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Aiello's Fine Italian Dining

With crisp white tablecloths and a handsome granite bar, Joe and Myrah Aiello’s namesake restaurant feels like a special occasion place, except that it’s worthy of frequent visits. For one thing, they’ll welcome you like a regular, and the prices are quite accessible. Highlights include lasagna with sausage-studded sauce, melt-in-your-mouth veal saltimbocca alla Romana, and delicate gnocchi bathed in an ethereal pesto cream sauce. Bring some good friends, order up a nice bottle of Italian wine, and soak up the classy vibe.

Andreoli Italian Grocer

Americanized Italian food is everywhere, but if you’re hungry for authentic sandwiches, salads, and antipasti, you need to try this place. Chef-owner Giovanni Scorzo makes all his own bread and pastries, cannoli, tiramisu, mozzarella, ricotta, and even chocolates. Daily specials might include fresh pasta, or, perhaps, a seasonal dish made from a family recipe. He’s a butcher, too, so the sausage and salami are housemade as well. While you’re at it, stock up on imported Italian specialties.

Asian Café Express

Despite the name, this is no generic pan-Asian fast food joint. Not even close. It’s exceptionally tasty, unbelievably cheap, authentic Hong Kong-style cuisine. Behind it all is chef Michael Leung, former owner of central Phoenix’s Gourmet House of Hong Kong. Be prepared to spend some time ogling the expansive menu, featuring scores of different stews and sautés, fried rice, hot pots, congee, and so many kinds of noodles — egg noodle and rice noodle soups, lo mein, chow mein, and chow fun. There’s a handful of items from Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and even spaghetti.

Aiello's Fine Italian Dining

With crisp white tablecloths and a handsome granite bar, Joe and Myrah Aiello’s namesake restaurant feels like a special occasion place, except that it’s worthy of frequent visits. For one thing, they’ll welcome you like a regular, and the prices are quite accessible. Highlights include lasagna with sausage-studded sauce, melt-in-your-mouth veal saltimbocca alla Romana, and delicate gnocchi bathed in an ethereal pesto cream sauce. Bring some good friends, order up a nice bottle of Italian wine, and soak up the classy vibe.

Andreoli Italian Grocer

Americanized Italian food is everywhere, but if you’re hungry for authentic sandwiches, salads, and antipasti, you need to try this place. Chef-owner Giovanni Scorzo makes all his own bread and pastries, cannoli, tiramisu, mozzarella, ricotta, and even chocolates. Daily specials might include fresh pasta, or, perhaps, a seasonal dish made from a family recipe. He’s a butcher, too, so the sausage and salami are housemade as well. While you’re at it, stock up on imported Italian specialties.

Asian Café Express

Despite the name, this is no generic pan-Asian fast food joint. Not even close. It’s exceptionally tasty, unbelievably cheap, authentic Hong Kong-style cuisine. Behind it all is chef Michael Leung, former owner of central Phoenix’s Gourmet House of Hong Kong. Be prepared to spend some time ogling the expansive menu, featuring scores of different stews and sautés, fried rice, hot pots, congee, and so many kinds of noodles — egg noodle and rice noodle soups, lo mein, chow mein, and chow fun. There’s a handful of items from Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and even spaghetti.

Asia de Cuba

At this outpost of restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's über-stylish chain of eateries, there's a supercharged vibe, with blaring Cuban rhythms, a see-and-be-seen bar area, and a buzzing white dining room filled with round tables. As for the menu, it's a delicious marriage of Cuban and Asian flavors, such as Cuban spiced chicken with sweet Thai coconut sticky rice, or the Mar y Tierra, with tempura-fried shrimp and melt-in-your-mouth slices of jerk-marinated grilled rib eye. Family-style portions are made for sharing, but make sure your group agrees to dessert. The hot little Mexican doughuts, filled with molten toffee, are especially good.

Atlas Bistro

Established in 2002, the tiny BYOB connected to AZ Wine Co. has long impressed culinary fanatics and wine geeks alike for its sophisticated international fare, laid-back atmosphere, and – no surprise – close proximity to an amazing selection of wine. Chefs Brandon Crouser and Joshua Riesner have steered the cuisine away from its original Southwestern slant, and toward innovative dishes that utilize classic French cooking techniques. They’ve also begun offering tasting menus, and catering to a distinguished crowd of wine enthusiasts, who show up with $2,000 bottles of Bordeaux and treat the restaurant like a speakeasy. Luckily, anyone can be an insider here.

Back East Bagels

Word of mouth is the key to success at this charming strip-mall cafe, and no wonder. The plain bagel here is a joy to eat on its own, almost like a fresh soft pretzel. While you’ll surely find ex-New Yorkers lurking in line here, Back East Bagels brings in plenty of native Arizonans, too, with cheap, tasty sandwiches and an inviting seating area.

Barrio Cafe

Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza brings magic to this art-filled hole-in-the-wall, with regional specialties of central-southern Mexico. For extra impact, she adds French accents, with marvelous results. Dishes change monthly, but highlights include posole verde, spinach-crab-mushroom-cheese crepes, fresh fish grilled in a banana leaf, and 12-hour roasted pork. Insist on desserts, like a goat's-milk caramel crepe with vanilla-bean ice cream.

Binkley's Restaurant

Probably the best restaurant in the greater Phoenix area, on a par with five-star joints like Thomas Keller’s much-ballyhooed French Laundry in Napa. Apparently, genius loves company, as chef and SCI grad Kevin Binkley worked side-by-side with Keller at the French Laundry after a stint at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia. Now, foodie pilgrims are trekking to Cave Creek to sample Binkley’s French-informed, modern American fare. Standouts include the bacon-wrapped tenderloin, the squab, and the duck breast, but the menu changes often, and pretty much anything Binkley cooks up is worth the drive and the ducats. Make reservations. The place fills up nearly every night of the week.

BLT Steak

While meat is certainly the main event at BLT Steak, the Scottsdale outpost of French chef Laurent Tourondel’s successful empire, eating here is a memorable experience from the first nibble of warm chicken liver pâté to the last bite of gooey espresso-chocolate chip cookies (both gratis). It’s hip but comfortable, with amiable, attentive service and lots of thoughtful touches — like the famous freebie Gruyère popovers — along with top-notch steaks.

Bomberos Café & Wine Bar

This laid-back eatery is not just the coolest thing in Sunnyslope, it’s one of the best local wine bars, period. The name means “firemen” in Spanish, which is fitting because owners Oscar and Kristi Mastrantuono transformed an old fire station into an inviting hangout that specializes in South American wines. Top-notch panini and lavish cheese and meat plates are a few temptations that pair well with the vino, and don’t miss the excellent bruschetta. Desserts change frequently, but all you need to know is that they’re made by celebrated downtown baker Tammie Coe.