Quadro Pizza quadropizzeria.com We asked a big question in early 2021: Will the next generation of Phoenix pizza be mobile? Thanks to certain juggernauts be- ing knocked out or limited by COVID, that may be the case. Cue Quadro Pizza. Though owner Harry Canelos would bake just 50 pizzas, two nights a week, out of a mobile trailer, his were some of the most memorable in our pizza-crazed desert town. Pies are square, heavy, and sliced into quadrants. Fermentation, up to four days’ worth, is used to develop a crunchy yet soft, airy, and delicious crust. Ingredi- ents include Italian tomatoes underneath Grana Padano cheese — grated on at two separate points in the process. Overall, Quadro is a must-order for local pizza lov- ers. To grab one of Quadro’s few dozen weekly pies, check in on Canelos after he posts his weekly menu to Instagram at @quadropizzeria. EEEEE Pizzeria Virtù 6952 East Main Street, Scottsdale 480-663-9797 pizzeriavirtu.com For the better part of a decade now, Gio Osso has plated some of the Valley’s most progressive Italian food. Now, he also blazes our very best Neapolitan pizza. Osso hews close to the ageless traditions of Na- ples, birthplace of pizza, including the sig- nature puffy crust, micro-thin center, San Marzano tomatoes, and cooking each pie at volcanic heat. Technically, the pizza is almost without error. Toppings, though, are where Osso truly separates from the pack. He isn’t afraid to do taleggio, truffle, trumpet mushrooms, and arugula. Or stracchino cheese with smoked pancetta, caramelized onion, and chestnut honey. These are heady, old-school ingredients ar- ranged in thoughtful ways — resulting in truly excellent pizza. EEEEE Andreoli Italian Grocer 8880 East Via Linda, Scottsdale 480-614-1980 andreoli-grocer.com The owner of Andreoli, Giovanni Scorzo, grew up in Italy’s far south. The dry goods, pastries, meats and cheeses, and prepared foods he offers all reflect his link to Italy, which hits you with the smell of fresh-baked bread upon entering. Scorzo crafts all kinds of ingredients from scratch, including cured meats, cheese like mozzarella and burrata, and intricate pastries like sfogliatelle. Plated dishes include an all-star lineup of stalwarts from up and down Italy, including hand- made ravioli. Slippery, the thin outer noodle soft, the fragrant fillings even softer, Scorzo’s mushroom, veal, squash, and other ravioli channel the Old World. They conjure the humble home kitchens where dough crimps and flour clouds catch the light — the true spirit of pasta. EEEEE The Sicilian Butcher 15530 North Tatum Boulevard 602-775-5140 And other Valley locations thesicilianbutcher.com Lately, charcuterie boards have risen to the level of art: Cheeses, meats, jams, and crackers get displayed so gorgeously that you stop to take a photo before digging in. The Sicilian Butcher definitely under- stands how a charcuterie board has a chance to make a memorable impression. There’s not one, but four different choices for boards, everything from the Polenta board with meatballs, cheese, and toast points; the Cured Meat and Cheese board, which is accompanied by pickled vegeta- bles and jams; and the over-the-top Sicilian in Strada, which delivers panelli fritters, potato croquette, craft meatballs with po- lenta, artisanal meats and cheeses, as well as jams. Served on a 5-foot-long board, it can easily feed a family or a group of friends. And while you’re feasting, don’t forget that happy hour is all day, every day; you likely won’t regret pairing your char- cuterie with a $6 glass of wine or $5 beer. EEEEE ShinBay 3720 North Scottsdale Road #201, Scottsdale 480-361-1021 shin-bay.com A $185 seat at Shinji Kurita’s omakase tem- ple gives you more than a meal. It’s a ticket to a culinary event, a spectacle. Kurita sharpens his knife on the whetstone, whirls chopsticks and pinches food with surgical precision, hand-sculpts blocks of sushi rice with the whole-body movements of a balle- rina, and gently brushes immaculate fish with soy-sake reduction and places it before you. Kohada nigiri drips a few dark drops onto its plate before vanishing into your mouth. The fish is incredibly fresh. Even the rice seems to burst with perfect fra- grance. The shad is excellent. The eel, too. The eggplant with bonito shavings rocks. Shit, you’ll actually even see fresh wasabi root. Kurita is our undisputed sushi king. Kaizen 515 East Grant Street, #100 602-432-0752 kaizenphx.com Housed in a wing of the Galvanize co- working space downtown, Kaizen doesn’t look like a sushi restaurant. And yet, it’s handily the best sushi restaurant to have plugged in its rice cooker since the pan- demic began. Chef Gustavo Munoz pre- pares traditional Japanese sushi (maki, sashimi, etc.) but also raw-fish dishes that straddle Japan and the Americas. They’re as brilliant as they are unlikely. Highlights include a scallop number, pearly coins of bivalve bathed in an electric dark green yuzu-and-serrano-charged aguachile, and a Peruvian-Japanese tiradito with similar brightness but much more creamy oomph. Critically, eel, snapper, and other simple ni- giri taste clean and fresh. This is your new spot for sushi downtown. EEEEE Origami Ramen Bar 4810 East Ray Road, Suite A-1 480-940-4455 origamiramenbar.com Early in the pandemic, Osaka native Yu- suke Kuroda was laid off from his job at the reputed American Japanese chain Nobu. He resettled in Arizona, where he opened Origami Ramen Bar in Ahwatukee, putting his learnings from Nobu and cooking in Ja- pan into long-simmered bowls of noodle soup. For rich miso ramen, the simmering of chicken and pork bones lasts 12 hours. A blend of miso pastes from Hokkaido lends even more depth. One slurp, and a wild fla- vor landscape of umami comes to life, in- credible in its intensity and subtleties. His other ramens are also exceptional, includ- ing a paitan that is pretty much chicken soup to the seventh power. EEEEE Phoenix Palace 2075 North Dobson Road, Chandler 480-855-4047 phoenixpalacechandleraz.com From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, it’s a feeding frenzy at Chandler’s Phoenix Palace. That’s when dim sum is served. During those five hours, a steady offering of delectable Can- tonese dishes is wheeled around the dining area’s many tables in a kind of ballet perfor- mance of culinary hospitality. With so many choices, it takes no effort to litter your Barb’s Bakery 2929 North 24th Street 602-957-4422 barbsbakery.com We used to have a friend named Dino, but we stopped speaking to him when he said 191 table with used plates as you taste savory dishes like spare ribs, steamed and baked barbecue buns, sesame balls, Chinese broc- coli, roast duck, crispy pork, and soy sauce chow mein. And don’t worry, there’s plenty to satisfy your sweet tooth: Creamy buns stuffed with a rich custard and sesame balls filled with sugar and red bean paste are heady, confectionary delights. EEEEE Hot Bamboo 980 East Pecos Road, #4, Chandler 480-257-3304 hotbambooaz.com These fluffy bao steamed in a Chandler restaurant and at events all over the Valley often are more than bao. They are bao with cute, hilarious, amazing faces. Hello Kitty. Baby Yoda. An Angry Bird with arched eye- brows, all but challenging you to eat him. Mr. Bird, you are doomed, because even the tofu bao here is stellar. Indonesian im- migrant Anna Heinback is behind the bao. Though they look new-school, they are steamed in bamboo containers the old- school way. Her char siu (Cantonese-style barbecue pork) and chicken teriyaki make for great munching when walking around a farmers’ market or festival. EEEEE Kabob Grill N Go 3050 North 16th Street 602-607-5272 kabobgrillngo.com What if we told you that one of the greatest grilled meats in our carne asada wonder- land is an Armenian kabob? Believe it. Ka- bob Grill N Go owners Tony and Hasmik Chilingaryan grill flank steak, pork ribs, chicken wings, and the sausage-shaped minced-meat skewer known as koobideh. You can order a skewer. You can throw down and get a whole platter with rice and more. Much of what the Chilingaryans cook is displayed in a glass case. Just one look and a quick soulful smell of the grill, and you’ll be a new regular. EEEEE SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 f o o d & dr i Enk S B T NEW S U S HI B E S T F U NKY B A O B B ES T PI ZZA B E S T B O A RDS B E S T R A MEN ES T K ABO B S B B E S T NE A P OLIT A N P IZ Z A B ES T SUS H I B E S T DIM S UM E S T B AK ERY B E ST P A ST A
