Best Take-Out '97

Best Take-Out

Pronto
2955 E. Speedway

READERS' PICK: Pronto emerges as the readers' favorite for the fifth year running. It's certainly quick and easy--it has a special phone line for call-in orders, so unless you live right next door, chances are your food will be ready when you get there. The menu continues to please, with demi-gourmet twists on the classic categories: burgers, sandwiches, salads and pastas. Such ingredients as sun-dried tomatoes, tangy Gorgonzola and creamy buffalo mozzarella cheeses, caramelized onions, delicious slabs of roasted green chiles, rosemary, basil and garlic set Pronto apart from its pedestrian competitors. But they still cover the basics, like good ol' peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. New this year are the collage-topped café tables, elegantly set aglow with votives, illuminating this writer's favorite take-out strategy: Don't call ahead; linger at the counter and order a Fat Tire ale. Pocket a sumptuous cookie, choose a cool table--like the one with Elvis' own recipe for deep-fried dill pickle chips; sit, sip and nibble. Your food will be ready to go before you are.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Boston Market, Four Locations

A REAL SCREAM: Samurai, 3912 N. Oracle Road, is a family owned and operated Japanese fast-food restaurant that kicks ass. Quite possibly, it's the best meal served in Styrofoam you'll ever have. A packed menu of flavorful meals over rice includes the Yakiniku (sautéed vegetables with lean beef), daily combination specials and the ever-popular Teriyaki chicken bowl. Teppan, curry and yaki-soba--you name it, they've got it covered (or more accurately, freshly steamed, grilled or rolled to order). Snap those chopsticks and dig in!

A REAL SCREAM: Owner Rudy Lira usually works the counter at Tania's, 614 N. Grande Ave. He's earnest, friendly, efficient and genuinely concerned about your satisfaction and well-being when it comes to take-out. Courtesy is the hallmark of the whole Tania's experience. Tania's, with a second location at 2856 W. Drexel Road, serves up fast, cheap, tasty Mexican food seven days a week, breakfast lunch and dinner. With Tania's party packs and "cold-for-less" carry out, you can feed yourself, your family or an army for just 99 cents per person. (Faxed orders receive a 10-percent discount.) Among Tania's stand-out items are the seven soups featured daily, including red and white menudo. If you don't order from Tania's at least a couple of times a week, you probably cook too much.

A REAL SCREAM: Paco's Mexican Food, 2645 E. Speedway, is our take-out/eat-in, fast and fabulous food-dream come true. Located in the building many townies refer to as the "old eegee's store" (near Speedway and Tucson Boulevard), Paco's is a relatively new addition to that strip of Speedway; and it's holding its own with consistently good, clean, cheap, REAL food. Real means finely shredded tangy, yellow cheddar, savory grilled pork and beef, juicy tomatoes, thick and peppery refried beans and all those yummy gringo condiments (sour cream, guacamole and mild salsa verde) you'd be embarrassed to order anywhere but through the anonymity of a drive-thru speaker.

1998 Winner: Pronto
1996 Winner: Pronto
1995 Winner: Pronto