192 Best of phoenix 2023 | WWW.bestofphoenix2023.c0m | septemBer 28, 2023 Best Food News VOODOO DOUGHNUT 1324 S. Rural Road, Tempe 602-641-6669 voodoodoughnut.com Arizona’s first Voodoo Doughnut is finally here. The internet erupted with happy reactions when the Portland, Oregon- based chain known for its over-the-top creations announced that it would finally open a store on Rural Road in Tempe. The store was the first to land in the Grand Canyon State, joining Voodoo’s empire that spans Colorado, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Florida. Favorites on the menu include the sweet-and-sour Grape Ape, Oreo-encrusted Dirt Doughnut and the namesake Voodoo Doll Doughnut, filled with raspberry jelly and stabbed with a pretzel stake. The signature pink boxes have already started popping up around town. Best Restaurant Return GRAND AVENUE PIZZA CO. 6729 N. 57th Drive, Glendale 623-937-3004 grandavenuepizzacompany.com There was a long, collective sigh of dismay when Grand Avenue Pizza Co. closed its arts district outpost for a summer break and didn’t reopen. Ryan Moreno opened SnapBack Pizzeria in its stead, and then a sliver of hope appeared via social media. Grand Avenue Pizza Co.’s post was simple: “Glendale March 2023.” Owner Carson Wheeler made the wait worth it, bringing the pizzeria back — bigger and better than ever. The Glendale location is massive, with ample space indoors and on a sweeping patio that boasts lawn games and picnic tables. The menu is larger, too, now featuring a full bar and additions that pair perfectly with pizza, like chicken wings — the lemon pepper seasoned wings are crispy and offer a bright zing. Even with more to choose from, the foundation Wheeler built with his pizzas remains: hand- tossed, baked to perfection with plenty of gooey cheese and an array of toppings as well as rotating specialty pies. Best Snub THE JAMES BEARD AWARDS Each year, chefs and restaurant profes- sionals from around the country gather in Chicago for an event dubbed the Oscars of food. Winning a James Beard Award is one of the top honors a chef or restaurant can receive. And each year, a handful of Arizona chefs are in the mix. This year, however, was different. No Arizona chefs won awards, and none even made it into the final round. We had a great showing in the semifinalist round, with 12 nomina- tions including chefs Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Cafe, Crystal Kass of Valentine and Rene Andrade and Roberto Centeno of Bacanora. But that was the end of the road for every local semifinalist this year, making the 2023 James Beard Awards Arizona’s biggest snub. Best Restaurant BACANORA 1301 Grand Ave. bacanoraphx.com Rene Andrade and Roberto Centeno continue to tear it up at their thumping boombox of a restaurant that’s as brash and bratty as it is delicious. You’d think the novelty would wear off eventually — this is Phoenix, after all — but Bacanora remains the hottest table in town, and rightfully so. The cousins’ contemporary Sonoran cuisine arrived as a statement and endures as a mission, humble Mexican roots filtered through the eyes of a pair of talented chefs and forged in the fire of the wood-burning grill in back. Killer agave-based cocktails give way to grilled meats infused with smoke and fire, paired with charred vegetables, tortillas and beans so good they could pull off a one-man show. But the excellence is in the detail: the subtlety of the seasoning in a watermelon salad, the balance of flavors in a bowl of birria, the care taken with something as mundane as a roasted potato. Bacanora may look and feel like a party, but it’s a laboratory in disguise, meticulously extracting every last bit of flavor from its Sonoran roots. Best New Restaurant PICCOLO VIRTÙ 7240 E. Main St., Scottsdale 480-663-3296 piccolovirtu.com Chef/owner Gio Osso designed his third Scottsdale restaurant to fit comfortably between his original concept — the slightly more formal prix-fixe Virtù Honest Craft — and his casual yet stunning Pizzeria Virtù, a place to share burrata and Neapolitan pizza. Like both of those, Piccolo Virtù delivers Italian dishes with impeccable ingredients and gorgeous but unfussy presentations. But unlike either, it’s fine dining and also a la carte, so guests can share a few plates and a bottle of wine from the impressive Italian-heavy list or settle in for a multicourse meal starting with snazzy cocktails and ending with a whole suckling pig or monster Bistecca alla fiorentina. The menu offers thoughtfully created dishes with some classic compo- nents like pasta, pancetta, pecorino cheese and prosciutto, but they don’t hew strictly to the Italian playbook, which makes it more exciting. Branzino crudo might loll in a warm sesame oil broth. Black-noodle carbonara is topped with briny uni. Service excels as well: The employees are knowl- edgeable when you need it but unobtrusive when you want time to savor and enjoy. Best Chef DONALD HAWK Valentine 4130 N. Seventh Ave. 602-612-2961 valentinephx.com Everything’s coming up Donald Hawk. As Valentine slides into its third anniversary at year’s end, Hawk can now add Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America to his stack of accolades (even if it took them two years to figure out what we knew long ago). The ambitious breakfast-lunch-dinner concept he runs with Blaise Faber routinely earns national praise, Hawk remains a vocal advocate for improved conditions for restaurant workers, and he still finds time to give back to the community by helping out with Charleen Badman’s Blue Watermelon Project. But perhaps most telling, at a point in his career when many chefs would under- standably take their foot off the throttle and coast for a little bit, Hawk continues to push Valentine and its talented team to greater heights, slaying menu favorites to make room for new creations that are even more delicious and inspired than the food that earned him his perch. That kind of commitment to continued growth is a rare thing indeed, and it deserves recognition. Best Pastry Chef MARK CHACÓN Chacónne Patisserie 720 W. Highland Ave. 480-330-6006 chaconnepatisserie.com Mark Chacón set out to become a profes- sional violinist. After that, he became a journalist. And as much as we love our fellow writers, we are so thankful he found his true calling with baking. His exacting, precise pastries are a gift, and Phoenix struck the lottery when Chacón chose to call our desert city home. He settled here after traveling the globe to work at the world’s best bakeries and restaurants, including Tartine in San Francisco and Chef Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse. Now, he rolls immaculate croissants and laminates dough for Danishes from a tiny commercial kitchen in the Melrose District. These treats are worthy of any French patisserie, but customers can find
