BEST RESTAURANTS 2014

Editor’s Note: “Follow the firetrucks.” That’s how the editorial staff of this magazine decides where to eat lunch. It’s a strategy based on the theory that firefighters are foodies, and, therefore, they probably have some solid insight into the best restaurants in their respective neighborhoods. It’s worked well in ours, so we figured we’d take it statewide. The feedback from the firemen (and women) was spectacular. What follow are their picks on where to eat. Of course, there are many other great restaurants in Arizona, but according to the everyday heroes who drive the firetrucks, these are among the best.

Average Entrée Cost
$ = $10 and under
$$ = $11-$19
$$$ = $20-$30
 

Brown Mug Café
Winslow
Established: 1958 (approximate)
Cuisine: Mexican/American
Chef: Martin Vargas
Price: $-$$
Open: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday
Information: 308 E. Second Street, Winslow, 928-289-9973 (pay phone)
 

Decorated with sombreros, pictures of bullfighters and chile lights, this comfy hole-in-the-wall looks like it’s been around forever, and, in a way, it has — certainly long enough for owner Josephine Perez (who ran the place with her mother, Lucy Ono, some 50 years ago) to lose all track of the café’s opening date. But who really cares, given that Ono’s handed-down recipes for tacos, enchiladas, burros, Navajo tacos and sopapillas — not to mention the café itself, complete with an anachronistic pay phone — seem utterly timeless? One of the café’s claims to fame is that Harrison Ford ate there, a good thing to remember the next time you happen to be standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.

El Palacio
Kingman
Established: 1993 (approximate)
Cuisine: Mexican
Chef: Mario Perez
Price: $-$$
Open: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily
Information: 401 E. Andy Devine Avenue, Kingman, 928-718-0018
 

Twenty years ago, Gilbert Correa started out as a busboy at El Palacio, housed in a 100-year-old building sporting a 100-year-old bar. Now he owns the atmospheric old place, famous for its margaritas, salsas, homemade tamales and, of course, the El Bandido burrito — a 28-inch colossus enfolding cubed sirloin, chicken tenders, a tamale, a chile relleno, rice, beans, onions, avocados and tomatoes. Glazed with cheese and smothered in chile colorado and chile verde (the red-and-green-sauce combo known as “Christmas” in New Mexico), the thing feeds four hungry people (would that be equivalent to two firefighters?) for $31, which means customers eat like a king at the palace.

Da Boyz Italian Cuisine
Yuma
Established: 2010 (downtown)
Cuisine: Pizza/sandwiches/Italian
Chef: Robert Molina (downtown)
Price: $-$$
Open: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday
Information: 284 S. Main Street, Yuma, 928-783-8383, www.daboyzyuma.com
 

The name may conjure “Snooki” and the muscle-bound cast of Jersey Shore, but Da Boyz, a pizza-and-pasta restaurant with two locations, is strictly first class all the way. The “Joisey” reference is actually to Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack, whose photos, and those of other ’50s and ’60s icons, line the walls of the downtown location, which offers three private dining rooms: Da Rat Pack, Da Elvis and Da Marilyn (Monroe). But you don’t have to be a stuck-in-time celebrity worshipper to appreciate this nostalgic spot, specializing in gourmet pies, hefty sandwiches, build-your-own calzones and wildly popular lasagna. You just have to appreciate great Italian food at great prices, which is why “Da Boyz in Blue” and local firefighters keep this one in their regular rotation.

Esoji Japanese Restaurant
Prescott
Established: 2007
Cuisine: Japanese/sushi
Chef: Owner Hiroshi Horikawa
Price: $-$$
Open: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday; dinner, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday
Information: 220 W. Gurley Street, Prescott, 928-445-4787
 

Like his Tokyo counterpart Jiro Ono (the fanatical sushi chef upon whom the 2011 mega-documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi was based), Hiroshi Horikawa also obsesses about fish, turning out artful and authentic Japanese cuisine in a town more famous for rodeos than roe. But these days, even cowboys — not to mention Prescott’s own rough-and-tumble firefighters — have a yen for Horikawa’s popular sushi rolls, as well as sturdier rice bowls, noodle dishes and traditional entrées such as shabu-shabu. Bringing his 40 years of experience in Manhattan and Tokyo’s high-end Ginza district to the table, Horikawa offers a delicious mash-up of the trendy (think tuna poke and quail-egg shooters) and the traditional. How did Prescott get so lucky?

Grand Canyon Coffee & Café
Williams
Established: 2007
Cuisine: Mexican/Chinese/American
Chefs: Johnny Gomez, Lisa Oakley (baker)
Price: $
Open: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Business hours vary during the winter.
Information: 125 Historic Route 66, Williams, 928-635-4907
 

So, a Chinese guy, a Mexican guy and an American guy walk into a bar ... no, wait ... ’nother story. But just such a joke might come to mind when you see the menu at cozy Grand Canyon, where owner Anna Dick combines “good-old American hot sandwiches” and homemade soup with her mother’s best Mexican specialties and a handful of Chinese-American recipes preserved from the café’s previous owners. Where else in Williams (or maybe anywhere, for that matter) can you get a tuna melt, a chile relleno and chow mein under the same roof? Housed in a historic building on Williams’ main drag, this quirky, likeable spot is famous for its Canyon Burrito, a New Mexico-style monster filled with eggs, potatoes and green-chile pork, served enchilada-style with a generous melt of cheese. After such excess, there’s hardly room for homemade desserts. But try.

Kasa Mia
Nogales
Established: 2010
Cuisine: Mexican
Chef: David Vindiola
Price: $-$$$
Open: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday
Information: 460 N. Arroyo Boulevard, Nogales, 520-287-4040
 

Owner Margarita “Maggie” Vindiola was a banker who always dreamed of owning her own restaurant. Stumbling upon an available historic building (a former ice plant, circa 1924) and falling in love with it was just the impetus she needed to leave the lettuce and jump into the soup. And, indeed, hearty Mexican soups such as posole, fideo, cocido and menudo are Kasa Mia specialties, so homey that customers often describe them as “just like Nana used to make.” The rambling space, big enough to accommodate weddings and quinceañeras, also specializes in parrilladas (generous grilled-meat platters), as well as cordial “mi kasa es su kasa” hospitality.

Nana’s Sandwich Saloon
Wickenburg
Established: 2008
Cuisine: American (sandwiches)
Chefs: Manuel Morales, Janet Bowie (baker)
Price: $
Open: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday
Information: 48 N. Tegner Street, Wickenburg, 928-684-5539
 

Owner Sherry Hunt is the “Nana” in question at this cute, cozy spot, specializing in big, beefy sandwiches (16 in all), salads, homemade soup, quiches, coffee drinks, green drinks and pies. Yes, homemade pies — five varieties offered each day, which might include deep-dish apple or berry cream. It’s doubtful whether the fire crews who drop in regularly browse through Hunt’s girly gift shop, featuring ceramic roosters, country jars and cookbooks, but it’s a cinch they like her imaginative, belly filling eats — especially the Hotshot 19 sandwich, named for the19 valiant men who lost their lives in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013. That one surely leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouth.

Jake’s on the Green
Flagstaff
Established: 2012
Cuisine: American
Chef: Co-owner John Gates
Price: $-$$$
Open: Hours vary by season.
Information: Continental Country Club, 2380 N. Oakmont Drive, Flagstaff, 928-526-7990, www.continentalflagstaff.com
 

Huge picture windows overlooking the golf course offer spectacular views of the San Francisco Peaks, but that’s just one of many reasons tourists and locals flock to this cavernous-but-clubby hangout. Twelve big-screen TVs lure duffers and sports nuts inclined to swig cold beers and stiff cocktails while grazing on macho nachos, sliders and chicken lettuce wraps. In the summer months, Jake’s offers three squares, dishing out everything from eggs Benedict and blueberry pancakes to Reuben sandwiches, burgers, fresh seafood, hand-cut steaks, slow-smoked baby-back ribs and slow-roasted prime rib (the latter on weekends only). Breads and desserts are made in-house, and despite the upscale atmosphere, the place exudes a family friendly vibe.

TrailRiders Restaurant
Eagar
Established: 2010
Cuisine: Mexican/American
Chef: Tim Cluff
Price: $-$$$
Open: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily
Information: 140 N. Main Street, Eagar, 928-333-1446
 

Back in the day, executive chef Tim Cluff worked in the kitchen for his granddad, former Apache County Sheriff Edgar Merrill, who owned a ’60s- and ’70s-era restaurant in St. Johns called Trail Riders. So it seemed appropriate to Cluff, whose family settled in Eastern Arizona generations ago, to take all that history with him to Eagar, where he and his kitchen crew turn out everything from hand-cut steaks, pork chops, ribs and chicken-fried steak to huge chimichangas, Cluff Tacos (ground chicken with green chiles and avocado), biscuits and gravy, and a stack of pancakes topped with vanilla-scented buttermilk syrup. Given its mix of rustic cowboy décor and fancy cocktails, it’s no wonder TrailRiders functions as a social hub for Eagar’s own, offering Friday-night fish fries and UFC fighting on eight big-screen TVs.

Vinny’s New York Pizza
Sierra Vista
Established: 1980
Cuisine: Pizza/wings/Italian
Chefs: All 25-plus employees man the kitchen from time to time.
Price: $-$$
Open: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday; noon to 9 p.m., Sunday
Information: 1977 S. Frontage Road, Sierra Vista, 520-459-2315
 

Founder Vinny Ferrara died in 2012, but venerable Vinny’s — a Sierra Vista standby for pizza and wings — is now in the capable hands of Chip Brown, the like-a-son employee who worked at Ferrara’s side for 22 years. Brown recalls the time a hotshot crew of firefighters walked through the door and the restaurant stood en masse to applaud them, a touching moment for everyone. Ferrara bought their dinner that night, as Brown still does today when the crews are fighting nearby fires in summer. It’s that kind of community support that keeps this casual, family oriented place top of mind with locals who swear by the hefty, made-from-scratch pies and what many consider the best wings for miles around. It makes sense that bone-tired, half-starved firefighters would love the place.