Exceptional Mexican restaurants

Sure, you can get Mexican food in nearly every city in America. But you won't find Mexican restaurants like these. Here are five reasons to count our blessings.

Barrio Cafe
2814 N. 16th St., Phoenix
602-636-0240
Think Mexican food is just rice, beans and tacos? Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza turns Mexican food into Mexican cuisine. Among her regional specialties are Yucatan cochinita pibil, slow-roasted pork in achiote and sour-orange sauce; Oaxacan black-mole chicken; and Pueblan chiles en nogada, poblano peppers stuffed with chicken, nuts and fruit. Finish with the fabulous cajeta-filled churros for dessert.

Los Sombreros
2534 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
480-994-1799
Prepare for a trip into the heart of Mexico, far from the border fare we're used to. The flavors here may be a bit unfamiliar, but they're also riveting. Among the stunning main dishes are pork in a tomatillo-pumpkin-seed mole, crab enchiladas and skirt steak Tampiquena, garnished with rajas, poblano chile strips. The signature dish is lamb adobo, a fork-tender shank braised in a head-turning sweet-and-spicy ancho-chile sauce.

Los Dos Molinos
8646 S. Central Ave., Phoenix
602-243-9113
Fiery New Mexican-style Mexican food can leave you gasping for breath. And don't say you haven't been warned. The chef writes on the menu: "I do not know how to do 'Mild.' " But going down in flames was never so appealing. We're talking green-chile beef, blue-corn enchiladas with red chile and cheese, and the incendiary adovada pork ribs marinated in red chile. Try to cool down with sopapillas, puffy fritters that you dip in honey.

Los Reyes de la Torta
9230 N. Seventh St., Phoenix
602-870-2967
The food is "todo al estilo D.F." - everything in the style of the Federal District around Mexico City. As the restaurant's name suggests, the "kings" here are the scrumptious tortas (sandwiches). The killer is the torta del rey, a monster filled with breaded beef, pork, ham, chorizo, cheese, fried egg, avocado, beans, tomato, onion and jalapeño. But the huaraches (open-faced tortillas) topped with shredded chicken and sopes (thick cornmeal disks) with carne asada are just as fetching.

San Carlos Bay
1901 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix
602-340-0892
Did you know that Mexico has more coastline than the United States? Maybe that's why south-of-the-border seafood is so wonderful. At this cute, tidy spot, you'll find briny fresh seafood cocktails such as the combo with shrimp, octopus, sea snail and octopus; a handsomely stocked seven-seas stew; crab-stuffed chile relleno; fragrant tostada ceviche; meaty grilled shrimp; and Veracruz-style fish with olives, chiles and onions.

The chicken tacos at Los Sombreros restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ.