The 2025 Devour Culinary Classic returned to Desert Botanical Garden on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23 and 24, with dozens of local chefs, mixologists and food producers offering a taste of what they do best to both attendees and a panel of judges, including The Arizona Republic dining and nightlife reporter Bahar Anooshahr, who will award gold, silver and bronze medals to the best bites and sips.
Team dining attended the event, winding our way through cacti and desert trees to explore the offerings at local vendor tents, take in local artists and listen to local musicians. The event is put on by Local First Arizona, and they delivered yet again on their aim of showcasing the best of what metro Phoenix has to offer.
An especially nice touch was the compost stations. Nearly every refuse area was manned by someone who helpfully pointed out which items should be tossed in recycling, compost or landfill bins. It was incredibly educational and showed a deep commitment to making the event as eco-friendly as possible.
We ate and drank some incredible things, from big names and newcomers, and a few stood out from the rest. The results of the official Devour judging will be announced later in the week, but here’s a look at the bites and sips that we felt were medal-worthy.
Gold
Dustcutter’s foie gras and Arizona date shake
I write about food for a living, but I’m at a loss for words to describe this dish. Made of foie gras whipped with port, the flavor profile hovered between sweet and savory, with a strong, almost spicy aftertaste of alcohol from the port the foie gras was cured with. A puree of Yuma dates at the bottom of the glass added sweetness, while chili-spiced pecan bits added a satisfying crunch. Despite being rich and creamy, the shake somehow managed to also feel light and refreshing. My mind was confused, but my mouth was very happy.
Details: Dust Cutter, Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 100 N. First St, Phoenix. 602-333-5117, dustcutterphx.com.
— Reia Li
Chilte’s prawns with caramelized fish sauce glaze and mole
As I approached the Sunset Plaza, I followed my nose right to Chilte. Smoke was billowing off the grill where they were cooking the biggest prawns I’ve ever seen. Chef L.T. Smith served them up with a caramelized fish sauce glaze and a dot of mole on the side. As one of my first bites of the day, I can honestly say it nearly ruined me for any other dish. The prawn was sweet and smoky and practically melted in my mouth. If I wasn’t at a public event, I probably would have licked the rest of the mole right off my plate. It was that good.
Details: Chilte, 765 Grand Ave., Phoenix. 602-807-5225, chiltephx.com.
— Endia Fontanez
Barrio Bread’s Sourdough focaccia with honey and chiltepin hot sauce
James Beard Award-winning Tucson baker Don Guerra was slinging not only his famous bread but a signature slice, which may be a preview of good things to come at Don Guerra’s Bagel and Slice, a new drive-thru restaurant in Gilbert he’s opening soon with Oren Molovinsky.
As one of the last bites I had, I was quite full by the time we stumbled upon the Barrio Bread booth, but I knew I had to try something, so I picked up a square of focaccia topped with roasted fennel cream, paper-thin potatoes, asiago cheese and a drizzle of desert honey and chiltepin hot sauce. The texture of the bread was airy but structurally sound enough to support the toppings, which offered complex layers of sweet and savory flavors with a spicey finish. If I hadn’t been bursting at the seams already, I would have snagged a second slice. Alas, now I’ll have to wait for the grand opening.
Details: Don Guerra’s Bagel and Slice, 689 N. Arizona Ave., Gilbert. @barriobagelandslice on Instagram.
— Felicia Campbell
Silver
Valentine’s margarita tart
Crystal Kass, Valentine’s James Beard semifinalist pastry chef, did not disappoint. A fun twist on key-lime pie, her margarita tart had a tequila lime custard filling and was topped with aloe vera jellies that popped satisfyingly in the mouth. The tart was served with a dollop of Mexican crema whip sprinkled with chile salt. Creamy, juicy and airy, the dessert was a wonder of textures.
Details: Valentine, 4130 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix. 602-612-2961, valentinephx.com/menus.
— Reia Li
Clever Koi’s Asian-inspired gordita
Looking at the description, I felt confident the bite was either going to be a trainwreck or totally fantastic — the spicy gochugaru masa tortilla topped with meltingly tender pork chashu, subtly sweet Asian pear, tart red cabbage kimchi, white miso crema and a few springs of cilantro was solidly the latter.
Details: Clever Koi, 4236 N. Central Ave., #100, Phoenix. 602-222-3474, cleverkoi.com.
— Felicia Campbell
Beginner’s Luck’s cactus cubano
There’s nothing more satisfying than a great sandwich, and though Beginner’s Luck’s cactus Cubano bite was served without bread for Devour, it was one of the most delightful bites of the day. Made with smoked cactus ham that’s brined in cactus jus, pickled nopales and dijonnaise served on a salt and vinegar chicharron, it was tangy but light. None of the ingredients overpowered the rest. It felt like the perfect summer lunch.
Details: Beginner’s Luck, 7240 E. Main St., Scottsdale. beginnersluckaz.com.
— Endia Fontanez
Bronze
Latha’s oxtail grilled cheese
Latha’s take on grilled cheese involved oxtail barbacoa. Slow-smoked for about four hours it luxuriated, dripping juice onto the crispy toasted milk bread topped with melted cheese. Chef Digby Stridiron managed to fit an impressive number of culinary histories into the humble sandwich: Pimento cheese, a staple of the South, anchored the dish, Caribbean pineapple chutney added a hint of acidity, and then the whole thing was doused in queso, because “we’re in the Southwest. So let’s have fun, right?” said Stridiron.
Details: Latha, 628 E. Adams St., Phoenix. lathaphx.com.
— Reia Li
Nella’s Innovative Kreations’ blue corn vegetarian nachos
Chef Denella Belin uses local, indigenous ingredients in all of her recipes, and it certainly paid off in her vegetarian nachos, which were made using ingredients of tepary beans sourced from Ramona Farms. Served with maple balsamic vinaigrette and cabbage on a blue corn tortilla chip, the bite was refreshingly clean with a satisfying tangy kick.
Details: Nella’s Innovative Kreations, nellasinnovativekreations.com.
— Endia Fontanez
Honorable Mentions
Sweet Republic’s matcha ice cream
The hallmark of good matcha ice cream is the strength of the matcha flavor itself, and Sweet Republic’s version was delicious — dark green with a clear, almost bitter matcha flavor. The matcha ice cream came encased in a frozen chocolate cube, which was then nestled inside a giant square marshmallow, which was then toasted on a stick. But to me, the simple, rich matcha ice cream did not need all that wrapping. It was a pleasure on its own.
Details: Multiple locations sweetrepublic.com.
— Reia Li
Dust Cutter’s Wanderlust Old Fashioned
One might say, what could go wrong with an old fashioned? As an aficionado, let me tell you, a lot. The simplicity of the drink makes it easy to end up with a middling beverage, and even harder to make a standout version, but Dust Cutter’s blend of Whiskey Del Bac Sentinel of the Desert Mesquite Rye, coconut, lemongrass, hibiscus and pink peppercorn muddled with demerara and amaro di angostura was one of the finest old fashions I’ve had in recent memory. It stayed true to the whiskey forward classic, with none of the aforementioned ingredients shouting in your face, but instead lending a bit of subtle interest to a drink that was silky smooth, slightly smokey and the best showcase for Del Bac I’ve ever tasted.
— Felicia Campbell
Latha’s Sorrel tea
If you had asked me before the festival what I thought I’d be most excited to try, an iced tea probably would not have been my first guess. Or probably even my first 10 guesses. But after I took a sip of Latha’s sorrel tea, I immediately turned around and told everyone in my group they had to try it immediately. The tea had a fresh, natural sweetness to it thanks to the hibiscus and pineapple. Rather than the sugary taste of traditional sweet tea, it was like biting into a juicy piece of fruit, with the ginger and warm spices adding a subtle kick to balance out the drink. If Latha opened a cafe, I would go just to grab an iced sorrel tea for takeout on a hot summer day.
— Endia Fontanez
The Kitchen Witch’s prickly pear lemonade jam
It took an impressive amount of self-control to walk away without a jar of prickly pear lemonade jam from The Kitchen Witch. I found myself sucking the spoon long after the dollop of jam was gone, desperately craving more of the sweet and slightly sour taste of the prickly pear and lemonade. The aftertaste had a slight spice to it that was the perfect finish to the flavor journey I was taken on in the tiny spoonful. I’ll be spreading it on warm toast in my dreams tonight.
Details: thekitchenwitchaz.com.
— Endia Fontanez
SanTan Brewing Company’s bottled old fashioned
It’s hard to capture the nuance of a great cocktail in a bottle or can, but SanTan has made a mighty fine version with sacred stave bourbon, spiced orange bitters and sugar. I’ll be picking up a bottle from Total Wine to have on hand for nights when I don’t feel like stirring up my own.
Details: santanbrewing.com.
— Felicia Campbell
Felicia Campbell is dining editor at The Arizona Republic, USA TODAY Network West. Reach her at felicia.campbell@azcentral.com.
Reach the reporter at endia.fontanez@gannett.com. Follow @EndiaFontanez on X, formerly Twitter.
Reach the reporter at reia.li@gannett.com. Follow @reia_reports on Instagram.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: These top Phoenix restaurants represented at Devour 2025
