Sometimes it’s easy to identify the winner: the team with the most points; the candidate with the most votes; the television show with the highest ratings.

But choosing a “best” restaurant isn’t nearly as straightforward.

The decision depends on so many variables that have nothing to do with quality, such as what kind of food you’re in the mood for and how much you want to spend. Your “best” restaurant today may not be your “best” restaurant tomorrow.

So for the first time in more than a decade of The Republic’s annual best-of awards, we have a three-way tie for best restaurant in Greater Phoenix.

Sharing the 2011 honor are Binkley’s Restaurant in Cave Creek, Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa on the Gila River Reservation and Nobuo at Teeter House in downtown Phoenix.

These restaurants offer entirely different dining experiences, but they do share one trait: they stand out from the crowd, representing the very best of their class.

Which one is the “best”? I’m not able to say. But you can’t do better. Read the full azcentral article