Get Japanese delicacies and pub grub under the same roof

For a prime example of the blending of low- and high-end all in the name of good taste, look no further than Phoenix’s Nobuo at Teeter House. When James Beard award–winning chef Nobuo Fukuda closed his beloved Sea Saw restaurant in 2009, area food lovers were aggrieved by the loss of the Tokyo-born chef’s prized, high-end Japanese fare. They needn’t have worried, though, because the acclaimed chef’s new project in historic Heritage Square was about to deliver them Fukuda’s signature mad-genius pairings of fresh local and traditional Japanese ingredients in two forms: omakase and izakaya. The reservations-only omakase (chef’s choice) menu often includes mind-boggling concoctions such as fois gras–infused egg custard and Wagyu short ribs with miso butter. And those longing for what can perhaps be described as the best pub grub in Arizona can enjoy izakaya gems like okomiyaki (a seafood-and-pork pancake) and pork-belly buns.