It’s all about the birria at this friendly, family-run storefront, where the juicy, red chile-flavored stewed beef in question is offered in a half dozen deliciously different formats — atop French fries, in a bowl with consomé, rice and beans, or ramen, in a burrito, or in a grilled cheese sandwich built on buttery Texas toast. Every vehicle has its merits, and while the menu does offer other meats (namely, pastor and carne asada), a word to the wise: Don’t miss the quesabirria taco or a fat, griddle-blistered pizzadilla, oozing with cheese and, of course, birria.

These no-frills West Valley taco spots claim to serve the best carne asada in town, and the locals who keep them packed surely agree. Cooked over mesquite on a Santa Maria grill and tucked in supple tortillas, the smoky, succulent meat is further enhanced by adornments from the neatly kept salsa bar, stocked with crisp, finely chopped cabbage, lime wedges, verduras, avocado cream, pickled onions, and excellent salsas. Loyalists swear by the Hazz taco, a luxurious combo of steak, green chile, and cheese, but don’t sleep on the barbacoa, lengua, tripitas de leche and, if you have the cojones for it, huevos de becerro (tender, springy calf testicles). 

Located just up the street from Bacanora, tiny Testal is named for the doughball that becomes a tortilla, and, indeed, tortillas are made fresh daily here, to be used as wrappers for messy, open-ended burritos, made the traditional Chihuahuan way. Try these two classics of the state: comforting deshebrada (shredded beef and potatoes) and chicharron (spicy, softened pork rind in salsa verde with pinto beans). Then wash everything down with an agua fresca you’ve likely never run into before — refreshing Iskiate, composed of chia seeds, lime juice, and agave nectar.

Home-style Michoacán-inspired cooking is the premise at this comfy family-run restaurant housed in a midtown strip mall. Regulars swear by the breakfast menu, which includes chilaquiles and house-made chorizo, but there are many standouts, including elote, enchiladas, juicy, crisp-edged carnitas and cinnamon-dusted horchata.

Husband and wife team Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin (she’s a classically trained chef) bring the meat-centric home cooking of Chihuahua to their small but mighty menu, featuring, among other things, melting beef cheek barbacoa (smoked for over 12 hours), tender lengua, and crispy fried tripas — all tucked in handmade corn tortillas and doctored up at the salsa bar. Their mini empire (three locations) may have been built on tacos, but puffy flour gorditas, laden with rajas (chiles and cheese) picadillo, or deshebrada roja (shredded red chile beef) make equally satisfying comfort food.

Vaulted ceilings, shiny tiled floors and corner frescos lend an upscale vibe to this pretty, coral-colored cottage, offering a range of regional specialties such as chicken tinga, cochinita pibil, Veracruz-style fish, and a dripping-in-juices flat-iron steak, served with green bean-like nopales cactus that’s worth the splurge. Because the menu is extensive, it’s also possible to eat well for less on ceviche tostadas, burritos, enchiladas, gorditas, and the like, including fantastic tacos al vapor, dipped in red chile and lightly steamed. 

It’s always a day at the beach at this 16th Street stalwart, Phoenix’s favorite Mexican seafood restaurant painted in eye-popping colors. The multi-page menu featuring 25 appetizers alone offers every Mexican seafood classic you can imagine — raw oysters, shrimp cocktails, seafood tostadas and soups, grilled or fried fish — as well as a slew of surprises, including mango habanero aguachile, hot lava steak, paella brimming with grilled shrimp, grilled octopus and mussels, and El Peligroso, a pricy seafood challenge amped up with fiery Carolina Reaper and ghost peppers that earns you a t-shirt if you can eat it.

Gallo Blanco, Mexican slang for “white guy,” is an apt name for both chef Doug Robson, who grew up near Mexico City, and his Mexican-influenced restaurant, housed in a light-filled, ‘20s-era building in the Garfield neighborhood. Robson is justifiably famous for his chunky guacamole, brightened with orange segments, and top-quality tacos (including standout, seasonally changing fish tacos), and tortas — most notably the Naco, layered with carne asada, avocado and fried eggs. But he also turns out preternaturally rich-tasting flapjacks and puts a Mexican spin on Southern shrimp and grits.

Named for the olive trees that Scottsdale founder Winfield Scott planted back in the day, this atmospheric, old-school Mexican restaurant, owned by the Corral family for 74 years and counting, was saved from the wrecking ball by Barry Goldwater’s secretary, who considered it a Scottsdale landmark — and she was right. The traditional AZ-Mex food offers few surprises, but it’s still tasty and satisfying — particularly the green corn tamales, steak picado, zippy red salsa made with chile de arbol, and the cheese crisp, an Arizona signature fashioned from house-made flour tortillas.