214 with meat options, and each dish on the menu has a recommended wine pairing. Don’t know what to pick? Try one of the three thalis, which offer a taste of multiple dishes at once and come with a mug of hot masala chai and a dessert. Take a seat, sip your tea and take in the sights, sounds and enticing aromas of this neighborhood restaurant. 22222 B E ST M I D D L E E AST E R N R E STAU R A N T Golden Restaurant & Bakery 1849 N. Scottsdale Road, Tempe 480-656-4405 goldenrestaurantbakery.com “Middle Eastern” can be a clumsy catch-all term, but in the case of Golden Restaurant, it’s not entirely inappropriate. The owner is Palestinian, and the menu is primarily Levantine, but the kitchen reaches its tasty tentacles into a number of Arab cuisines. The result is a busy — and large — menu filled with an awful lot of delicious food. Baked-to- order flatbreads are the focal point of this popular, inexpensive joint, whether topped with sizzling za’atar and sesame, fresh vege- tables and pungent cheese or a myriad of seasoned sausages and meats. But the exten- sive menu is loaded with delicious dishes — thick, rich mezes loaded with olive oil, meaty wraps and kebabs deftly seasoned and grilled, and crisp, honeyed desserts. Start with a cup of gratis mint tea, grab a date on the way out the door during Ramadan, and whatever you choose in between will make for an excellent meal. 22222 B E ST H A L A L R E STAU R A N T City of Spice 2945 E. Bell Road 602-603-9457 cityofspice.com It feels a little unfair, highlighting this as a halal restaurant. After all, the Hyderabadi family that runs City of Spice serves up dosa, paneer and vegetables that stand tall with the best of them. But halal Indian restaurants are a little trickier to come by, and City of Spice handles meat like no other. Looking for lamb? Try the fiery, vinegar-infused lamb vindaloo or the green chile lamb, an explo- sive concoction loaded with fresh herbs and garlic. Goat? Try the goat kadai, slow-cooked in a fragrant stew of ginger and tomatoes, or the Hyderabadi biryani, tender chunks of meat buried in a mound of steaming, flavorful rice with fresh lemon and raita. Chicken? Try sizzling seekh kababs in a hot iron skillet over sweet onions, or City of Spice’s outstanding butter chicken, a wildly spiced and intense version the likes of which you’ve probably never tried. Whatever manner of critter strikes your fancy, this is a kitchen that knows what to do with it. B E ST N O RT H A F R I CA N R E STAU R A N T Alzohour Restaurant 7814 N. 27th Ave. 602-433-5191 instagram.com/alzohourrestaurant Sometimes you need a reminder that one of the most delicious restaurants in town is right under your nose. Zhor Saad’s restau- rant slash market slash clothing shop has been around for more than a decade, but the combination of a quirky location and rarely seen cuisine mean that it’s still fighting for respect after all these years. Saad’s food deserves it. Her bastilla is a mind-bending sweet/savory ground chicken pie, loaded with cinnamon and ground nuts and wrapped in crisp pastry. Tagines like saffron- scented lamb and fish with tomato and olives are sultry and densely layered, while tender vegetables perch atop mounds of fluffy, steaming couscous. Saad’s golden kunafa filled with sweetened cheese and paired with mint tea is an excellent reason to linger at the end of the meal. And don’t be afraid to linger. Saad typically runs a one-woman show, and dinner arrives at her pace. Settle in and savor it. 22222 B E ST E AST A F R I CA N R E STAU R A N T Kare Ethiopian Restaurant 4829 E. McDowell Road 602-354-5782 kareethiopiarestaurant.com These days, our favorite Ethiopian joint in Phoenix is one of its least heralded. On a stretch of McDowell better known for commuting than cuisine, this laid-back joint with a welcoming staff serves bold and distinctive classics on excellent injera — almost chocolate-colored, made with pure teff and boasting a sharp, fermented tang. Doro wot dresses chicken and eggs with a sultry chile-heavy buzz, alecha siga wot brings sweet ginger and turmeric to flavorful chunks of beef, and the shiro wot turns chickpeas into a buttery, smooth paste that’s scented with onions and berbere. If you like your beef seared, the shekela tebes is served sizzling hot with peppers, onions and fresh rosemary; if you like it raw, the Kare special kitfo is lush and rich with a mix of cheese
