Rosas Mexican Grill   

This little mom-and-pop restaurant serves some of the finest and most affordable Baja-style Mexican food on the planet. Since the early 1990s, Rosa's has become legendary, and a tradition with East Valley families on Friday and Saturday nights. Even then, the wait is never long, but it gives the regulars a chance to catch up on family gossip while they wait. The current space in Mesa features a taco shop in front and a full restaurant behind it. One reason Rosa's is so popular is the emphasis on freshness -- fresh ingredients and everything made from scratch daily, including the salsas. The rest of the secret is recipes and cooking techniques. Lean beef and pork are marinated in fruit juices, herbs and spices, slowly oven-roasted and then blasted in their own juices in a charbroiler. Chicken is marinated in a mild red chile sauce, than baked 'til it's firm and moist. Rosa's unique house specialties include scrumptious Enchiladas Monterrey. Grilled beef is rolled into flour tortillas and topped with red chile and green tomatillo sauce, then oven-baked with two kinds of cheese. The shrimp taco plate is one of the biggest bargains; barely over $5, it's comprised of plump shrimp topped with Rosa's fresh pineapple sauce and served with rice and beans. The award-winning Flying Saucer is a crisp flour tortilla buried under mounds of beans, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, cheeses, salsa and your choice of beef, pork or chicken. Whatever you order, lunch or dinner, portions are huge, and the margaritas are near-mandatory.