The Original Portland

Duplicates can fence frustrating and flattering. But, there must be something in a name.it

Though its larger, west coast name-fellow pulls the weight of critical dining and travel buzz, Portland, Maine, is no vacuum in reflection. In the past decade, maybe even just the past half decade, Maine’s largest and most striving city has not only evolved, it’s grown. The first Portland is now, well, the new Portland.

Despite its colonial age on paper, the Portland of today feels more relevant and magnetic than ever. In fact, save Boston, Portland is the most dynamic city in New England right now. From the waves of disembarking tourists in Old Port, to the foreshadowing hipsters encroaching on Downtown’s eastern and western fringe, it’s bluntly apparent the city has graduated from blue collar, mid-tier port town to near-roaring capital of the area’s newfound creativity and ingenuity.

This remarkable footnote can be visualized most practically by booking a table at one of the city’s white-hot restaurants, gifting a front-row study on the melting pot Portland has become today. Stubborn, rebellious new chefs, entrepreneurs, and tastemakers in the region are no longer narrowly dreaming of the brighter streets of Boston, New York or Montreal. They’re dreaming of Portland.

Here’s a snapshot of where to eat, drink and sleep in Portland, Maine, right now.

Lobster trap, not tourist trap.

 

MORNING

 

Bookend the start of your day at Downtown’s Bard Coffee. Informed, engaging baristas and house-roasted beans give Portland’s young-set fuel for the day’s itinerary.

Hungry? Breakfast pro-tip: hold off eating until 11:00 a.m. That’s when cozy, food-charged Central Provisions in Old Port, already one of Portland’s most popular restaurants and watering holes any time of day, begins serving its rightfully-acclaimed small plates brunch menu. Diners huddle around the open kitchen bar for favorites both creative and sentimental like scrapple and eggs, warm brioche cinnamon rolls with sea salt and the bialy (think a crusty, Polish take on the common bagel) and lox.

Sunday Brunch at East Ender makes no excuse for anything less, serving gold standards done right like chicken and waffles, eggs in purgatory and the savory crawfish and grits.

For the anti-breakfast crowds, steal a spot in line at Standard Baking Co. for no pressure coffees to-go and brown bags of their blue-ribbon, caramel-hued croissants.

Lobster BLT and no complaints at East Ender.

 

MIDDAY

 

For lunch, jog down to Duckfat for their crispy, hand-cut Belgian-style fries, decadent poutine and signature pressed sandwiches. Check out Pai Men Miyake, Portland’s go-to for Japanese-leaning staples like ramen, soft pork belly buns and a laundry list of handmade gyoza. Be sure to save room for Slab’s hulking, thick-cut squares of hot Sicilian-style pizza, or the West End’s Bao Bao Dumpling House for superlative Chinese dumplings, noodle soups and colorful tiki drinks.

Burn gas across the Fore River toward Cape Elizabeth and the Portland Head Light where the cheerful Bite Into Maine food truck anchors most warm-season afternoons, serving tourists and locals in-the-know some of the area’s best lobster rolls—cold mayo, hot buttered and more—as you overlook the emerald, rocky cliffs along storybook Casco Bay.

Dumpling to-do at Bao Bao.

Cold mayo and sunshine with Bite Into Maine food truck.

 

EVENING

 

As sunlight fades over Portland’s Back Cove, any effort selecting the best place for dinner will leave hungry enthusiasts exhausted. And, the great options continue to pile each day.

Jump off the top of that list at high-minded Fore Street, already one of Portland’s senior standard bearers, a handsome space that remains just as consequential today for its hyper-seasonal, loyally local, wood-fired menus as it was in 2004, when chef-partner Sam Hayward won Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation.

Don’t miss the Middle Street trifecta: the stylish and equally esteemed Hugo’s for its finely orchestrated, internationally-inflected tasting menus, nor its two younger and more boisterous cousins next door: Eventide Oyster Co., for its matchless chalkboard of bivalves local and far west, modern takes on New England seafaring classics and soul-reviving tiki cocktails; or, animated darling The Honey Paw for its colorful menu of globally inspired noodle dishes and fresh-made dumplings of persuasions Asian, vaguely Italian and beyond.

For pitch-perfect regional Italian, the pocket-sized Piccolo charms with nuanced heirloom recipes, hand-made pastas and incredibly fresh, local seafood and farm-raised meats. A must do? Piccolo’s infamous Sunday Suppers, a reservations-only, multi-course and chef-driven affair that clears the mark as one of the best eating experiences in Portland.

The exhausted and hungry can also run south of the border, Equator even, at Latin-flavored barbecue spot Terlingua, for build-your-own trays of fatty brisket, spicy sausages and smoked ribs.

Fore Street.

Evening tide at Eventide.

Pho at Honey Paw.

Piccolo magic.

 

COCKTAILS

 

Not ready to end your night after dinner? Cocktail culture is alive, and on fire, in the city of Portland. This sentiment is no better represented than at Portland Hunt and Alpine Club—ground zero for all things we love about a well-made drink in an urbane, sharply groomed downtown setting. Steered by some of the city’s top bartenders, enthusiasts and casual sippers alike find mutual motivation to linger with a rotating cocktail menu of classics, bookish signatures and barrel-aged spirits on draft.

Determined cocktail nerds will find alternative solace at cocktail curio shop and bitters emporium Vena’s Fizz House in Old Port, getting to know affable owners Steve and Johanna Corman as they patiently guide your exploration of the charming corner shop’s menus of housemade sodas, library of rare tinctures and syrups, and collections of for-sale vintage barware. 

Sure, go to Roustabout for their rugged, cool-kid Italian-American food, but stay for the Munjoy Hill restaurant’s simple but skillful cocktails. Already sampled everything on the drink menu? Just ask: Roustabout’s well-schooled team of bartenders will make you the best version of (just about) anything.

New kid on the block Rhum Food + Grog brings the trend of tiki, the serious and the sentimental, to city dwellers daydreaming of Pacific sun and shores. Beyond Rhum’s menu of colorful, calling card tiki drinks and modern tropical favorites, the Old Port hideout also offers an impressive raw bar and Polynesian-persuaded small plates.

The real map and menu, Hunt and Alpine Club.

 

OVERNIGHT

 

The just-minted Press Hotel is the stripe of stylish, personality-driven and spiritually ambitious hotel cities crave. The high-profile, meticulous transformation of the Portland Press Herald’s historic Downtown headquarters into a boutique destination for the aesthetic-minded traveler has made for one of the city’s most stunning new hospitality jewels.

Visually layered in tailored navies, khakis and soft grays, spaces both shared and private strike luxe approachability at the Press Hotel. Newsy antiques from a publishing era gone by posture with plush, well-chosen woods, glowing white marble and curated local art—it’s sophisticated, comfortable New England prep for a new generation.

The Press Hotel’s much talked about and architecturally handsome restaurant Union, as well as the airy lobby cocktail corner The Inkwell Bar, mutually present welcome hideouts for hungry hotel guests and locals alike. Driven Executive Chef Josh Berry thoughtfully threads the spirit and bounty of Maine’s finest into his always-changing menus, highlighting classic American standards built with the best of local farms, artisan purveyors and fisherman.

Travelers craving a more characteristically affectionate, New England bed and breakfast scene should trek no further than The Danforth, one of Portland’s most popular small luxury inns—dashing and restrained—located in the city’s stately West End neighborhood. Also sharing the same vicinity, and not to be overlooked, is Lark Hotel’s colorful and eclectic Pomegranate Inn bed and breakfast, featuring charismatic service and a daily small plates breakfast experience you will absolutely want to wake up early for.

Streetside summer glow at the Press Hotel.

Press Hotel welcome.

All the news, fit to print. Press Hotel lobby.

The original Portland, posted.

 

Portland, the original Portland, is a small vibrant city with a very big appetite. Where counterpart seaside towns throughout New England struggle to evolve beyond the working ports they anchor, beyond the insatiable, seafood-craving summer tourists who suffocate their historic downtown streets, Portland exists as a beacon of reinvention and new energy.

 

Discover more at VisitPortland.com.

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A Bartender’s Story: Robert Porter

Life behind the bar is evolving faster than ever. These days, working along the spirit line requires more than academy certification. For spritely talent yearning for a breakout, the task calls for nerd-like dedication and a youthful curiosity beyond the basics—it’s what separates the functional from the fantastic.

Phoenix’s own blossoming fraternity of homegrown bar talent is diversifying. Once a small brotherhood of mostly luxury resort expats with a wide-eyed hunger for what’s next, the city’s mixology community has diversified and matured. This graduated crop of local influencers planted the seeds we’re seeing sprout today, from the mentorship of young talent, launching destination-worthy watering holes of their own, to dusting off years of cocktail mediocrity in the corporate world with big-brand consulting gigs at local distributors. Now, a new freshman class is focusing into view.

Enter Robert Porter, currently helping steer the bar team at the Phoenician Resort’s signature cocktail lounge—and part-time sunset cinema—The Thirsty Camel. An Illinois native, once an eager student of graphic design, Porter has since been tapping into his barman bona fides.

Robert Porter at the Thirsty Camel (courtesy: Phoenician Resort; photographer Jenelle Bonifield, http://ift.tt/1td4EgM)

“I started bartending on the side while working in graphic design,” Porter says. “But I quickly fell in love with bartending—it opened my eyes to a whole new world. I loved the creative side, the measuring, the varieties of spirits.”

Before landing at The Thirsty Camel, Porter sharpened his resume, and his palate, at trophy drinking spots like the short-lived (and already sentimental) relaunch of Trader Vic’s at Hotel Valley Ho in the mid-aughts, Sanctuary on Camelback Resort’s own golden incubator of local bar talent Jade Bar, and the buzzy speakeasy-lite concept Second Story Liquor Bar in downtown Scottsdale, among many other places.

“I consider myself a teacher of cocktails,” Porter expands, particularly referring to his deep hospitality experience working at some of the city’s top hotels and resorts. “From hotel guests to locals, I love encouraging people to try new things or try some of their favorite drinks made in new ways.”

When it comes to constructing that perfect cocktail, Porter’s style falls under the umbrella of simplicity and balance. “I prefer to stick with one spirit, making it shine and build from there,” he explains. “I want guests to be able to source everything they’re drinking from their grocery store’s produce section, using fresh juices, herbs, even vegetables.”

This year’s winner of Local First Arizona’s Devour Phoenix Bartending Competition, the energetic annual cocktail event leading up to the seminal food festival by the same name each spring, Porter is humbly making a name for himself within the local pool by sticking to his own style. His winning cocktail at the competition, named the Opal Sour, riffs on the classic Whiskey Sour, using Tucson’s own whiskey-like Three Wells Distilling’s oak-aged Sonora Copper, a spirit produced from the juice of prickly pears, as well as opal basil, honey vinegar, just-squeezed lemon juice, and other adds. It’s a drink that represents both Porter’s ethos for balance and freshness as it does his adopted home of Arizona.

“I do believe Phoenix is a hot spot for craft cocktails,” Porter says. “Some of the world’s best bartenders are here, some of whom can compete with the best in the country. We are on the cusp of taking off and I’m happy to be part of everything.”

What does Porter like to drink when he’s off the clock? “I’m a big bourbon on the rocks type of guy, but I also love spirits like Campari, Fernet and Chartreuse. I love all of the aromatics, and I love slightly bitter flavors,” he ponders.

“I think curiosity makes you a better bartender.”

Porter’s Opal Sour (courtesy: Phoenician Resort)

Robert Porter’s Opal Sour

• 2 oz. Three Wells’ Sonora Copper
• 1 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• .5 oz. honey vinegar
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• 4 leaves dark opal basil (traditional basil will suffice)
• Pinch orange zest

Incorporate all ingredients into cocktail shaker, shake vigorously, double strain, and pour over ice into Meyer lemon rimmed highball glass. Garnish with added sprig of dark opal basil and cheers.

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Houston: Sunbelt, Southern and Hungry

If Chicago is the city of shoulders big and tall, Houston stands wide and stubbornly hungry.

Nothing quite encapsulates the modern American, postwar city more impressively than Houston. Pro-growth at all costs, with baby boomer grit at its core, Houston is a quintessential sunbelt boomtown. Beyond the pillars of American energy and capitalism, what astutely separates Houston from the pack, however, is its worldly DNA drifting below the surface.

Anvil Houston, cocktail factory.

Floods of Vietnamese, Mexican and Caribbean migrants, among many others, have quietly skewed the trajectory of H-town in recent decades. A slow but colorful metamorphosis from typical sun-belt sprawl machine to an urban destination of many angles, personalities—and flavors. Mix all of this with Houston’s unique connection to the American south, particularly Bayou Country, and you have a spirit nearly no other major U.S. city can offer.

The end result of this kaleidoscope is that Houston is enjoying a critical moment when it comes to the obvious: food. From some of the best Vietnamese food in the country, to equally superlative examples of barbecue, and high-brow American creativity, there’s arguably nothing that doesn’t taste better—or as good as it should be—in Houston.

 

DOWNTOWN

 

Downtown, once a cold mantle of towering glass and steel, where street life below succumbed to the cancer of car culture in the 1970s and 1980s, now flickers again thanks to smart infill, urban dreaming, and a commitment to historic preservation. The fruits of this energy has been the cadre of stubborn, forward-thinking chefs and restaurateurs sticking their necks out for glory in a landscape once thought to be dining kryptonite post 5:00 p.m. most days.

Oxheart and stone.

Oxheart, the critically-acclaimed outpost on Downtown’s northern, still-transitional fringe has become a lightning rod, not only for the neighborhood, but for Houston on the national stage. The quiet sharpness of James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu continues to silence with his artful tasting menus of worldly influences local and far. Diners succumb to wave after wave, plate after plate, in the charming if not gorgeous Erie City Iron Works Building built in 1909.

Jason Yu gold at Oxheart.

Coffee and cocktail hunters find dual solace on historic Main Street’s Honeymoon Cafe. Morning house-roasted brews, fresh pastries and woven brasserie tables anchor with Downtown creatives buzzed and buzzing give way to another stripe of buzz as the day fades: neighborhood bar hoppers lingering over the corner spot’s well-honed cocktail and spirits program.

Downtown drinking continues to hum late into the day at transcendent Prohibition, a hidden and tactfully restored space known wide for its whiskey leanings, and the newer pro-agave benchmark The Pastry War where a showpiece devotion to all drinks mezcal and tequila outshine a food menu of the same theme.

 

MONTROSE

 

Consistently considered Houston’s most coveted real estate for seekers of the interesting, the entertaining and the delicious, Montrose continues to inspire and impress for its bucket-list dining, drinking and revelry. Cruising Westheimer Road, between Midtown and River Oaks, a stretch infamous for its potholes, crowded lanes and all else conditionally beloved by locals, one can’t avoid the feeling of change in the air as new developments rise, new restaurants open and long-time classics reinvent.

Share sunrise with the polished and striving at Common Bond Cafe & Bakery for some of the best pastries in Texas, if not the country at large. Morning glory here exists in the form of maple-colored croissants that pull perfectly cracked and buttery; rainbow stacks of sweet, airy and brittle macaroons; as well as sweet jewel-like French tarts that school.

Mornings and afternoon refuels are equally supported at Blacksmith, the impossibly popular—and knowledgeable—coffee shop pouring life for young professionals, hipsters and all between.

Chris Shepherd’s signature braised goat kimchi stew and rice dumplings at Underbelly.

Anyone remotely familiar with Houston’s dining constellation will know of James Beard awarded chef Chris Shepherd and his benchmark restaurant Underbelly. Known for its woven mix of culturally indigenous, seasonal Texas cooking blended with global chords of Asian and Latin origins, Underbelly remains today the revered restaurants it’s always been.

Other Montrose area gold can be found at Uchi, cousin to an Austin original, where patrons suffer long waits for the trendy restaurant’s always-evolving laundry list of modern, Japanese-inspired small plates and premium sushi, creative and traditional. The Hay Merchant, where sud savants and casual beer fans close ranks, and rarified cocktail classic Anvil, Houston’s pioneering den for bookish booze. Before house-aged booze, obscure global spirits and, well, derby glasses were a thing, Anvil was already blazing local—and national—trails with its carefully curated, award-winning cocktail program.

 

BEYOND

 

Moving beyond the city’s core neighborhoods you immediately understand how vast Houston has become—and is becoming. Ring neighborhoods are quickly emulsifying into urban characters of their own. Here are some of my à la carte favorites:

Leading Houston’s wave of high-minded dining is Midtown’s fraternal restaurant twins The Pass and Provisions, providing a sort of polished Jekyll and Hyde of local restaurant experiences. Two in one, Pass being the stark laboratory of all things molecular and fine-tuned, and Provisions being the casually stylish and warmer sibling, perfect for nights when quality and formality shouldn’t compete. Star chefs Terrence Gallivan and Seth Siegel-Gardner have orchestrated one of Houston’s can’t-miss dining experiences.

Few cities do pho—or Vietnamese food in general—like Houston, the edible benefit of heavy southeast Asian migration in the 1970s following the Vietnam War. In a sea of fantastic spots, Pho Binh—the trailer location, not it’s younger satellites—rise above all others. Considered some of the best pho in the country, let alone Houston, this humble cash-only outpost of Pho Binh is beloved for their near-boiling, perfumed bowls of Vietnam’s quintessential all-day noodle soup.

Creative, locally-inspired Italian comes in the form of Coltvaire. Bright-eyed Houston chef Ryan Pera and his team bring the glories of wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta to the Heights neighborhood, including an expansive onsite working garden, providing the kitchen an ever-changing menu of seasonal rewards to share.

Washington Avenue’s Julep is one of those charming spots where lines between concept and comfort dissolve. Think southern sentimental, this is the type of respectable hang out we’d prefer to imagine a classic 19th century bayou watering hole to be like. Soft lighting, gold and brass contrast pale feminine tones, chilled oysters at the ready, Julep is best known for revisionist southern cocktails, easy eats and ambiance.

Ramen is in everywhere, and one of Houston’s most gabbed about hideaways is Ninja. Located in the Rice Military neighborhood northwest of Downtown, the small, no-fuss favorite for late-night Japanese noodles (open ’til 3 a.m. on weekends) draws discriminating nightcrawlers craving their fill of Ninja’s fatty, shimmering and tongue-scorching bowls of tonkotsu.

Lei Low color.

Boisterous, fun and rum-soaked, Lei Low in the Heights is the type of neighborhood bar, let alone tiki bar, everyone dreams about having around the corner. Banana dolphins, flaming limes and all the mid-century Polynesian kitsch you want, the purposefully hidden Lei Low has become a go-to for some of the best tiki drinks in the city.

The most famous Texas brisket outside of Austin, Killen’s Barbecue is unquestionably worth the trek down to Pearland, the grassy Houston exurb 20-miles south of the city. Owner and pitmaster Ronnie Killen has become quite the local celebrity personality himself, basking in the glow of national praise and hour-long lines of pilgrims hungry for Killen’s smoked meats, Flinstone-sized beef ribs and dangerous, body-shaming sides.

Plate politics at Killen’s BBQ in Pearland.

Houston is a city of many faces, big personalities—and self-starting dreams. Most impressively in recent years, however, has been the determined city’s transformation into one of the country’s foremost eating destinations. And, this round-up only begins to scratch the surface.

If the city isn’t already on your radar, it should be now.

 

RECOMMENDED HOTELS

JW Marriott Downtown Houston.

JW Marriott – Downtown Houston
Hotel ICON, an Autograph Collection – Downtown Houston
Hotel ZaZa – Museum District/Medical Center

 

For more details, beyond food, begin here: VisitHouston.com.

 

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Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva is Coming

Downtown touches. (Instagram: @BarrioCafeGran)

Few chefs, particularly in this city, transcend. Beyond the kitchens they orchestrate, beyond the prudential menus they’re often handcuffed to write, beyond the food.

Four-time James Beard nominee Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza falls into that exclusive column of local chefs who do. Sure there are budgets to follow and practical lines to shade between, but so much of what Silvana has to offer has nothing to do with cooking good food. It’s about her spirit. From her local advocacy for the arts to progressive political issues near and dear, she’s a teacher, a conduit for Phoenix’s still-adolescent urban zeitgeist. We all should be listening—and supporting—what she does next.

After launching the ageless Barrio Cafe in 2002, inoculating local diners with the virtues of patient cochinita pibil, heady mole and guacamole with care, Salcido Esparza has been on a continued road of discovery and growth ever since. After multiple concepts, hiccups, raves, and all, her latest project Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva brings her full circle to what she loves most: the food, her adopted hometown of Phoenix, and telling her vibrant story in new and compelling ways.

Once again, Salcido Esparza takes the road less traveled. Wedged inside a rejuvenated 1946 art deco flatiron at 1301 W. Grand Ave., historically known as the Bragg’s Pie Factory building, Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva is located along a Downtown stretch of Grand Avenue’s budding arts district—a neighborhood primed to rise. The 27-seat jewel box features floor-to-ceiling windows framing the urban horizon and special bar seating inside the kitchen known as Pinky’s Table, where diners obtain unobstructed hot line views.

Designed around continually updated tasting menus ($35-60) and finite daily specials, expect a few classic Barrio Cafe moments on the menu (dishes that helped elevate Salcido Esparza’s name ID from New Times to New York Times), but even more excitingly: new items born entirely of her whims. The latter being the most anxious prize, as for those of us who know the chef well, Gran Reserva allows us all to experience first-hand her continued creative growth in the kitchen, and on our plates. Diners will also discover an agave-anchored cocktail program and wine experience built around carefully curated Mexican-grown varietals.

Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva opens for business June 3rd and advanced reservations are not only now being accepted, there are highly recommended. Visit BarrioCafeGranReserva.com now for dinner reservations and menu updates as they become available.

Xoconostle. (Instagram: @ChefSilvana)

Disclosure: In a former life, I’ve had the (effortless) pleasure of working with Silvana professionally as her publicist. No longer a conflict of interest, I am now simply a fan—and a friend.

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Now Open: Chris Bianco’s Tratto in Phoenix

Instagram: @PizzeriaBianco

Few moments in Phoenix’s culinary anthology ring brighter or more influential than James Beard alum Chris Bianco and what has unequivocally become our city’s most known dining quantity, his celebrated Pizzeria Bianco.

Fast forward through the endless accolades of Chris Bianco’s wood-fired talents (Ed Levine, New York Times, Oprah Winfrey, Eater, Rachael Ray), beyond the AP formalities required when describing Phoenix’s favorite pizza professional, and devoted locals will immediately whisper to another Bianco Midas touch: pasta.

With Bianco’s first full-throttle foray into food beyond the pizza oven, at his short-lived Town & Country trattoria “Italian Restaurant” in 2012, expectations for anything not called Rosa, Sonny Boy or Wise Guy, fell on tone-deaf appetites. Perhaps too sudden for fragile Phoenix diners, but the simple seeds of flour, egg and water were planted.

Now, Bianco is ready. In the years since Italian Restaurant fatefully transitioned into more traditional Pizzeria Bianco territory, his thoughtful handmade pasta dishes, as well new protein-only mains, slowly and stubbornly infiltrated the menus, quietly winning advocates ever since. (Sunday Gravy, anyone?)

Bianco’s latest and revised pizza-less project is finally here with Tratto, located immediately adjacent to his Town & Country pizzeria in Phoenix’s Biltmore neighborhood. This time, let’s show him and his very talented team (Anthony Andiario, Robbie Tutlewski, Blaise Faber, and more), all of the other things we appreciate.

Sample menus and contact details will soon be available here.

Instagram: @AnthonyAndiario

 

 

 

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Opening Soon: Found:Re Hotel Phoenix

Credit: Found:Re Phoenix

There is no question. Downtown Phoenix is not the acned upstart we’ve been framing it since the early aughts. That local media narrative has, frankly, run fuelless for years now. The city’s core is now hedging on something real. There’s finally something there, there.

The forthcoming Found:Re hotel, the latest tangible born from decades of urban determination, is proof of the area’s post-fledgling status. Despite the welcomed, recent nearby additions of Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar or the shiny Hilton Garden Inn unworthy of its lovely original Art Deco bones (see: corporate trojan horses), the Found:Re is the first sincere boutique hotel to open Downtown since the early 1900s.

The 105-room art-driven showpiece by San Diego hotel group Bond Partners, will become a primary anchor for the congealing Roosevelt neighborhood on downtown Phoenix’s northern fringe, hemming the soon-to-be-overhauled Hance Park to its north.

Industrial dreams.

Riding a wave of experiential, art-focused boutique hotels nationwide (see: 21c Museum Hotels and Denver’s Art hotel) that play equal parts art museum or major gallery and hotel, Found:Re imports similar cultural airs to a neighborhood branded as the crossroads of Phoenix’s youthful, independent art community.

“We‘re thrilled to be part of this project that will be a stylish gathering place for locals and Phoenix visitors to enjoy and become inspired,” says General Manager V Calamur. “We have plans to embrace the neighboring art galleries and museums. We are designing a space for locals and travelers to find themselves, embrace curiosity and ignite discovery.”

The aim here is approachable luxury. From art to music to fashion, all of Found:Re’s touchpoints intend to communicate life’s expressive side. Art of all mediums will be front and center, from curb to check-in, guest programming to common areas, all steered explicitly by the hotel’s own in-house Cultural Curator, Michael Oleskow, who will be partnering with local Phoenix artists and galleries, established and rising, avant-garde and eclectic, on rotating collections and presentations throughout the year.

Targeted for a summer 2016 opening, downtown Phoenix’s newest hotel will also be home to the food and beverage destination Match Cuisine and Cocktails, helmed by Executive Chef Akos Szabo. Match’s globally inspired, locally motivated menu will be focused on what’s seasonal and shareable.

We can’t wait.

Stay Connected
Website: Found:Re Hotels
Facebook: Found:Re | Match
Instagram: Found:Re | Match

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Top 5: My Favorite Phoenix Dive Bars

Whiskey lunch special and bad lighting at the Dirty Verde.

My fresh-faced drinking years were waylaid inside the gallows of a dive. There are, in fact, few social pleasures more sentimental to me than wearing out cracked leather bar stools on a Sunday with best friends, drinking sleazy booze and mixers, looking down the barrel of destiny with last-call shots, scraping pocket to purse for just one more New Order track on the juke.

Don’t misunderstand, I love and appreciate the ceremony of a well-tuned bar experience, sipping the best from our city’s letterman bartenders in a sort of self-conscious civility. However, sometimes you want something different. Sometimes you want a dive bar.

Though not an exhaustive playbook, here are five of my Phoenix all-times.

Shady’s Fine Ales and Cocktails – Phoenix
Honestly, Shady’s is one of my favorite Phoenix bars. The Arcadia adjacent mainstay swings fairly tame on the dive purity spectrum (see: the bathrooms are actually clean), but the bones and the spirit are there. And though mixology isn’t the reason you go, if you snag the right bartender, they can cobble a solid cocktail. Bar manager Justin Vargo also happens to be one of my favorite bartenders in town. If you don’t know him, you should.

Bikini Lounge – downtown Phoenix
Go here for diluted mini pitchers, surly bar staff and cheap, posture-correcting cocktails. One of the only remaining jewels of Phoenix’s once-large collection of postwar tiki bars, at least architecturally, Bikini Lounge now stands lonely and proud. This is where generations of Downtown cool kids (First Fridays is always a cluster) continue to lay claim as one of Arizona’s most storied dive bars. This is where I go to feel 18 again. I mean 21.

Swizzle Inn – uptown Phoenix
Who wouldn’t love the Swizzle? The classic no-frills neighborhood hideout with, get this, friendly bartenders, is the type of gateway bar you drag new friends to, wanting to gauge their own dive readiness. It’s where regulars go for stiff mid-day drinks, rounds of sloppy pool with new friends (the true magic of a dive bar) and a jukebox consistent with love or hate classics like Garth Brooks and Journey.

TT Roadhouse – Scottsdale
Another rowdy neighborhood bar that manages to pull the thirsty from a wide radius to lay low inside its dark, wood-paneled rooms, TT Roadhouse is a Scottsdale classic. Like most good dive bars, the crowds evolve with the clock’s hands, with daylight hours drawing in the rough, tried-and-true, and nighttime pulling a more aware young-set, along with a blue collar overflow from nearby Old Town’s mayhem.

Palo Verde Lounge – Tempe
Tempe’s time-honored favorite. Throughout Palo Verde Lounge’s countless lives, and passing eras of popularity and disfavor, it remains as authentically dirty, sour and strange as ever. The people watching is unmatched, and the slimy, graffiti draped bathrooms surpass any in town. Order a tall and pull your favorite Doritos flavor off the rack as you luxuriate in the ambiance of snowy X-Files reruns on the corner tube, Queen emotionally playing on the jukebox one too many times and cheek-knawing jailbirds monopolizing the pool tables in a hurried haze of next-hit desperation. Really, it’s a special place.

Honorable mention: Chez Nous (RIP)

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