In many ways, Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun began as clean slates, uncluttered by too much history and tradition, available for residents and visitors to scrawl on at will, creating amalgams and collages by cross-pollinating everything they’ve seen or heard or tasted before arriving in the desert. The new always finds a foothold here, right up until it is replaced by something else. This is especially true of the area’s dining life. But while the details may be changing all the time, the lifestyle remains constant: creative and eclectic, with a particular dedication, like the Valley’s residents now and throughout history, to fusion.

It’s always a good idea to call ahead and attempt to make a reservation, even though for most places you probably won’t need one; this is especially smart in the Valley, where you may have to drive a ways through busy traffic to get anywhere. At most of the area’s fancier places, reservations are recommended, if not required. Only the highest-end restaurants are going to have anything approaching a dress code, and that is usually business casual for the most part, but with a jacket. The vast majority of Valley hosts and hostesses won’t bat an eye at your jeans or even your flip-flops, especially during summer.

Fine Dining

Wright’s at the Biltmore

(2400 East Missouri Ave., 602/381-7632, www.arizonabiltmore.com/dining/wrights.asp, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. daily, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sun. brunch, $20-$40)

Even if the New American creations at Wright's at the Biltmore , the famous resort’s signature restaurant, weren’t consistently memorable, the interior, stamped with the etched-concrete block soul of Frank Lloyd Wright, would still require a visit from restaurant connoisseurs. The five-course tasting menu ($76 per person), while pricey, provides the best opportunity to dig deep into the restaurant’s charms. The best main courses are usually fresh river fish with some sort of fabulous, native materials-built sauce. Reservations are a good idea.

Fermier Brasserie

(2584 E. Camelback Rd., 602/522-2344, www.fermier.com, open daily for lunch and dinner, dinner: $16 - $32, lunch, $6.95-$13)

For well-prepared and inspired French-style food try James Beard Award-winning Chef Christopher Gross’s Christopher’s restaurant, at Biltmore Fashion park along the Camelback Corridor. The truffle-infused filet mignon ($32) makes one weak at the knees. The tasting menu ($60 per person) is relatively affordable and comes with appetizers, main course, cheese, and desert. Christopher’s is more affordable as a lunch destination, and the food is simpler but just as good—mostly sandwiches, soups, pasta dishes and wood-fired pizzas, which you can also get at Paolo’s Wine Bar inside the restaurant, a stylish place to try a wide variety of wines while nibbling on all kinds of different cheeses and sliding down fresh oysters.

Steaks and Chops

Durant’s Fine Foods

(Central and Virginia, 602/264-5967 www.durantsfinefoods.com, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Fri., 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. Sat., 4:30 - 10 p.m. Sun., $9-$20 for lunch, $21-$67 dinner)

This downtown eatery is the archetypal retro-haut steak house and lounge, where you can get a juicy slice of prime rib, a perfectly cooked steak, and an expert martini served by a professional, tuxedoed wait staff. Durant’s has been serving the same food in the same location for more than 50 years and has a loyal following, so you’ll probably want to get reservations.

Mexican

Aunt Chilada's Squaw Peak

(7330 N. Dreamy Draw Dr., (602/ 944-1286, www.auntchiladas.com, daily lunch, dinner, and bar, $5.50-$11.95)

Aunt Chilada's serves delicious Mexican food in an historic building in the shadow of the Phoenix Mountains.

Los Dos Molinos

(1010 E. Washington St., 602/528-3535, lunch: 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Tue. Fri., dinner: 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. Tue. Fri., 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sat., closed Sun.Mon.)

Located downtown, Los Dos Molinos has a fun, cluttered atmosphere and basic Northern Mexico favorites.

The Barrio Café

(2814 N. 16th St, 602/636-0240, www.barriocafe.com, 11 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Tue.Thur., 11 a.m. - 10:30 Fri., 5 p.m. - 10:30 Sat., 11 a.m. -9 p.m. Sunday, brunch 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., closed Mon., $8-$14)

The Barrio Cafe gets quite a bit more creative, serving a rare (for Arizona) Modern Mexican cuisine from many different regions. This is not the place for chimichangas and chicken enchiladas. Try the slow roasted pork, and somebody at the table should order Oaxacan black mole, one of Mexico’s famous sauces created by nun-chefs in the Nineteenth century. The bar has over 200 different varieties of tequila.

Irish Pub

Downtown’s Seamus McCaffery’s

(18 W. Monroe, 602/253/6081, www.seamusmccaffreys.com, open daily for lunch, dinner, and drinking, $5-$12),

Right below the San Carlos Hotel, has excellent fish and chips and pours a perfect pint of Guinness; a friendly, laid-back place for lunch, dinner, or drinking.

Italian and Pizza

Pizzeria Bianco

(623 E. Adams St. (Heritage Square), 602/258-8300, www.pizzeriabianco.com, 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Tues.-Sat., $6-$14)

Another Valley winner of the prestigious James Beard Award, Chris Bianco operates this great restaurant out of an historic brick building at downtown’s Heritage Square. The pizza is the best in the Valley, and, according to many critics, the best in the nation as well. This is a small, romantic and very hip place, and it takes a while to get a table and an equal while to get your pizza. It is all without a doubt worth it. Go here if you love pizza; you’ll be sorry to miss it.

Bar Bianco

(602/528-3699, 4 p.m. - 11 p.m. Tue. - Sat.)

Bar Bianco has a wide selection of wine and a warm atmosphere, with picnic tables on a grassy, candle-lit patio. 

Pane Bianco

(4404 N Central Ave, 602/234 2100, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tues.-Sat., $2 - $8)

Pane Bianco has outdoor tables and takeout sandwiches, like the housemade mozzarella with tomato and basil, and tuna and red onions.

Daniel’s Italian Cuisine

(4225 E Camelback Rd.,602/952-1522 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Mon.-Sat., $8.95-$13.95)

In the Arcadia neighborhood along the Camelback Corridor some of the best Italian food in the Valley is served at Daniel’s Italian Cuisine, which has a romantic courtyard and delicious, rather unexpected entrées.

Asian

Sing High Chop Suey House

(27 W. Madison St., 602/253-7848, open daily for lunch and dinner, $8-$13),

Holding on to its romantic Old West name, the Sing High Chop Suey House is the oldest Chinese place in the valley, operated by the same family for more than 70 years in what used to be Phoenix’s Chinatown long ago. The dishes here are consistently good, all the basics and some surprises too.

Silver Dragon Chinese Restaurant

(8946 N. 19th Ave, 602/674-0151, 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Mon., Tue, Thur., 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fri. and Sun., 4:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sat., closed Wed., $8-$13)

This restaurant has a familiar Americanized menu that’s pretty tasty, but also serves an alternative selection of more traditional and authentic Chinese fare (ask the wait staff).

Vegetarian

Supreme Master Ching Hai Vegetarian House

(3239 E. Indian School Rd.,602/264-3480 www.veggiehouse.com, lunch: 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., dinner: 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. Tue.-Sat., closed Sun. Mon.) $5.50-$10)

This vegetarian favorite is 100 percent vegan but you wouldn’t know it unless they told you so. The delicious and spicy Asian-style dishes are prepared will all kinds of faux-meat protein that really adds flavor and zest to the dishes. Vegetarians, especially vegans, will be in ecstasy here.