DINING IN PHOENIX

The latest creation of Silvana Salcido Esparza, Barrio Café Gran Reserva has landed a spot on the OpenTable's "100 Best Restaurants in America for 2016." Chef Silvana has been nominated for the James Beard Award four times for her original restaurant the Barrio Café.

The Arcadia neighborhood experienced a re-birth of Latin cuisine when CRUjiente Tacos is now open. The anticipated modern taqueria takes a creative spin on street tacos. Creatively-articulated, each hand-held delicacy contains fresh, high-quality ingredients, bold flavors, and more style, texture and variety than traditional street tacos. CRUjiente Tacos' full-service menu features “antojitos” including soulful guacamoles, aguachiles, ceviches, seasonal soups, salads, and a juxtaposition of crunchy and soft street tacos. The restaurant located at 40th Street and Camelback Road is open 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Friday, and 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturday, and closed on Sunday.

Want to receive cooking lessons from the highly acclaimed Chef Michael Rusconi? Rusconi will instruct the preparation of signature dishes at the Sonoran Winter Harvest Luncheon and Cooking Class. Rusconi is cooking fresh seasonal recipes that are sure to satisfy any foodie's cravings. The dishes include: butternut squash soup, Pan roasted chicken with green chile mac and cheese, and Cranberry and White Chocolate Crème Brûlée. The class is on Saturday, January 28 from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. at Rusconi's American Kitchen. The package, which includes instruction, recipes and a 3-course lunch, is $65 per person. Wine pairings with lunch is available for a $12 supplement. Reserve your spot today.

Sam Fox, the mastermind behind Fox Restaurant Concepts, which has developed concepts such as The Henry, Flower Child and North Italia, among others, has announced plans to open Culinary Dropout at The Yard in downtown Gilbert. The 25,000-square-foot space, which is Fox's biggest development yet, will open off Gilbert Road, adjacent to the Powerline Trail in the Heritage District — directly across from Heritage Marketplace, a popular restaurant development. FRC and development partner Common Bond Development obtained the rights to the land from the town of Gilbert, and is slated to open in Fall 2018.

Whistling Pigs, Fancy Pineapples & Daily Daiquiris. Market Street Kitchen (MSK) unveils innovative new cocktail menu. MSK is rolling out its new winter cocktail menu featuring 20 handcrafted cocktails, all made with unique ingredients and innovative recipes, including a premium Rye Whiskey from Vermont. The menu features a cocktail that fit everyone's taste including casual sippers to adventurous craft cocktail aficionados. No wonder why Market Street Kitchen was finalist for the 2016 Foodist Award for its Premium Cocktail Program. Offered daily, MSK's new cocktail menu was created by MSK's Beverage Director, Garrit Guthrie, to showcase exciting new spirits and twists on classic cocktails such as the Chai-Tai, a chai tea-spiked version of a Mai Tai made with both Plantation's Old Fashioned Traditional Dark Overproof Rum (a 138-proof blend of rums from Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados), and Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum (a modern version of this centuries old distilling technique where both fresh pineapple and its aromatic rind are added to the rum to give it a subtle sweetness).