Sign in

PHX Rail Food

@phxrailfood.bsky.social
146 followers 494 following 123 posts

A guide to good eating along the light rail and streetcar lines that connect Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Published since 2007 with over 250 reviews of restaurants located near light rail stations and streetcar stops. phxrailfood.com

PostsRepliesMedia
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This week's review: Humility or irony? Either way, a bistro serves pizza and pasta in downtown #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2026/10/07/h...
phxrailfood.com
Humble Bistro
Humility seems like a quantity in short supply these days. Whether it’s social media influencers showing us carefully curated versions of their lives that highlight the good while ignoring the bad …
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This week's review: Meet the new steakhouse, not quite the same as the old steakhouse, but another rebirth in a city defined by them. phxrailfood.com/2026/09/25/d... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Durant’s
The city of Phoenix takes its name from the mythical bird, a creature reborn from its own ashes. Originally that concept referred to settlers of European ancestry building a city in the Salt River …
001
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This week's review: From a coffee truck to an "all day cafe," this Matilda has grown up. phxrailfood.com/2026/09/15/m... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Matilda’s
The name “Matilda” doesn’t even come close to “Madison” or “Olivia” in terms of contemporary popularity for female names. Nevertheless, the Roald Dahl character Matilda Wormwood has kept the name a…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This week's review: A non-prissy princess serving pitas and platters in northwest Tempe and posh new place in Midtown #Phoenix: phxrailfood.com/2026/09/04/p...
phxrailfood.com
Princess Pita
Pita bread, with or without a pocket, has become so widespread that there are countless restaurants, whether small independents or large chains, that incorporate the name of the popular Middle East…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This week's review: After two decades, a Roosevelt Row veteran is replaced with a new approach that fits the changing neighborhood. phxrailfood.com/2026/08/31/i... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Industry Standard
When the owners of a restaurant that was a pioneer in revitalizing a run-down part of town retire after two decades, the obvious way to fill the vacuum might be to find new owners to maintain the t…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
This week's review: Coffee, pastry, and some savory touches in an enduring Roosevelt Row coffee shop: phxrailfood.com/2026/07/31/l... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Lola Coffee
With so much development occurring along Roosevelt Row, it’s nice to be reminded of the value of long-standing buildings that have somehow survived decades of neglect and the demolition of their ne…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
This week's review: Crepes, sandwiches, and more in a hidden spot off downtown Tempe's Mill Avenue: phxrailfood.com/2026/07/24/f... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Foch Cafe
Mill Avenue, the spine of downtown Tempe, recently received a shiny new gateway sign suspended overhead. It has drawn skeptical reactions and might seem like a sort of band-aid attempting to cover …
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This week's review: A neighborhood taqueria standing out amid the blight of drive-thrus on 19th Avenue. phxrailfood.com/2026/07/17/t... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Tacos el Jefe
Pardon the language, but what has been occurring recently on 19th Avenue can most accurately be described as “enshittifiation.” Originally applied by Cory Doctorow to the degradation of online plat…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
This week's review: Uptown and Downtown, debunking myths about seafood in the desert, one fish at a time. #Phoenix phxrailfood.com/2026/07/10/c...
phxrailfood.com
Chula Seafood
One of the most frustrating cliches heard about dining in Phoenix is the claim that “You can’t get good seafood in the desert,” or its variant, “Don’t eat fish so far from the coast.” Have people m…
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
This week’s review: With pho joints everywhere, revisiting one of the OG #Phoenix Vietnamese restaurants: phxrailfood.com/2026/07/03/d...
phxrailfood.com
Da Vang
It was just about three-and-a-half decades ago, way back in 1991, when rapper Ice-T released his legendary album O.G. Original Gangster. The hard-hitting rhymes heard on both the record and in the …
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
This week's review: On a block otherwise dominated by a parking garage, a place serving Greek food and unexpectedly good pizza. phxrailfood.com/2026/06/26/c... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Crazy Jim’s
If there’s one thing the southwestern quadrant of Downtown Phoenix, the portion of the city center dominated by government buildings, has in excess, it is parking garages. Among the amenities the a…
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
This week's review: Tacos, tortas, auto repair, and even an occasional cat on Broadway in South #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2026/06/23/t...
phxrailfood.com
Tacos Rodriguez
Tacos trucks can be anywhere, but sometimes the best ones are found around used car lots and auto repair shops. Collocation makes sense due to the time spent waiting for paperwork to be completed o…
110
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
This week's review: Ice cream and shoe shines, a combination of urban essentials across the street from police headquarters. phxrailfood.com/2026/06/12/s... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Sweet Crimes
Two things that Phoenix needs more of (besides shade of course) are shoe shines and ice cream. Many Phoenicians walk around with scuffed shoes, and Sky Harbor airport hasn’t had a shine concession …
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
This week's review: Expanded in a upgraded location while staying true to is mission of Mexican food in Downtown #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2026/06/05/c...
phxrailfood.com
Centrico
As recently as a decade ago, it was hard to find a good taco, or any taco at all, in the core downtown business district of Phoenix. Business travelers and convention attendees expected the Southwe…
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
This week's review: No lost dogs, but plenty of sushi at accessible prices at the south end of Midtown. #phoenix phxrailfood.com/2026/04/29/h...
phxrailfood.com
Hachiko
A Japanese dog named Hachiko became legendary for his devotion to his deceased human. After the death of the man he lived with, the dog continued to wait for his return at Shibuya Station, a major …
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
This week's review: A steakhouse that is both classic and contemporary at the front door of the Arizona Center phxrailfood.com/2026/04/03/c... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Cleaverman
For those who remember the Arizona Center when the development first opened in 1990, nothing may be more indicative of the complex’s changes than the closure of Hooter’s, the last of the original r…
021
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
This week's review: Midcentury Modern architecture meets social media energy for brunch. phxrailfood.com/2026/03/20/s... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Sophia’s
Although Frank Lloyd Wright is better known and Will Bruder is more contemporary, few architects have had as much influence on Phoenix’s urban landscape as Al Beadle. His work, often associated wit…
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
This week's review: In a building characterized by attorneys and architects, anyone can obsess over the details of sandwiches, soups, and salads. phxrailfood.com/2026/03/13/s... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Sticklers
There are certain professions that might be seen as well-suited to sticklers, people known for their attention to detail. Architecture and the law are among them. No architect wants a building to c…
110
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
This week's review: Just like the city around it, a #Tempe hotel manages a dual identity. phxrailfood.com/2026/03/06/a... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Alter Ego
For the first century after its founding in 1892, Tempe was usually viewed as an inner suburb of Phoenix and a college town. The city was known for its historic flour mill, the walkable business di…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
This week's review: More than two decades after Napoleon Dynamite, quesadillas and tater tots endure in #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2026/02/27/d...
phxrailfood.com
Dilla Libre
It has now been over two decades since “Napoleon Dynamite,” a quirky film about a quirky character of the same name, became an unexpected and enduring favorite. While there are so many motifs that …
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
This week's review: Take the B Train to this Harlem for coffee and pastry in the Roosevelt historic district. phxrailfood.com/2026/02/21/h... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Harlem
Even people who are not fans of big band jazz have probably heard the song “Take the A Train” at least once. The standard was written by composer Billy Strayhorn based on Duke Ellington’s instructi…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
This week's review: At home but not alone as Mill Avenue tries to reboot as a dining destination. phxrailfood.com/2026/02/13/f... #phoenix #tempe
phxrailfood.com
Filthy Animal
So much of the classic movie “Home Alone” has infused popular culture that it’s sometimes hard to remember all the tropes derived from it. One of them is the phrase “filthy animal.” The words are h…
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
This week's review: The third Japanese restaurant in a row at this CityScape location and the best so far. phxrailfood.com/2026/02/09/o... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Obon
Sometimes, a particular space seems destined for one specific type of restaurant. At CityScape in downtown Phoenix, a specific location is now home to its third Japanese-inspired restaurant. The la…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Whether married or just living together, a loving combination of coffee and pastry in downtown #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2026/01/30/c...
phxrailfood.com
CP Coffee and Patisserie
When two people become a couple and move in together, there are always decisions to be made about just how far to take their union. Are they getting married or merely cohabiting? Will they merge th…
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
This week's review: A local sourdough bakery has fermented into multiple shops and cafes. #phoenix #mesa #tempe phxrailfood.com/2026/01/23/p...
phxrailfood.com
Proof Bread
In making bread, proofing is sometimes a ritual and sometimes a requirement. With breads made with convenient fast acting yeast, proofing to ensure that the vital microorganisms are still alive is …
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
This week’s review: phxrailfood.com/2026/01/16/m... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Matt’s Big Breakfast
It’s interesting how even the most adventurous eaters tend to be conservative about breakfast. People who gladly consume foods from outside their own family traditions in the afternoon and evening …
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
This week's review: A new restaurant at the #Phoenix Art Museum feels sort of like an old friend. phxrailfood.com/2026/01/09/a...
phxrailfood.com
Alden
The name Alden has origins in the Old English word for “old friend.” It also happens to be the first name of Alden Dow, the architect who designed the mid-century campus originally known as the Pho…
030
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
This week's review: A hibachi food truck moves inside with an expanded menu. phxrailfood.com/2026/01/02/e... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
EZbachi
There seems to be no limit to what kind of food can be prepared on a truck. While mobile operations might traditionally have been associated with hot dogs, tacos, and other hand foods, some seem to…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
To allow for a holiday break, there will be no review posted this week. Wishing all followers a happy new year with regular weekly reviews scheduled to resume after January 1 and continue throughout the month.
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
This week's review: Even if the real world of the 2020s doesn't always seem much better than the fictional 2019 of Blade Runner, at least there are urban noodles to feed us. phxrailfood.com/2025/12/19/r... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Ramen Kagawa
The movie “Blade Runner,” set in a fictional version of 2019, shows a bleak future. We’re now well past that date, and while its predictions haven’t all come true, the real-life present doesn’t alw…
030
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
This week's review: a classic movie, a forgotten band, and a Cityscape restaurant for morning and midday. phxrailfood.com/2025/12/12/b... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
BC Breakfast Club
Nearly everyone has seen The Breakfast Club, the classic John Hughes movie from the 1980s, but far fewer remember the band Breakfast Club. Although Madonna served briefly as the group’s drummer, Br…
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
This week's review: Mexican meat, seafood, and an irreverent approach to cocktails show how much has changed on Main Street in #Mesa. phxrailfood.com/2025/11/27/e... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Espiritu
There was a time in the not too distant past when downtown Mesa was generally quiet after dark and many restaurants in the area were dry. A lot has changed over the past decade, with more live ente…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
This week's review: Marvelous Mexican hamburguesas on Main Street in Mesa, but maybe hold the fries. phxrailfood.com/2025/11/21/m...
phxrailfood.com
Main Burgers
It has been decades since tacos became mainstream in the United States, and now that signature food associated with Mexico can be found nearly everywhere in both authentic and adulterated forms. In…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
This week's review: In the #Mesa Asian District, a French influence felt in baguette sandwiches lingers long after colonialism. #Phoenix phxrailfood.com/2025/11/14/m...
phxrailfood.com
Mekong Sandwiches
Although it has been over seventy years since France left what was then called “Indochina,” there are many legacies of French colonialism that persist in Vietnam. Among them are the use of the Roma…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
This week's review: A sequel that has outlasted the original serving Mexican-American comfort food on Main Street in Mesa. phxrailfood.com/2025/11/07/a... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Adrian’s
In film or just about any medium, there are always a few cases in which a sequel is better known or regarded than the original work that preceded it. For example, everyone knows “Silence of the Lam…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
This week's review: No meditation, but maybe a little mindful appreciation of Thai food in downtown #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2025/11/01/z...
phxrailfood.com
Zen Thai Cafe
The idea of zen, often oversimplified and misunderstood, refers to a meditative practice associated with Buddhism throughout east Asia, Applied to food, it can involve deep, unhurried appreciation …
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
This week's review: Don't shop when hungry; in South #Phoenix, eat at the supermarket instead. phxrailfood.com/2025/10/24/los
phxrailfood.com
Los Altos Ranch Market
Just about everyone has heard the adage, “Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.” The idea is that being hungry while in a supermarket can make a shopper susceptible to budget-busting impul…
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
This week's review: A coffee house with a stable orbit that never seems too far removed from terrestrial comforts. phxrailfood.com/2025/10/10/s... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Satellite Coffee Bar
There is a certain relationship between coffee and furniture. After all, many living rooms are defined by what is commonly known as a “coffee table,” a surface to hold a pot, cups, milk, and sugar …
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
This week's review: A place to enjoy Japanese fast food at a corner that has been slow to be redeveloped. phxrailfood.com/2025/10/03/y... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Yoshi’s
If there’s a major intersection that speaks to unrealized potential, it’s the corner of Indian School Road and Central Avenue at the north end of Midtown. On the northeast corner, a massive develop…
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
This week's review: A restaurant on a cul-de-sac doesn't have to lead to a dead-end meal. phxrailfood.com/2025/09/26/o... #Phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Oven+Vine
The phrase “dead end street” doesn’t usually have a positive connotation. Literally, it means only one way in and out. Figuratively, it suggests a failed project. Maybe that’s why the fancier sound…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
When PHX Rail Food started in 2007, Mill Avenue was one of the region’s most varied and lively dining districts. Now, it’s among the least. It will be interesting to see if new restaurants can bring it back to life after the loss of so many longtime favorites. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/...
phoenixnewtimes.com
Once a party-school mecca, Mill Ave. wants to be your parents' dining destination
Tempe's college party district is moving on up, trading dive bars for high-end eateries. Will it leave students in the dust?
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
This week's review: Ice cream for saints, sinners, and everyone in between. phxrailfood.com/2025/09/12/s... #phoenix #mesa
phxrailfood.com
Sweet Retreat
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is known for discouraging its members from consuming alcohol, tobacco, recreational cannabis, and “hot drinks” (mainly coffee and tea). With those it…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
This week's review: No soot, but a pub look with pub food on First Street in downtown #Phoenix phxrailfood.com/2025/09/05/t...
phxrailfood.com
The Kettle Black
The idiom of “the pot calling the kettle black” has been around for centuries and has always implied hypocrisy, criticizing another’s person’s flaws while ignoring the same failings within oneself.…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
This week's review: A favorite food of fairs and road side stands settled in a fixed location in central Mesa. phxrailfood.com/2025/08/29/h... #phoenix
phxrailfood.com
Hope’s Frybread
The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the United States and home to its largest federally recognized tribe. Nevertheless, only a little more than half of the enrolled memb…
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Chula Seafood coming to the Arizona Center. This will be a much needed boost to this dated development in downtown #Phoenix.
A sign at the Arizona Center identifying both current and coming soon businesses, including Chula Seafood.
020
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
This week's review: With pasta, pizza, and pastry, this downtown #Phoenix bakery cafe is sweet in more ways than one, phxrailfood.com/2025/08/24/d...
phxrailfood.com
Dolce Italia by MEKK
The Italian word “dolce” translates into English as “sweet” in both senses of the word: a sugary flavor and a gentle disposition. With that in mind, the most dolce place of all could be an Italian …
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
This week's review: Pennies may be going away, but it's still possible to find one on Roosevelt Row. #phoenix phxrailfood.com/2025/08/17/p...
phxrailfood.com
Pretty Penny
A few months ago, the United States Mint placed its final order for the blanks needed to create pennies. With that action, the long-debated demise of the one-cent coin began, a move that puts the U…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
This week's review: Coffee and pastry at the ground floor of one of the latest downtown #Phoenix apartment towers. phxrailfood.com/2025/08/09/d...
phxrailfood.com
Daydreamer Coffee
With all new high-rise residential construction in the denser parts of Phoenix and its suburbs, it has sometimes been a struggle to include a component of ground floor retail, an added layer of urb…
010
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
This week's review: On the boundary between Midtown and Uptown and breakfast and lunch. #Phoenix phxrailfood.com/2025/08/02/f...
phxrailfood.com
Fàme Caffe
The Romance languages are not named for an association with amorous behavior, also there are certainly plenty of stereotypes to that effect, but more for their descent from the language of the Roma…
000
PHX Rail Food @phxrailfood.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
This week’s review: Asian-inspired rice bowls to bring a little life to the Collier Center in Downtown #Phoenix. phxrailfood.com/2025/07/26/r...
phxrailfood.com
Ricemill
A rice mill can be a machine that can fit in a closet or fill a factory, depending on its capacity. The grain it refines is a staple in food traditions all over the world, and a new quick service r…
010