Phoenix, AZSeafood

Run by father-and-son team Jim and Jon Heflin, whose boat The Chula fishes out of Point Loma, this counter-style market and restaurant serves boat-to-table catches: shrimp, fresh poke, creamy clam chowder, and a green chile tuna melt that has become its calling card, across Uptown Phoenix and Scottsdale locations.

Buck & Rider, on Camelback Road with a Scottsdale sibling, lets diners pick their own cooking method and sauce for the fish mains, and rounds things out with strong cocktails, appetizers, and desserts, a more polished seafood-house approach than the Valley's typical casual counters.

Serving out of an underground Scottsdale dining room since 1971, Salt Cellar keeps the menu on classic seafood-house standards done well, from shrimp cocktail to lump crab cake, in a dim, below-ground setting that feels unlike anywhere else in the Valley.

Oscar's Pier 83 in Glendale stakes its claim on fried seafood, running through a wide range of fish for its fish 'n' chips and other fried combos served with french fries, a West Valley option for a straightforward basket done right.

This Phoenix mariscos spot hits you with color and sound the moment you walk in, and runs deep on fresh ceviches and aguachiles, with a Plato del Capitan sampler piling fried shrimp and other seafood onto one plate for a good introduction to the style.