El Conquistador Restaurant

Pulled from Yelp.com. A picture from the old location of El Conquistado.

This restaurant has to be one of the best in Phoenix. And for a town that has 4 Mexican restaurants to a block, that's saying something.

We discovered this place by looking up Mexican restaurants in our area. Although the owners have subsequently moved to Glendale, the food remains absolutely delicious. Maria, the co-owner of the restaurant and head chef, specializes in Jalisco-style cooking. This means phenomenal carne asada tacos, pork with poblanos, and, did I mention the posole?

This soup, made fresh on the weekends (both green and red versions available) is hands-down the best. The green happens to be my favorite, but I have it on good authority that the red does itself justice. A thick broth that has been simmering for hours, filled with tender pork, hominy, spices, and of course, accompanied by radishes, cilantro, avocado, chicharrones...oh, I'm gettng hungry just thinking about it. This all comes in a bowl the size of your head. This soup is no "starter" but a full meal and then some.

I would go to this restaurant every day if I could. Don't be fooled by the somewhat standard fare that appears on the menu. The daily specials, written on a board, are where it's at. And combine that with the weekend soups (the aforementioned posole plus menudo, caldo de pollo, and albondigas), well, you can't ask for much more. It's also extremely reasonable in price, although I would pay top dollar for that posole.

Location
5350 W. Bell Rd.
Glendale, AZ 85308