Jalapeno Inferno, Scottsdale

Pieces of lobster and charred carne asada fill street-style tacos garnished with cilantro, and traditional chili relleno platters pair cheese-stuffed anaheim chilies with machaca beef or pork. Chefs update traditional Mexican dishes and American Southwestern recipes at Jalapeno Inferno to create a menu of flavorful and original cuisine. In addition to signature sweet green tamales—corn masa stuffed with chiles and cheese, steamed in the husk for amazing flavor––an entire menu section devoted to spicy food lives up to the restaurant's name by secreting fiery hatch and red chilies into quesadillas, burritos, and your arch nemesis's drink.

Diners toast margaritas in a dining room awash with sage-green hues and golden cushioned seating. Expressive paintings can be found throughout the restaurant, whether between the plush curtains that separate booths or flanking the doors that lead to the patio. There, canopied tables look out on a pond decorated with boulders, cacti, and palms that preserve the restaurant's natural ecosystem.