With spring training in full swing and warmer weather on the horizon, now's prime time for metro Phoenix diners to get out and explore.
And for those on the hunt for a new restaurant to try, The Arizona Republic's dining critic Dominic Armato can help take the guesswork out of your next dining adventure.
From a new barbecue restaurant that's bringing excellent Texas-style 'cue to the West Valley to an East Valley restaurant that's serving some of the best hot pot in town, his list of must-try restaurants for March has a little something for almost every palate.
Here are three new metro Phoenix restaurants to try in March:
Tasty Pot in Mesa
In case you haven’t noticed — and if you don’t live in the East Valley, you’ll be forgiven for missing this one — hot pot is not only having a moment, but it’s also a trend that's quickly accelerating.
The latest to enter the fray is Tasty Pot. While this new restaurant at Mekong Plaza in Mesa differs slightly from the rest, it might also prove to be one of the best.
Most local hot pot restaurants have focused on an all-you-can-eat format. You pick your flavor of broth — served individually or in a communal bowl at your table — and walk a buffet line featuring dozens of ingredients to cook.
Tasty Pot, on the other hand, serves its hot pot preassembled right out of the kitchen — a generous bowl filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies, perched on an ornate pedestal that conceals a small fuel source to keep the broth bubbling.
The basics are fairly straightforward — simple Taiwanese-style beef or lamb soup based on broth that’s full flavored and nicely balanced with a hint of aromatic spice. But even the simplest soups are stuffed with a crisper drawer full of vegetables and no shortage of protein.
The beef, for example, piles on sliced napa cabbage, mushrooms, tomato wedges, huge chunks of firm tofu, threads of enoki mushrooms, flavorful meatballs, ribbons of sliced beef, imitation crab and two varieties of fish cake, and that’s only about half the list. The lamb pot, meanwhile, swaps out the base meat and adds touches including sour pickled mustard greens and fried tofu skins.
HOT POT: This new Mesa restaurant may be the best hot pot in town
Details: Inside Mekong Plaza, 66 S. Dobson Road, Mesa. 480-809-6780, tastypotusa.com.
Island Vybz Bar & Grill in Phoenix
Located near Central and Southern avenues, Island Vybz is just getting rolling. And for south Phoenix folks who’d otherwise have to make a dedicated trek to some of the Valley’s better-known spots, it looks like Robert Stewart will provide a welcome fix for those seeking jerk chicken, goat curry or meat patties close to home.
The storefront that formerly housed Mariscos Vuelve a la Vida — a more commonplace find in this part of town — isn’t lacking for size. Nor it is lacking for sound. Guests are greeted by a wall of speakers that looks like it could power an arena show, though they lay dormant at this time of day.
Where the food is concerned, it might be a little flip to suggest that you’re on island time, but a modicum of patience is both called for and warranted. Island Vybz’s menu of familiar Jamaican standards boasts the kind of slow-cooked dishes with layers of flavor that stick with you long after you’ve left the premises.
A lot of folks will walk through the doors in search of jerk chicken, and while Island Vybz’s won’t appeal to those seeking an intense blast of spice and heat, tender chunks of bone-in dark meat sport a nice whiff of thyme, allspice and clove. Brown stew chicken, on the other hand, embraces a mild sweetness — soft, fall-apart thighs and legs that nuzzle up to rice and peas and a pile of sauteed cabbage.
Stews are stronger, starting with braised oxtail, which hits a nice, gelatinous, slurpy consistency and a rounded flavor built on a rich, caramelized vegetable base. If you’re looking for some spice, the curry goat — tender and lean and bathed in the curry’s fragrant burn — is a great place to start.
A plate of coconut curry shrimp, however, is a standout. Oily and intense, the spice is mitigated by coconut milk, and the intense vegetable sweetness of red and gold bell peppers that have been stewed down to a slick, melt-away consistency. Add the crisp bite of some perfectly cooked shrimp, and you’ve got one of the menu’s best dishes.
LOOKING FOR JAMAICAN FOOD?: Here's what on the Island Vybz menu
Details: 220 E. Southern Ave., Phoenix. 602-675-3063, facebook.com/islandvybzbarandgrill.
Eric’s Family Barbecue in Avondale
Arizona natives and childhood friends Eric Tanori and Anthony Garcia grew up in Mexican families, searing carne asada over glowing mesquite coals for birthdays and holidays. But when the barbecue bug bit, the duo quickly went from hobbyists to enthusiasts to backyard entrepreneurs to restaurateurs.
The end result? Eric’s Family Barbecue, a new Avondale restaurant where Tanori and Garcia sling Texas-style smoked meat and sides to a rapidly growing crowd.
Garcia and Tanori settled in the former home of Manny’s Mexican Restaurant, on the southwest corner of Indian School and El Mirage roads. Gone are the red paint, dark carpeting and pleather banquettes. In their place are whitewashed walls, colorful murals, picnic tables and sheets of butcher paper heralding the meats on offer. Meanwhile, the west side of the dining room is set up to accommodate a line that grows by the day.
Lightly seasoned spare ribs showed promise, though they needed more time for the connective tissue in the tips to roll over and give up. And turkey breast was surprisingly compelling, tender and juicy with a nice sweet smoke.
This is Texas-style barbecue, however, and it should come as no surprise that the brisket and sausage are where it’s at.
The fatty brisket is very good, possessed of a deep, peppery bark, a silky lilt on the tongue and just enough pull to play coy for a split second before it releases. And the lean, to be frank, is better than the fatty at most joints around town — atypically tender and moist, good enough to stand on its own rather than playing second fiddle to its more decadent brisketmate.
ERIC'S FAMILY BBQ: Here's what to know about the new barbecue spot
Details: 12345 W. Indian School Road, Avondale. 623-535-0993; search Facebook for “Eric’s Family Barbecue.”
Reach the reporter at lauren.saria@azcentral.com. Follow her on Instagram at laurensaria, on Twitter at lhsaria and on Facebook at facebook.com/lsaria.
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3 new metro Phoenix restaurants to try in March for hot pot, Jamaican food and barbecue - AZCentral
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