Best menus in metro Phoenix

Arizona Restaurant Week is a twice-yearly culinary tour-de-force when chefs and restaurateurs flaunt their best creations in a multi-course, wallet-friendly format. For 10 days, more than 120 Valley eateries will offer three, four or five-course menus at set prices. It’s a great opportunity to try a new restaurant or head to an iconic dining destination whose prices are usually well above the cost of a casual dinner out.

The spring event serves as a last push before the summer lull, so it’s also a good opportunity to show much-needed support to local venues. 

A full list of participating restaurants is updated daily and can be found on the Arizona Restaurant Week website. But, if the lineup is overwhelming and narrowing down the choices seems daunting, we’ve got a few suggestions.

Whether because of the creativity of their dishes or the value for the price, these 18 restaurant week menus are worth adding to your dining calendar.

All menus are available from May 20 to 29. Menus that feature alcohol apply to dine-in orders only. Reservations are recommended.

The Larder + The Delta

– $44 per person

– 3 courses

– Takeout and dine-in

James Beard Award semifinalist chef Stephen Jones is serving a sampling of the dishes that earned him that honor this year. Start with either the early summer vintners salad composed of roasted beets, fennel, French beans and croutons in a red wine vinaigrette or try the cauliflower with pickled celery, smoked moody bleu cheese, scallions and Cutino’s Hot Sauce. There are two main course options: Nashville-style hot chicken served with dairy-free new potato salad, cornbread, bread, and butter pickles, and whipped honey butter or blackened salmon with braised turnip greens, smoked ham hock and hot water cornbread puree. Jones punctuates the meal with a buttermilk biscuit adorned with strawberries, raspberries, whipped yogurt and fermented honey.