Metro Phoenix has no shortage of new restaurants. August saw at least 23 restaurants, bars and coffee shops open including a second location of Laveen soul food destination Charlie Mae's and a fine-dining French restaurant at Scottsdale Fashion Square.
If you're looking for a little guidance about which new spots to try, look no further. The Arizona Republic dining critic Dominic Armato has vetted and approved these five new restaurants in Phoenix, Gilbert and Scottsdale.
All offer takeout, delivery or curbside pickup and diners should remember these options carry less risk of spreading COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For those who chose to dine-in, health experts say sitting outside on a patio is less risky than dining indoors.
Here are five new restaurants to try this month in metro Phoenix:
Da'Bayou Creole Kitchen
Just two years after launching the Gilbert location of The Brass Tap, the Rowe family and Donald Byus tapped a family friend with Louisiana roots, Ali Biller, to help convert the franchised beer bar into an independent Creole restaurant.
While the Mesa location of The Brass Tap remains unchanged, Da’Bayou Creole Kitchen officially launched in downtown Gilbert this July, and it’s definitely worth checking out.
Da’Bayou’s “Oysta’s Rawk” features slurpy bivalves — a half dozen on the half shell — smothered in creamed spinach and parmesan, broiled to a bubbly sizzle and topped with crispy bacon. The restaurant's “Gata’ Bites” are dredged and fried, nicely seasoned with a mustardy remoulade to dip, and unlike the scads of lousy ‘gator dishes you might have tried, this meat is light and tender.
Biller is particularly fond of her shrimp Creole, and it’s easy to see why. Rice cooked with the house seafood stock — a sultry, spiced concoction extracted from shrimp and crab — is topped with shrimp that boasts a heady, dry spice and surrounded by a moat of a chunky, long-stewed tomato sauce that packs a pretty hefty dose of cayenne.
I’m personally even more enamored of the gumbo — a dark, ruddy Creole version with tomato and okra, studded with shrimp and slivers of andouille, thin in body but with a dark, robust flavor.
GOODBYE, BURGERS: What to expect on restaurant's new Creole menu
Details: 313 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert. 480-704-3405, dabayoucreolekitchen.com.
Origami Ramen Bar
Origami Ramen isn’t the first Phoenix ramen-ya to offer tori paitan, or chicken broth-based ramen, but Yusuke Kuroda is taking it to the next level.
The Nobu alum (Nobu Matsuhisa, not Nobuo Fukuda) opened up shop in Ahwatukee in mid-August, and though I’m not supposed to base any conclusions on opening week carry out, I’m calling it. This is among the best ramen shops in town.
Kuroda’s signature paitan ramen is just fantastic — firm, kinky noodles bathed in a rich and creamy yellow-hued broth that’s flecked with shimmering chicken fat. It’s gorgeously seasoned, doesn’t betray a hint of the funk that can sometimes color this type of broth and the spicy version is a nice change of pace that adds a subtle, clean burn.
Fret not, pork fiends. This chicken soup still comes topped with pork chashu, a very soft and tender variety. And while I’m a little dismayed by the hard-cooked egg, I love this bowl too much to let that get in the way.
Details: 4810 E. Ray Road, Phoenix. 480-940-4455, origamiramenbar.com.
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Ramen Kagawa
Downtown Phoenix has a new ramen-ya that’s barely a week old, and what do you know, Ramen Kagawa features tori paitan as well.
While the ramen is the star, the menu at Kagawa is a little broader. There are a few bento boxes, pairing marinated hijiki seaweed and creamy potato salad with featured items like chicken karaage or a filet of glazed teriyaki salmon. I’m particularly fond of Kagawa’s katsu curry rice — a thick slab of juicy pork, panko-breaded and fried to a deep chocolate brown, served atop a thick potato- and carrot-studded curry roux.
There’s tonkotsu in the house, and it’s a solid bowl. The spicy miso version isn’t long on subtlety (a little miso goes a long way), and one variant of the pork ramen crowns the bowl with a quarter slab of sweet and tender baby back ribs. Kagawa makes a nice vegetarian bowl as well, a dashi-based stock heavy with sesame, topped with spinach and a kind of tofu-vegetable scramble with a sharp shot of chile heat.
And the tori paitan is a solid broth — light and milky with a salty punch and a whiff of ginger, topped with sliced thigh meat or a whole, bone-in chicken leg quarter if you get the “Kagawa Special.” Some chunks of blanched cabbage, some slivered scallion and a little golden, oozing nitamago later, you’ve got a nice bowl.
CHICKEN RAMEN IS HAVING A MOMENT: Here's what to try it in metro Phoenix
Details: 111 W. Monroe St., Phoenix. 602-675-0833, ramenkagawa.com.
Flavorz Fish & Chicken
This is the kind of place you could drive by a dozen times before you notice it — a quick-service pick-up and drive-through for wings and fried seafood on a busy Sunnyslope thoroughfare. But you might want to reconsider.
If you make a good wing, Phoenix will love you, and these wings are great. They’re whole wings — flats, drumettes and tips — dredged and fried to a deep, crunchy golden brown with a wildly craggy, chaotic texture. They’re fried so dark you figure the interior has to be overcooked, but not so. The meat is juicy, sweet and very nicely seasoned.
The plate of catfish I tried really stands out from the crowd — two giant lobes of steaming, juicy, fresh fish encased in a delicate cornmeal crust hit with just the right amount of salt and spice.
Flavorz offers fried swai as well, and I think the thin, curled filets with crispy edges are particularly well-suited to a sandwich, splashed with mustard and hot sauce and stacked between two slices of white bread with onions and sweet pickle chips.
CRAVING WINGS AND FRIED CATFISH? Try this tiny Sunnyslope restaurant
Details: 9706 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. 602-334-1844, facebook.com/FlavorzAZ.
The Mick Brasserie and Bar
After a false start in June, The Mick reopened in mid-August and is only just finding its footing. But chef Brent Menke’s eclectic, international menu shows a lot of promise, particularly for a quiet — if refined — neighborhood joint.
In keeping with contemporary norms, the restaurant's menu aims to keep things fresh and light. Take the beet-stained hummus, dappled with salty feta and paired with simple crudite and seed chips. Riffs on hummus are de rigeur, but this one’s smooth, balanced and beautifully seasoned.
Those seeking something a little more meaty will find plenty to like as well.
For subscribers: 23 restaurants and bars that opened in August in metro Phoenix
I’m particularly fond of Menke’s duck confit pastilla — a flaky, miniature meat-stuffed pastry that riffs on the Moroccan classic, plated with a sweet onion agrodolce and pickled pineapple.
A chicken liver mousse with a complex spice blend that hints at African flavors needs a little tweaking to adjust the texture. But while the carnitas tostada won’t pass for and doesn’t pretend to be a traditional Mexican dish, it’s a succulent helping of juicy stewed pork, gracing a smear of white beans and avocado crema, perked up with crumbled feta and bits of sweet pickled onion.
Details: 9719 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale. 480-210-5500, themickaz.com.
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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