18 Dec 28th, 2023–Jan 3rD, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | built with dark, smoky morita chiles and a whiff of fragrant rosemary. This dish was so deep, intense and gorgeously balanced and so far away from the kind of food you expect to see coming off a wood-fired grill. There is zero dropoff here. Bacanora continues to smoke and sizzle. Chuletero at Pa’La (24th Street Location) 2107 N. 24th St. Urciuoli may have moved on, but Jason Alford and Nick Bennett — Alford’s man in charge of the 24th Street location — have taken up the mantle at Pa’La with aplomb. Stellar sourcing and simple preparations still rule the day at Pa’La, and no dish makes that more clear than the chuletero. A $60 pork steak might be the antithesis of Urciuoli’s everyman pricing, but let us be clear — the chuletero is worth every penny of that and more. It’s shipped in from Spain, where pigs are practically different animals from the ones we raise in the States. This ribeye more closely resembles red meat, and the kitchen treats it that way — cooking it with wood fire until it sizzles, but maintaining a deep ruby red at the core. It is robust and tender and juicy and completely reframes your notion of what pork can be. The presentation varies, but the one I got was simply dressed with a bright chimichurri — a perfect, simple complement for a stunning piece of meat. Ae Kan Khlak Ti at Lom Wong 218 E. Portland St. The year may come when I don’t have some dish from Lom Wong on my list, but 2023 is not yet that year. The one I fell hard for this time is a seafood curry that’s a beautiful contrast of smooth sweetness and stinging spice. You can literally see hand- pounded curry paste swirling together with cool, sweet coconut cream — bright orange eddies of turmeric, fresh chiles and Makrut lime leaves, drowning a beautiful piece of fish. In typical Lom Wong fashion, it’s a hyper-regional dish that owners Yotaka and Alex Martin learned from the Moklen community of Baan Taptawan in Southern Thailand. It’s hard to find places that faithfully prepare regional Thai specialties in the country, much less in Phoenix. And man, what a gift to have food like this at our fingertips. Muffuletta Croquettes at Bar Cena 14202 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale Bar Cena just hit the scene in late October and expanded their menu in December, but I’m sure enjoying everything I’ve seen so far. My only complaint about this dish is that I had to share it. Chef and owner Dom Ruggiero — along with his chef de cuisine Zack Myers — is slinging some bangers, and the man has a talent for bringing wit and technique together. Here, he’s taken the spirit of the classic New Orleans sandwich and turned it into a fancypants riff on fried cheese that’s equal parts playful and delicious. Provolone croquettes are studded with sesame and fried to a crisp, then topped with a bright olive and fennel relish. The flavors are as fabulous as they are familiar, but what makes the dish is the texture. The croquettes are surpris- ingly light, and when you bite, provolone comes oozing out almost more like a fonduta. Next time I’m getting my own. Grilled Chula Oysters at Valentine 4130 N. Seventh Ave. Speaking of riffs on classic New Orleans dishes, these grilled Chula oysters were so freaking brilliant. At first glance, this array of oysters is a typical Valentine dish — some beautiful bivalves punctuated by ingredients native to the Southwest, like squash and chiltepin. But the moment you slurp one down, you realize that they’re chef Donald Hawk’s modern Southwestern play on classic Oysters Rockefeller — not the goopy, cheesy, bacon-laden gut bombs most places serve these days, but rather the light, herba- ceous original. Hawk’s spinach-epazote butter is bright and verdant, and those Southwestern accents give the oysters just a little zip. In a year when I had both this version and traditional Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine’s in New Orleans proper, as wonderful as both were, I prefer Hawk’s. The chuletero at Pa’La is a premium cut of Iberico pork shipped in from Spain, wood-roasted and topped with chimichurri. (Photo by Dominic Armato) Critic’s Picks from p 17
