state dish

16th Street & McDowell Road

Every town has their own version of regional cuisine. Some would think here in Arizona, it would be a Southwestern style Tex-Mex dish; huge plates of melty, cheesy, meat filled tortilla masses, lying next to a puddle of thick, pasty beans. That would be the gringo fare.

You'd be missing the whole tamale if you didn't check out some of the little taco dives littered throughout the city, especially in the Hispanic neighborhoods. Maybe not the sort of place to impress your mother-in-law unless she has a stomach for the real deal - like cow tripe (stomach lining), tongue, or brains. But you don't have to be in an adventurous mood to eat this rich, homey ethnic food that taste like some one's Mexican grandmother is cooking back in the kitchen (cause sometimes she actually is!).

taken 11-11-2006