The 38 Essential Restaurants in Phoenix

"The Mexican food scene in metro Phoenix can be divided into two eras: before Barrio Cafe’s opening in 2002, and after. Classically trained chef Silvana Salcido Esparza broke the mold, serving pre-dinner bread instead of the usual chips and salsa, while lightly applying French cooking techniques to preparations from all over Mexico — cochinita pibil from the Yucatán, nut-studded chiles en nogada from Puebla, fish from Veracruz, and silky moles from Oaxaca. The work of local Mexican artists fills the restaurant’s interior walls, while the building’s exterior swirls with colorful murals. Agave-based spirits are everywhere these days, but Barrio was the first restaurant in the area to offer a vast selection of them." - Nikki Buchanan, Chris Malloy