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  1. Valentine

    Wood-Fired Southwestern Café

    Eat 90
    Save to a list Write a review On the Way Around

    A churro waffle with a cult following and a soft pretzel served with butter blended from guinea hen fat says about everything you need to know about Valentine's priorities. This all-day cafe and restaurant in the Melrose District does wood-fired Sonoran cooking with Arizona ingredients treated like the whole point, not a talking point. The chef is a James Beard semifinalist, and the elote pasta has its own fan club. The vintage furniture store in the back is not a joke.

    The awards strongest first

    One number, weighted & current 90

    How we score

    The dishes from the writeups

    • Churro waffle

      “Try the churro waffle, a dulce de leche-topped, mesquite chai-spiced dream that has a cult following.”

      Phoenix New Times, 2026

    • Steak and eggs

      “For something to share, opt for the steak and eggs, which comes medium-rare, topped with squash salsa verde and paired with pork belly tepary beans and huitlacoche buttered tortillas.”

      Phoenix New Times, 2026

    • Elote pasta

      “Dishes include the lauded elote pasta with Hassayampa asiago cheese.”

      Phoenix New Times, 2025

    • Smoked Two Wash Ranch chicken

      “Don’t miss whatever crudo is running at the moment or the smoked Two Wash Ranch chicken with wheat berries and herb yogurt, a menu staple for good reason.”

      Eater
    Save to a list Write a review On the Way What's Around
    Address
    4130 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ · Phoenix
    Phone
    +1 602-612-2961
    Online
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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

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    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      Four fifths of the score is the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin Key outweighs a listicle. The last fifth is where it is: the ranked places to eat and things to do around it, and how safe the country is. When you sort by what's nearby, distance from you changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. The places are 60% of it: the best of what's within reach, weighed by distance. The setting is the other 40%: how life goes in that country (how people rate their own lives, how long and how well they live, how safe they are) and what it's like right there (the air, and the weather). If the score looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.