As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Phoenix businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots have the momentum heading into springtime.
Tocaya Organica
Open since November, this Mexican spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mexican spots saw review counts increase by a median of 2.3 percent over the past month, but Tocaya Organica saw a 29 percent increase, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 7012 E. Greenway Parkway, Suite 100, in Paradise Valley, Tocaya Organica offers contemporary Mexican cuisine made with locally-sourced organic ingredients. The menu features an array of tacos, burritos and bowls, including the fajita del rey — a mashup of sauteed peppers, onions, cilantro lime rice, black beans, vegan chipotle cream, guacamole and pico de gallo.
The eatery is also currently serving a cauliflower-centric seasonal menu.
Thai Delight
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Ahwatukee Foothills's Thai Delight, the Thai spot, which offers seafood and desserts, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.5 percent over the past month, Thai Delight bagged a 5.5 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Phoenix's seafood scene: Reign Of Thai has seen a 2.9 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 4645 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 106, since 2017, Thai Delight offers traditional Thai cuisine with menu items like yellow curry (with potatoes, carrots and onions), pad thai (with bean sprouts, green onion, peanuts and your choice of protein) and, for dessert, sticky rice with mango. (View the full menu here.)
Farm & Craft
Alhambra's Farm & Craft is also making waves. Open since April at 5538 N. Seventh St., Suite 100, the cocktail bar and New American and breakfast and brunch spot has seen a 13.7 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.7 percent for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
Farm & Craft offers an array of healthy options like its grilled veggie bowl with poached eggs and lemon harissa aioli; vegan ceviche made of golden beets, radish, cherry tomatoes, avocado, lime and tomato chili sauce; and barbecue chicken flatbread topped with pineapple-jalapeño barbecue sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, black beans, cilantro and lime cream. (Take a look at the full menu.)
Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Wildflower
Camelback East's Wildflower is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The bakery and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches and more and opened at 4290 E. Indian School Road in 2007, increased its review count by 4.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 5.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Wildflower offers seasonal menu items like the sweet potato and greens breakfast bowl, the cheddar-braised beef sandwich and the Chocolate Devotion, a chocolate custard topped with raspberry purée.
