days in Phoenix, television news shows perennially traumatize visitors and tourists by frying an egg on the city’s sidewalks. It would really traumatize viewers if a pitmaster was shown manipulating the low-and-slow smoke emanating from post oak embers on a sidewalk to barbecue a brisket. In the first decade of the new millennium, frequent business trips brought me to the Valley of The Sun.  At that time, there was a serious dearth of good barbecue restaurants in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.  Among the very few was The Smokehouse Barbecue Restaurant where me and my Intel friends and colleagues practically lived.  Incomparable pitmaster Gary West kept us very well fed (particularly on Wednesdays when the amazing smoked burger was featured fare).  The Smokehouse was like an oasis in a culinary desert.  Business trips to the Phoenix area gave us an opportunity to explore smoked meats and discover very good barbecue away from the Land of Enchantment. Among our very favorite was Honey…

ArizonaAsianDiners Drive-Ins and DivesRating: N/R (Not Rated)ThaiUnited States

The Wild Thaiger – Phoenix, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Wild Thaiger, burning bright In the Phoenix desert night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fiery beef Panang curry? I’m no William Blake, but my inaugural visit to Wild Thaiger in Phoenix, Arizona inspired me to wax poetic.  It would be peurile of me to pen an unctuous description of Chef-Owner Olashawn Hasadinratana-Weaver (Ola for short) that might have included the terms “cougar” or “tigress.”   Chef Ola is a serious, self-taught chef who learned the art of cooking from her family’s rich Thai culinary traditions and honed her skills hands-on in the restaurant industry.  To view her as something other than that is to diminish her talents.  She may be a vibrant, energetic and very attractive celebrity chef, but there’s so much more to her than that. The culinary world witnessed Chef Ola’s culinary talents as well as her vivaciousness during a 2014 visit by gliteratti Guy Fieri and the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” crew. His initial visit was featured in the season 22 episode “Globe Tasting” which originally aired in 2015. During this visit, he highlighted such signature dishes as pork and crab dumplings known as “Dragon Eggz” and the Mu Yang marinated pork skewers.…