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Silvana Salcido Esparza’s food is exactly what it says in street lingo on Barrio Queen’s T-shirts: A TODA MADRE—"totally awesome.” This is Northern Mexican Cuisine but in a casual cafe setting. Esparza’s more formal Barrio on 16th St. has this great food too, but it is small with a long wait to be seated. Barrio Queen in Scottsdale has the same wonderful food, but it is bigger, more casual, and easier to get into. The restaurant looks like just another Mexican restaurant from the outside. In fact, it has a huge awning that proclaims “Mexican Restaurant.” However, it has food that you would have to go to Mexico to match. It was named a best new restaurant of 2012 by Esquire Magazine. Go to the website and look at the menu. This is Mexican, not Mexican-American.

In 1954, three friends set out to simply “serve fresh, high quality food at low prices with instant service.” Bank executives warned they’d never turn a profit selling 100 percent beef burgers for 19 cents, but the drive-through was a runaway hit. Among its many honors, this Seattle institution was voted America’s Most Life-Changing Burger by Esquire readers. Swing by one of its six locations—marked by iconic orange signs harking back to the atomic age—for a meaty epiphany, along with hand-cut fries and freshly whipped shakes. Best of all: Dick’s offers worker scholarships and even insures part-time employees. So you can feel good about the indulgence!

At Virtù Honest Craft, a rotating menu features locally sourced goods alongside handcrafted cocktails and craft beer. Chef Gio Osso, a longtime Scottsdale favorite, has run the kitchen at some of the city’s most highly acclaimed restaurants. His “wandering Mediterranean” cuisine at Virtù scored him a spot on Esquire magazine’s Best New Restaurants 2013 list as well as a 2014 nomination for Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. You can’t go wrong with any of the handmade pastas, but there are also heartier (read: meatier) dishes like braised oxtail and house sausage. Virtù’s wine list is a global one, with a selection of 30-plus bottles.