Tag: burritos

Paz Cantina

Listening to the most pessimistic voices, it would be easy to believe that the long overdue surge in new housing development along the light rail corridor is leading to widespread displacement of small businesses. In actuality, while some independent businesses have closed or moved away, many have found new and often better homes in ground floor retail spaces incorporated into new apartment buildings. That was the story for both Jobot and Forno 301, and now it’s the outcome for Paz Cantina, a Mexican restaurant in the heart of Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row. Continue reading “Paz Cantina” →

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Mangos Mexican Cafe

Downtown Mesa has become a center for public art in recent years. The blocks on and around Main Street have been occupied at various times by colorful pianos for anyone to play, DIY prototypes on a large scale, giant inflatable figures in prominent places, and recurring art festivals. With all that art around, it’s helpful to have a place to eat, especially one with a central location and sidewalk patio.  While a few new restaurants have arrived to offer expanded choices, one of Mesa’s downtown diehards continues to be Mango’s Mexican Cafe.

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Speedy Street Tacos

Street tacos have become a trend in recent years, even when the tacos are served in a distinctly non-street environment with a higher-than-street price. While it’s no longer uncommon to see tiny tacos at a fast food chain or a trendy restaurant, it’s refreshing when a place stays closer to the informal origins of the street taco concept. Speedy Street Tacos is as casual as can be imagined, but its simple menu of chicken and beef tacos, along with burritos and quesadillas, is satisfying. Even better, it’s one of the few non-chain taquerias open 24/7. Continue reading “Speedy Street Tacos” →

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Willie’s Taco Joint

During the contentious 2016 presidential campaign, one of the more memorable phrases was the warning that immigration from Mexico might result in “taco trucks on every corner.” Of course, not everyone thought that would necessarily be a bad outcome. In Downtown Phoenix, we’re a long way from ubiquitous taco trucks, but one taco “joint,” specifically Willie’s Taco Joint, is thriving at the corner of Third Street and Jefferson — not in a truck but instead in a retail space on the ground level of a parking garage situated just behind the eastbound light rail platform.

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Haven Burgers

After half a year spent behind fences, Mesa’s Pioneer Park has finally reopened after nearly $8 million dollars of renovations. The new look combines modern play structures, a splash pad, and artistic light features while retaining the park’s mature trees and a refurbished Engine 2355, the vintage Southern Pacific steam locomotive that has been on display for over half a century. With all the improvements to the park, it’s easy to work up an appetite. With that in mind, it’s useful to have Haven Burgers located across the street from the park’s eastern edge. Continue reading “Haven Burgers” →

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Cocina 10

More often than ever before, music and food seem to go together. It’s not just about playlists that set the mood for a dining room. It’s about recording artists like James Murphy, formerly of LCD Soundsystem, opening a wine bar in New York. It’s about food-centric writing such as the Guardian columns penned by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, later published as a book entitled Sound Bites. In Phoenix, a favorite live music venue, the Crescent Ballroom, has responded to the trend in its own way by creating Cocina 10, a lounge and restaurant that goes beyond the minimal grub offered at most concert halls. Continue reading “Cocina 10” →

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Las Glorias Grill

There aren’t many restaurants with names like “Glory” or “Glorious” — unless, of course, they’re in Spanish. Around the world, it’s not uncommon to find eateries with “Las Glorias” in their names, and Phoenix has two of them. One is a seafood restaurant in south Phoenix. The other one, Las Glorias Grill on the north side of town, has a broad menu with a good seafood selection of its own. This particular Las Glorias is located across the street from the 19th Avenue / Northern light rail station. Continue reading “Las Glorias Grill” →

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Restaurant Mexico

It’s unlikely there’s an official record for the most relocations of a local restaurant, but a top contender might be Downtown Tempe’s Restaurant Mexico. Over the years, the restaurant has existed at multiple sites, all within a half-mile radius of one another, moving each time as the surrounding neighborhood has changed. The restaurant originated on Mill Avenue and then moved to the former Arches shopping center on University Drive before returning in 2007 to Mill, this time to a restaurant-dense block just south of the Mill Avenue / 3rd Street light rail station.

bistek ranchero

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