217 and collard greens. And whatever you try, there’s no better way to end the meal than with the traditional Ethiopian coffee service. 22222 B EST W EST A F R I CA N R ESTAU R A N T West African Cuisine 7017 N. 19th Ave. 480-232-2141 ez-qr.menu/west-african-cuisine/ How wonderful is it that a mini-boom of West African restaurants has suddenly made this a viable category? There always have been a couple of West African restaurants around the Valley, but for the first time, researching them all requires some signifi- cant legwork. After making the rounds, West African Cuisine has emerged as our favorite. Formerly Authentic Liberian Cuisine (now under new ownership), West African Cuisine has carried over most of the Liberian menu but expanded a little further to rope in other regional dishes. Goat pepper soup brings some serious fire, packing intense habanero flavor while keeping the capsaicin just tame enough to make the dish edible. Egusi soup slings some heavy funk, mixing a medley of meats and spinach with smoked fish and shrimp powder for a heady, hearty stew. Palm butter is oily and rich, spicy and garlicky and loaded with peanuts, like a thick curry. And the jollof rice is a standout — beautifully seasoned and served with a fried turkey quarter that features sizzling crisp skin, juicy meat and a perky habanero sauce to accompany. 22222 B EST E AST E R N E U RO P E A N R E STAU R A N T All Pierogi Kitchen 1245 W. Baseline Road, Mesa 480-262-3349 allpierogi.com All Pierogi Kitchen has long been one of the Valley’s top destinations for Eastern Euro- pean cuisine, but its very best feature might be that it seems to get better and better with each passing year. Owner Nataliya Koshalko serves the foods of her native Ukraine, along with regional specialties from neighboring Slavic countries, and her extensive menu is a celebration of hearty meat-and-potatoes fare. The namesake pierogi are here in abun- dance, served up hot in the restaurant or frozen to take home from the market next door. Boiled or pan-fried, they’re hefty little lumps of tender dough stuffed with the likes of ground meat, sauerkraut, pork and cheese. Soups are a standout, including a hot beet borscht, a green borscht packed with herbs and a dynamite dill pickle soup, creamy and rich and loaded with potatoes and chunks of kielbasa. Smoked sausages snap, potato pancakes crunch and an exceptional chicken Kiev oozes a lake of butter when you tap into its piping-hot molten core. It’s a no-misses kind of menu, and few Valley restaurants of any persuasion are so consistently delicious. 22222 B E ST J E W I S H D E L I Goldman’s Deli 6929 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale 480-367-9477 goldmansdeliarizona.com There are some delicious new happenings around town with pastrami, bagels and other traditional trappings of Jewish delis, but if you’re looking for the total package, Gold- man’s Deli remains our pick. This is a Chicago-style Jewish deli, not New York- style, which means you can get a Chicago dog to go with your gefilte fish (anybody ever try dragging the latter through the garden?), and during spring training, there’s a good chance you’ll run into White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf smoking a cigar with a crowd of baseball scouts on the sidewalk outside. But the classics are all here and all well-represented, from a crisp and greasy pastrami Reuben to an icy clear bowl of cold beet borscht to an absolutely stellar chopped liver plate that’s so smooth and sweet it’s the perfect gateway dish for the hepato-curious. 22222 B E ST V EG A N R E STAU R A N T Uniq Burger 7730 E. McDowell Road, Suite 108-B, Scottsdale 480-664-7919 uniqburger.com We challenge you to try a little experiment. Hand anyone a burger from this Scottsdale restaurant, and watch as they take a bite. After they’re delighted by how delicious the burger is, tell them it’s entirely vegan. Cue the shock and awe. The burgers at Uniq taste just like the ones from your favorite drive-thru takeout combined with a hint of smash burger nostalgia. The menu also includes vegan chicken sandwiches and
